She blinked. Heat flooded her cheeks. “Busted doing what?”
The doorbell rang.
“Shit.” She scrambled off the sofa and bolted for the door. What kind of idiot rang the doorbell at midnight?
Don’t wake up, Cody. Don’t wake up, Cody.
Justin Fitzsimmons stood on her doorstep, two steaming mugs in his hands. “Hot chocolate time.”
…
Who the hell is this guy?
Sebastian narrowed his eyes at the man following Grace into her living room carrying two matching coffee mugs. Steam swirled up from both, as did the distinct aroma of chocolate.
What kind of guy brought hot chocolate to a woman’s house at midnight?
The kind wanting to get laid.
A tight ball twisted in Sebastian’s chest, and he once again leaned back against the kitchen counter. Hard to get laid while another guy was in the house, that was for certain.
And there’s a reason Grace shouldn’t get some?
The ball in his chest turned to a heavy lump. He knew Grace didn’t have a boyfriend. Cody had told him. Although he still wasn’t sure why he’d asked her son if she had one. Grace Ford, correction, Grace Wilder, would be a nightmare as a girlfriend. Too sharp with her tongue, too combative. How her husband—what was his name? Gary? How Gary had put up with her was beyond him. Although in all the photos Cody had showed him, their little family unit had appeared happy and relaxed and perfect.
The Grace he’d grown up beside had never rolled over and showed her stomach, or been relaxed and happy, no matter how much he’d pushed her.
She’d called him out for being indulged. For being rude and mean. Even Harrison had been on the receiving end more than once, and of the two of them, Harrison had been the one who’d treated Grace well.
Why didn’t I treat Grace well? Why did she bring out the worst in me back then?
“I know you didn’t text me back,” the newcomer said as he followed Grace into the living room, his smile easygoing, “but I saw your light still on, and I know you pulled another double shift, so I figured a hot chocolate was what you needed.”
Sebastian cleared his throat.
“Fuck,” the guy burst out, jerking around to stare at Sebastian. Hot chocolate splashed from both cups. “Shit.” He held the dripping mugs away from him, bowed in that awkward way people stand when trying not to get scalded.
Sebastian nodded and grinned. “G’day.”
“Oh God, Hart.” Grace rolled her eyes. And yet, were her lips twitching? A little? “I see you’re still all about the dramatics.”
The new guy gaped at him. “You’re Sebastian Hart. The film director.”
“No, I’m Sebastian Hart. The plumber.”
New Guy blinked.
“All right, Seb. You’ve had your fun.” Grace crossed to where he stood in the kitchen and retrieved the tea he’d made her. The tea. Not New Guy’s hot chocolate. Good.
And that’s good why?
“Justin, this is Sebastian Hart.” She flicked Sebastian a pointed look. “The director. Seb and I used to live next door to each other a long time ago.”
A long time ago. In another life, when the only person who thought he was worth anything was his mother. That was before his talent for filmmaking made him famous, of course. After that, everyone thought he was worth something and did everything they could to make him happy. The weird world of Hollywood fame and power. How would Grace have dealt with him if she’d been a part of his life for the last twelve years? Would she have changed? Or would she have been the same Grace, telling him he was being a dick, an egomaniac narcissist. She’d introduced him to the term. Surprisingly, he’d thought of her every time it was used to describe him throughout his career. And it had been used a lot.
“Wow.” Justin recovered from his gaping, dumped the dripping mugs on Grace’s coffee table, wiped his hands on his jeans, and hurried over to where Sebastian stood in the kitchen, right hand extended. “Pleased to meet you, Sebastian. Mr. Hart. Seb.”
“Only Grace calls me Seb.”
Now why the hell did I say that?
“Sorry.” Justin shook his hand, his grip firm. A power shake. Jesus, was the guy trying to do the whole alpha-male thing?
This guy’s a—
“Sebastian, can you pass me the paper towel, please?”
Retrieving his hand from Justin’s, Sebastian looked at Grace. She seemed…unsettled and kept flicking quick looks at Justin. What was going on here? Surely she couldn’t be interested in this guy? He was…was…very beige. Generically good-looking; that’s how Daryl—Sebastian’s favorite casting director—would describe him.
