Chapter 39
SEBASTIAN
I’d been to a thousand Sunday dinners at my mother’s house, but pulling up to the familiar brownstone with Bernadette beside me felt different. Significant. Like I was about to introduce her to my family for the first time, even though technically they’d all met her on Miratoa.
But this was different. This was Sunday dinner.
“You’re nervous,” Bernadette observed as I parallel parked my SUV. She was wearing a blue dress that made her copper hair look like fire. I’d barely been able to keep my hands off her during the drive.
“I’m not nervous.”
“Your jaw is doing that twitchy thing.”
“I don’t have a twitchy thing.”
She reached over and pressed her fingers against my jaw, which was indeed clenched tight enough to crack walnuts. “Relax. I’ve met your family before. Adrian didn’t fire me, Briggs didn’t sue me, and Dash only hit on me once.”
“He what?”
“Kidding.” She grinned. “See? Now you’re not thinking about being nervous anymore.”
I caught her hand and kissed her palm. “You’re evil.”
“You love it.”
“I really do.” I kissed her properly then, taking my time, until someone knocked on the car window and we sprang apart like guilty teenagers.
Dash stood outside, smirking. “You two planning to come inside, or should I tell Mom you’re working on grandchild number two?”
“Fuck off, Dash,” I said, but I was grinning as I climbed out and helped Bernadette from the passenger seat.
“Language,” my mother’s voice carried from the front door. “And Sebastian, you’re late.”
“I’m not late. I’m exactly on time.”
“Which for you means late.” But Mimi was smiling as she said it, already moving down the steps to wrap Bernadette in a hug. “Bernadette, darling, I’m so glad you could join us. Come in, come in.”
I watched my mother fuss over Bernadette, complimenting her dress, asking if she was hungry and if she needed anything. And then she asked if I was treating her well.
“You know I can hear you, right?” I asked.
They both ignored me.
Bernadette handled the rapid-fire questions like a champ.
“Mom, let her breathe,” I said, rescuing my girlfriend before Mimi could start planning our wedding.
“I’m just being hospitable.” Mimi linked her arm through Bernadette’s. “Come, dear. Let me show you the house. Sebastian, make yourself useful and help your brothers with the wine.”
And just like that, Bernadette was swept away into the Blackwell vortex.
I found my brothers in the dining room, Adrian and Briggs already deep in conversation about something legal and boring. They were way too serious all the time. Elizabeth was there too, glowing with that pregnancy thing that made Adrian look at her like she’d hung the moon.
“Snack buddy!” I called out.
Elizabeth’s face lit up and we met in the middle of the room for our customary fist bump, the sacred greeting of midnight kitchen raiders everywhere.
“How’s my favorite sister-in-law?” I asked.
“Your only sister-in-law,” she corrected. “And I’m good. The baby’s good. Pickles are better.”
“That means it’s a boy,” I declared. I was just pulling shit out of my ass, but it sounded good.
“The Blackwells need more women,” Mimi said, sweeping back into the room with Bernadette in tow. “I mean, you have the one girl cousin in LA, but even she has all brothers. Which is why I’m thrilled Bernadette is joining us. Another ally in my war against male stubbornness.”
“We’re not stubborn,” Adrian said.
“We’re decisive,” Briggs added.
“We’re right,” Dash finished.
“Bernadette, you know everyone, of course,” I said, moving to her side. “But this is your first official Sunday dinner. It’s kind of a rite of passage. Like hazing but with good food.”
“And wine,” Elizabeth added. “So much wine. Well, not for me right now, but normally.”
“Should I be worried?” Bernadette asked, but she was smiling.
I pulled out a chair for her at the table, the one between Elizabeth and me that used to be empty. “Your throne, my lady.”
She rolled her eyes but sat. I took my own seat beside her, feeling ridiculously pleased with the arrangement. Another woman at the Blackwell table. Another person who’d chosen to be part of this chaotic family instead of running screaming in the opposite direction.
And she had chosen me.
The staff brought out the first course, and conversation flowed as easily as the wine. Bernadette fit right in, laughing at Dash’s terrible jokes while keeping up with Briggs’s dry legal talk. Adrian and Elizabeth were in their own bliss bubble.
“So, Bernadette,” Adrian said during a lull in conversation, his CEO voice coming out. “Sebastian tells us you’re joining Blackwell as our safety coordinator.”
“If the offer still stands,” she said, glancing at me.
“It stands,” I confirmed. “I already had HR draw up the paperwork. You start next Monday.”
“Seriously?” she asked.
I nodded. “I’m efficient when I’m motivated.”
“He’s never been efficient a day in his life,” Dash said. “You must be a miracle worker.”
“Or a good influence,” Mimi added, beaming at Bernadette.
“The campaign numbers came in this morning,” Adrian said, steering the conversation back to business because he was Adrian and couldn’t help himself. “The runway show has been viewed over ten million times across all platforms. And Elizabeth’s EL line is trending number two in fashion worldwide.”
“Number two?” Elizabeth asked. “What’s number one?”
“Some TikTok thing about crocheting crop tops,” Briggs said. “But we’re beating out Paris, Milan, and New York Fashion Week, so I’d call it a win.”
“It’s all thanks to Sebastian,” Elizabeth said, raising her glass toward me. “He made my dresses look like art.”
“I just pointed cameras at them,” I said, uncomfortable with the praise even though I’d been craving it for weeks. “You designed something special. I just made sure people noticed.”
