15. Sebastian Courtland
15
SEBASTIAN COURTLAND
“I’m having second thoughts,” Byron admitted in a low voice from where he sat next to me in the back seat of my town car as Carl drove us.
I slipped my hand under Byron’s and threaded our fingers together before raising it to my lips. His palm was sweaty and his fingers tense as I brushed light kisses across his knuckles, trying to soothe away some of the tension humming through him. “Everything is going to be fine,” I murmured between kisses.
We’d been dating for almost a month, but this was only our fifth date. Things had become too hectic during the week to even meet up for dinners, and we were often headed in different directions on the weekends. Sure, we could sneak takeout dinners in my office some nights, but I didn’t want to count those as dates. Byron deserved better than that.
Today, I was trying to shake things up by adding something a little different to our routine. We were headed to help with a fund raiser for an LGBTQIA+ charity that just happened to be run by my mother. We were going to help with a good cause that was important to us, plus I was finally going to introduce him to my mother.
Byron knew my father, but he knew him as Chairman of Courtland Enterprises. Not as the father of Sebastian Courtland. I hoped to make that new introduction to my father after Byron was no longer my assistant.
“What if she doesn’t like me?” Byron inquired.
“I don’t see how that’s possible at all.” I leaned in close and nuzzled the side of his head, my lips brushing against the shell of his ear. “You’re brilliant, funny, sweet, thoughtful, and sexy as hell.”
“And you’re biased as hell. Your mother won’t have the same opinion. I’m more worried that she’s going to think I’m some poor nobody gold digger trying to sink his claws into her sweet, innocent, rich son.”
I jerked in my seat, my head flying back as a bark of laughter burst out of me. “Sweet, innocent? You’re going to make my mom fall over laughing. Danielle Courtland knows exactly how debauched and crazy her only son is. She’s going to be more worried about how I’m likely to corrupt you. She might even try to save you from me by introducing you to other eligible men.”
“Wonderf—holy shit! Please tell me that’s not your parents’ house!” The panic was instantaneous as we zipped along the driveway to my parents’ enormous mansion. Halfway down the road, the trees that lined the lane retreated to reveal this sprawling building that had heavy Italian palazzo influences.
“Yep. I didn’t grow up here. My parents had it built while I was in college, so I never actually got to live here, which is a shame because their pool is even better than mine.”
Byron snorted. “Why do I feel like they’ve got a guest room here just for you?”
“Maybe. The rooms for their grandchild are insane. My parents are going full out, spoiling their grandkid.”
My sexy date stared at me, a small smile tugging at his lips. I didn’t know what it was about that grin, but I could feel the heat growing in my cheeks.
“What?”
“I’m trying to imagine you as an uncle. I bet you’re great at it.”
Now I wanted to turn around and take him straight to my house so we could spend the day cuddled in bed together. Why the hell did he have to be so cute?
“Taylor is only two, but completely adorable. My sister, Aggie, and her husband are trying for their second, and my parents are eager to have another baby in the family.”
Before we could continue the conversation, Carl stopped the car in front of the house and one of the many valets working the event whipped my door open. With one last reassuring smile at Byron, I slipped out of the car and into the bright, hot June sun. Byron stepped out right behind me, and I grabbed his hand.
“Everything is going to be fine,” I repeated because the tension was back in his face. “We won’t stay long.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll be fine. When your mother asked you to help with this fund raiser, did she say what we’d be doing? Wait. You told her you’d be bringing a date, right?”
I pulled him along through the main entrance, grateful for the immediate icy embrace of the air conditioning. We walked down warm buttery-yellow hallways with elegant paintings on all the walls and vases overflowing with flowers. It was a gorgeous house, and I wanted to take Byron on a tour, but I figured it would be best to save that for another time. Today was about meeting my mom, doing a little good, and then getting the hell out of there.
“Yes, I told her I was bringing someone that I’d been seeing recently. She’s very excited to meet you. I don’t know what we’re doing. She usually wants me here because I’m handsome and I’m good at getting the old ladies who come to these things to write checks.”
Byron stared at me with one eyebrow raised. “And they know you’re gay, right?”
“I can be gay and handsome,” I gasped.
“You’re ridiculous,” Byron muttered with a shake of his head.
“He really is. Completely ridiculous and impossible to deal with.”
We turned at the intrusive voice to find my mother standing behind us with a smug grin on her face.
“Hey, Mom.” I released Byron’s hand so I could give her a tight hug and press a kiss to her cheek. “Nice to hear how much I’m loved.”
“Don’t pout,” she teased, giving me a smack on the ass. “You’re not as cute as you think you are when you pout.”
I released her and moved to Byron’s side. “Mom, this is Byron Graham, my date. Byron, this is Danielle Courtland, my charming mother.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Mrs. Courtland,” Byron said, stepping forward to shake her hand.
“Oh, Byron. I like that name. So pretty. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Byron.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Just call me Danielle or Dani. We’re not so formal around here.”
“At least your mother didn’t name you after the crab from The Little Mermaid ,” I whispered loudly to put that twinkle of laughter back into Byron’s eyes. It worked.
