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Lucian snorted into his scotch. “You’re not the one who pissed off the Triad.”
“What did you do?”
Lucian shrugged. “Disrupted their entire business by shutting down their drug smuggling operation.”
Sebastian’s eyes widened. “How did you do that?”
“Don’t ask. The less you know, the better.”
“I see.” Sebastian tilted his head. “Lucian Prescott, you are the most fascinating person I know.”
Lucian laughed, a genuine belly laugh that made the skin around his eyes crinkle and his white teeth flash. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Then he rose from the table and tilted his head in Kayla’s direction. “Go get your woman. Seize the day. Well, the night, anyway.” He winked and then wove his way through the crowd back to his fiancée and daughter. He lifted Cora out of Olivia’s arms and kissed the baby girl on the cheek, then slid his arm around Olivia’s waist, pulling her in for a kiss. Sebastian watched as he pressed his forehead to Olivia’s and said something that had her rising up on her toes to kiss him again.
With his heart pounding wildly, Sebastian took another sip of his water and then rose from the table. He found Kayla chatting with Theo and two of Olivia’s friends who were serving as bridesmaids, Whitney and Madison. Whitney had been flirty with him during the ceremony rehearsal, but he’d pretended he hadn’t noticed. She’d backed off once she’d seen him with his arm around Kayla’s waist.
“Hey, you want to go check out the roof?” he asked, trying to sound casual and nonchalant, and not at all like his heart was beating a million miles a minute.
“Oh, well, I wanted to get something more to eat first. All I’ve had is appetizers, and that beef tenderloin looks amazing.”
He grinned and took her hand, leading her to their table where Max and Willa were having a little lovefest, whispering and laughing and staring into each other’s eyes.
“Would you two stop being so fucking cute for three seconds?” teased Kayla and Sebastian chuckled.
They broke apart with sheepish grins on their faces.
“You gotta try these sweet potatoes. Everything’s amazing,” said Willa, passing the family-style dishes their way. Soon, Theo and Lauren joined them, and they all ate, although Sebastian felt as though he couldn’t taste anything. He might as well have been drinking water and eating dry crackers for the impression the food made on him. All he could do was think about the ring in his pocket, the empty roof, and what he was going to say to her. He’d imagined proposing to her a hundred times—more, probably—but now that the moment was actually here, he couldn’t seem to remember what he wanted to say. All the words that filtered through his brain felt…too small, somehow.
“Do you want some wine?” asked Max, pulling the bottle of white from the ice bucket in the center of the table and pouring some into first Willa’s and then his own glass. He extended the bottle toward Kayla, who hesitated and then shook her head.
“Oh, um. Maybe later. I’ve got a bit of a headache, and I don’t want to make it worse with alcohol.” She fiddled with her fork and then took a bite of food.
He felt like the world’s biggest asshole that he’d let it go this long. That he’d let her come to this wedding without his ring on her finger. Kayla was strong and fiercely independent, and he knew her well enough to know she’d never ask for a ring or pressure him to get engaged. But he could tell she was feeling off-balance all the same. The last thing he wanted was for her to question him or them.
He took one last bite of food and then wiped at his mouth with his napkin before tossing it down on the table. Rising from his chair, he extended his hand to Kayla, hoping she didn’t notice the slight tremble in it.
“Come on. Let’s go check out the roof.”
She shot him a puzzled look. “What’s with you and the roof? I’ve been on plenty of Manhattan rooftops. In fact, I bet it doesn’t even compare with where we were sitting at Max and Willa’s earlier today.” She pushed some sweet potatoes around on her plate.
Willa’s eyes landed on Sebastian and her eyebrows rose slightly in question. He gave a tiny nod and Willa smiled. “It’s true that our balcony is pretty amazing, but I promise you, you definitely want to check out this rooftop.”
Kayla sighed and took a sip of her water before standing. “Okay, then.” Sebastian met Willa’s eyes and mouthed “thank you” while Kayla wasn’t looking. She winked at him and turned to whisper something to Max, who gave him a covert thumbs up.
He tried to keep his movements smooth and controlled so as not to give away his nervousness, something he’d spent years practicing while on the professional snowboarding circuit. But this moment felt bigger and far more important than any of the competitions he’d been a part of. This wasn’t about medals or glory or proving himself. This was about his future. His life. It was everything, because Kayla was everything.
Oh, that’s good. Use that.
He slipped his hand into hers and led her toward the back hall and then up a set of metal stairs. The door that led to the roof was unlocked, and he pushed it open with a loud creak. Lights were strung up across the space on poles, reflecting softly against the lavender-hued sky as dusk fell.
But they weren’t alone, as Lucian had promised they would be. No, there were men on the roof.
And they were armed.