“Sure.” He reached behind him, grabbed the roll of paper towels on the counter, and handed it to her. “How do you know Grace?”
Justin chortled, an easy sound that put Sebastian’s teeth on edge. “I live next door to her now. Cody, her son—have you met Cody?—washes my dog.”
Lives next door? Nope. Not a fan of that. “Do you pay him? Or is it a child labor–type arrangement?”
“Okay, Hart.” Grace placed her tea and the paper-towel roll on the counter and pointed at the door. “Time to go.”
“Nah, I’m good.” He pushed himself from the counter, stare locked with Justin’s, and ambled over to the living room. “Toss me the paper towel, and I’ll clean up the spilled hot chocolate all over the floor and coffee table.”
Grace regarded him from the kitchen, expression unreadable. Did she want to hit him? Kick him in the shins?
Justin had followed him and lowered himself into an armchair, as if he had every right to be here.
Not a fan of that, either.
Sebastian looked at Grace. “Honey?”
Her eyebrows shot up. Sebastian caught his breath. What the hell was he doing?
“Honey?” Justin twisted in the chair to frown at Grace. “I didn’t know… I mean…” He looked back at Sebastian. “You two…”
Sebastian grinned. “Sometimes things in life take you by surprise, Justin. Cody and I were talking about it today during lunch. Of course, we talked about movies during dinner. I promised him I’d introduce him to Robert Downey Jr. next week.”
“Oh God, Sebastian.”
Something heavy wrapped around Sebastian’s chest at Grace’s groan. Something primitive joined it as Justin met his stare again. There was a challenge in the other man’s eyes.
“Okay.” Grace waved her hands toward the front door, not looking at either of them. “Out. It’s way too late. I’ve got an early start tomorrow, Cody has a school excursion leaving at seven a.m., and I need some sleep.”
“I can take Cody to school,” Justin piped up, straightening in the chair even as he flicked Sebastian a quick glance.
“It’s all good, Grace.” Sebastian didn’t move on the sofa. “Cody and I have got it all figured out. I’m making him breakfast at six thirty and then taking him to school.”
Grace blinked.
Sebastian grinned. Take that, Justin. “And I’m picking him up when school finishes. We’re going into the city to my offices. I’ve got a meeting with Chris Huntley, and Cody said he’d like to meet him.”
Grace stared at him, her expression impossible to decipher. He’d made the assumption Grace was going to approve his appointment as Cody’s big brother, but was she? He sure as hell wasn’t going to ask her now, however. Not with Justin circling like a hungry great white.
“I read an early review of your new film this afternoon, Hart,” Justin said.
The pressure around Sebastian’s chest turned cold. The television audience’s laughter from earlier flittered through his head. The host’s words joined them.
He drew in a slow breath. Justin smirked at him from the armchair.
“Wasn’t that good.” Justin plucked at something on the knee of his jeans, lips curling. “Or maybe I’m thinking of a different film. You’re the director of Samantha and Dave, right?”
Bastard.
&n
bsp; Sebastian’s gut clenched. He’d refused to believe what he was watching on television just before Grace arrived home. He’d never made a bad movie. He didn’t have it in him. And Samantha and Dave was a passion project he’d poured his soul into. But here was Grace’s next-door neighbor mentioning another scathing—
“Mum?”
Sebastian started at Cody’s sleepy voice. So did Justin. Good.
“Hey, bug, what are you doing up?” Scowling at Sebastian and then Justin, Grace hurried over to where Cody stood in the entrance to the living room, rubbing at his eyes.
“I heard voices.” Sleep turned the statement to a mumbly rasp. “I wanted to say good-bye to Sebastian.” Cody gave Sebastian a tired smile. “Don’t forget tomorrow.”
Warmth flooded through him. “I won’t, buddy.”
“Hi, Cody.”
Cody gave Justin a squinty-eyed, just-as-tired smile. “Hi, Mr. Fitzsimmons.”
Mr. Fitzsimmons. Huh. So formal.
Taking Cody’s hand, Grace gave them both another scowl. “Say good night, bug. Seb and Justin are leaving.”
