Chapter 45 Lily
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
LILY
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I squeezed Sebastian’s hand.
As per usual, my boyfriend appeared way calmer than I was. He grinned. “Are you embarrassed by me, Sawyer?”
I glowered at him. “You know I’m not. But this”—I gestured to the beautiful townhouse on Dublin Street—“is bigger than meeting the parents.”
After the incident in the library, it seemed Mum wanted everyone to inspect Sebastian.
Instead of having him over to our house, Mum had insisted I invite Sebastian to Uncle Braden and Aunt Joss’s anniversary party.
Aunt Ellie, Uncle Braden’s half sister, was the mastermind behind the event.
She was hosting at the Carmichaels’ townhouse and she’d invited all of their closest friends and family.
All my aunts and uncles and cousins. Even Sara, who was back at Aberdeen Uni for the semester.
She’d gotten a train to Longniddry last night to spend the weekend with her grandparents so she could attend the party.
While I was looking forward to seeing her after such a long time, I was extremely nervous about introducing Sebastian to everyone. For his sake.
We’d been dating for two weeks.
In those two weeks, he’d told his parents about our relationship.
They were eager to meet me, even though I could read between the lines from Sebastian’s tenseness that his mum might not be all that happy about it.
Juno and Leona were over their fight (Sebastian still had no idea what the root cause of it was) and had returned to London.
Juno had promised to come home whenever Sebastian decided to take me there to meet his parents.
Our workload didn’t disappear overnight, so we were both extremely busy. However, we studied together whenever we could, slept together most nights, and we’d socialized with our friend group who were enjoying mocking us for our movie-worthy romantic saga over the last few months.
Everything was great between us. Sebastian was talking about pursuing his art for real after graduation.
He’d even shared his secret social media profile with Harry, who told him in his very Harry-like way that Sebastian was a moron if he didn’t commit to his art.
Whatever my boyfriend planned to do, he was staying in Edinburgh.
Not only for me, he promised, but because he loved the city and it’s where he wanted to live.
Thankful that I didn’t have to worry about our impending separation (I was already dreading saying goodbye to Sierra and Maddie), I was enjoying the heady, passionate beginning of our new relationship.
I’d had more sex in the last two weeks than I had my entire life.
Fantastic sex. Mind-blowing, utterly addictive, phenomenal sex.
I wasn’t ready for our bubble to burst under the weighty reality of overprotective parents and aunts and uncles.
Sebastian squeezed my hand again. “Are we going in or are we just admiring the architecture?”
My smile trembled, but I nodded. “We’re going in.”
Mum, to my everlasting gratitude, was as lovely as ever to Sebastian, the incident in the study room completely forgotten. I was pretty certain she hadn’t told Dad about it. Nevertheless, he and my uncles surrounded Sebastian like a pack of velociraptors.
When Uncle Adam demanded to know when Sebastian’s last sexual health check was and Dad’s face turned purple at the implications, I intervened.
“Okay, we’re done here.” I glowered at each of my uncles and pinned my dad with a pleading look before I yanked Sebastian free from the circling predators.
Sebastian appeared a wee bit dazed as I guided him across the kitchen to my mum, sister, and female relatives. “I don’t understand.” My boyfriend shook his head. “Your father liked me before.”
My sister snorted and offered way too loudly, “Well, that was before he knew you were boffing his daughter.”
“Jan!” I protested.
She cocked her head in mock innocence. “No? Boinking? Banging?”
“Stop!”
“Plowing? Violat—” Mum clamped a hand over her youngest daughter’s mouth.
“Thank you.” Sebastian nodded gratefully at Mum. “A gentleman never plows.”
Aunt Joss and Beth burst into laughter while Mum grimaced.
My sister freed herself from Mum’s hand and gave Sebastian a nod. “You’re going to survive here. I can tell.”
Groaning because I was stuck somewhere between mortification and laughter, I buried my face in Sebastian’s shoulder.
He cuddled me close, his body shaking slightly with his own amusement.
The chuckle vibrated through his chest. I enjoyed the feel and sound of it.
Much to my relief, he’d put back on the weight and muscle he’d lost during our estrangement.
“Let’s stop torturing Lily and her mother with sex talk.” Beth turned to Sebastian. “My cousin tells me you’re a Caledonia United fan.”
