His gaze drops. “I’ll let him hold it.”
My heart sings in my chest at the idea of spending an entire evening with Sebastian, even if a six-year-old will steal most of his attention away.
“Cooper is going to love meeting you. I’m pretty sure you’re already his hero.”
He laughs. “I need to lock something in the safe in my room and then I’ll be set.”
It’s his gun. I catch a glimpse of it in the holster he’s wearing under his suit jacket when he moves.
As he walks away, I’m hit with the sudden realization that he puts his life on the line every day.
An unexpected wave of fear washes over me. I’ve known him for less than a month, but if something happened to him, I know instinctively that my life would never be the same again.
“You makethe best grilled cheese sandwiches in the entire world,” Cooper exclaims as he stands on one of the dining room chairs. “Tilly usually gives me an apple before bed and some licorice. This was way better.”
A hint of a smile touches Sebastian’s mouth. “My mom taught my brothers, my sister and me how to make grilled cheese when we were a little older than you are.”
“What are their names?” Cooper asks as he eyes me.
I’m motioning for him to sit back down in his chair, but he’s still on his feet, bouncing in place.
“I have two brothers, Nicholas and Liam.”
“What’s your sister’s name?” He rests his small palms against the table as he stomps his feet on the chair.
“Nikita, but we call her Nyx,” Sebastian answers.
I’ve heard bits and pieces about all of them from Maya. She hasn’t met his sister yet, but she had dinner with his two brothers and Nicholas’s wife, Sophia, a few months ago.
“I don’t have any brothers or sisters.” Cooper reaches into the pocket of his sweatpants to pull out Sebastian’s badge. “Are any of them policemen like you?”
Sebastian gets up from his chair and goes to where the little boy is standing. He scoops him up effortlessly and tosses him over his shoulder.
Coop lets out a playful squeal.
“My brother, Nicholas, writes books,” he says as he walks toward the living room. “My brother, Liam, helps people when they’re sad and Nyx owns a candy store.”
“A candy store?” Cooper’s eyes widen when Sebastian places him down on the sofa.
“The best one in the city.” Sebastian takes a seat next to him. “If your mom says it’s okay maybe Tilly and I can take you there the next time we come over to hang-out with you.”
The next time.
I smile inwardly at the promise of another evening like this.
I’ve been on my own since we arrived two hours ago. Coop took to Sebastian immediately and they spent most of the evening looking at books and websites devoted to the moon.
I didn’t mind at all. I watched in wonder as Sebastian shed his suit jacket, rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt and got on the floor so he could read to Cooper.
“I can’t wait.” Coop pats Sebastian on his knee. “Why aren’t any of them policemen like you?”
Sebastian steals a glance back at me before he turns his attention to the inquisitive little boy. “It wasn’t what they wanted to do.”
“Did you always want to do it?” He looks at Sebastian’s face. “Sometimes I think I want to be a pet doctor, but today I think I want to be a detective like you.”
I see Sebastian’s shoulders tighten. “For a very long time I wanted to be a lawyer.”
“What’s that?”
