Sebastian
SOME PEOPLE MIGHT’VE CALLED ME A FOOL FOR GETTINGwrapped up in Maya again. They might have even been right. If there was one person with the power to devastate me, it was her.
But when I looked at her, and I touched her, I couldn’t care less about whatmighthappen.
I’d loved her for so long that I couldn’t remember life before her. Now that I knew she felt the same, there was no way I’d let her go.
I placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, my heart aching when she sighed and snuggled closer to me.
We’d made it upstairs to my bedroom, where she’d promptly fallen asleep. It was hard to believe I’d started the night spiraling in a bar but ended up here, with her in my arms.
The universe had given me a break, and I wasn’t going to take it for granted.
So no, I didn’t care about what’d happened in the past or what obstacles might pop up in the future. I didn’t even really care about who’d sabotaged us in boarding school because she was here, and we were together, and for the first time in fourteen years…
I could finally breathe.
CHAPTER 31
Maya
THE FOLLOWING SATURDAY, A FULL WEEK AFTER WEreconciled, Sebastian and I met bright and early at the first stop of his Official VIP Girlfriend Tour—a full day of curated culinary experiences featuring his favorite food spots in the five boroughs and, of course, Sebastian himself as my private tour guide.
The tour kicked off with breakfast at a quaint, old-school diner in Queens. It had red leather booths, a working jukebox, and a small but friendly staff that showered us with VIP treatment the moment we walked in.
“Seriously. Does every person in every restaurant know you?” I asked after we placed our orders. I’d taken Sebastian’s advice and opted for a stack of the diner’s signature pancakes with extra whipped cream and strawberries on the side.
He grinned. “Only the ones who matter.”
I rolled my eyes. “I can’t believe I’m dating someone so arrogant.”
“Not arrogant, Sal.Confident.” His grin turned cocky. “That’s why you’re with me. You’d hate being with someone insecure.”
“Big talk for a guy who took afull weekto plan one date,” I teased, but he was right.
I loved Sebastian’s self-assurance and the fact he had the skills to back it up. I loved the heart beneath his cocksure persona, and the thoughtfulness behind his every gesture. He’d told me once that I needed someone who could keep up with me; he did that and more. He pushed me to be a better version of myself, and he gave meaning to my wins. Without him, I’d be a general without abattlefield. A victor without an opponent.
That’d been true our entire lives. I should’ve known, from the moment I marked Sebastian Laurent as my number one rival, that I would end up falling for him. It’d been inevitable.
“What can I say? I wanted our first date to be perfect.” His smirk softened beneath a glimmer of tenderness. “I hope you like it.”
My heart rioted. “I love it.”
His answering smile curled through me like a warm ribbon of sunlight.
I thought we’d have a harder transition from being frenemies to dating, but the past week had been seamless. I was freaked out about the mystery person who’d intercepted his letter and forged a response from me, but that’d happened over a decade ago. I wasn’t in imminent danger from some letter-forging bandit. Still, I secretly added uncovering their identity to my list of mysteries to solve, right under my Pittsburgh dilemma.
Sebastian and I had other things we needed to figure out, like when we were going to tell our friends and family about us and what I was going to do about my engagement deadline. Since Sebastian and I were officially dating, other options for suitors were off the table.
But were either of us ready to say for certain that we wanted to get engaged come November? Would my parents enforce that deadline if they knew I was in a serious relationship with Sebastian?
I didn’t have any answers at the moment, but we’d only been dating for a week. We’d deal with the future when it came. For now, I just wanted to enjoy our honeymoon phase—and the absolutely orgasmic pancakes that our server brought out.
“Oh my God.” My eyes widened after my first bite. I always thought influencers were exaggerating when they rolled their eyes and moaned after eating something—seriously, how many tomatoes tastedthatgood?—but if anything was moan-worthy, itwas these pancakes. “These areamazing.”
They were light and fluffy with crispy edges, a rich, buttery texture, and the perfect balance of sweetness and tang. I wasn’t even a big pancake person, but I’d happily bury myself in their cloudlike deliciousness.
“They’re the best in the tri-state area,” Sebastian confirmed, smiling as he watched me devour the food. “I’d never steer you wrong.”
