“A grandmother, but I was young.” I snuggled closer. “My grandad’s in his eighties, so I try to spend as much time with him as Ican.”
“Ah,” he said. “That explains the upstate gin rummy. You like taking care of others, don’tyou?”
I looked up at him. I wasn’t sure I’d ever recognized that in myself. I’d seen it as a weakness with Neal, and a privilege with Grandad. And of course, the same was true for Bruno. “I’ve got some bad memories in Boston too, you know. Bruno and I have been to the vet there several times, and while he might’ve been stable or doing well, his prognosis never changed.” I paused, thinking back to all the tears I had shed in their waiting room. “Still, it made me more appreciative that the sun was shining. Of how friendly the people were. Home is still there, Sebastian. It’s in the good memories. Maybe you can try to replace the bad ones withthem.”
“I probably could,” he said. “But I don’t know if I’m actually ready to let hergo.”
My voice broke a little as I said, “You’d only be lettingitgo.”
“Semantics, Keller.” He pulled my arm until I was forced to roll onto his chest. “Know whatelse?”
“What?” Iwhispered.
“I’m not lettingyougo.”
I wanted it to be true, and for this time, with him, to be different. I wanted to be strong for him and for myself. I glanced at the stubble filling in his jaw. “Is that why you’re here now?” I asked softly. “To fulfill your promise to yourmom?”
He angled his head to catch my eye. “That, and many other reasons, Georgina. The fact that my mother would’ve fallen in love with you would be reason enough for me to . . . to do the same. I can tell you why I’m not going anywhere, or I can show you if you’ll letme.”
I inhaled a breath to keep from tearing up. I nodded. “I’ll letyou.”
“Good, because you’re stuck with menow.”
The thought made my heart skip with hope. I didn’t have to ask myself if I wanted to be stuck. Being physically intertwined felt overdue for us, like snapping in the final piece of our complex, jumbo puzzle. It made me wonder when exactly I’d gone from falling for Sebastian tofallen.
I was too far gone to wonder if I even needed a safetynet.
22
Georgina
Iwokeup for the same reason I did every morning—Bruno, the living alarm clock. Only today, it wasn’t his big body shaking the bed, his cold nose in my face, or his monster-sized paw on my head. He scratched at the door, sniffing under it almost as loudly as hewhined.
I’d fallen asleep in the crook of Sebastian’s arm, but during the night, I must’ve gravitated back to my side of the bed. I turned over just as Sebastian came out of bathroom in nothing but atowel.
“Morning,” he said, scrubbing a hand over his wet, chocolate-coloredhair.
Given our history, it should’ve been awkward to wake up with him. Maybe it would be once I stopped staring at his broad, sculpted, glistening shoulders. I sat up against the headboard, pulling the sheet up under my arms. “I’m sorry if Bruno wokeyou.”
“If you’re going to apologize for anything, it should be for stealing thesheets.”
“Did I?” I asked innocently. It was a complaint I’d heardbefore.
“Or your bathroom. Between the baskets of half-used makeup on the counter, and the army of nearly empty beauty products in the shower, I could barely turn around,” he said, then grabbed a handful of his tousled hair, “much less do anything aboutthis.”
I tossed a throw pillow at him. “I don’t believe in beingwasteful.”
His words had always gotten under my skin easily, something I’d mistaken for rivalry. Now, I saw it for what it was—compatibility. I didn’t worry Sebastian would try to twist my words or use them against me as I had in thepast.
He flashed me a devastating smile, dropped his towel, and picked up his underwear from the floor. “Remember what happened when you threw a pillow at me lastnight?”
He’d stuck it under my hips and screwed me on it. Now, he stood here gloriously naked. I tried not to look as stunned as I felt by his maleness—perfectly pink and veiny—or his statuesque beauty. My thighs quivered as I remembered taking all of him last night.Iwas the real champ. If anyone deserved to be honored for the large, godlike feat of nature in front of me, it was me for braving it—and for my willingness to do it again. I almost whimpered as hedressed.
“Luckily, I run warm and carry my own comb,” he said, pulling on his pants next but leaving them open. “Do you sleep on one side of the bed even when you’realone?”
“I can’t get myself to stay in the middle,” I said. “It feelsweird.”
“Not for me. I’m a spreader.” He winked and checked his cell on the nightstand just as Bruno barked from the hallway. “Can I let himin?”
