I stared at Dominic, my voice question hanging in the air.

‘Why are you here?’

He smiled, and his entire expression softened. Then he glanced around the waiting room as if noticing where we were for the first time. He leaned closer and whispered, almost like a secret, “I work here.”

I blinked. “What?”

He gave a small shrug. “Not in the kitchen, obviously. I’m on the operations side. Logistics, vendor management... boring stuff.” His voice was casual, but his hand brushed mine ...