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I plop down on the couch, the weight of my sadness heavy on my shoulders. I explain what happened, sparing the sexy details but giving her the full picture of why I stayed at work—and why I’m back now.
“Wow.” Sylvie flashes me a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry.”
I shuffle in the seat, restless. “Yeah.”
“What does this mean for the future?”
“I’ll go in there tomorrow like nothing ever happened. And take it from there.” When I arrive at their house, Brynlee will most likely be in school, and he’ll be at work. So it’ll only get awkward when he returns from work, and we need to cohabitate. Their home is enormous, so we’ll be able to avoid each other after dinner.
“Kendall… don’t hold onto that job just because of me,” Sylvie says, looking down.
“I’m not.” I shake my head. “I’ll miss Brynlee.” I’ll miss her dad, too, if I lose this job. But I need to be honest with myself—how much longer will I be able to keep it up? What if things get hard to manage, or if Sebastian behaves like a sexist ogre and starts dating to show me he’s moved on? Worst-case scenarios play in my head, increasing the anxiety cooling my system.
I don’t think he’d hurt me on purpose, but he also told Stephanie I’m his girlfriend to conveniently ward off any potential advances from her.What if he meant it, though?A small voice inside me pleads. I rub my hands, fidgety.
Sylvie glances at me, the contours of her pretty face softening. “You know… he was trying to protect you when he said that.”
“I know, but he ended up exposing me more.”
“That’s not my point. He wanted to protect you. I think because you’ve had to do it yourself for so many years, you can’t tell when someone is in your corner. Especially if he’s a man.”
I let her words sink in as I exhale and slouch on the couch. Growing up, my mother always hustled, with two jobs and two kids to raise alone. I stayed out of trouble and helped out as much as I could. Did a part of me harbor a measure of bitterness? “I like to think I can tell.”
“You may not need people to stick up for you, but that doesn’t mean they won’t still try.” Sylvie tilts her head to the side. “Having a handsome, rich boss in your corner isn’t the worst thing in the world.”
I bite back a smile. “I agree. We never talked about becoming boyfriend and girlfriend, so when he said it to a stranger, I thought he didn’t mean it and wanted to shock her or get her off his back.”
A glint of affection flickers in her green eyes. “Maybe he used the situation to plant a seed in your head and see what you think. To start a conversation. And you overreacted,” she says gently.
I look at the ceiling. “Why didn’t he talk about it sooner?” Granted, he didn’t have much opportunity to talk during our hot weekend together. Or maybe he was working up to it. Shit.
“Have you asked him?”
I rub my temples, looking for an answer.
God. I overreacted. Why did I expect the worst from him when he hasn’t acted in a way to warrant that reputation? An invisible band tightens around my chest, squeezing my heart until it leaps up my throat. I hate it when Sylvie’s right…
14
Sebastian
“How was your day, Dad?”Brynlee asks as the three of us eat around the table.
I arrived home less than an hour ago, took a shower, and caught up with Brynlee. Then, we heated the dinner of roasted vegetables with asparagus-stuffed chicken the housekeeper left.
Having my daughter back is great. She brings a bright energy to the house. The only thing dampening the mood is the tension between Kendall and me. I saw her when I arrived, and she was doing homework with Brynlee. We greeted each other earlier and met again at the dining table.
“Good.”
“What did you do during the weekend?” Brynlee asks before wolfing down her food.
Brynlee has already told me all about her time with my mom, so it’s natural that she wants to know what I got up to. She doesn’t have that social cue calibrated yet, and thankfully, she can’t detect the tension between her nanny and me.
I avoid looking at Kendall. “I missed you.”
Brynlee chuckles. “What else?”
I clear my throat. I look at Kendall again, catching a glint of defiance in her eyes. “I went on a hike.”
