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I’d finished applying my face with a shaky hand, unable to stop the hope rising within me.
My smile came easier these days too. We were still taking it slow, but with every part of my life that Sebastian reintroduced me to, I felt more and more like my old self.
“Sebastian’s around a lot,” Riley remarked one day while we were at lunch with Ethan. It was one of the rare days when Lucky’s schedule didn’t align with ours, which was a shame since I hadn’t been able to catch up with him properly since Sebastian had returned.
“He is.” I ducked my head to hide my smile. “I see him every day, without fail.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
The dubious note in his voice had my head lifting sharply. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He and Ethan exchanged a significant look, suggesting this was something they’d discussed privately. Fabulous. “It’s just…you were so cut up over the guy. Now you’re, what, just welcoming him back into your life?”
“Not exactly.” I squirmed in my seat. How could I explain without them knowing anything about the supernatural world? “We aren’t sleeping together or anything like that. We’re taking things slow.”
“But what if he leaves again?” Riley persisted. “If you let him close again, you’ll be right back where you were a couple of weeks ago.”
Doubt niggled at me as Riley voiced all the fears that came to me in the dead of night. “You’re right, there’s a chance he’ll leave again. But I have to trust that he won’t hurt me the same way again.”
“You need to protect yourself, Matty.”
Ethan nodded in agreement and I couldn’t even be mad at them. Not when I knew it come from a good place.
“I am,” I promised. “That’s why I haven’t invited him to stay over. I haven’t even kissed him, for heaven’s sake. But I want to try. I want to have a future with him.”
“And if he breaks your heart again?”
I met Ethan’s gaze. “It’s already broken. He can’t break it again, but he’s the only one with the power to fix it. He can’t do that if I keep him at arm’s length.”
They exchanged another loaded look before Ethan sighed. “Okay, we trust you know what you’re doing. But we’ll be here if it all goes tits up.”
“This is why I don’t do relationships,” Riley said with a shudder. “Too messy. Too complicated. Hookups are the way to go.”
I got what he was saying, but to me, hookups were unfulfilling. Lonely.
But if they made Riley happy, then I could respect that. Just like they were respecting me.
“Thanks, guys,” I said, reaching over to squeeze both of their hands. “Love you.”
Despite my insistence that everything was fine, Riley and Ethan’s concerns were still playing on my mind as I slid into Sebastian’s car that afternoon.
Would Sebastian leave again? Sure, he’d been here every day, but it’d only been two weeks. He’d spent centuries travelling the globe, would he be satisfied if he put roots down here? Did he even want roots?
I was so focused on these questions that I didn’t even notice we weren’t at my place until Sebastian clicked off the engine. I peered out the windscreen at the large detached house. It had pretty sash windows and brick steps leading up to the front door. Behind us was a long, curving driveway, winding around the side of a frosted lawn. Beyond that, a woodland separated the property from the road.
“Where are we?”
“About ten minutes from your place,” he said, getting out of the car and coming around to open my door. This time, he extended a hand to help me out. I took it, my blood singing at the feel of his hand on mine. “I’m thinking about buying it.”
I stumbled, letting him catch me. “You’re what?”
He smirked at me in amusement, gesturing at the grand house. “Well, I need somewhere to live. Toby might ask for his place back at some point, and I don’t want to just rent somewhere. Doesn’t make sense when I’m going to be here permanently.”
“So you’re going to buy a house? Of this size?”
“Well, I needed it to have the kitchen we talked about, plus room for your yarn storage.” He tilted his head at me in confusion. “Is it too big? It’s fine if you don’t like it. I’ve got a list of other places we can look at, this was just the one that fit the majority of the requirements.”
“I think I’m going to faint,” I said, leaning forward on my knees. “You can’t buy me a house.”
