The Irredeemable Billionaire (Muse series)

by Couper, Lexxie

  “Will do. See you later, mate.”

  Justin clicked at his dog and headed back into his house, throwing one last smile at Grace.

  Sebastian let out a jovial grunt as he held out his hand toward his Range Rover. “Seems like a nice bloke. Did you want to ask him to come?”

  Grace’s lips twitched. “I forgot how funny you are, Seb.”

  Cody—already at the Rover—jumped up and down. “I like this car. Does it go fast?”

  “Me, too.” Sebastian opened the back passenger door. “And it does. What are your thoughts on Aston Martins?”

  “Like the car James Bond drives?”

  Oh, this kid is awesome. “Yep.”

  “Wow. Do you have one of those?”

  Sebastian chuckled as Cody climbed up into the Rover and buckled himself. “If I answer that, you won’t be surprised tomorrow morning, will you?”

  “Wow.”

  Closing the door, Sebastian turned to Grace. “What about you, Wilder? Aston Martin fan?”

  “Can I call you a pretentious wanker now, or do I save it for later?”

  “Ouch.”

  She gave another soft laugh, and there was another disquieting reaction to it deep in his core.

  “Let’s go eat, Hart. It’s a school night, after all. We can’t stay out too late.”

  “Your wish—”

  “Don’t say it.” She laughed and opened her door, an unreadable light dancing in her eyes. “You may not like what I wish for.”

  …

  She’d promised Gary at the side of his grave, a week after burying what had remained of his body once dragged from the fire, that she would never replace him.

  And she never would. So what was with the guilt nibbling at her all throughout dinner?

  Her meal was delicious—and unlike anything she’d indulged in before. Four courses of the most incredible dishes that bordered on sublime. How the hell was she meant to compare ramen noodles zapped in the depot’s microwave with something so beyond her socioeconomic life she couldn’t process it?

  Even Cody’s chicken nuggets, requested by Sebastian as “a special favor” made the nuggets she sometimes grabbed him at the McDonald’s drive-through look like a culinary practical joke.

  “They taste okay, buddy?” Sebastian smiled and reached for his glass of sparkling water.

  Cody shoved one full nugget in his mouth and grinned.

  “Oh, Cody.” She dropped her face into her hand and shook her head.

  “So what does generically good-looking Justin do for a job?”

  The question, asked casually, made her stomach flip. She didn’t want to talk about Justin.

  And you want to what? Sit and think about Gary instead? Make yourself feel bad about enjoying being out with another man?

  She was enjoying being out with another man. That in itself was freaking her out, let alone the man who she was enjoying herself with was Sebastian Hart. What the hell?

  “Very-nice-to-look-at Justin,” she said, giving Sebastian a pointed look, “is in advertising. He is a partner in a small advertising firm.”

  “Ah. Advertising.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “What does ah advertising mean?”

  He stabbed at his duck and arched his own eyebrow. “See? If you’d let me help all those years ago with your English assignments you’d know what advertising meant. It’s a very easy word. Want me to help you download a dictionary app?”

  Rolling her eyes, she pierced some of her own duck. She didn’t, however, hide her smile. “You’re a dick.”

  “Mum.” Cody gaped at her. “You said a swear word.”

  “Shhh.” She leaned toward him and gave his side a gentle tickle. “I didn’t. It was Seb.”

  Cody giggled, bit into the last nugget on his plate, and then—around a mouthful of chicken—said, “Can we have dessert?”

  “Sure,” Sebastian answered.

  “No way, bug,” Grace said.

  Cody rolled his eyes. “Bum.”

  Sebastian, sitting opposite her and looking far more relaxed and handsome and sexy than he had any right to, laughed. “He is totally your son, Grace. The eye roll nails it. And the deft use of profanity, I might add.”

  “Zip it, Hart.”

  He laughed. “I tell you what, Cody. We’ll skip dessert tonight, but I will get you a bucket of ice cream this Sunday.”

  “Cool. Is Sunday a Big Brother day?”

  “It is.”

  A hot lump settled in Grace’s stomach. Big Brother. That’s why Sebastian was with her and Cody. Somehow, among the four dishes, unexpectedly relaxed conversation about Cody’s school, and about how delicious their meals were, she’d forgotten that.

  “I was thinking of going to Sea World.” Sebastian’s gaze found her, a question in the blue of his eyes. “If your mum’s not working, she could join us?”

  Sea World. The theme park she’d been promising to take Cody to since he was five. “I’m working a double shift.”

  Cody slumped in his seat. “Bum.”

  Damn it, was there any quicker way for a mother to have her heart torn out of her chest than to disappoint her child?

  “I’m not sure I like the idea of you flying up to Queensland without me,” she said, mouth dry, turning away from Sebastian’s close gaze.

  Cody slumped farther, eyes downcast. “Oh man.”

  “Hey, buddy.” Sebastian tapped the table with his fingers, a grin on his face.

  Grace drew in a breath. If he contradicted her, or said he could take Cody anyway, she was going to kill him.

