29. Sebastian
TWENTY-NINE
SEBASTIAN
With 500 marquee bulbs loaded in the back, I drove Rex’s truck back to New Elwood. That calm, peaceful feeling I’d gotten with my arms wrapped around her as we fell asleep last night lingered, but doubt had crept in at some point overnight. I still wanted to buy The Bach Company, which meant I had to finish the deal with Sinclair so I could make things right for my mother.
But I also wanted Charlie. I wanted her smiles and her softness. I wanted easy mornings and late nights. I couldn’t figure out how to reconcile it all.
Charlie quietly stared out the window as we rode along the highway, much quieter than yesterday.
I slid my hand over her leg and gave it a little squeeze. “You okay?”
She looked at me with a small smile. “Yeah, fine. Just a little tired.”
“Well, to be fair, we didn’t exactly get much sleep last night.” I ran my thumb over the fabric of her jeans, pushing my doubt away. We’d figure it out. I’d figure it out. Somehow.
Her phone pinged in her pocket, and she quickly checked the screen. “Holy crap!” she said.
“What?”
“I just sold the marquee ad space for the Gala. All of it. They want the entire space. And, they’re offering to pay more than asking. But…”
“But what? That’s great news,” I said.
She huffed a breath. “It’s Sinclair Vineyards.”
Of course it was. Theo Sinclair must’ve been eager to leave his mark on the Monticello. The place would be his before long, after all. The festival gala was a good place to stake a bigger claim. And offering more than asking was his modus operandi. That’s how he’d piqued my interest. “The man’s got deep pockets, that’s for sure.”
“You know him?”
“Not really,” I said, which was true. We had business dealings, but we weren’t friends. Our interests aligned. That was all.
At least, they had. I wasn’t so sure anymore.
My thumb stroked her thigh again, and I stole a glance at her profile. I could tell her, just come out with it. Tell her about the investment opportunity in Arlington, how I planned to financially replenish what my parents lost, including my mother’s inheritance, with interest. How I needed to sell the New Elwood properties to make it happen. She’d get that I wanted to fix what Lydia broke.
Then again, Charlie might be angry, feel betrayed. Could I blame her for that? If she turned around and pissed all over our collaboration, I’d lose the boutique hotel, and I’d have to fight for the original plan that I wasn’t so sure the councilors of New Elwood were keen to approve. And if they didn’t vote in my favor, I’d lose it all. Including her.
When I put the choices on either side of the scale—tell her and risk everything, or don’t tell her and be guaranteed to make things right with my family while knowing she might hate me for it—I still couldn’t justify blowing up my entire life’s work for the sake of a woman I’d met less than a month ago.
I’d felt that tidal wave of emotion last night, but could I trust it? Could I trust her?
“Theo Sinclair,” she mused. “Is there like a rich guy club I don’t know about or something?”
I accepted her jab and smiled. “I’m not at liberty to say.”
Charlie leaned back in her seat, folding her arms over her chest. “I really don’t like that guy. There’s just something about him I don’t trust. The whole deal with the cigarette factory was shady.”
“Sinclair or not, the point is the theater’s getting the money it needs for a beautiful gala that you’ve worked so hard to put together. Besides, even if it’s his name in lights, the gala isn’t about him. It’s about the new Monticello.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’ve got enough to worry about without having to concern myself with Theo Sinclair.”
On our way back to our apartment, we dropped the bulbs off at the theater and returned Rex’s pickup.
“She’s got a few bugs splattered on the windshield, but other than that, she’s in good shape,” I said, handing him my keys.
“Thanks. I love my truck, but you’re going to have to tell me how I can get one of these.” He gestured to my luxury sports car.
“Another time. We have to get back.”
My friend looked at Charlie, then smiled. “Didn’t expect you to stay overnight. You two have a sleepover or something?” Nosy much, Rex?
I shot a glance at the woman who shared my bed last night. A woman I had complicated feelings for, with whom I wouldn’t mind sharing my bed again—but a woman I couldn’t trust completely. Not with everything that had mattered to me since I was eleven years old, soot-stained, and terrified.
“Rex, don’t be weird. I stayed in my own hotel room,” she said, playing the whole thing off, and Rex backed off. I guess she really did want to keep things under wraps. Despite all the doubts I’d fought this morning, all the lies of omission that stayed firmly locked behind my lips, that stung.
Maybe she had doubts too.
We got back to our apartment with just enough time to shower, dress, and get to Mayor Greene’s office in time for our update meeting.
As I watched Charlie begin to climb the stairs, desperation began to scrabble inside me, and I realized within seconds what I was feeling: loss.
