She pulled her phone out and started typing, Luca and Lena dancing around her.
I left them to it and searched for my shoes and bag. Every day I promised myself I’d put them down near the front door so I would find them again. And every day I dropped them somewhere in the house and forgot where.
My shoes were under the couch, and my bag was in the bathroom.
I opened the front door, calling across the street to Gears. “Do you know where Sebastian is? I have to go to work.”
He jogged over, coming to stand in front of me. “He’s on his way.”
“Okay, thanks,” I said, and he went back to his post across the street. They couldn’t be more obvious if they tried. No way would Jim come back with a big bike and bigger dude sitting in front of my house.
When a knock sounded a few minutes later, I kissed the kids goodbye and waved to Stella. “Have fun.”
I opened the door, but instead of Sebastian, it was Mason standing in front of me. “Hey, Mason. You here to drop off the tent?”
He nodded and leaned in, kissing me on the cheek.
“I was summoned,” he said, holding up two bags. “I had two small tents lying around, collecting dust. The kids can have them.”
“They’ll love that. Just go inside. They’re in the living room,” I said, smiling at him.
Mason and Stella had been the most supportive friends I could have ever wished for. I shouldn’t have been surprised that he not only brought two tents but ones the kids could keep.
The load roar of a motorcycle sounded, and we watched Sebastian pull into my driveway.
“That your new roommate?” Mason asked, his tone amused.
“Yup. He’s also my lift to work, so I should go.”
He nodded at me and looked back at Sebastian, who was stalking up my walkway. “He looks angry.”
I shrugged. What’s new?
“What’s going on?” Sebastian growled when he was only a few steps away.
I frowned at his obvious dislike of Mason, who he’d never met before. “Sebastian, this is Stella’s boyfriend and my landlord, Mason.”
As soon as the word boyfriend left my lips, Sebastian’s entire demeanor changed. His posture relaxed, his fists unclenched, and he even held out his hand to Mason. “Heard a lot about you. Good to meet you.”
“You too,” Mason said, accepting the peace offering. After a brief handshake and a wink in my direction, he went inside.
With the latest crisis averted, I turned, ready to be on my way to work.
“Sorry I’m late,” Sebastian said, following me to his bike.
I wanted to know where he’d been but didn’t ask. He didn’t owe me anything, after all.
I put on my purple helmet, standing far enough away that he couldn’t reach out to do it for me. Sebastian got on the bike first and then held out his hand to help me up.
As soon as our palms connected, I froze, the instant tingle shooting through my body making me squirm.
He didn’t release my hand once I was sitting behind him; instead, he pulled it around to his front, causing me to slide forward and into his body.
Since I would never protest about sitting this close to him, my other arm joined the one he was still holding. No matter how mad I was at him, I still craved him, and the need to touch him was ever present.
Once he was satisfied that I wasn’t going to move back, he put his hands on the handlebars and started the bike.
I sat stiffly behind him, not enjoying the ride as usual. I was desperate to touch him but still too mad to let myself enjoy being this close to him.
He stayed with me while I did my thing outside Pepper’s, his attention on me the whole time.
“Okay, I’m ready,” I said once my racing heart settled down and I felt like I wasn’t going to pass out if I walked inside.
He led me to the dressing room door, trailing his hand down my arm before leaving.
I watched him walk away, my heart wheezing out a few pathetic breaths. When I came back out and started working, I spotted him standing in his usual spot near the stage, arms crossed in front of his chest, his muscles bulging, watching me.
I messed up a few orders because all I could think about was the way he took care of me. How he’d made me feel special. The way he was with my kids. And all of it I liked. Craved more of.
But at the same time, I didn’t want to lose what little dignity I had left. Been there, done that. My thoughts were all over the place, veering from planning a way to get him alone to a way to hurt him as much as he’d hurt me.
Since revenge wasn’t in my repertoire, the thought fizzled out as soon as it ignited. I usually just moved on when someone had done me wrong. Guess that didn’t work out so well with Jim. He deserved for me to go all The Godfather on him. But since I was more Forrest Gump, I’d never get anywhere close to making him pay.
And that was okay. I just wished he’d keep his problems away from me and the kids. If I was honest, Sebastian’s betrayal hurt much more than Jim’s ever had. I’d moved on after Jim, thinking I’d dodged a bullet finding out when I did instead of letting him drag me down with him.
Sebastian, on the other hand, managed to twist my stomach into knots, and the thought of never kissing him again made my body ache. He’d buried himself so deep into my heart, I didn’t know how to ever get him out.
As desperate as I was not to repeat past mistakes, all I wanted was to forgive him.
“Bitch, are you deaf?” someone yelled at me, causing me to snap out of watching Sebastian.
I pasted on a weak smile and
