Damn it, she’d kissed him in her open door, where anyone walking or driving past could see. If Mrs. Hill across the road had been watching, the senile old biddy would be likely having a fit. The woman was convinced Gary was just away for a “firefighter’s thing,” and nothing Grace could say would change her mind.
She took another step backward, pressed her fingers to her lips, and turned away. She had to stop looking at him. He was too…
Sebastian.
“I’ve got to get ready for work,” she said. Damn, if her pulse didn’t slow down soon, she’d need to call an ambulance for herself. “Thanks for coming back, but as I’ve been trying to tell you, you don’t need to try to make Justin jealous because I’m not interested in him.”
“You’re not?”
“Also,” she went on, “Judge Myers told me you only need to interact with Cody once a week to fulfill your big brother duties, so I guess you don’t have to come back until next week. Maybe Sunday again? I’m working a double shift so you could—”
Warm, firm fingers wrapped around her arm, and she jerked her stare back to him.
At some point, he’d closed the door. Phew. Or not. Now she was behind closed doors with him, and why the hell did she keep looking at his lips? “Grace, I need to tell you something.”
She shook his hand free of her arm. The old Seb would have just told her straight out, as if it were her duty to listen to him.
Was it insane she missed that Seb?
It was easier to loathe that Sebastian. This one…
No. She loathed this new Sebastian as well. Even though he did make something deep inside her go all warm and greedy with a kiss.
Pretend kiss. Remember that. He only thinks about himself. The kiss was to make Justin jealous so you’d tell Judge Myers how amazing he is.
“I’m going to be late,” she said.
“Please.”
Her breath caught in her throat. Sebastian never said please. What the hell?
“Who are you?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And what have you done with the real Sebastian Hart?”
He chuckled at her lame attempt at humor. Why was she even trying to diffuse the tension? “I used to say please to you all the time when we were growing up. Please, Tinsel Teeth, stop looking at me. Please, stop kicking me in the shins.”
“Oh yeah, you were a paragon of manners.”
He grinned.
Okay, this was better. “What do you have to tell me, Seb? Can’t it wait? Honestly, I have to get ready for work. Patients expect a certain level of beauty perfection when being checked for suspected heart attacks or fighting with me in a drugged-out psychosis.”
He chuckled, although it sounded forced. “I pity any junkie trying to take you on. My shins remember all too well the feel of your wrath.”
She smiled. Couldn’t help it. It was weird, smiling with Sebastian. It felt wrong. But also…right.
Her stomach knotted, and—before he could see whatever expression she feared might be on her face—she turned and began walking back to the kitchen. “I have to get ready,” she threw over her shoulder. “I’ll catch you Sunday.”
He followed her. Damn it. “I’m taking you to dinner tonight. I promised Cody.”
The knot in her stomach turned to a ball.
“But that’s not the point.” He caught up with her, snagging her elbow again in a gentle grip. “Grace, I really need to tell you something.”
Stopping, she let out a sigh and rubbed at her eyes. She’d gone too long without her glasses or contacts. She was beginning to get a headache. One that had nothing to do with the blast-from-the-past bastard currently in her home.
Yeah, right.
“What is it? I’ve already lied about us to the judge. I’m not sure I can—”
Her phone rang, Darth Vader’s theme from Star Wars.
Her boss.
“I’ve got to get that. And then I’ve got to go.” She hurried into the kitchen, scooped up her phone, connected the call, and covered the receiver with her palm. “Whatever it is, you can tell me later. Got it?”
He nodded, expression impossible to read. “Got it. See you tonight. Pick you up at six.”
And with that, he turned and left.
Before she could tell him no.
Typical bloody Sebastian Hart.
Chapter Five
He rushed through the rest of his day. It made no sense of course. Meetings, brunch meetings, lunch meetings, Skype meetings with his preproduction team, more than one conversation with Kimmy and Samantha and Dave’s marketing team, and more than one conference call with the studio releasing the film.
Normally, when working, he was 100 percent present, 100 percent focused on the task, the topic.
