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Then we exchanged numbers and took a selfie, posting it on his socials to make us publicly official, just in case his parents took any photos that made their way to the rags. With all the foundations laid, we spent the rest of the night enjoying the wine, listening to his mixes and dancing to them, laughing and kissing.
I was exhausted the next morning but giddy. This turned out better than anything I could’ve ever imagined—everything about Sebastian was perfect. And I wanted more. I wanted it all.
With his parents arriving today, he wanted me to meet the kids first so they were comfortable with me since they wouldn’t be able to pretend I was his girlfriend. So, I suggested going to the lake. At least there, it was a neutral spot where they would be distracted with something fun to do, and then I’d be able to play with them.
I stole some beach toys from the clubhouse and went to the lakeside to meet them. Bastian had already laid out a blanket with a cooler sitting to the side as he spread out snacks for the kids who sat a stone’s throw from him, playing in the sand.
Besides this job, I hadn’t been around little kids that much. I liked them well enough. After all, babysitting paid for my high school shopping sprees.
Bastian noticed me first as a wide grin split his face. “Morning.”
He rose, brushed his knees off, and walked over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. My body curled into his like we were two halves of one whole.His lips brushed against mine, sending a flutter of butterflies in my stomach.
“Morning yourself.” I grinned, looking at him before peering around to see the two kids watching us closely. “Maybe you should introduce me.” I tilted my head to avert his attention.
Twisting around, he grabbed my hand and led me over.With one hand still on me, he bent and swept the pre-schooler into his arms in a well-practiced motion.
“This is Sophie,” he said, his tone changing immediately to one an adult would use when talking to children. He was grinning, but his eyes were on his daughter Sophie this time. “This is Bex. Can you say hi?”
Her big brown eyes blinked at me before she turned into her dad’s chest and buried her face against his neck.
He chuckled well-meaningly before smiling at me again.“She’s a bit shy. Tommy’s the more outgoing of the two.” He looked at his son and ruffled his hair. “Can you say to Bexley?” Tommy dug his toe into the sand and looked at me with a grin.
“I’m making a castle. Can you do the moat?”
I glanced at Bastian before looking back at Tommy. “Absolutely. But I need to know first, are there sharks or crocodiles in this moat?”
Tommy considered my question. “Sharkodiles,” he said confidently, making Bastian and I laugh.
“Sharkodiles it is.” Dropping my bag of toys on the ground next to the spot where Tommy had been playing, I dug out a spade and began digging. Before long, we didn’t just have a sandcastle; we had a sand community surrounded by a massive moat that Tommy began running to the lake and filling up with bucketsful of water.
Every so often, Sophie caught wind of what we were doing and crossed the moat full of sharkodiles to stomp on the village like she was its own personal Godzilla. As we played, I kept glancing at Sebastian with a shy smile playing on my lips.
This felt good. It felt right. So much of my life, up until now, was devoted to my career and music. I hadn’t thought about what I could have outside of that, and now, the opportunity of having a family presented itself.
I had finally found the missing piece. Everything else in my life was sliding into place. But still, a niggling and uncertain feeling scratched at the back of my mind. Unlike Bastian, my career hadn’t quite started yet. Would having a family mean compromising that and giving it up?
It was easier for him as a man to balance family and a career. People didn’t expect him to be as hands-on as they would if I became their stepmom. And then my eyes flipped to Bastian. What he said last night about somebody being a female figure for his kids, did he mean he was looking for somebody to be a stay-at-home mom, not somebody with hopes and dreams?
I glanced at the sand village, staring at the castle thoughtfully. Maybe it was better to play pretend for a week and then, at the end, go our separate ways. Because how was I supposed to choose between my heart and my dreams? If I kept telling myself this was pretend, maybe letting them all go when the week was up would be easier.
Chapter7
Bastian
The morningat the beach couldn’t have gone better. Playing happy family with Bex and the kids came so easily to us. It was like second nature, as if we had been doing it for years instead of minutes.
The kids loved her. Even Sophie only took about a half hour to warm up, practically unheard of in her short little life. When my parents and brother arrived, they met us at the lakeside.
After going through brief introductions, they excused themselves to get unpacked at the cabin. My mother lingered long enough to invite Bexley to dinner with us, assuring her that she was included in our reservations at the fanciest restaurant at the resort.
Bex said yes with a smile on her face and a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. I wanted to ask her if this was going to be too much, but before I got the chance, she told me she had to head back to the kids’ club for her afternoon performance, and she’d see me tonight.
We were only apart for a few hours, but in that time, knowing she was only a ten-minute walk away from me drove me insane. I wanted nothing more than to take the kids over under the excuse of dropping them off at the club for a bit just to see her again.
I even had to talk myself out of telling her to take the week off and that I would pay her for it so I could have her all to myself for seven straight days. But I wasn’t sure how she would take me being possessive and controlling. That wasn’t who I was, yet being apart from her was unbearable.
So, I occupied myself with my kids, taking them horseback riding at the local stables near the resort. My brother accompanied us, holding Sophie on his saddle while I took Tommy. When we were done, we headed back for Sophie’s afternoon nap while Tommy watched his favorite cartoon on his tablet. Like the hopeless sap I was, I spent the entire time on my phone acting like I was doing work when truthfully, I was scrolling Bexley’s social profiles, getting to know everything I could about her.
