Gabbie, of course, rushes towards the door, but Viktor quickly grabs her, before she can open it. “Gabbie, you know not to answer the door.”
“Icky, hers out there.”
“I know, dragotsennyy, but what if it’s a stranger?”
Gabbie huffs out a loud breath, as if she’s getting frustrated. “Hers not a stranger.”
Viktor frowns, as he asks, “How do you know?”
“Cause I know,” Gabbie says in the sassiest voice I’ve ever heard. Turning my head, I hide my smile. Gabbie makes it so hard not to laugh at the things she does, even if I know I shouldn’t be laughing. “See! It’s Uncle Seb!”
Hearing what Gabbie said, I whip my head around, and sure enough, there he stands in the doorway. Seeing him so close, makes my heart begin to race. For the past week, I’ve only caught glimpses of him here and there, but mainly, only when I’m dancing. Which is why I have to remind myself to breathe, and not make a fool of myself.
Gabbie literally jumps out of Viktor’s arms, but Sebastian gracefully catches her. I continue to stare, taking him in and getting my fill of the man I want more than anything. It’s like everything is suddenly moving in slow motion. Sebastian smiles at Gabbie, talking to her like she’s an adult, and in Russian I might add. I watch them interact, like I’m an outsider looking in. I’ve never seen him act like this before, and I realize, he’s amazing with her.
And then, he glances at me.
Swallowing hard, that huge grin is still on his handsome, yet hard face. It makes him seem younger, almost carefree. Our gazes lock, only for a second, but that’s all it takes. My entire body warms instantly, as my heart begins to thump in my ears. Fuck, that look is everything, especially as it turns into something else that I don’t expect.
It turns dark.
Hungry.
Daring.
“Uncle Seb, watch me!” The spell is broken, as Sebastian sets Gabbie down, and we all watch her dance around the room. She’s been taking some ballet classes, and it’s starting to show. She has a natural talent, like her mom.
“I’ve got to ask,” Ava begins, and I startle. I had no idea she was standing by me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” she claims, laughing.
“It’s fine. Gabbie is getting good,” I quickly say, hoping she doesn’t finish whatever question she has for me. I have this gut feeling it’s about Sebastian, and I don’t know if I’ll have an answer for her.
But Ava doesn’t miss my subtle hint to drop it. “What’s going on with you and Sebastian?” Thankfully, she leans in to ask me that, so no one else hears her ask me something that I have no answer to. Sure, there is something going on, but what that is, I have no clue.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I answer truthfully.
“Oh, come on. I saw that look he gave you.” I shrug, turning towards her. She holds my gaze, as she says, “Viktor looked at me like that, when he watched me dance.”
Shaking my head, I play it off, like it’s not a big deal. “I don’t think it’s anything to get worked up over.”
“Trixie,” she starts, placing a hand on my arm. “I saw you looking at him the exact same way.”
My stomach clenches, hearing what I already know. I’ve wanted Sebastian for a long time, but does he really want me? A part of me thinks, yes he does, but then, I barely see him for weeks on end. Not to mention, he has yet to make a move. A man like him doesn’t just sit around and wait for a woman to approach him, or I would’ve done so already. He throws off this vibe that tells me to stay away, yet I can’t seem to completely let go. That’s what holds me back. The fear he’ll reject me is strong, and I don’t know if I could put myself out there just to be hurt.
So, if he wants me, he’ll have to come to me.
“Okay, so I like him,” I admit in a low voice.
“But?”
“But,” I begin with a huff. “I’m getting mixed signals, and I don’t know what’s going on.”
When Ava doesn’t immediately answer, I glance at her. She watches Viktor, Sebastian, Gabbie, and Nikolai playing in the living room, before claiming, “I don’t know exactly what’s going on with him, but I do know his past makes things complicated.”
“What does that mean?”
She sighs, and then says, “He’s a lot like Viktor in more ways than he wants to admit.” Frowning, I have no clue what she’s trying to tell me. “Just give him time, Trixie. Men like them, they have to work through their issues on their own time, before they’ll go after what they want.”
Nodding, I ask, “How long I do I give him?”
“Now that, I can’t answer for you.” Sighing, I cross my arms, wondering just how much longer I have to wait for a man that may never want me?
When do I accept that he may never come to me, like I want?
More to the point, what’s stopping him from taking what he wants?
With my bag in hand, I walk through the back door, leading inside The Gentlemen’s Club. Usually, I make my way to the locker rooms, but tonight, I have something else I need to do first.
After talking with Ava the other night, I realized that I could be waiting for Sebastian for even longer than I already have been. My luck, more years would pass me by, before finally realizing there is someone else out there for me. So, I’ve decided to put my feelings aside, since they’ve gotten
