Page 117 of Hate To Be Mine

“Yeah, Mom. I do. Crazy, right?”

“Yes, but also good.” She cupped my face in her hands the way she used to when I was little. “She’s wonderful, Sebastian. Smart and strong and she doesn’t take any of your nonsense. Your father would have liked her very much.”

My eyes burned. “You think so?”

“I know so. He always said you just needed to find someone who could keep up with you. Someone who saw past the pretty face to the good man underneath.” She kissed my forehead. “You’ve found her. Don’t let her go.”

“I won’t,” I promised. “I’m going to ask her to move in with me.”

“A bit fast, don’t you think?”

“When did Adrian ask Elizabeth to marry him? Like three weeks after they met?”

“Fair point.” She smiled. “When my boys fall, they fall hard. Just promise me you’ll be smart about it. Take your time. Build something solid.”

“I promise, Mom.”

At the end of the night, goodbyes were said, plans were made for the following Sunday, and finally Bernadette and I escaped.

“That was nice,” she said as I drove us back toward my penthouse.

“It was better than nice. They love you.”

“Your mom is wonderful. And Elizabeth is hilarious. We’re definitely getting lunch next week.”

“Do it,” I said, grinning. “And keep subtly suggesting they name the kid after me. If it’s a boy.”

She laughed and laced her fingers through mine. “You know what I was thinking during dinner?”

“How lucky you are to have such a devastatingly handsome boyfriend?”

“Besides that.” She paused. “I was thinking about how different it felt from dinners with my father. Your family actually likes each other. You joke around and support each other and celebrate wins together. It’s nice.”

“It’s annoying as hell sometimes,” I said. “But yeah, it’s nice.”

When we got to my building, I pulled into the garage and killed the engine, but neither of us moved to get out.

“Bernadette,” I said.

“Sebastian,” she mimicked my serious tone.

“Move in with me.”

She turned to stare at me. “What?”

“Move in. With me. Here.” I gestured vaguely at the building above us. “I hate sleeping apart.”

“We never sleep apart.”

“Which is why it’s silly for you to pay rent on an apartment you’re rarely at. And let’s be honest, my place kicks ass. Yours is okay, but mine is better.”

“I feel like I should be offended.”

“But you’re not because you’re a realist and you know it’s true.”

“Sebastian.”

“I know it’s fast. I know we’ve only been together a few weeks. But I also know I don’t want to spend another night without you. I know I want to wake up with you every morning and come home to you every night.”