38. Chapter 38 #2
“You need your rest, Honeybee. Why not go up stairs? I can make Lucian bring you breakfast in bed.”
She glanced back over at Lucian, and he did look like death warmed over.
“Lucian, you go lay down,” she ordered. “I can make breakfast. ”
“Are you sure? I really want to make up for missing our date yesterday.” His voice was weary, and I knew that little brat was hamming it up.
Oh, he was going to get it later.
“I’m not worried about that.” Mason sighed. “We’ll bring you breakfast in bed too.”
Jasper tugged on the hem of Mason’s shirt and she looked down.
“Can I help too?” he asked.
Mason looked down at Jasper with a look so loving that it could have only come from a mother. She placed a hand on his head and ruffled his shaggy, dark curls. “Of course. You’re the best helper.”
Jasper’s little face lit up as he tugged Mason toward the stove. The carton of eggs was on the counter, but Lucian hadn’t gotten much farther than that.
Once the other two were out of ear shot, I turned my attention to him.
“ Seriously ?” I whispered. “This is supposed to be punishment! You’re supposed to be sorry!”
“And I am sorry. But, I also, my whole body hurts and I’m fucking freezing.”
“I don’t care.” And I didn’t. Lucian was probably just a little under the weather and trying to use it to get out of this.
“I know you don’t–” Lucian stopped himself mid snap to look over his shoulder. Mason had hoisted Jasper onto the counter, where he sat, cracking eggs into the bowl.
Obviously, I’d need to yell at her too. The kids were way too heavy for her to be lifting. Lucian hesitated as he looked back, when he continued speaking his voice was much lower.
“You know what? Fuck it. Yeah. I’m a bad person, I stood Mason up, blah, blah, blah. But, Sophia, I feel like shit.”
“Good.” I humphed, crossing my arms. “Now, you got Mason involved. Go lay down, but this isn’t the end of your punishment.”
He nodded and went to kiss me, but I stopped him by placing my fingers to his lips. He needed to understand just how angry I was, that this wouldn’t be something that got swept under the rug .
Lucian’s eyes flashed with what looked to be regret as he turned and trudged off to his room. Just as he disappeared, Cameron started down the steps, holding a now dressed Juniper. I’d never been someone in a frilly pink dress so angry.
When he finally got to the kitchen he plopped her down on the ground.
“Mama, someone’s got somethin’ to say to you,” he said, and Mason actually looked over.
That was a new one, but it was kind of cute.
Juniper’s eyes remained fixed on the floor as she stomped over to Mason.
“Sorry.” Juni grumbled.
If it were me, I wouldn’t have accepted such an insincere apology from Juniper.
But Mason didn’t seem to mind as she thanked the toddler and went back to cooking.
Juniper asked if she could help too, and Mason got her set up at the counter with a cutting board and plastic knife so she could chop up some soft fruit.
With the chaos managed, and everyone else busy, I was finally free to press Cameron for more details. At least, I was until Sebastian also joined us.
His tall figure cast a long shadow down the steps, alerting us to his presence long before he stepped into the room. Once he was close enough, I noticed his newly dark hair was tousled with sleep. His blue eyes flickered around the room, eventually settling on me.
My stomach flipped in a way that was totally uncool to feel over someone I hadn’t even slept with.
“Good morning.” His deep voice sent a shiver down my spine.
A small chorus of good mornings greeted him as he walked toward the coffee pot. He reached for a cup before filling it as he’d done a thousand times. But, today felt different.
He lifted the mug to his lips, taking a slow sip as he focused on me.
“I’m taking the kids to daycare today, right?” he asked once he finished.
“I… What?” Is that seriously the only reason he came down here?
“I picked them up last night and it looks like Lucky would rather go to bed than take care of his children,” he explained. “Plus, you both work from home, that means it’s safe to assume I’ll be the only one who’s out… So, I’m taking them to daycare, correct?”
Cameron and I shared a glance. Honestly, I was going to just drop the little monsters off on my way to the gym. But, who was I to tell Sebastian he couldn’t spend time with his adorable niece and nephew? Just as I went to tell him as much, Cam answered for me.
“You’re right. I have a bit to do on the farm today, and we all know how the public reacts to Mae.” Cameron nudged me with his elbow as he spoke. “Soph was just talking about how she needed help with drop off today.”
No I absolutely was not , and I went to tell Sebastian that too… and that’s when I realized what Cameron was doing.
I’d been not so silently pining after Seb, but he and I never seemed to be alone. If we dropped the kids off, I could take him to get coffee after, and we could just talk like two completely rational adults.
Or at least, I thought we’d be able to talk. But as we sat in the cafe, the smell of fresh ground coffee beans wafting through the air. I had no idea what to say–which was a first for me.
