Glass Hearts [BL]
Chapter 43: Step One in Seducing the Big Brother

Chapter 43: Step One in Seducing the Big Brother

Once we were back on the road, Alia was happily sifting through the bags in her lap, narrating every new treasure like she was hosting her own unboxing channel.

"Oh my god!" Alia squealed, digging into the paper bag. She pulled out a small red foil packet and held it up like a trophy.

"You got the exact chips Violet gave Jayden!" she gasped.

Then she blinked. "Ash, see... I’ll give this to Henry instead," she decided, carefully tucking the chips back into her bag. "He likes spicy stuff. I don’t."

"I’ll give these chocolate bars to the kids in the hospital. And chocolates for June, Marcus and Ash. And...." she paused, her expression turning fierce, "I’m not sharing any of this with Jayden and Violet."

Dominic glanced at me, laughing. "Your sister is so sweet."

"She’s just showing you her sweet side," I said. "Trust me, she’s terrifying when she wants to be."

Alia jabbed a candy at me. "Don’t listen to him. I’m an angel."

Dominic snorted. "Uh-huh. Sure."

Alia beamed, already shoving another snack into her backpack.

I couldn’t help staring at her for a second, my heart squeezing. Sometimes Alia could be so scary, but then she’d turn around and do something like that...thinking about someone else first.

And then there was Dominic... sitting there pretending like this was no big deal, like he wasn’t somehow slipping deeper into both of our lives without even trying.

"Honestly... thank you, Dominic," I said again.

Dominic looked over, lifted a brow . "For chips?"

"For... all of it," I murmured. "For also... being here."

He grinned and gave a little shrug. "What can I say? I’m a man of many talents."

And as he pulled back into traffic, I found myself biting back a smile, realizing I was starting to fall for this side of him, I’d never admit.

Dominic fell quiet for a moment, watching her in the rearview mirror, a soft smile tugging at his mouth.

"It’s fun having a sister," he said. "But mine’s like...two years older than me. Diana. When we were kids, she used to make me dress up in all her stupid princess costumes. We used to fight over literally everything....TV shows, cereal flavors... which one of us would get to use the good bathroom first."

Alia gasped. "No way!"

"Oh yeah," Dominic said, putting on a dramatic voice. "I was the best Cinderella in the neighborhood. Glass slippers and everything."

I barked out a laugh. "I need pictures."

Dominic rolled his eyes. "Don’t even try. I paid Diana a lot of hush money."

Alia was giggling so hard she dropped a snack on the floor.

Dominic’s smile faded just a bit as we pulled up in front of the hospital entrance.

"I’m gonna miss her when she leaves for college," he said quietly.

I glanced at him, catching that tiny note of sadness in his voice.

"Hey," I said, bumping his shoulder lightly. "She’ll still be around. And besides...you’ve got us to keep you company now."

Dominic shot me a look that was half grateful, half exasperated. "Lucky me."

Alia leaned forward from the backseat, still clutching her giant bags of snacks against her chest like treasure.

"Yeah. I’ll keep you company always," she announced solemnly.

Dominic pressed a hand to his chest, pretending to swoon. "Thanks, baby."

Then, grinning, he reached over and pinched her cheek gently between his fingers.

And that’s when the miracle happened.

Alia... smiled.

My jaw dropped open.

Because normally, Alia hated when people grabbed her face.

I mean hated it. Anyone else who tried would’ve ended up with a bite mark or a bruised wrist. But with Dominic... she just sat there blushing, with her big blue eyes.

I burst out laughing, unable to hold it in.

Dominic glanced at me. "Told you she likes me."

"So I’ll go now," Alia announced. She twisted the car door handle and hopped down from the Range Rover, her backpack bouncing behind her.

She paused on the curb, turned back, and gave Dominic an awkward little bow. "Thanks again, Dominic!" she called.

Then she spun around and bolted toward the hospital entrance.

But before she reached the glass doors, she screeched to a halt.

She stood there for a second, breathing hard. Then she spun on her heel and sprinted back to the car.

Dominic blinked. "What’s up, baby girl?" he asked, leaning out the window.

Alia was panting.

Without a word, she dug into her snack bag and pulled out a single chocolate bar, still shiny in its wrapper. She held it out to Dominic with both hands.

"This is my gift. From me to you," she smiled. "Thanks for picking me up from school. Come again soon, okay?"

Dominic blinked at the chocolate, like it was the most precious thing he’d ever been given.

Then he cleared his throat, accepting it gently. "Okay ma’am," he said. "I’ll come again soon."

Alia nodded firmly, then spun around and dashed back toward the hospital entrance.

Dominic glanced over at me as she disappeared through the glass doors. He was still holding the chocolate bar like it was made of gold.

"You know," he murmured, already leaning back in his seat, "your sister is the coolest kid ever."

I shook my head, grinning. "Yeah. She totally likes you."

"Yeah." His voice dropped. "Guess impressing the little sister is step one in seducing the big brother."

I rolled my eyes. "Dom!"

He didn’t let up. "I mean, not that I’d need much help. You’d fold the second I start talking dirty to you."

"God, you’re disgusting."

I blushed, reaching for the door handle to get out myself.

Dominic laughed. "Not disgusting, Rivera. Just honest. You like it when I get nasty."

I opened my mouth to tell him to shut up, but before I could say a word, he shifted in his seat, towards me.

Leaning closer.

Way closer.

So close I could feel the heat of his breath brushing over the side of my neck.

I froze, my hand was still gripping the door handle, every muscle in my body going rigid.

"W-What...what are you doing?" I stammered.

My pulse spiked, as Dominic’s eyes flicked from my lips...to my eyes...then back down to my lips again.

My heart practically jumped out of my chest.

Oh. My. God.

He’s about to kiss me.

My breath snagged in my chest. Part of me wanted him to just do it already. The other part wanted to fling the door open and run for my life.