“Hey,” she answered. “Everything okay?”
“I’m fine. Just so mad at myself for being so stupid.”
“What happened?”
“They arrested Jim, and I got caught up in the process.”
“That ratbag,” she cursed. “What can I do to help?”
“I just need my kids close,” I said. The thought of them not being home with me made my heart hurt. “Can I pick them up?”
“I’ll get their stuff ready.”
“Thanks, honey. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” I ended the call and turned to Sebastian. “I need to pick the kids up from Stella’s.”
He nodded, and we turned onto my street. “Let’s swap cars, then.”
I didn’t protest when he went inside to get the keys to my car. When we pulled up in front of Stella and Mason’s beautiful farmhouse, it was pitch dark, the stars in the sky clearer than I’d ever seen them.
The front door opened and Stella rushed out, engulfing me in a big hug that I didn’t know I needed as soon as I was out of the car.
“I can’t believe you had to go to the station,” she cried, pulling me even closer.
“It was only to talk. They didn’t arrest me,” I said, untangling myself from her tight embrace.
She looked behind me to Sebastian. “Sounds like you were conveniently absent when all this happened.”
“Stella,” I growled, widening my eyes at her. This was not the time or place.
“I’ll never forgive myself for not being there,” he said, surprising me. “And if Jim hadn’t knocked Gears out, I would have been.”
I gasped, turning to Sebastian. “Is he okay?”
“He’ll be fine. All that’s damaged is his pride because Jim got the best of him.”
Stella seemed mollified by his response, but she definitely wasn’t welcoming his traitorous ass with open arms.
She led us inside, and Mason met us in the hallway. He hugged me close, and I sank into him. “You sure you don’t want a break for tonight? We don’t mind keeping the kids.”
I stepped back and collided with Sebastian. He didn’t move and neither did I, the contact settling my frayed nerves. “I really appreciate the offer, but I need my kids close tonight.”
He nodded. “I understand. But know that the offer is there whenever you need.”
We followed him and Stella upstairs to one of their spare bedrooms. Lena and Luca were sprawled out on the big guest bed, snoring up a storm.
A smile played on my lips at the sight. I picked up Lena, and without hesitating, Sebastian lifted Luca into his arms, making sure to not jostle him too much. He didn’t wake up, settling in right away.
Once the kids were buckled into their seats, I closed the door with as much care as I could, praying the noise wouldn’t wake them up.
“That calls for a girls’ night in,” Stella declared when we were standing next to my car. “You’re not working tomorrow, so Malena and I will bring the wine, you make sushi, and Willa can bring dessert.”
I managed a half-smile and nodded. I didn’t have to work tomorrow, and hanging out with my girls was long overdue. “It’s a date.”
After more hugs and promises to call tomorrow from both Stella and Mason, we drove back home.
We carried the kids inside, making our way past the front door that hung off one hinge. Once we’d laid them on their beds and pulled their blankets over them, I exhaled in relief. It was a miracle neither of them woke up. At least something was going right tonight.
When we made our way back into the kitchen, Sebastian lifted me onto the kitchen counter and put his hands on either side of me. “Stay.”
“But what—”
He went outside, leaving me in stunned silence. I debated if it was safe to get off the counter or not when he stalked back inside, holding a screwdriver and wooden planks.
“You only have three tools,” he said on his way past.
That’s because I didn’t need more than a hammer, screwdriver, saw and glue. That was all I knew how to use, and as soon as something took more than one of those three tools, I had to find someone else to fix it for me.
After a few minutes I heard the door closing and figured he must have used the screwdriver to fix the planks to the door for a temporary fix. Instead of using a hammer, he’d made sure to not wake the kids and opted for the painstaking task of putting screws in with my rusty screwdriver.
He came back a few minutes later. I was still sitting where he’d left me, stunned at his thoughtfulness.
“The door is okay for tonight, but I’ll get someone out tomorrow to replace it. Since I’m staying on the couch, nobody is going to come in whether you have a door or not.”
“You’re not staying here,” I sputtered, bracing my hands on the counter, ready to jump down. “There’s no reason for you to keep up this charade. Jim is under arrest.”
Sebastian dropped the screwdriver on the kitchen table and caged me in before I had a chance to hop off the counter. “No matter how our talk goes, I’m staying.”
“I can tell you right now how our talk will go. With you walking out and never contacting me again,” I said, incensed at his audacity.
“That will never happen,” he said, leaning close enough that I could make out the gray specks in his eyes.
I hesitated, torn by conflicting emotions. My feelings for him were like a deranged fairy that just wanted to throw herself at him and forget he ever lied. And my brain wanted to find a kitchen knife and poke him a little. Only in the arm, of course. Or maybe his leg. Nothing to permanently damage him, just something to cause a little pain.
“What do you want?” I asked, tired of dancing around the real issue. Because he had to have ulterior motives for being here.
“You,” he said, his voice thick with emotion, his tense jaw working overtime. He’d pull a
