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“I don’t think there’s a single thing you can’t do, Sebastian.”
He laughs. “I wish that were true. There’s a lot of stuff I can’t do. I can’t cook. I get blinders on and am so dogged in my aims that I can’t see the forest for the trees. I have terrible handwriting—”
“Mmm. I wouldn’t sayterrible.”
He laughs again. I like this new, happier, at-peace Sebastian. “Look, the point is, I—” He rakes a hand through his hair and massages the back of his neck, stepping back so he can look at me. “I had a serious relationship once, shortly after I started Tate International. And I messed it up by putting work ahead of her. Also, I have a father who was, in most ways, an absent father. He verbally mistreated my mom for thirty plus years before, thankfully, he got into counseling. Elianna, I’m so much like him.” His face reddens. “It’s uncanny. I look like him, we went to the same schools, I’m hard-headed and stubborn, just like him.”
Sebastian’s voice cracks and he stops speaking. He pinches his nose and shunts out a breath.
I want to curl him into my arms and kiss his cheek and forehead. But I have to respect his need for space, which he’s broadcasting loud and clear.
We’re quiet as the last fingers of light smudge across the sky. The lake is dark now, too.
I glance at him from the side of my eye. “It seems to me you’ve already done it. You have a proven track record of success.”
“Huh? Elianna, I do in business, I guess. But my personal life? I have zero success.”
“But Sebastian? For you to recognize what went wrong in that relationship is huge. You can do it differently now. And I think you’ve shown you know what you’re doing in relationships because look at your brothers. You took care of them, taught them, and watched over them all those years. I can see that with my own eyes.”
His sigh is shaky. “I’d do anything for my brothers. I’ll go to the ends of the earth for them. But I don’t think that’s relevant to having my own family. It’s too big of a risk. I can’t do that to—” He stops himself. His gaze is low, full of shame.
I raise my chin. “I think it all comes down to what you really want. You take what you want, Sebastian. You wanted this resort here, and you went after it and built it. You wanted those hotels from Home Away from Home, and you’re getting them. You’ve worked so hard and you don’t take no for an answer. If you want a family, if youwantto be a good husband and father . . . I know you can do it.”
He’s chewing on his lip, rocking side to side. His arms are folded across his chest. The breeze picks up again.
“Do you smell autumn in the air?” I ask quietly. “I want to snort this stuff.”
“It doesn’t smell like this in California right now,” he offers. “Maybe I’m dreading you going back.”
So talk me into not going back, Sebastian.
But I cannot say that. All this kissing has made me bold, but not that bold.
“Elianna, when it’s time, go get your theater on the beach. I see the way you look when you talk about it. All I’m saying is, you also like it here. It suits you, too. Maybe you can have both. Maybe it’s not either or. Maybe it’s both.”
“Maybe so.”
What I really want to do is just kiss some more, but the tone has sobered and I don’t want to do anything impulsive. I go on my tiptoes and brush my lips against his. “Thanks for the nice night, Sebastian. Now take me home. We have a Deca Arete list to conquer on Monday.”
We hold hands as he guides me through the dark of the house and out to his car out front.
We drive in quiet, and he grabs my hand, sweeping his thumb across the bones of mine. And when he gets out to walk me to my door, he snickers. “Want me to carry you to your door?”
My cheeks grow hot. “I have a feeling I said and did some embarrassing things the other night.”
“Well . . .” We go up the steep flight of stairs, just wide enough for us both to be able to walk up them at the same time. “. . . It wasn’t too bad.” We reach the stoop, and he turns to me, his eyes dancing. “I loved helping you.” He presses tender kisses along my temple and near my ear. “Seeing that other side of you was eye opening.”
“Yeah. A scary eye opening.”
He tugs me close, and my lips part of their own accord.
“No. Not scary. After being around you these last few weeks? I don’t think I’ll ever be the same again.”
Chapter 24
Sebastian
I built this resort with the most advanced security systems in place, which is why, now that Elianna and I are taking some opportune moments to kiss, I’m glad I know where each and every security camera is.