“You did more than that,” Adrian said, and there was pride in his voice. Maybe even respect. “You took on a massive project, handled a crisis, kept the team together, and delivered results that exceeded everyone’s expectations. Including mine.”
My throat felt tight. “Thanks, Adrian.”
“Dad would be proud,” Mom said softly. The whole table went quiet for a moment, remembering our patriarch.
His presence still lingered in moments like these. The empty chair at the head of the table. The company he’d built. The legacy he’d left us to carry forward.
“He would be,” Adrian agreed. “Of all of us.”
Dash raised his glass. “To Dad. And to Sebastian, for finally proving he’s not just a pretty face.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Briggs said.
“Hear, hear,” Elizabeth added.
“Okay, enough sentimental crap,” I said, because I was about two seconds from getting emotional and that wasn’t happening at Sunday dinner. “Let’s talk about how Bernadette’s pictures broke the internet. My Venus rising from the waves.”
“Those photos were stunning,” Mom said. “Bernadette, have you ever considered modeling professionally?”
“Absolutely not,” Bernadette said firmly. “Once was enough, thank you.”
“But you were so natural,” Elizabeth said. “The camera loved you.”
“The camera can love someone else. I’m much happier behind the scenes, making sure no one dies from falling coconuts.”
“Falling coconuts?” Briggs asked.
“Don’t ask,” I said. “It’s a whole thing. She has statistics.”
“One hundred and fifty deaths per year worldwide,” Bernadette recited automatically. I grinned because that was my girl, ready with facts and figures at all times.
Dinner continued through multiple courses, the conversation flowing from business to family gossip to Dash’s latest disaster of a dating life. He was the youngest and still the wildest, partying harder than any of us. His lifestyle wasn’t conducive to stable relationships.
By the time dessert arrived I was stuffed and happy and feeling more settled than I had in months.
This was what I’d wanted, I realized. Not just success with the campaign, though that was great.
Not just my brothers’ approval, but I would definitely take it.
I wanted the full table. I wanted a woman I loved sitting beside me with my family.
“Sebastian,” Mom said as we were finishing dessert. “Walk me to the kitchen? I need to discuss something with you.”
Shit. What did I do? Clearly, I was in trouble, but I couldn’t think of why.
I followed her out of the dining room, heart beating faster. In the kitchen, she looked at me like she could see right through me and all my bullshit. “You really love her.”
It wasn’t a question.
“Yeah, Mom. I do. Crazy, right?”
“Yes, but also good.” She cupped my face in her hands the way she used to when I was little. “She’s wonderful, Sebastian. Smart and strong and she doesn’t take any of your nonsense. Your father would have liked her very much.”
My eyes burned. “You think so?”
“I know so. He always said you just needed to find someone who could keep up with you. Someone who saw past the pretty face to the good man underneath.” She kissed my forehead. “You’ve found her. Don’t let her go.”
“I won’t,” I promised. “I’m going to ask her to move in with me.”
“A bit fast, don’t you think?”
“When did Adrian ask Elizabeth to marry him? Like three weeks after they met?”
“Fair point.” She smiled. “When my boys fall, they fall hard. Just promise me you’ll be smart about it. Take your time. Build something solid.”
“I promise, Mom.”
At the end of the night, goodbyes were said, plans were made for the following Sunday, and finally Bernadette and I escaped.
“That was nice,” she said as I drove us back toward my penthouse.
“It was better than nice. They love you.”
“Your mom is wonderful. And Elizabeth is hilarious. We’re definitely getting lunch next week.”
“Do it,” I said, grinning. “And keep subtly suggesting they name the kid after me. If it’s a boy.”
She laughed and laced her fingers through mine. “You know what I was thinking during dinner?”
“How lucky you are to have such a devastatingly handsome boyfriend?”
“Besides that.” She paused. “I was thinking about how different it felt from dinners with my father. Your family actually likes each other. You joke around and support each other and celebrate wins together. It’s nice.”
“It’s annoying as hell sometimes,” I said. “But yeah, it’s nice.”
When we got to my building, I pulled into the garage and killed the engine, but neither of us moved to get out.
“Bernadette,” I said.
“Sebastian,” she mimicked my serious tone.
“Move in with me.”
She turned to stare at me. “What?”
“Move in. With me. Here.” I gestured vaguely at the building above us. “I hate sleeping apart.”
“We never sleep apart.”
“Which is why it’s silly for you to pay rent on an apartment you’re rarely at. And let’s be honest, my place kicks ass. Yours is okay, but mine is better.”
“I feel like I should be offended.”
“But you’re not because you’re a realist and you know it’s true.”
“Sebastian.”
“I know it’s fast. I know we’ve only been together a few weeks. But I also know I don’t want to spend another night without you. I know I want to wake up with you every morning and come home to you every night.”
She kissed me, cutting off my rambling. When she pulled back, she was smiling.
“How about we start with a drawer?” she said.
“A drawer.”
“And some closet space. And maybe a shelf in the bathroom for my stuff.”
“That’s it? That’s all I get?”
“For now.” She traced my jaw with her fingertips. “Let’s take this one step at a time, okay? I just blew up my entire life. Let me ease into the new one.”
I wanted to argue and plead my case. But she was right. We had time. Real love didn’t need to rush.
“Okay,” I said. “A drawer. Some closet space. A bathroom shelf.”
“Thank you.” She kissed me again, softer this time. “I love you, you know.”
“I love you too.” I pulled her closer and knew I was holding my future.