Mom hissed at me. “I did not. I think I named you after a character in a romance novel I was reading while pregnant with you.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Naturally, my mother ignored me and walked straight to Byron. She gently took his hand and lifted it slightly so she could place her other hand in the crook of his arm before leading him down the hall. I was left to follow like the “good, obedient” son I was.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Byron. My son has never introduced me to any of the men he’s dated in the past,” my mom explained, while I rolled my eyes.
“Probably because it wouldn’t have been appropriate to introduce you to any of my random hookups,” I muttered.
Byron shot me a quelling look over his shoulder, but I had to admit that it only egged me on. I loved driving my mom crazy with my antics, and flustering Byron was also high on my list of fun things.
“Now, I know my son can be something of a slut?—”
“Mom!” I cried out. “That’s not fair. You don’t know the details of my personal life.”
“But I don’t think you have to worry,” she continued, as if I weren’t even there. She patted Byron’s hand and smiled. “The fact that he brought you here shows that he’s quite serious about you.”
“I’m not worried. Sebastian knows that if he can’t be faithful to me, there’s no point in us dating. Besides, he’s been very thoughtful and attentive.”
My heart squeezed at Byron’s words. We’d never talked about exclusivity and dating. Byron could be dating multiple people right now and he’d have every right to it, but I knew I was the only person in his life. He was the only person I wanted. The rest of the world didn’t matter.
My mother continued to chat pleasantly with Byron. She wasn’t being oppressively nosy or even interrogating him like I’d expected. Her questions were a natural progression while she was more than happy to fill my date in on all the disasters and embarrassing incidents that had filled my life through my childhood.
We were getting up to my precocious teen years when she brought us to a table set up on the shaded garden patio. A gentle breeze swept through the lush flower garden, causing the trees to sway slightly. A group of volunteers were filling small clear bags with a variety of rainbow-covered swag and pamphlets filled with information ranging from safe sex education to trans-friendly doctors to safe places for homeless LGBTQIA+ teens to go if they’d been kicked out of their homes.
“Next weekend is the annual Pride parade downtown,” my mom explained. “We’re going to have a booth where we hand out these packets and bottles of water.”
“That’s wonderful,” Byron said.
“If you want to give them a hand, I’m going to steal my son for a moment. I need him to carry something heavy for me. I promise to return him shortly.”
Byron nodded and slipped into a folding chair at the table. The other volunteers happily greeted him and helped him get set up to stuff bags, seeming oblivious to the dark looks my mother was directing at me behind his back.
Great. I’d been there for less than ten minutes, and I was in trouble.
But I held on to my smile in case Byron glanced over his shoulder at me. I didn’t want him to worry. Not when he was beginning to relax.
I followed my mother into the house and didn’t even try to say a word until she stopped in one of the empty parlors and closed the door. The happy facade fell away in the blink of an eye.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, her glare sharpening to a knife’s edge, ready to cut me to ribbons if I lied.
“What are you talking about?”
“Are you really dating him? Or is this just a joke?”
“What? Yes, Byron and I are actually dating. It’s not a joke.”
Her expression clouded, and she shook her head slightly. “Did he quit?”
“Quit what?” Talking to my mother wasn’t usually so confusing, but she wasn’t giving me enough information to understand what she was going on about.
“I thought he was your assistant.”
Oh. Fuck.
She knew. Byron had specifically stated that he’d never met my mother. Plus, she almost never came into the office. My father stopped in the office four times a year since he’d mostly retired. As a result, my mother came in less frequently than that. When had she seen him? The only reason I’d felt safe bringing Byron to this event was due to the fact that my father was in New York and wouldn’t be back until Tuesday.
“Sebastian! What are you thinking?” She smacked my arm. “He’s your direct subordinate. You know better than to think with your dick!” She continued to smack my arm with each sentence, forcing me to at last dart away from her.
“I’m not thinking with my dick,” I hissed, trying to keep my voice low in the event someone passed by the room.
“Well, you’re not using your brain about this. Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you could get into if people find out? And what about him? If this gets out, he will be fired immediately. There’s no way past it. How do you know he’s not going to turn around and sue you for harassment?”
“Mom!” I snapped. “Byron would never do that.” What little amusement floated through me vaporized the second she said something so hideous about Byron.
“How do you know?”
“I know Byron. He wouldn’t.”
She narrowed her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. Something in her expression chilled me to the bone, and I knew I wasn’t going to like what came out of her mouth next.
“Thomas. Cook.”
Each syllable she spoke was like a bullet shot into my chest. I flinched at the sound of his name and even curled inward.
Somehow, I’d pushed him to the back of my mind. Thank God. Thomas Cook was my greatest mistake and greatest regret in life. He’d nearly destroyed me and my family. I’d met the bastard my freshman year in college before I’d started running with Rome and Pierce. He was a senior, and I had been completely enamored with him. He’d seemed older, wiser, and more experienced with everything.