In all those meetings and conversations and interactions, he kept finding himself thinking of Grace.
He’d never thought of Grace Ford as anything but an annoyance back in the day. What had changed? And why?
So she’s still annoying me. Just in a totally different—
“Boss?”
Shaking his head, he frowned at the young man standing in front of his desk. “Sorry, Mitch. I was woolgathering.”
Mitch—the personal assistant whose main job was to keep track of his non–film related appointments—shuffled his feet. He’d only been a part of Sebastian’s team for a short while but was panning out well. Except for the fact he was like a nervous puppy when it came to giving Sebastian bad news. The feet shuffling, the fidgeting with whatever was in his hands—in this case, Sebastian’s Sydney office’s landline phone.
Okay, so whatever he needed to say, he was prepared for Sebastian to get angry. Couldn’t be about Samantha and Dave. That was film related, handled by his other PA, Anya.
Settling back in his desk chair, Sebastian picked up the coffee he’d been neglecting and took a sip. “What is it?”
Mitch cleared his throat and shuffled his feet again. “Someone named Grace Wilder called your offices with a message for you.”
Taking another sip, Sebastian ordered his heart to slow down. Had she seen the pap images of her and him? Or the ones of him and Cody? Why the hell hadn’t he told her when he’d intended to?
Because you didn’t want to see her upset or stressed.
Mitch shuffled his feet again and fidgeted with the phone. “She said she’s collecting Cody from school this afternoon and that dinner isn’t happening.”
“Give me the phone.”
Mitch didn’t move. “She said you weren’t to bother calling her. She wouldn’t answer.”
“Mitch, who is your boss?”
“You are, Mr. Hart.”
“Give me the phone.”
Mitch gave him the phone.
“Hers was the last incoming call on this phone?”
Mitch nodded.
He hit caller ID and then returned her call.
It went straight to her message service.
“Hi, this is Grace—”
“And Cody,” Cody’s laughing voice interjected over hers.
“We can’t take your call right now, but leave us a message—”
“And a fart noise.” Cody said, giggling like crazy.
An electronic beep sounded in Sebastian’s ear and, without hesitating, he pressed his palm to his mouth and blew a loud raspberry against it. A loud one.
Mitch’s mouth fell open.
“See you at six, Grace,” Sebastian said into the phone, grinning. “Cody, tell your mum to dress up.”
He hung up, tossed the phone back to Mitch, and reached for his coffee. “If Ms. Wilder calls back, tell her to refer to the fart noise.”
Mitch nodded, stared at Sebastian like he’d gone insane, and hurried from the room.
“Dinner not happening, my arse.” Sebastian chuckled, opening his laptop. Okay, it was work time. Anything to make the hours between now and when he collected Grace and Cody to go quicker.
Those hours flew. Thankfully, his afternoon meeting with Chr
is Huntley went well. The star wasn’t used to negative reviews but handled it with a relaxed humor Sebastian admired.
“What are you going to do?” Chris had shrugged as they discussed the early bad reviews for Samantha and Dave’s appearing on Rotten Tomatoes. “I hate the film The Shawshank Redemption, which I’ve been assured repeatedly is a cardinal sin. Creative work is subjective. We both know that. Hey, did I hear right that you’re doing community service for some Hugo Boss thing? And who’s the woman not wearing pants I saw you photographed with?”
Yeah, the day went quickly. The way he wanted it to.
The low summer sun was stretching shadows across Grace’s front yard when he pulled to a stop in her driveway five minutes before six p.m.
Cody sat on the top step of the porch, focus fixed on the notepad on his lap.
“Whatcha doing, buddy?” Sebastian closed the Range Rover’s door and ambled over to him.
Cody didn’t look up. “Homework. I have to make a presentation on an important person.”
“Huh. Going okay?”
Cody shrugged, finally lifting his attention to Sebastian. “Don’t know. Are we going out to eat dinner with you? Mum says we’re not, but she’s inside putting makeup on, and she never wears makeup.”
