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He winked. We didn’t mention the motorcycle club, but I knew what he meant and he knew I understood it. I worried for Matthew at that point, wondering what he was doing, but Sebastian seemed prepared for that as he dragged me into the kitchen and chatted up with the new assistant pastry chef, Francine, who was starting today. As usual, there was some flirting involved on his end, but Francine was shy and I was amused by the exchange. When she mentioned having a boyfriend, Sebastian offered praises without missing a beat.
“He’s a lucky man, darling, for getting to taste these cakes you made first, but also because you seem like a sweet person. Tell us if he hurts you, okay? I’ll make sure the staff’s ready to retaliate.”
I snickered and tugged him away before Francine could get overwhelmed. “Okay, that’s too much. You’re going to scare her.”
“What?” He threw me an innocent, I-didn’t-do-anything expression. “You’ve tasted the cakes, haven’t you? And you saw how she was. She’s very sweet.”
He meant it, too, the flirting more of an outlet to make people feel better and boost their ego than anything else. I didn’t think he crossed the line, either, not when he always kept it light and sincere. It gave me a new appreciation for his banter.
“Yup. I saw. Now let’s stop bothering her so she can concentrate on her trial run.”
Matthew grinned. “You’re sweet, too. Very sweet.”
“And you’re relentless.”
I didn’t know the extent of it until the hours passed and he just kept lingering at my side with the excuse of keeping me company. It clued me in that maybe they agreed to keep a watch on me. That was sweet, too, but unnecessary since I could handle myself. But I didn’t say anything out loud, deducing it was fine if it made them feel better. Heck, it wasn’t even my loss, was it? I had three hot men as my roommates and my protectors. They were my friends now too, with how close we’d grown to each other.
I was winning in life.
By the time we finished in the kitchen and transferred to the storage room, I was on a high. My thoughts kept volleying between the three men and my interactions with them, all filled with tension and enough heat to start a fire. Matthew was the most unclear one, but Rupert was unpredictable because despite him saying that it was a mistake, his reaction to any physical contact between us told me otherwise.
Then there was Sebastian. He had to feel something, right? Even if only because I was the closest female to him at the moment, even when his heart still didn’t trust me fully after what he and Rupert had gone through.
“He jerked himself off in front of me,” I whispered. “He’s different around me.”
“Soph, can you get a brown basket for me? I want to arrange this before Rupert gets here. The man’s so ornery sometimes when it comes to how we store his goods.”
I shook my head, trying to erase any lingering thoughts. I reached up on tiptoe, feeling where the basket was and still struggling with the image of being in Matthew’s arms, of Rupert’s hot kisses, and of Sebastian groaning in the restroom.
“Watch out!”
I didn’t see it until the boxes were already toppling over from the top shelf. I screamed at my mind to move, but the step back I took was futile as they still kept coming toward me. Braced for the impact, I pushed out with my hands.
Someone slapped them away, then swooped in to take up the remaining space in between the two rows of shelves. No boxes fell on me as they fell on Sebastian instead, hitting him in the back while he hovered over me like a shield. I made a sound of dismay at the idea of him in pain, but the boxes stopped falling and his expression didn’t change. He heaved the box balancing on his shoulder off, where it crashed to the ground with the others surrounding us. He stayed where he was, cradling me like I was a delicate thing, his overprotective streak pulsing through.
He was so close and I could smell him. He smelled so good, a citrusy note mixed with sweat and woodsy smoke from our kitchen visit.
“Seb…”
“It’s fine. Close call, but it looks like they were empty boxes.” He cleared his throat, still not moving away. “Are you okay?”
I trembled. The fear that the situation could have gone the other way gripped me hard, but it was fading fast until only one feeling was left. Still…
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I’m so sorry. I was distracted.”
“I said it’s fine. It was an accident. We should have secured those boxes better.” There was amusement in his tone, then a hint of concern. “Are you sure you’re okay, sweetheart?”
“Yeah, I… Yeah. Maybe we should… You have a bruise!”
Every thought was wiped from my head at the sight of the torn shirt on his shoulder, where a faint bruise was forming.
“You said the boxes were empty,” I accused.
He chuckled. “They were. This was from me banging my shoulder on the shelf in my haste to get here. I guess my shirt caught on the shelf, too.”
I rubbed the spot to soothe, relieved when it wasn’t darkening further. I rubbed it to make myself feel better, too, needing to know that he was fine. As if sensing it, he sighed and shook his head.
“I’m fine, Soph. This is nothing.”
