Page 83 of Trust Fund Baby

Before I knew it, I was excusing myself from Nate, murmuring something about needing air—not that he minded, he was loving being the center of my grandfather’s attention as they talked about real estate—and my heels were clicking against the marble floors toward the French doors.

Now, I called out Sebastian’s name, with no idea what I planned to do next.

The cold air wrapped around me the moment I stepped onto the terrace, goosebumps racing across my skin despite the gauzy wrap draped over my arms. The night smelled of pine and smoke and of him.

He stood a few feet away, the glow of the mansion casting gold across his profile, his jaw sharper than I remembered last seeing it, his hand wrapped around a cigar like a crutch. Smoke curled upward, disappearing into the black sky.

God, he looked … different. Sharper. Like he wasn’t just the happy-go-lucky guy without a care in the world. There was a weight on his shoulders now that I could see from having to carry some form of responsibility, and part of me wished I knew what it was. When his eyes met mine, though, the same storm I used to drown in pulled me under all over again.

“Didn’t think I’d see you here tonight,” he said, his voice rougher than usual.

I forced my expression into something that resembled composure, even though my heart was hammering against my ribs.

“Funny. I was thinking the same thing about you.”

Silence stretched between us, heavy and loaded, the years pressing in on all sides. He exhaled smoke, slow and measured, and for a moment I let myself remember nights just like this when we’d sneak out here and whisper about the lives we hoped we’d live in the future.

I don’t think either of us ever thought we’d end up here. Again. Together. Especially after the last time we’d seen each other.

“My mother wanted me to be here,” I told him, feeling the most awkward I’d ever felt with him. The distance between us felt like an ocean neither of us was sure how to navigate.

“So, you just did as you were told?” Sebastian asked, brow furrowed like he couldn’t quite believe I’d give in just like that.

“I did,” I told him.

“With Nate.”

The cigar hovered between his fingers, the ember glowing faintly in the dark. He looked restless. Like he wanted to pace, or run down to the waves crashing against the rocky shoreline. And maybe that was what unsettled me most, because I felt the same.

I suddenly felt like I was retracing steps I’d taken as a kid, reliving moments I’d already been in—where both of us remained victims to the lifestyles we were born into, unable to break free.

Inside, the swell of laughter and music pressed against the glass doors, muffled but still faintly there. Out here, it was just us, and the weight of our entire existences until now.

Sebastian was still looking at me expectantly, wanting some sort of explanation of why I was here with his old college friend as my date.

I lifted my chin, forcing myself not to flinch at the hurt I saw in his eyes. “Yes. With Nate.”

The way his jaw tightened told me he didn’t like that answer, but he didn’t press. Not yet. Instead, he dragged on the cigar, the ember burning hotter as his gaze cut through me.

I crossed my arms, more as a shield than for warmth, though the cold had already seeped into my skin. “Don’t look at me like that.”

Without warning, Sebastian shrugged out of his tux jacket and closed the distance between us to drape it around my shoulders. The fabric was still warm from his body, and the scent of his cologne clung to it—dark spice and something sharp that made my pulse do absurd things.

“I don’t need—”

“Roxie,” he sighed, a warning in his eyes telling me this isn’t a topic he will argue on. “Just take it.”

My fingers gripped the lapels, pulling them tighter as his hands brushed down my shoulders, a fleeting touch that sparked through me like electricity. For a moment, neither of us moved to add some space between us. His green eyes locked on mine, and everything else fell completely away.

He leaned in, not enough to close the distance but enough that I could feel his breath against my temple, warm and dangerous. My heart tripped. If I tilted my chin, if he lowered his head just a fraction …

No. Absolutely not.

I tore my gaze away, stepping back so fast his jacket nearly slipped from my shoulders. “This—” I waved between us, frustrated at the way my voice wavered. “This doesn’t work. It never works. We’re no good for each other.”

His body stiffened. “Roxie—”

“You want all this,” I snapped, gesturing to the glowing house, the manicured lawns, the glittering crowd inside. “The glitz, the glam, the name in the society pages. That’s your world, Sebastian. Not mine.”