Sebastian wriggled down deeper into the sofa. Like hell Seb’s leaving.
“Night,” Cody mumbled.
She arched a look at Justin and then Sebastian. “You both know where the door is.”
And with that, she turned and headed into the dark shadows of the house.
Throwing Justin a smile, Sebastian straightened to his feet. “Let me show you where it is.”
Justin also rose to his feet, eyes narrowing. “I know where the door is. Been here many times. Unlike you. So are you and Grace…”
“And if we are?”
What am I doing?
Justin ran a slow gaze over him, a slow smile stretching his lips. “Funny how she’s never mentioned you before.”
“Funny how she’s never mentioned you before.”
Justin chortled again. Yeah, Sebastian really didn’t like that sound. “See you around, Hart.” He turned and walked from the room, snagging an apple from the dining table. “Tell Grace I’ll come around and get the mugs from her later. Before her shift starts tomorrow. While you’re heading into the city with Cody.”
Sebastian drew in a slow breath, waited for the sound of the door closing, and then slowly let it out again. He dragged his hands through his hair, his heart thumping fast. What was going on with him? He was behaving like another man was interested in his girl. Grace sure as hell wasn’t his girl, so what the hell was his problem?
But still, she was Grace, a woman he’d grown up with, who was now clearly dealing with the crappy hand life dealt her, and he didn’t like the idea of her not being happy. It didn’t sit right with him. And while he would win the metaphorical pissing contest initiated by Justin, maybe the generically good-looking guy was what Grace needed.
An image of Grace and Justin walking hand in hand along a sunlit beach filled his head, and with it a weird sensation twisted through his gut.
He swallowed. Jealousy? Fuck, what was wrong with him?
“I thought I told you to leave.” Grace walked back into the room, frown firmly in place as she rounded the sofa.
“So you like this Justin guy?”
She froze just as she was about to pick up the two mugs Justin had left. “Sure. He’s a nice guy. Why?”
“I’m not a fan.”
She burst out laughing. Threw back her head and really laughed. Looked at him, hand over her mouth, eyes sparkling, and started chuckling again.
“What?”
Rolling her eyes, she collected the mugs and carried them into the kitchen. “Hart, what you think about the people in my life means diddlysquat to me.”
“What about what Cody thinks?” He shoved himself from the armchair and strode into the kitchen. She flicked a look at him as she poured hot chocolate—probably warm chocolate now—down the sink. “Cody calls him Mr. Fitzsimmons. Doesn’t that tell you something?”
“It tells me Cody is respectful of his elders. Not something I recall you knowing much about when you were his age. Did you ever once call my dad anything but Reggie?”
“His name was Reg. What else was I meant to call him?”
She let out a sharp bark of a laugh; her Seb-Hart-is-a-moron laugh. He remembered it well. “Oh, I don’t know. How ’bout Reg? Or better yet, Mr. Ford?”
Returning to the living room, she dropped into an armchair and tugged her ponytail free. “Forget it. I don’t know why I’m wasting my breath. Thank you for staying with Cody today. I’ll contact Big Brother tomorrow morning and tell them you can go to another little boy.”
“Why?”
She frowned at him. “Surely you don’t want to have to deal with me every time you come around to do your community service?”
Ouch. So, she knew why he was in the program.
“I don’t want to deal with you,” he said. “You’re horrible.” He smiled to soften the jibe and shrugged. “But Cody is awesome. A weird little awesome kid. We had fun today, talking movies and games. To be honest, I was surprised how much I enjoyed hanging out with him, even if he did kick my arse in Mario Kart. I’m happy to spend time with him.”
They’d also talked a lot about Cody’s dad, about how incredible he’d been. A firefighter. Heroic and brave. Cody missed him, still idolized him. Sebastian almost envied the boy’s innocent worship of his father. Sebastian sure as shit never felt like that for his own father. He’d felt an unusual guilt for turning the conversation to Grace. Cody clearly loved his mother more than his ten-year-old brain could articulate, and he was fiercely protective of her. When Sebastian had asked the boyfriend question, Cody spluttered out a no, his young face growing red behind his glasses. He’d shaken his head so much it was a wonder said glasses didn’t fling off. He hadn’t mentioned generically good-looking Justin at all, not even as “Mum’s friend” or “our neighbor,” so if the next-door neighbor did have a thing for Grace—and with the challenge in Justin’s eyes, Sebastian suspected that was the case—Cody knew nothing about it.
