Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Push through the pain, bitch. Your bright fucking future ain’t gonna happen on its own.
—From Remy’s Badass Bitch Affirmations
Remy
Remy shifted in the cradle of Sebastian’s arms, her forehead now resting against his chest—her new favorite place—soothed by the steady, steadfast beat of his heart.
A heart he was offering her. If only she were brave enough and whole enough to take it.
Which she wasn’t sure she could ever be.
Remy wasn’t a fool. She knew they’d been teetering on the precipice of a true romantic relationship. That artifice was transforming into reality at warp speed. But knowing something in her head and actually accepting it, living it—those were two very different things.
And the devastating fact was that Remy had only had five relationships in her life. Her mother and sperm donor. Doug. And Tasha and Etta.
All of those had ended in trauma. All of them.
Remy snaked her hand up to rub the E on her necklace.
She wasn’t sure she could open her heart to falling head over heels and then losing Sebastian.
She’d barely survived the loss of Tasha and Etta.
If anything happened to Sebastian, or even if he simply decided being with a middle-aged, prickly, jagged woman who was too old to give him children—even when he insisted he wasn’t called to fatherhood—was just too much, and he left her…
She might just collapse. And never rise.
Once again, the precious voice spoke in her heart. Be brave, Arabella. You said you trust him. If you mean it, lean into it.
Remy shifted back in Sebastian’s arms, taking in the handsome visage that was so much more than just a superstar face.
It was the face of friendship. Of love.
She breathed in deeply, and leaned in.