“He works here,” I tell him, my words come out with a bite. “I assume if you’ve been spying on meall day, you could have figured that out.”
It’s distracting, being this close to him. I shrug off his hold and take a few steps back, nervously fluffing my curls.
What was I doing? Right. Cleaning. Picking up after book club is all that stands between me and some takeout and bad TV, two things I desperately need right now. I force myself to turn away from him and shift my focus back to my work, grabbing another chair and adding it to the growing stack.
Sebastian doesn’t say anything, but I can feel his eyes tracking me as I busy myself with my cleaning. I bend down to pick up a stray bookmark someone left behind, tossing it in the trash, trying to ignore the heavy weight of his stare.
“If you’ve finished interrogating me about my employees, I need to…”
“A name.” It’s not even a question, the way he tosses it at me. More like a command,
My teeth grind together as I turn to him with an overly saccharine smile. “Justin. His name is Justin. Would you like his social security number too?”
I let my smile drop as quickly as I plastered it on and glare at him,daring himto piss me off with one more question.
Still frowning at the spot where Justin disappeared, he mutters, almost to himself, “Jade’s brother. Justin Lee.” His brows draw together. “What is he doing here?”
He dared.
It shouldn’t surprise me that he knows exactly who Jade’s brother is, or that he recognized the similarities between them. But what does surprise me is the range of emotions I see darkening his face when he moves that sharp gaze toward me.
Anger. Suspicion. And…
“Are you jealous?” I ask. His expression shutters, all traces of his reaction vanishing.
“Just curious,” Sebastian says evenly, reaching up to casually straighten his glasses. “The point of these security upgrades is to make sure you’re safe, remember?”
“Well, Justin is safe,” I assure him, bristling as I aggressively stuff the last of the group's garbage into the trash, shoving it down to get it all to fit. “I’ve known him since we were kids. He’s just helping us out part-time here at the store to give us a break.”
Sebastian makes a noncommittal noise, deep in his chest, like he’ll be the one in charge of determining who is and isn’t a risk to me.
“A break I think I deserve, considering the month I’ve had,” I spit at him. At least he has the decency to look somewhat chagrined at that, eyes darting away from mine. “What areyoudoing here, anyway? I thought the installation was finished.”
“It is,” he admits, still avoiding my eyes. “I was just checking that all the cameras were in place and functioning correctly.” He motions behind him without looking as he says it, and I follow the wave of his hand to where the nearest camera watches us, red light flashing. “Everything is working as intended.”
I place the final chair on the stack and take a calming breath in, and let it out slowly, relieved to know the security system is in place. Ready. “Great,” I say. “Do I need to do anything or?—”
“So you never dated him?” he asks, speaking over me.
The shift in conversation is almost enough to give me whiplash. “What?” I sputter, reeling. “No! Not that it’s any of your business, but he’s like family.” Like an annoying younger brother. Just this morning, he walked into the bakery while Jade and I were prepping to open, turned off all the lights, stole my coffee, and walked back out of the room, laughing at us.
Sebastian nods once, fingers tapping a rhythm against his thigh. “Good.”
I almost can’t believe it. “You actually are,” I accuse him. “You’re jealous.”
Behind his glasses, his eyes narrow. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he says.
“I’m the one being ridiculous? Really?” I plant my hands on my hips, meeting his eyes with a glare. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you saw him on your security cameras and came running down here to question me about him. Is that not what happened?”
A muscle in his eyelid twitches. “Of course not,” he insists.
I can’t help it. A dark laugh slips out of me. “I don't believe you. Just admit it, Seb. Spare me the back and forth. Just admit that there’s something about him that you?—”
Something in his expression shifts, and his cold mask of indifference fractures. He steps forward without warning, icy blue eyes flashing with anger, closing the distance between us until he’s so close his chest is almost touching mine. “You think I’m jealous?” he asks, in a low growl, staring down at me. “Of him?”
He’s so close I can feel the heat coming off him. I swallow and draw in an unsteady breath. “I just think youmight?—”
“How could I possibly be jealous of a man who doesn’t know how you taste?” he asks, his voice dropping to a whisper.
