But I ignored my niggling disquiet because I hoped I could will myself into finally liking someone.
A wave of exhaustion hits me. Suddenly, I’m shaky with it. Without a word, Sebastian passes me the ice cream he’s been holding.
It’s mint chocolate chip. My favorite and his, which is handy. Marie always keeps it stocked in the fridge.
I take a giant bite, letting it melt on my tongue. The carby goodness soothes my jagged emotions. “It’s lucky that we both share a love of mint chocolate chip.”
Sebastian is serious about his ice cream. He instructed Marie that there must be multiple cartons stocked in the freezerat all times. And he gets super pissed if any of his friends eat it. I’m the only one allowed.
He emits a sound that’s not quite a laugh, not quite a cough.
I shoot him a sharp look. “What?”
He shakes his head.
“You snorted.”
“There was no snort.”
“It was snort-adjacent. You have that look in your eye. It says you know something I don’t. Which, obviously, is wrong. Because I know everything.”
He places his arms behind his head and sinks farther into the suede couch. “You didn’t know about your date.”
I take another bite of cold, creamy perfection. It’s mellowed me enough that I’m only arguing out of habit. I kick off my shoes and pull my feet under me, thankful I’m wearing a dress that isn’t too tight to curl up in.
“I knew you were going to say that. Because I know everything. Usually.” I let out a deep sigh. “I suspected that there was something not right about the guy. I just didn’t want to admit it to myself.”
Sebastian watches my face intently as I take another long lick of ice cream. He abruptly turns his attention back to the race.
We watch cars speed around the track for a long time.
Finally, he breaks the silence. “I’m sorry, Em. I was trying to keep you safe.”
“You crossed a whole bunch of lines. Maybe you could have, I don’t know, talked to me instead of doing a background check.” I take another spoonful. “My sister’s graduation is coming up.I emailed you the details. There can’t be a repeat of tonight. No emergencies, remote-control or otherwise. I have to be fully, completely off.”
I shift to get more comfortable, and my dress hikes up. His eyes flick down to my bare legs. And then move up my body. I wrap myself in a cashmere blanket that’s draped over the side of the couch to better cover the exposed skin.
He frowns and turns away, clearing his throat. “Um. Right. Graduation. Good on Sadie. I told you to buy her a gift from me, right?”
“You did. You got her a leather messenger bag that’s perfect for her first professional job. It’s beautiful and very expensive. She’ll love it.”
“Damn. I’m good at gift-giving,” he teases, since I handle all his shopping.
“I’m not going to be available,” I reiterate. “At all. I’m not on call. I’m warning you. I won’t pick up the phone. You are completely on your own.”
He waves his hand. “Yeah, yeah. No problem. You worry too much. I can survive for one night without you.”
“Like you could survive tonight?”
“This was different. You were with a liar and a con artist. He could have been an abuser. I needed to get you out of the situation. Who knows what could have happened?”
“And if I hadn’t answered your SOS?”
His handsome face settles into stark planes. He doesn’t look like a smooth, sophisticated celebrity anymore. He looks… feral. A little like when he played a mobster who turned into a killing machine to avenge the woman he loved.
Not that he’s avenging me. I’m not his love or anything.
“I would have found you and carried you out of there.”