“I am.” He nodded to the ring that glittered on her finger. Beth and Callan had gotten engaged a few weeks ago. “Congrats on the engagement to Scotland’s finest midfielder.”
“Well, I love him in spite of that,” she joked. “Anyway, anytime you want to attend a game, let me know. I can always get tickets.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“You don’t strike me as a fangirling type, but I’m forewarning you that Callan and Baird will be here in about five minutes.”
I felt Sebastian tense and bit my lip against a snort as his voice strained a bit. “Here? In five minutes?”
Beth raised an eyebrow. “Was I wrong about the fangirling?”
Remembering the day he almost tackled me when he found out I knew Callan, I gave a bark of laughter. “Very wrong.”
“Hey, I do not fangirl. I’m … appreciating how jealous Harry and Zac are going to be when I tell them I met Keen and McMillan.”
Unsurprisingly, Sebastian was unflappably cool with Keen and McMillan when they arrived at the party fifteen minutes later.
He greeted them with his usual laid-back affability and told them, as if it was no big deal, that he was a Caley United fan.
The footballers took it in stride. When I first met Baird McMillan, he’d been loud and gregarious, and I had the impression he would flirt with a wooden pole if it was the only object in the room.
However, this was my first time seeing him since his traumatic head injury.
While he was still somewhat flirtatious, he was quieter.
More introspective. There was a shift in his eyes.
A somber, sober quality in him that hadn’t been there before.
Perhaps the accident had changed him. It hadn’t been that long since the incident, so it was possible he was suffering psychological side effects.
A near-death accident will do that to a person.
Only time would tell if the change was permanent.
Sebastian was chatting easily with the footballers and my cousin Luke and his boyfriend. Uncle Cole and Uncle Cam had broken away from the other older men to discuss football with them.
“How is Baird?” I asked Beth. “He seems a bit different.”
My cousin’s expression tightened with concern.
“He is different. For the first few weeks after his injury, he was like a totally different person, snarling at everyone, wanting to be alone. You know how social he is, so it was worrying. But the last few weeks, he seems to be getting back to himself. He returns to the game in a month. They think it’ll be okay by then. ”
“You’re still worried about him.”
“I am. So’s Callan. Baird is socializing, but he’s … changed.”
“He needs time. And if time doesn’t work, then maybe group therapy with some people who have been through something similar,” I offered.
“So, you don’t think the injury did something to his personality?”
“I’m not a medical professional, so I don’t know. If the doctor said there wasn’t any brain damage, then it’s doubtful. Psychological impact is not out of the question, though. It would be unusual if it hadn’t affected his mental well-being. Don’t you think?”
“You’re the psychotherapist.”
“Not yet, I’m not. Four more years to go.”
Beth winced. “Doesn’t that fill you with horror? I was desperate to finish uni and get out into the world to make my mark.”
I chuckled. “Another four years does sound exhausting. But it’s what I need to do to get to where I want.”
“I’m in awe of you.”
Pleased, my cheeks heated. “That means a lot coming from you.”
Beth nudged my shoulder with hers. “You seem happy. Is he treating you well?”
I looked over at Sebastian who grinned at something Baird said. “He makes me so blissfully happy, it’s terrifying.”
“Oh, aye.” Beth slid her arm around me, giving me an affectionate squeeze. “You’re definitely in love.”
I nodded, not denying it.
“It’s true he’s a member of the royal family?”
“Aye, but I don’t want anyone mentioning it. He doesn’t like to make a big deal of it. He’s not a working member of the family, you know. Only thirtieth in line to the throne.”
“Oh, only thirtieth in line to one of the oldest monarchies in the world. Aye, that’s not a big deal at all.”
“Japan’s monarchy is way older,” a new voice interjected.
We turned to find Maia, my uncle Logan’s daughter, smiling at us in greeting. The three of us embraced, talking over one another as we did so.
Uncle Logan was Aunt Shannon’s brother. When Aunt Shannon hooked up with Uncle Cole, Logan became a part of our family.
He hadn’t known he had a daughter until Maia showed up on his doorstep when she was fifteen years old.
Maia kind of brought Logan and his wife Grace together.
