I ignored his quip about blonds since I knew he was only saying it to distract me from whatelsehe'd said.
Sebastian had come a long way in his Big Gay Journey (his words, not mine), coming out to my closest friend and his colleagues, but I hadn't expected him to sayanythingto his parents.
Not that telling them he was seeing someone was even remotely in the same ballpark as coming out to them, but shutting down their attempts to set him up with some randomwoman felt significant. In the past, he would have gone along with it, quietly miserable the entire time.
This was progress.
Sebastian pushed his chair back, gathered up our dishes, and walked them to the sink. “I only bring it up because I was thinkingwecould spend Thanksgiving together this year. I found a local farm selling heritage turkeys. They said they'd hold one for me.”
He said it all so casually, like spending the holiday together wasn’t a huge fucking deal.
Thanksgiving wasn’t Christmas, true, but it wasn’t Arbor Day, either. Most people spent it with their families. Well, most people who weren’t professional hockey players with games the day before and after.
I really fucking hated having to tell him no.
With a sigh, I pushed back from the table and joined him in the kitchen, grabbing a dish towel off its hook. He washed while I dried.
“Bell hosts a dinner for the guys and their families every year.”
I’d been trying to think of a way to broach the subject all week. I wanted him to go with me, but I knew he’d probably shoot me down. Dinner with them was one thing; a party with the majority of the team was a whole other.
“Oh, okay,” he said, the disappointment in his voice unmistakable. “Maybe I’ll get caught up on work or something instead.”
I pulled in a breath for courage, all the while bracing myself for rejection. “You should come.”
He passed me the final bowl, then turned to face me, leaning his hip against the counter, his arms folded loosely over his chest. “How would that work, exactly?”
He wasn’t saying no. That was good.
“Bell and Ethan already know our cover story. Bonesy knows I’ve been hanging out with my college roommate, who’s in town for work. We can say things are too busy with the campaign for you to head home for the holiday, so I took pity and dragged you along.”
“People wouldn’t think that’s weird—someone crashing a hockey holiday?”
I shook my head. “Not at all. Last year, one of the guys brought his neighbor, who’d just gotten divorced. The year before that, someone’s wife’s cousin tagged along. Dinner’s pretty much an open invitation for anyone stuck in town.”
His brows dipped. “I don’t know, Tay.”
I gave him my best puppy dog look. It was a dirty trick, but I didn’t care. I wanted him at that dinner with me, even if most people wouldn’t know why. “Please?”
He stared down at me, his expression caught between amusement and resignation, like he’d already decided to humor me and was pissed about it. “You rat.” He kissed the tip of my nose.
I blinked in surprise, figuring I’d have to really lay it on thick to get him to agree. “Really? You'll go?”
“Yes.” He tipped my chin back with one finger and kissed me, his lips warm and unhurried, and I immediately forgot what I’d been anxious about.
“Out of curiosity," he murmured against my lips. "How far were you willing to go to try and convince me?”
“I was going to let you do anything you want to me,” I admitted shamelessly, licking into his mouth.
“You already do,” he pointed out with a huff of laughter, settling his hands on my waist and walking me backward across the room.
My calves hit the couch, and I went down onto the cushions. I looked up at Sebastian, breathing hard. He held my gaze forjust a second, then climbed over me, his hips bracketing my thighs. I slid my hands up his back, feeling the shift of muscle, and braced my feet flat on the rug, pressing upward. Seeking friction.
Sebastian smiled against my jaw. “Your knee.”
“Is perfectly fine. Now come here.”
I tried to yank him down, but he leaned away, his gaze moving over my face, a divot forming between his brows. “Fuck, I love you,” he said in the second before he captured my mouth.