A smile pulled at Sebastian’s lips. Grace Ford in makeup? He hadn’t seen her in makeup since the dance where she’d worn the floaty dress that showed off her legs. She’d looked so different that night, not like the Grace he lived beside. It hadn’t felt right, and he’d made no bones about letting her know.
“And,” Cody dragged out, “she told me to get out of my school clothes and into something clean and decent.”
Sebastian chuckled. Of course she couldn’t refuse dinner with him. Who was she kidding?
“Then I guess”—he grinned, lowering himself down to sit on the step beside Cody—“we’re all going out to dinner.”
He’d made a reservation at Quay earlier that day, certain Grace wouldn’t back out regardless of her bluff. It was impossible to get a table at Sydney’s most awarded restaurant on short notice, but when the maître d’ discovered who was requesting the table, their best one suddenly became available.
Cody beamed. “Excellent. I’m hungry.”
“How was the zoo? Anyone get eaten by the lions?”
“No. I couldn’t convince the lions to break out and start snacking.”
Yeah, definitely Grace’s son. He’d recognize that biting sarcasm anywhere. “Anyone in particular you want eaten by lions?”
Cody dropped his attention back to the notepad on his lap. On it, in writing that was at once messy and neat, were the words “The Most Important Person.”
Who was he going to do his homework task on? His father? Being killed while saving lives as a firefighter made what Sebastian did for a living seem…less significant.
Silence stretched. Long enough for Sebastian’s gut to clench. “Someone giving you a hard time at school, buddy?”
Pushing his glasses up on his nose, Cody looked up at him. “I told my friends I knew you today. They called me a liar. No one would sit with me when we had lunch.”
A finger of cold anger traced up Sebastian’s spine. Fucking kids and their mean behavior. It pissed him off.
And you were different how, exactly?
The cold finger crept through his scalp. He ground his teeth, gently placing his hand on Cody’s back. “How ’bout I walk you into school tomorrow? What do you think? What do you think your friends would do then?”
Sunlight flooded Cody’s face. “They would freak out. Can we do that?”
“Do what?” Grace’s wary voice sounded behind them. Sebastian twisted on the step and directed a beguiling smile up at her.
And then he froze. Forgot how to breathe.
Wow. He swallowed, slowly rising to his feet. Wow.
“You look…” He swiped at his mouth, lost for words.
She stood on the open door’s threshold wearing a knee-length black dress that fell over her curves and dips with a delicateness that made his pulse quicken. Its neckline scooped low on her breasts, teasing their creamy shape without flaunting their fullness. The thin straps left her shoulders bare, and for the first time, he noticed a toned strength to her arms. Was it from working out? Or dealing with the patients she was called out to on the job?
She wore no glasses, the green of her eyes emphasized instead by dark, smoky eye shadow and liner, and her lips were glossed with a deep burgundy that only served to highlight just how feminine they were.
He frowned. How had he never noticed that before?
Her hair, that crazy wild mess of copper-red curls, was left untamed, tumbling around her face and neck and shoulders just like it used to back when they were kids. He liked it that way. So much more. It awoke something in his, a desire to bury his hands in it as he drew his head down to hers, as his lips found hers…
“You look beautiful, Mum.”
Cody’s awed statement jerked Sebastian’s breath from him. He cleared his throat. “You do. Very beautiful.”
Grace narrowed her eyes.
He pressed his hand to his chest. “I’m serious. You look…”
Stunning. Gorgeous. Amazing.
“Perfect.”
She rolled her eyes, shook her head, and snorted. “Okay, Seb. If we’re doing this, we’re doing this. C’mon. Let’s give the neighbors a show, shall we?”
“Why?” Cody asked.
Licking her thumb, she reached for his cheek. “I’ll tell you—”
“Argh.” Cody ducked her hand. “Gross.”
She laughed. “Get your butt moving, bug. Take your notepad inside and then get back out here. You’ve got ten seconds before we leave without—”
Cody bolted inside.
Sebastian swallowed, his chest as tight as his throat. Why was it suddenly so hard to look at her?
“I…” Whatever she was going to say, she stopped.