I’d only just realized what she could be to me—what she already was to me—and I knew that it would all be over before long. I had to tell her about Sinclair, about The Bach Company, about the reason I was here in the first place. But front and center in my mind was a need for her. Just to feel her skin beneath my palms, to know that she was real, that we were real.
I wasn’t ready to let her go yet. Not after everything.
Taking the steps two at a time, I followed her to her door.
She threw me a look over her shoulder, eyes dark as she took in my face. When she spoke, her voice was husky. “Where do you think you’re going, Anderson?”
“Need you,” I rasped. I grabbed her by the waist, crushing her lips to mine. “You didn’t think I’d let you shower alone, did you?”
A look of temptation colored her eyes, and she ran her hand along my chest. I loved the way she touched me, like she had a right to. Like she owned me. In my desperation, my need to reassure myself that what had happened between us had happened between us, I drank in her touches like I needed them to live. Her gaze dipped to my lips. Climbed back up to my eyes. “We have to be at the mayor’s office in an hour.”
I leaned in, teasing her neck with my mouth. She smelled like heaven. “I can be quick.”
“You sure about that?”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything.” I reached for her face, skating my thumb along her jaw. She was fine-boned and beautiful, and she was mine. For right now, until I figured out how I could solve this, she was in my arms, and she was mine.
Inside, it was a race to see who could strip the other down the fastest as we made our way to the cramped shower stall in her bathroom. Everything about her, from her panting breaths to her pert, pink-tipped nipples sent lightning searing through my veins. I hardly noticed the frigid water.
“Spread your legs, Charlie,” I commanded, pinning her against the shower wall with her arms above her head.
Her intense gaze captivated me. Trapped me. Consumed me. If only I could spend forever touching, teasing, licking, and stroking her in that shower, life would be perfect. But she wasn’t going anywhere. Not for a hundred and eighty days at least, so there would be more time later. I could figure out how to keep her, keep The Bach Company, give my family what they deserved. I could solve this. I had time.
I grabbed her ass, and her legs coiled around me as I drove inside. Steam finally filled the shower, and it was like we were living in our own pleasure haze. She panted, clutching onto me, nails digging into my skin. I watched the flush take over her skin, rapt. She came hard and fast, crying out in ecstasy. That sound. That beautiful sound was all my body needed to explode.
Twenty minutes later, showered, changed, and refreshed, I stared at myself in the mirror with a clear head and a sense of purpose. I would fix this. There was a solution. I just needed to find it. I adjusted my tie. We had business to attend to.
Charlie’s cheeks were still flushed when we arrived at the mayor’s office with two minutes to spare. We strode into an empty hallway, and her tight skirt teased me with every sway of her hips. So I reached for her ass like a magnet to steel. I needed to be close to her. It gnawed inside me like a starving beast, some animal desperate for touch, for her.
“Sebastian. We’re incognito,” she whispered, and I removed my hand just before we reached the mayor’s office.
“Charlie. Sebastian. Nice to see you both. Come on in,” Mayor Greene greeted us. “So what do you have for me?”
Charlie stepped up, eager to give her report. “We’ve got a great update for you. The restoration is going smoothly and it’s looking fantastic. Everything’s on target to finish on time. And we’ve been able to restore the old lobby flooring that had been hiding beneath the carpet for decades. Thanks to Sebastian.”
The smile she gave me firmed my resolve. I wouldn’t give her up, and I wouldn’t give up my mother’s stolen legacy. I could find a way to do both. I had to.
“It’s really beautiful flooring,” I added.
She pressed her lips together, curtailing a smile. “It is. I also just confirmed the sponsor, and the marquee will be perfectly lit before next Saturday.”
Mayor Greene slapped a celebratory hand on his desk. “Good work, you two. The town council and I are very interested to hear your proposals at the gala.”
Charlie shot me a bright smile. “We have an update on that too.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, Charlie came up with a brilliant compromise. She figured out a way to maintain the Monticello’s fa?ade and lobby, while expanding the rest of the building into a boutique hotel. Guests will have the modern comforts of any other five-star hotel with a slice of New Elwood’s quaint history. She came up with the idea for an exhibit of its history so the hotel will be a tourist attraction in itself. I believe it has the potential to be a real draw. It’s a landmark building, after all. It just makes sense to keep the best of it around,” I said, not tearing my eyes away from Charlie.
The mayor’s chair creaked as he leaned back, interest sparking in his gaze. “That’s a wonderful idea. I can’t wait to hear more. I have to say, I’m impressed. And relieved. I was worried you two might strangle each other over the rails of the grand staircase, but I can see this project’s brought you two together.” The man had no idea. “Anything else you’d like to share?”
Charlie and I looked at each other. “No.”
“Then I’ll see you both at the gala.”
He would. And I would make sure I had a solution by then, because I knew one thing. I wasn’t giving Charlie up for anything.