And somehow, he’d convinced me that I’d needed to just trust him with every aspect of my life. Why wouldn’t I? At the time, he was older and smarter. He’d understood everything better than some idiot eighteen-year-old. It wasn’t just that he’d made decisions for all the minor parts of my life. He’d also needed money constantly, and I’d been happy to give it, because when he’d been happy, my life had just gone better. Of course, this had all happened while my parents were having their own troubles, so he’d given me a sense of safety and love when my family had stood on the cusp of falling apart.
We’d dated for only six months, but in the blink of an eye, he’d maxed out my credit cards and drained my bank account. Declan had tried to talk sense into me, but I’d refused to listen. He’d gone to my family and told them what was happening. They’d also tried to talk sense into me, but I’d turned on them too.
The moment my parents had threatened to cut me off so Thomas would have no access to my family’s money, Thomas then attempted to manipulate and threaten me into stealing from my family. It was a sad wake-up call that had taken years for me to recover from. I was just lucky that my parents and Declan hadn’t given up on me completely.
It had taken me years to recover from the deep wounds Thomas had created with his manipulation, gaslighting, and betrayal. I’d given up on relationships and turned my back on the idea of romance. Through college and well into my twenties, I’d slept around…a lot. Honestly, it wasn’t until I met Byron that I’d wanted something more. Byron was too precious, too wonderful to just use for a one-night stand.
“Stop!” I barked so she couldn’t continue. “Yes, I know up close and very personally what a manipulative gold digger looks like, and Bryon Graham is not it. The idea of anyone thinking that about Byron makes me sick to my stomach. If you don’t trust my judgment, call Declan right now. He knows Byron. He will vouch for him.”
Thomas Cook was a very ugly part of our past and something I didn’t ever want any of us to go through again, but I would go to war with anyone who dared to put Byron in the same class as that monster.
My mother continued to frown at me. She opened her mouth, but I interrupted her.
“Stop! Don’t say another word, or I swear I’ll cut you out of my life.”
“Sebastian! Don’t be ridiculous.” She made another dismissive noise but paused when I refused to budge. She held my gaze until some of the derisiveness finally faded from her expression.
“Mom, I love him. I plan to do everything in my power to convince him to spend the rest of his life with me. If Byron wakes up one day and decides he wants my entire fortune, he can have it. All I want is him.”
“Oh, my sweet baby.” She sighed and walked over to me. She rubbed the spot on my arm she’d hit repeatedly. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Byron won’t hurt me. Not intentionally. But he’s got way more to lose than me, so we’re taking it slowly.”
She still looked skeptical. “Who hit on who?”
“I was the instigator from the start. He’s fought me and raised objections the entire way. I’ve worn him down.”
“Yes, that sounds like you. I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse.”
With a smirk, I wrapped my arms around my mom’s shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. “I want you to give him a chance. The sweet guy you spent the last ten minutes chatting with is who he really is, and I think you’re going to like him.”
“Oh, I know I’m going to like him.” She paused and looked up at me. “Declan approves of him?”
It was a struggle not to clench my teeth and growl at her, but I got it. Declan wasn’t the type to get swept away by his emotions. Unlike me.
“Yes, Declan approves of him. He thinks Byron is incredibly smart, efficient, honest, and loyal.”
My sweet, loving mother huffed. “Then he’s definitely too good for you.”
“Whatever. So long as you learn to like him, because a year from now, I plan to make him your new son-in-law.”
Mom pushed away from me so she could meet my gaze. “And how long have you been dating?”
“This is our fifth date, but we’ve known each other for three years.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a groan. “You exhaust me, child.”
“Whatever. Dad brags he knew he was going to propose to you by the third date.”
“Yes, and we were young, poor, and stupid. Right now, you can claim only one of those things.”
“Thanks, Mom. Can you give him a fair shot? Be nice?”
“Yes, yes. Of course. I’m sure he’s a wonderful boy.” She waved me off as she stepped out of my arms, but her stern expression returned a second later. “But I want you to promise that you’ll figure something out about the job. Move him to an entirely different division. Better yet, help him get a new job outside of Courtland Enterprises. Now .”
“I don’t want to force him out of the company. He likes working for Courtland. I have a plan. Don’t worry. I want to go slowly. Otherwise, I risk scaring him off completely.”
“Now, Sebastian. None of your usual feet dragging. I won’t tell your father… yet . But it’s coming. He needs to know you’re putting all of Courtland Enterprises in danger.”
“I’m not. I’ve got everything under control.”
She didn’t look convinced, but I wasn’t worried. My hope was that by the end of July, Byron would be working under Declan and dating me openly. Another option would be to see if Justine was serious about taking him to her department. She answered directly to the chairman, rather than me. That would put even more distance between Byron and me. This was the best I could do and keep him at Courtland, and Byron knew it. If I were lucky, I’d be proposing to my man with snowy Swiss mountains in the background. Or maybe a slow winding river cruise in China.
We returned to join the rest of the volunteers. The afternoon passed easily with a light lunch and talking about the efforts my mom’s charity was planning to pursue. I gave up worrying about whether my mom was going to like Byron when I caught them off together in an intense, hour-long discussion about event planning and new outreach efforts the charity should consider.
Oh, yeah. Byron fit in perfectly, and I couldn’t wait to make him mine.