14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Cassie

" W hat's so special about this church?" Dominic asked me as we walked through the doors. I had been here a few times and still felt the quiet power behind it.

"Depends on who you ask." He paused in his looking around to glance at me and I grinned. "This right here," I told him, walking up the winding, gorgeous, staircase, "is the fame to Loretto Chapel. There's no metal pole that holds it in the center. In fact, there are no nails in this staircase." I watched as Dominic looked at the piece, his brows brought together in confusion.

"How is that? "

"A miracle. It's really just held together by wooden pegs, no glue, no nails, no nothing of that fact. When the chapel was first built, back in the late 1800s, they made a two-story building for the nuns in the choir," I told him, pointing to the choir loft. "And no way to get up there. A French architect was coming through and built this. However, the wood used on this staircase is not native to any place around here."

"That is beautiful." I watched his eyes as they took in the miracle and nodded.

"There's more to the story, of course. But I love this piece." We stood there for a few more minutes and just looked at the staircase.

"I can see why. Do you come here a lot?" I turned away, slowly shaking my head.

"No. I brought Tony once, about a year ago. But Peter was always too busy. My mom brought me when I was younger. I always told her I wanted to get married in this church." My eyes snapped open, and I looked at him. "Not that I mean anything by that, you know." He grinned as he took my hand and shook his head.

"Don't worry. I'm not reading anything into it. I can see why it would be popular for weddings. I did check it out when we were on our way back a few nights ago." I rested my head on his shoulder, letting out a breath so that he didn't freak out on me. "Stay right there," he told me, pulling his phone out. I rolled my eyes as he opened his camera and took a picture. "That came out good, don't you think?"

"Sure." He poked my side and then shared it on his Instagram. "I'm so glad I can't be tagged; you'd be blowing up my account."

"Yeah, well-" but before he could say anything, he was instantly cut off.

"Oh my, you're Dominic Sanchez! Can I have an autograph please?"

I blinked a few times, finally taking in the man before us who had shouted and then shoved a paper in front of Dominic. That also got a whole bunch of looks sent our way, with more people walking over. I bit my lip as I nodded that I would be sitting in a pew, having already gone through this twice before. So, I sat, waiting for him to finish up.

"Thanks," I told Dominic as he turned down my street, taking me home. "I had a great time. "

"Minus the fans."

"The fans are great. I mean, I can't pretend you aren't some hot shot, nobody, you…" I trailed off and Dominic slowed down.

"Expecting company?" he questioned, and I shook my head.

"Tony's with my aunt, having fun with his cousins. But that's not their car, anyway." Dominic pulled up to my driveway and I groaned. I was praying that the car I saw wasn't Peter's, but I couldn't be that fucking lucky. "What the fuck does he want?"

"To see you and make amends?" I glared at Dominic before slapping his chest, ignoring the laugh he let out. Usually, I waited for Dominic to open the door, as he yelled at me the first time I ever did it. He was raised to get the door for a woman, and he damn sure was going to uphold that rule.

"What are you doing here, Peter?" I asked once I opened the door and climbed out.

"Where's my son?"

"Why?" Peter crossed his arms, his eyes shooting darts at Dominic as he rounded the car to stand beside me.

"Because I want to know where the fuck he is while you're sleeping your way through the fucking baseball team! "

"Excuse me?" I screamed. "What the hell are you raving about?"

"I saw the posts of you out gallivanting with Dominic here. Isn't he a little young for you to be fucking around with? After all, he's but a baby himself."

"Yeah, well, the man I had before him sure as hell wasn't a man and didn't even know how to please me. So, thought I'd go for something younger, as he might be able to fuck better." I ignored the snicker from Dominic. "What's your concern, Peter?"

"I want to know what you're doing with my son when this asshole is around? Do you fuck him with Tony in the house? Does he see the slut that you are?"

"Wow. No, Tony isn't here, thank you. I have more respect for my son, as does Dominic, actually. And what does it matter to you if I am doing something or not? You don't give a shit about him, never have."

"I refuse to see my son hurt by a bitch of a mother and some dick, semi-superstar who thinks he's God's gift or something."

"Oh, now you care about him? Now you have something to say? Where the hell were you the last few years of his life?" I shouted, not even caring that doors were opening to see what the fuss was all about. "You know what, I don't care. You have nothing to say so please, just leave."

Peter took a deep breath, his eyes bouncing back and forth between Dominic and me. Finally, he let out a huff and stepped towards me.

"Tony is my son. I will not let him be on the receiving end of a dickwad like Dominic. Who, by the way, is out to use you? Because everyone in the industry knows that he's the biggest playboy in all of the MLB. And just to show you, and Tony, that you're fucking up his life, I will be at his next game, and at his next Big Brother's deal. I won't let you fuck up my son's life, or hold him back, Cassie. Not like you did mine."