Gabrielle wasn’t the spoiled brat he’d suspected.
At least not anymore.
She was a strong woman who’d completed a journey of self-healing and was starting to ease her way into his heart.
He wondered if this was how it had been with his father. Watching his mother from afar, consumed with an increasing desire to see more of her.
He understood the drastic change in his views toward Ike’s younger sister. But it made him uncomfortable and weary.
Like he was losing himself to a force out of his control.
Sebastian shifted on the hammock and maneuvered the cell phone closer to his face. He swiped the device with his fingertips, pausing the video until a still shot of Gabrielle was frozen on his screen.
She was so fucking beautiful, he almost forgot to breathe looking at her.
Against his better judgment, he took a screenshot and then forced himself to put the cell phone back in his pocket.
Turning, he glanced at the door to the beach cottage and stared right into the dark beauty’s eyes as she stared back at him.
Fuck.
He’d wanted to hide his overnight surveillance from her and show up later, but she’d busted him.
A cute frown played on her face as she tied the belt around her satin robe in a floppy bow. The fabric barely covered her ass, giving a decadent view of her sexy legs as she walked barefoot across the sand.
“Please tell me you didn’t sleep out here,” Gabrielle said.
Sebastian scrambled out of the hammock and landed on the soft sand with a thud. A gusty breeze blew across the ocean, sending locks of her dark hair across her face. He watched her for a long moment, searing the memory into his brain, then said, “I didn’t sleep out here.”
It wasn’t a lie.
He’d spent all night watching videos of her.
She shook her head. “I don’t believe you. There are two guest bedrooms in the beach cottage. You could’ve slept in one of those if you wanted to guard me last night.”
“I didn’t want to intrude.” Sebastian cleared his throat. He supposed he owed her some further explanation. “It’s going to take a few more days before we can get the security systems set up. So, you’ll have to put up with me being close by for a while longer.”
Gabrielle smiled, and his knees weakened.
“I don’t mind,” she said.
“Don’t you?” Sebastian challenged. “I know I’m not one of your favorite people.”
“Oh, you are now,” Gabrielle said with a sheepish grin. “Everything you did for me yesterday went above and beyond. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You don’t need—”
“I know,” Gabrielle raised her hands. “I get it. You’re only putting up with me because Serena hired you to do a job.”
“I didn’t say that,” Sebastian responded, unable to stop himself from swiping the wayward strands from covering her face. He tucked them behind her ears, then pulled back. She didn’t recoil from his touch but leaned closer toward him. “Why did you want to stay out here instead of the main house?”
Sadness flickered across her face. “Memories of my parents. It was overwhelming not knowing where they are now. Not knowing what happened to them. So, Serena suggested that I stay here instead. I thought it was a good compromise.”
The beach cottage complicated matters from a security perspective, but he couldn’t ignore the relief in Gabrielle from having this option. He’d manage the extra work if it brought her peace.
“It’s hard for me to be there, too,” Sebastian admitted. “Did you know I was your mom’s bodyguard?”
“No,” Gabrielle shook her head. “When was this?”
