CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE #2
Harper kept talking and Luke tried to listen but he got distracted when he glanced over to see Sebastian already tapping away at his laptop.
Probably hammering out details on his plan to have Krista work out of Twig & Bloom as an event planner.
He’d told Luke all about it, and they’d spent one evening last week working on their respective plans on Sebastian’s couch.
It had been a surprisingly nice time. Luke had even had Sebastian look over the plans for O’Neill’s, just to be sure it was solid. He’d had a few good suggestions too. Luke figured he might, what with him being a successful business owner and all.
He’d said as much when Sebastian had sounded surprised by his willingness to take his feedback.
Luke explained he’d only taken a few online courses in the off-season and was figuring it all out as he went along, so why wouldn’t he ask someone with more experience?
That had earned him a slow and very thorough blowjob, which hadn’t been Luke’s goal, but he wasn’t mad about the result.
I was hoping for more of the same tonight, to be honest, he thought wryly as he put a bucket under the sink, wedged himself in beside it and turned off the water supply, then began undoing the flexible hose that connected the water to the faucet.
But as he listened to Harper talk more about Hops, the brown and white bunny at the PT office, and Sebastian made the same little humming noise he always did when he was thinking hard about something, Luke decided he wasn’t mad about tonight’s result either.
Maybe he was getting old or something, but he was starting to really enjoy the way things were working out with Sebastian. Maybe the guys on the team had been onto something.
Luke still didn’t think he was ever going to want the white-picket-fence kinda life with a couple of kids and a golden retriever or any of that shit. But dating a busy florist with a niece he got to hang out with occasionally seemed like a pretty good fit for him.
“I want a bunny,” Harper said with a sigh. “Mommy won’t let me get one.”
“They’re a lot of work,” Luke said. “And your mommy is pretty busy.”
“Hey, Harper, did you know that Mr. Luke took pictures with a bunny recently?” Sebastian said, his voice suddenly much closer.
“Nooo,” Harper said with a giggle. “I wanna see.”
“Let me pull up the Harriers’ social media page,” Sebastian said.
“Since when do you follow the team’s social media?” Luke asked, peering out of the cabinet he had his head inside of to stare at Sebastian’s knees.
“Since … recently,” Sebastian said with a laugh.
Luke bit back a smile as he worked at the large nut that held the faucet to the sink. “Hey, Sebastian, can you hand me the safety glasses and penetrating oil?”
Sebastian let out a choking noise. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Luke huffed. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t thought that one through. But it was what the stuff was called. And with old, corroded metal he needed something to loosen it up. “It’s in a bottle.”
“Is this it?” Harper asked, the bag rustling.
“Uhh, I think so,” Sebastian said. He ducked down and stared at Luke with one eyebrow raised. “Man, plumbing is as bad as hockey commentary, huh?”
Luke chuckled and took the offered glasses and bottle of oil. “Pretty much.”
As Luke worked at getting the old faucet loose, Sebastian showed Harper the bunny pictures.
She giggled and squealed about it and Sebastian ducked his head under the sink to say, “You are pretty cute with a bunny.”
Luke glared at him. Cute. He wasn’t cute. He narrowed his eyes and warned Sebastian, “Later, I’m gonna make you regret that you said that.”
Sebastian smirked. “Oh, I’m looking forward to it.”
By the time Luke was done swapping out the faucet, and adding the toe kick trim, it was time for dinner, and his stomach was rumbling.
Brie had made a very mild white chicken chili. It was good, but he’d had to ask Sebastian if she had any hot sauce in the refrigerator. “I grew up in the southwest,” he explained with a shrug, dumping some hot sauce into his bowl and stirring. “I like a bit of heat.”
Sebastian shook his head when Luke offered him some. “No thank you,” he said drily. “I’m a wimp when it comes to spice.”
Luke dug into his much tastier chili.
They ate it with a salad and some tortilla chips and, after, Luke kicked back, rubbing his belly appreciatively. “Might need to get Brie’s recipe,” he said. “I probably ate too much but that was good.”
Sebastian eyed him like he was confused about something.
“What?” Luke asked.
But Harper sat back and patted her belly, imitating Luke. “So full,” she said with a grin.
“That’s because we worked up a big appetite replacing the faucet,” Luke said, flexing.
Harper giggled and did the same.
“Well, I guess that means you two should rest while I do the dishes,” Sebastian offered with a smile, rising to his feet.
Luke ended up helping with the drying anyway.
After the dishes were done, they watched two episodes of some weird kids show that Harper liked, and she whined when Sebastian told her it was time for bed.
“But Uncle Sebby …”
“Harper, you need to go get changed into your jammies,” he said firmly, standing and holding out a hand to her. “I’ll be up in a few minutes to help you brush your teeth and wash your face. And then I’ll read you a bedtime story.”
She pouted. “You’re mean, Uncle Sebby. Mr. Luke, will you read me a bedtime story?”
“Sure,” he said, getting up with a groan. “Just pick out a book.”
One turned into three, of course, but eventually, she was out cold beneath her purple unicorn sheets.
“Thanks for that,” Sebastian said as he quietly closed the door behind them.
“Happy to,” Luke said gruffly.
Sebastian turned, looping his arms around Luke’s neck and whispering, “Did I ever tell you it gets me hot when you’re so good with my niece?”
Luke raised an eyebrow. “No, but that’s good to know.”
Sebastian grinned. “We’ve got a couple of hours before Brie is home. What do you say we go downstairs and pretend like we’re working on our respective business plans?”
“What are you planning to do instead?” Luke asked with a quiet laugh.
“Make out with you?”
Luke grinned. “Twist my arm, but okay.”
They ended up on the living room couch, Sebastian’s hand tangled in Luke’s hair as he slid his tongue into Sebastian’s mouth.
Luke was hard in his jeans and Sebastian had just climbed onto his lap when he heard, “Uncle Sebby? Mr. Luke? I don’t feel so good,” in the distance.
“Fuck,” Sebastian muttered, clambering off his lap. “Coming, Harper!”
Luke stood, adjusted his dick in his jeans and willed his erection to go down, then followed. By the time he made it into the hall, Harper was at the top of the stairs and Sebastian was halfway up.
“What’s wrong?” Sebastian asked, sounding worried. “What feels funny? Is it your stomach? Did you eat too much?”
“No,” Harper said. “I feel …”
And then she crumpled to the floor, still and silent.