“So I can’t get rid of you?” she asked.
“No. I’m not going anywhere.” And not just because Judge Myers would be displeased. As much as he didn’t want to go to jail, he wanted to…
What? See what life had done to Tinsel Teeth?
He swiped at his mouth with his hand. No. He didn’t like that reaction. True, he’d found himself wondering about her on and off over the years, about what she was doing, but she wasn’t Tinsel Teeth Ford. Not anymore.
“Did you hate me?” Now why the hell had he asked that? “When we were kids? Teenagers?”
She studied him like he was a specimen in a petri dish. Science had been her forte subject at school. In fact, if he remembered correctly, she’d won some kind of science award when she was sixteen.
“Yes.” She let out a sigh, her expression impossible to decipher. “I did.”
“I wasn’t your biggest fan, either.”
She threw back her head and laughed again, and before he knew it, he was laughing as well. Okay, so a late-night talk show didn’t like his latest movie. Big deal. So he was on community service. So what? Right at that second, laughing with his old nemesis felt good.
“Drink your tea,” he said, sliding her cup closer to her across the coffee table.
She picked it up and blew a gentle stream of air on its surface. “What did you end up feeding Cody today?”
“We made Vegemite sandwiches for lunch and got pizza delivered for dinner.”
“Let me guess. Barbecue meatlovers from Domino’s.”
Sebastian’s favorite pizza when he was a kid. A grin pulled at his lips. She remembered.
“I thought you’d like some veggies in his meal”—he settled back into the sofa—“so I ordered a roast chicken, sweet potato, and baby spinach calzone from a gourmet pizza joint in Point Piper.”
She blinked. “Point Piper? On the harbor?”
He nodded.
“Almost an hour an
d a half’s drive away. Chock full of billionaires and millionaires? That Point Piper?”
“Yeah.”
“And they delivered. To here?”
He nodded again.
She shook her head. “I don’t know whether to be impressed by the fact you thought of Cody’s nutritional needs, or gobsmacked by the fact a pizza place in Point Piper delivered a calzone all the way out here.”
“I flew the cook to L.A. once to make me the roast chicken calzone. You’ll love it. I remember how much you liked sweet potatoes. I made sure we left you some. It’s in the fridge. Bet you Justin Whatshisface never brought you sweet potato calzone from Point—”
He stopped. “What did I say?”
“I don’t think I can do this.”
Was he meant to hear her mutter?
She huffed out another sigh. “You were a shit to me when we were kids, Seb.”
He narrowed his eyes. People didn’t talk to him like this. She hadn’t been easy to live next door to. Always pointing out how his mother gave him and Harrison whatever they wanted, always making him feel…inadequate somehow, with just a look, or a word he didn’t know.
“Don’t try to make me believe you’ve changed.”
Her low request sent a cold finger up his spine. People definitely didn’t talk to him like that. He was the one who told people what to do.
He opened his mouth to tell her he had changed. And closed it. He’d called her Tinsel Teeth twice. Thought it more than once. And here he was, in her house, after she’d told him and Justin to leave.
Was she right? And was he sticking with Cody just to irritate her?
“I hate these contacts,” she muttered, closing her eyes and shaking her head. “I’m taking them out.”
Without waiting for his response, she shoved herself from the chair and strode from the room.
He raked his hands through his hair. Was he tense because of the unexpected reaction to Samantha and Dave? Or his unexpected reaction to Grace?
Pushing himself to his feet, he took her tea to the kitchen and placed it in the microwave. It’d be tepid by now, and who in their right mind wanted tepid tea?
Shouldn’t you be going? Or answering all the texts you’ve ignored throughout the day? One of them’s bound to be from Kimmy.
The Irredeemable Billionaire (Muse series) Page 4
