“I’m proud of you,” I say in a low voice. “You’re making a difference in the world, Wolf.”
He smiles at the nickname I gifted him with when he was a kid. “I’m proud of you too. Don’t tell Nicholas but you’re my favorite brother.”
I shake my head. “When’s the last time you said the same thing to him?”
“Yesterday,” he says as he raises his hand to beckon the server to our table.
I chuckle under my breath. “Why am I not surprised?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Tilly
I zipup the white sweater I pulled off the floor of my closet after I slipped into a pair of faded jeans. I kick a pair of sneakers aside to reveal black leather boots I haven’t worn in more than a year.
They’ll have to do. I step into those before I tie my hair into a ponytail and twist it into a messy knot on the top of my head.
Done.
I wouldn’t say that was a record-breaking change of clothes, but it’s fast enough to guarantee that I’ll make it to Carolyn’s apartment before her date arrives.
I worked an hour late tonight and just as I pushed the key into the lock of my apartment door, my cell phone rang.
It was Carolyn in a panic.
Her nanny had misread the schedule and made plans of her own on the one night this year that Carolyn has a date.
The lucky guy is a sales rep from one of the dog food brands that we stock at the clinic. He caught Carolyn’s eye a few weeksago and when he invited her to dinner and a movie, she happily accepted.
I thumb out a message telling her that I’m on my way before I grab my purse from where I threw it on my bed when I got home from work just minutes ago.
The entire ride home on the subway I imagined walking into the apartment to the smell of a home cooked meal and the sight of Sebastian waiting by the dining room table with two glasses of red wine in his hands and that same look in his eye that I saw last night.
The only thing waiting for me when I did get home was a note taped to the apartment door asking me to keep my music to anacceptable levelafter midnight.
Apparently, I have at least one neighbor who doesn’t appreciate pop music the way I do.
I flick the switch to turn off my bedroom light before I race down the hallway to the apartment door.
A chime from my cell pulls my eyes to the screen. It’s a reply from Carolyn saying that she appreciates me filling in at the last minute.
I start typing out a message telling her how much I love hanging out with Cooper as I swing the apartment door open. I take a step forward and crash into the hard chest of my roommate.
I look up and into those brilliant blue eyes. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” Sebastian smiles down at me. “Where are you rushing off to?”
How can he look this good after working all day?
“I need to go watch Cooper.” I move to let him into the foyer. “His mom has a date and the nanny bailed.”
“Cooper? Is that the kid who loves the solar system almost as much as I do?”
I nod. “I’m going to research more moon facts on my phone on the subway so I can dazzle him with my knowledge.”
“Or I could tag along and feed you those facts firsthand.” He tugs on the lapel of his gray suit jacket. “Do you think he’d mind?”
I look down at his belt and the badge attached to it. “He’ll want to touch your badge.”