Grace had been his neighbor and she stepped in to help him through the process of sudden parenthood.
Maia hadn’t had the best start in life, but she claimed Uncle Logan and Aunt Grace had changed her life for the better.
She’d attended university in London and then returned to Edinburgh upon graduation.
Now Maia, at only twenty-nine years old, was a senior fashion buyer for one of Edinburgh’s most exclusive department stores, Pennington’s. She was also engaged to some financial bigwig I’d yet to meet. I don’t think anyone but Maia’s parents and her brother Lachlan had met the bloke.
Maia had grown into a striking beauty. She’d inherited her dad and aunt’s unusual violet eyes and in adulthood she’d tamed her thick dark hair so it was enviously sleek and shiny, lying so perfectly down her back I had to think there was some magic involved.
Because of her job, Maia always looked amazing. Her style was professional with a sexy, feminine twist. Today she wore wide leg pants, high heels, and a cropped oversized cashmere sweater.
“You didn’t bring the fiancé?” Beth asked, staring past Maia as if looking for him. “When are we going to meet him?”
Maia’s expression turned irritated. “Will was supposed to be here, but a work thing popped up at the last minute. At this rate, you all will meet him at the wedding.”
“I thought I heard your voice.”
I glanced up to see Baird had crossed the room and was smiling flirtatiously down at Maia.
To my surprise, she beamed back at him and gave him a familiar hug. The goalie embraced her and held on a wee bit too long to be merely friendly.
Beth shook her head, smirking, as I shot her a questioning look. I recognized her silent “I’ll tell you later” face.
“You look great. How are you?” Maia asked as she pulled away.
Baird remained in her personal space as he stared at her in a very nonplatonic fashion. “Much better. Especially now you’re here.”
“Stop it,” she admonished, giving him a playful shove.
Their eyes held for a tad too long.
Ooh, there was a definite spark there between my engaged cousin and the sexy football player.
“You two know each other?” I asked, my curiosity running rampant.
“I introduced them months ago,” Beth replied.
“And then Baird came into Pennington’s looking for a tux for some event or other.” Maia shrugged. “We started chatting.”
“Then Maia came to see me in the hospital.”
“She did?” Beth frowned. “You did?”
Maia nodded. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“So, you’re friends?” Beth’s gaze darted between them. “Since when?”
Baird shrugged. “A while. Shouldn’t we be?”
“Does Will know?”
Frowning, Maia sighed. “I’m allowed to have male friends.”
“Callan would not be amused if I had a friend who looked like Baird.”
Baird scowled. “Eh, you do have a friend who looks like me.”
“You know what I mean. You’re more like a brother than a ‘male friend.’”
“Och, well … now I’m equally offended and honored.”
“What’s the chat?” Callan said as he and Sebastian approached our group.
Sebastian wound his arms around my waist, pulling me back against his chest where I went happily.
Callan slid his arm around Beth as she peered at him with drawn eyebrows. “Did you know Maia and Baird are buddies?”
Her fiancé shrugged. “Didn’t I tell you that?”
“Nope.”
“Why are you being weird about this?” Maia crossed her arms over her chest. “Is it because I’m older than you guys?”
“Oh, aye, you’re ancient, gorgeous,” Baird teased.
“I’m not being weird. I’m … surprised. Usually I know these things.”
Luckily, Beth was saved from having to explain her awkward reaction to Baird and Maia’s newly developed friendship because our pseudo-cousin Sara arrived.
Mum, Dad, Uncle Cam, Aunt Jo, and Belle reached her first as the rest of us crowded around, waiting to greet her.
Sara blushed at the exuberant welcome, her eyes misty with grateful tears.
As we waited our turn, I explained to Sebastian who Sara was, that after her parents died our own parents had made sure she never felt as if she was without family.
Sebastian processed this and then replied, “Now I understand why you’re so amazing.”
I couldn’t hold back my giddy smile. “Oh?”
He nodded solemnly. “This room is filled with very good people.”
Emotion clogged my throat. “It is. I’m lucky.”
“Thanks for bringing me here, Sawyer.”
“You’re not overwhelmed?” I teased.
“Oh, absolutely.” He bent his head to press a quick kiss to my lips. “But only in the best way possible.”