Surprise: Outback Proposal. Sarah Mayberry

      It was a scary thought—more than scary enough to sweep any other thoughts away. She didn’t have the luxury of being distracted right now.

      Grimly determined, she finished breaking up her orders.

      LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Dom stood in the refrigerated storeroom Bianco Brothers rented and broke the tape seal on the small box in front of him. Inside was a state-of-the-art handheld data unit, ideal for inputting stock information and orders for a wholesale company like his father’s.

      Dom had picked up the unit yesterday after work, and today he was determined to start phase one of his plan to modernize the business. His father was going to be resistant to change, he knew that. But Dom would show him how much easier and more efficient life could be. In essence, that was what phase one was all about—massaging his father into letting progress do its thing.

      It wasn’t like he was asking his father to take on the burden of learning the new software himself. Dom would do all that. At worst, Tony would have to learn how to pilot one of these handheld units, and the literature promised that they were as simple to use as a pocket calculator.

      After studying the instructions for a few minutes, Dom powered up the unit and experimented with a couple of functions. Satisfied that he had the basics sorted, he turned to the stacks of crates towering around him. He’d catalog the stock in the storage space, then download the data into the new software program on his computer, then he’d show his father what they could do with the information. His father was stubborn, maybe even a little scared and intimidated by new technology, but Dom was confident that the old man would switch on to computerizing once he understood the benefits.

      His thoughts drifted to Lucy as he began to punch in data. She’d looked good today, if a little pale. The bulge of her pregnancy was still in the burgeoning stage, cute and round rather than big and heavy. She’d always been beautiful, but being pregnant had added an extra dimension to her appeal.

      He shook his head as he caught his own thoughts. He was not hitting on a pregnant woman. He’d already decided against it. She was vulnerable, for starters. Abandoned by her boyfriend, running a business on her own. She had too much at stake and inserting himself into the mix was only going to make things worse. Plus—pure selfishness here—he didn’t want to have any doubt about why Lucy was attracted to him. If that miracle ever happened. Not that he figured her for the type of woman who would seek out a man to provide security for herself and her unborn child, but he didn’t want there to be any confusion around the issue.

      Once again they were the victims of bad timing. But maybe when she’d had the child, when her world was more settled. Maybe then he’d make his move, try his luck.

      “Dom. We’re starting to close up. You ready in here?”

      Dom turned to find his father standing in the doorway, his body a dark silhouette against the pale winter sunlight. There was a small pause as his father’s eyes adjusted to the difference in light, and Dom didn’t need to see his father’s face to know that he’d spotted the handheld unit.

      “What you doing?” Tony asked. His voice was flat, absolutely expressionless.

      Bad sign.

      “I picked this up yesterday on the way home from work,” Dom said, facing his father. “I wanted to show you what it can do.”

      “I told you, we not interested. Vinnie and me have discussed.”

      “But, Pa, we can do so much more with this software in place. Project sales, pick up on trends. Cut down on spoilage.”

      Dom hated that he sounded like a beseeching child trying to cajole a parent into taking him to an amusement park. This was a smart business decision and he should not have to cajole his father into anything. He was part of Bianco Brothers, too. It was time his father and uncle started respecting his opinion more.

      “Take it back. I hope they give you money back,” Tony said dismissively.

      “Why don’t you come over and take a look at what it can do? I’ve just entered this whole wall of stock in about five minutes,” Dom said. “It’s every bit as fast as writing it down on your clipboard, and everyone can have access to the data.”

      “Don’t talk like I am little child,” Tony said. His voice was sharp. “I not idiot. Your uncle not idiot. We know how to run business. You bide time, be good boy, and one day you will run. Until then, you do things our way.”

      Dom flinched from the tone and intent of his father’s words.

      “Speaking of talking to people like children. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not a boy anymore,” he said. “Also, just so you know, Luigi Verde and his son have installed a computer system. And the Kerrimuirs have had one for two years. We’re going to be left behind if we don’t step up now and start offering our clients more services.”

      He hadn’t meant for things to get this heated so quickly, but he also hadn’t expected his father to be so adamant on the issue. At the least, he’d expected his father to be curious, to explore the idea a little before rejecting it.

      “It not matter. Our clients are loyal. They not forget us.”

      Dom couldn’t help himself: he laughed.

      “Pa, welcome to the twenty-first century. There’s no such thing as loyalty anymore. As soon as our customers know they can get a better deal or more value for money from one of our competitors, they’re gone. Don’t believe for a second that they come to you and Uncle Vinnie for any other reason except that it lines their pockets.”

      His father waved a dismissive hand in the air and made a spitting noise.

      “What you know? Your generation not understand. You not understand sticking to something, making work no matter what. You think if something hard, must be wrong. You walk away from commitments like mean nothing.”

      Dom went very still.

      “You’re talking about me and Dani, aren’t you?”

      If his father wanted to throw accusations around, Dom was going to be damn sure they both knew what they were talking about.

      Tony shifted his bulk, then tucked his thumbs into the waistband of his apron and just stared back at Dom. His stillness was his answer: yes, he thought his son had given up on his marriage rather than do the hard yards to fix it.

      Hot anger stiffened Dom’s neck and squared his shoulders. He’d known that his father was unhappy about the divorce, but not this unhappy.

      “I guess I should thank you for the honesty. At least we both know where we stand.”

      “You think your mother and I not have hard times? You think I never look at other women and wonder if they wouldn’t be easier to love?”

      Dom held his hand up. “Wait a minute. You think I cheated on Dani? Is that what you’re saying?” he asked. His voice had slipped up an octave.

      His parents had known he and Dani were trying for children, that there had been problems, but Dom had never discussed the finer points of the issue with them. He’d never quite known how to explain to his father that thanks to the case of mumps he’d had when he was twenty years old, he was sterile and would never be able to father children of his own. He’d figured he’d get around to it, eventually.

      And now his father was suggesting that the reason his marriage had fallen apart was because he’d strayed. So. Not only was Dom a man who couldn’t go the distance and honor his commitments, he was a cheat, too.

      “Why else marriage break up? Dani was nice girl. She would never cheat,” his father said.

      Dom rocked back on his heels. “This is unbelievable. How long have you felt this way, Pa? How long have you thought your son was a no-good sleaze?”

      It was his father’s turn to rock back on his heels. “That not what I said. You never talk, you never say anything. You come to me and your mother and say marriage