Scrubbing at the back of his neck, he stepped closer to her. “Can generically good-looking Justin see your front porch from his house?”
“Generically good-looking…” Her lips twitched. “I told you I’m not—”
He kissed her. A soft, simple kiss.
A softer moan escaped her, almost impossible to hear. And yet there. A moan of pleasure and surrender.
His blood roared in his head. His body erupted, every nerve ending and molecule sparking, aware of her smell, her taste, her warmth. He slid his hand over her waist, around to the small of her back, and drew her body to his with a gentle tug.
Oh yeah. So very yeah. So very perfect.
Another moan hitched in her throat, a little louder this time, a lot more sexual. He parted his lips, seeking her tongue. She gave it to him, an almost shy stroke against his. A building wave of warmth and wonder and delight rolled through him, making his heart thump fast and his groin grow heavy.
And then the sound of thudding feet in the house rivaled the pounding of his heart, and Grace slipped free of his embrace.
Her chest rose and fell as she flicked a glance over her shoulder and then to the right of his. “What…what do you think Justin would make of that?”
Justin. Fucking Justin Fitzsimmons. That was the reason she kissed him back? Why couldn’t she have kissed him back because she wanted to?
Taking a backward step, he wiped at his mouth and let out a shaky laugh. Hell, could it be any more forced?
“I’m ready, Mum.” Cody thundered to a stop beside her, smile wide. “We’re going to somewhere called Key? Is it far? I’m starved. Do they have chicken nuggets there?”
Sebastian laughed. Chuckled. It was that or pull Grace back into his arms and continue to kiss her, and he couldn’t do that in front of Cody, even if Grace wanted him to, which he doubted she did. What the hell was going on with him? It was as if with every touch of their lips, he wanted more. It made no sense.
“I’m sure,” he said to Cody. “The chef will make you whatever y
ou want, buddy.” If he looked at Grace, what would he see? Was she as unsettled by their kiss as he was?
“Quay?” Disbelief filled Grace’s voice. And, yep, it was definitely huskier than it had been before. Good. He couldn’t be the only one disarmed. “As in the restaurant on Sydney Harbor near the Opera House? The really trendy one all the rich snobs—”
He laughed as she snapped her mouth shut. “Yeah. That one. I want to see how you deal with them, Ford.”
“Wilder,” she corrected, expression enigmatic. “I’m not Grace Ford anymore. I haven’t been since I was eighteen. Please remember that.”
Her soft request sent a tight, dark shard into his chest.
No, she sure as hell wasn’t Grace Ford anymore. But why did that thought unsettle him more than any other?
“Hi, Mr. Fitzsimmons.” Cody smiled and waved. “We’re going out for dinner.”
Forcing his face to remain neutral, almost bored, Sebastian turned.
Justin stood at his letter box, watching them. At his feet was a massive Great Dane, long tail wagging.
He had a dog. Every boy needed a dog. That was good.
Maybe I should get a dog?
Smiling casually, he raised a hand. “G’day, Fitzsummers.”
“Fitzsimmons,” Justin corrected with a genial smile.
Ah, he’s going to play the good-guy card. Wise move.
“Hi, Justin.” A faint pink tinged Grace’s cheeks, and she flicked a glance at Sebastian. “How was work?”
Justin’s smile widened. “Good. Remember the Aqua Hoppers account I was telling you about last week?”
And now he’s reestablishing a connection with Grace. He’s clever.
Grace nodded.
“I signed them today. Finally.”
She smiled. A cold pressure slid around Sebastian’s chest. “Well done. That’s great to hear.”
“I’m hungry.” Cody snagged her hand. “Mum, I’ve got a hole in my tummy.”
With a roll of her eyes and a soft laugh that stirred something in Sebastian he didn’t want to analyze, she scruffed Cody’s hair. “Okay, bug. Sorry, Justin, we have to go. Holes to be filled.”
“No worries.” Justin directed a smile at Sebastian. “Enjoy your dinner.”
The Irredeemable Billionaire (Muse series) Page 8