What could I even say? Just a direct Hey, I think we should have sex AT LEAST once ? Or maybe I should hint at it… but, I also tried to hit on him at the gym, and he seemed completely oblivious! God, why did men have to be so dense?
Sebastian awkwardly cleared his throat before taking a sip of his Americano.
Shoot. I was being weird. Think of something, come on, Sophia. Think of literally anything to say to this man. Thankfully, before I could formulate a string of words that had a possibility to humiliate me, my phone buzzed in my purse.
I held up a finger to excuse myself for just a moment as I pulled the device out of my bag. On the screen, one of my moms, Heather to be exact, was FaceTiming me. This was great! I loved my Mom, but I wasn’t the only one who loved her .
I quickly smoothed my hair into place before accepting the call. Mom’s face quickly filled the screen. She was always smiling, full of the energy only someone who dedicated their life to children could have.
“Hiii, Mom,” I gushed.
This time of year was hard for all of my family because of what happened with my sister.
But, since Charlotte was gone, that meant I was not only the oldest daughter, but the oldest child in general.
That made it my responsibility to make sure everyone was okay.
And, if I let my mom know I was stressed about not only Mason possibly killing herself once Rosie got here, but whatever was going on with Cameron and Lucian, she’d worry.
And everyone else had more important things to worry about.
“There’s my Sunshine.” My mom’s raspy New England accent filled the air, and Sebastian arched a brow.
“Heather?” Sebastian mouthed.
“Mhm! Do you want to say hi?”
Sebastian froze for a second. Knowing him, he was probably over analyzing the situation. After a moment, he nodded. The steel legs of his chair scraped against the floor as he pulled it closer before plopping down beside me.
He smelled like summer time. Citrussy, bright, and clean. Sure, there was a hint of stale nicotine clinging to him, but I had full faith he’d quit eventually.
“Hi, Mrs. White.” Sebastian smiled, and my mom’s face lit up.
Despite practically raising Seb, she didn’t see him much anymore. Before he moved down here for his case, he’d go over once a week and do any of the manual labor they couldn’t. My Mom appreciated it… but Momma, well, she thought Sebastian was trying too hard.
“Is that my bonus-boy?” Mom gasped. “Oh, look at how handsome you are. I love your hair!”
Sebastian coyly reached up, softly brushing his fingers along the dark strands. He hid his smile under his hand.
“Tori! Come look at how handsome Sebastian is!” My mom’s comment caused blush to creep up Sebby’s neck .
“I have zero interest in Sebastian Castillo…. but thanks for the concern.” Momma was just as formal as ever.
Mom’s mouth dropped and she looked deeply offended that her wife had no interest in Sebastian.
“I’m not meaning to cause a fight between you and Victoria. I just wanted to say hello ,” Sebastian explained.
Mom huffed as she raked a weathered hand through her silver pixie cut.
“It’s not a fight. Tori just never learned to be nice.” My mom reassured him.
“I do, indeed, know how to be nice. I just have no interest in being nice to–”
“Don’t you have something else to do?” Mom snapped.
Momma didn’t respond, but I heard her steps as she trotted away, eventually passing through the camera’s line of sight for me to see her black hair swaying behind her.
“So, how’s Masie? And the baby? You didn’t update me after her appointment! I have a whole box of goodies for my new grand baby!” The words fell from Mom’s mouth like they were all racing to be first.
And, that’s when I realized that I might have not told her that Mason wasn’t allowed to make the two hour trip to Portland… Or that she needed to be induced because Rosie was just too big for her to cook longer than thirty-seven weeks.
I partially expected Sebastian to spill the beans, but he didn’t.
“We’ve just been busy getting everything ready for Rosemary.” He laughed. “I had no idea someone so small could need so much stuff.”
Excitement danced in Mom’s eyes as she leaned in closer to the camera. “Oh, trust me, I know! Just wait until she starts crawling. You’re just lucky you’re not having twins. Do you remember how much stuff Sophie and Luci had to cram into their small apartment?”
Sebastian fully took the phone from my hand, and I was glad he did. It was hard to be as happy as I needed to be right now.
Why did everything need to go wrong all at once?
I was one second away from excusing myself to the bathroom, not because I needed to go but because it’d give me a place to collect myself. But, before I could even think about moving, Sebastian draped an arm over my shoulder, gently pulling me into his side.
“I don’t, but I’m sure Sophia would help me either way… she’s very good with stuff like that.”
My mom chuckled at his comment. “I know she would, Sophie’s always been the organized one.”
Sebastian smiled before continuing a conversation I did my best to tune out. My goal in bringing Seb here was to ask him to fuck me, but now? I was too concerned with everything going on in the world around me to focus on what I really wanted.