  “We’ll do Sea World another time. When your mum can come, okay?”

  A warm wave of surprised relief rolled through her. Or was it happiness? Or something else entirely?

  Don’t fall for Sebastian. Don’t fall—

  “Can we still have a bucket of ice cream this Sunday?”

  Cody’s question tugged a laugh out of her. Sebastian nodded, returning his gaze to her. “We sure can.”

  “Okay.” Placing her knife and fork on the plate, she let out a slow sigh. “It’s time to go. It’s later than I’d like and you, young man, have to get up for school tomorrow.”

  “Bum.” Cody pouted. “This was fun.”

  Sebastian nodded. “It was.”

  A fresh ribbon of guilt unfurled through Grace. Not at Sebastian and Cody’s declarations, but at the fact that the second they’d uttered them, she’d thought the very same thing.

  How could she be out having fun with someone else? What would Gary make of Sebastian?

  Rising to her feet, she plucked her purse from the table. “I just…” Her head swam. “I just need some fresh air.”

  Sebastian studied her for a heartbeat before he nodded. “Sure. Cody and I will meet you outside. Won’t be a sec.”

  She damn near stumbled for the door.

  The hot, humid night air wrapped around her eagerly, a stark contrast to the cool climate-controlled air of the restaurant.

  Sucking in breath after breath, she closed her eyes. Damn it, she should have just stuck to her normal shift today instead of moving mountains to get the evening off. If she had, Sebastian would have collected Cody from school, but at least she wouldn’t be standing on a footpath overlooking Sydney Harbor, wearing a goddamn dress she’d bought but couldn’t afford, and enjoying herself with Sebastian freaking Hart.

  “Ready, Mum?”

  At Cody’s voice and the warm feel of his fingers wrapping around hers, her heart skipped a beat. “Ready,” she answered, squeezing his hand. Calm. She needed to be calm. Everything going on with Sebastian would disappear the second his community service finished. Everything. Including her unexpected reaction to him being back in her life again.

  Yeah, right.

  “Okay, let’s hit the road and head home.”

  Sebastian appeared at her side, his hand smoothing over the small of her back, and before she could stop herself, before she even knew what she was doing, she smiled up a
t him.

  “God, how did I not realize how beautiful your smile was before now?” he murmured. “I must have been…” Shaking his head, he lowered his head to hers.

  A glaring white light flashed beside them, bleaching the night.

  “Shit.” Sebastian jerked backward, away from her.

  She blinked and then winced when the camera flash fired again.

  “Who’s the chick, Hart?” a man on the footpath holding a camera asked. The same man Grace had seen outside of her house yesterday morning.

  “Bugger off, Olsen,” Sebastian snarled, stepping between the photographer and Cody. “Find a log to crawl under.”

  Olsen took another photo of them. “How’s it feel knowing your latest movie is a flop?”

  “Mum?” Cody pressed against her.

  “I’d rather direct a flop movie than have a face uglier than a hat full of arseholes,” Sebastian shot back.

  “Mum?” Cody’s shoulder dug into her stomach. “Who’s that?”

  “Your chick’s hot.” Olsen raised his camera and pointed it at Grace. “Face is a bit boring, though.”

  Oh, classy.

  “Hey,” Sebastian snapped. “That’s enough.”

  Cody lunged forward. “My mum is not boring.”

  Sebastian took his hand, turning his back on Olsen. “Don’t pay him any attention, buddy. Your mum is way tougher and smarter than he is. And he thinks superhero movies are lame.”

  “He’s an idiot,” Cody burst out.

  “Oi,” Olsen complained.

  Staff and security personnel came running from the restaurant.

  Sebastian dropped him a wink. “Idiots like Olsen aren’t worth your hassle. C’mon, let’s get home.”

  And, as if the paparazzo didn’t exist, he smoothed his arm around Grace’s back and walked them to the Range Rover.

  Olsen shouted at them, tried to take more photos, but the restaurant’s staff wouldn’t let him. Grace flinched as he attempted to kick one of the men out of the road, and then had to bite back a laugh as the man promptly put him on his arse with a shove.

  “In you get.” Sebastian held the door open for Cody.

  Cody scrambled up into the luxury SUV. “That guy’s a tosser.”

  Grace opened her mouth and then shut it. Olsen was a tosser. She couldn’t really get angry or correct Cody for stating the truth.

  “Truer words have never been uttered, buddy.” Sebastian chuckled. “High five.”

  Cody slapped Sebastian’s offered hand, grinned at Grace, and then buckled his seat belt. “Man, this was fun.”

  Once again, she opened her mouth. Once again, she closed it. How did she argue with that? Like his earlier statement, this one was also true.

  This is a problem. Fun with Hart isn’t part of the deal.

  What deal? The Big Brother deal? Or the deal she seemed to have inadvertently signed where Sebastian wowed her son into hero worshipping him?

  Or the deal where she struggled to hold on to her grudge against Hart?

  Closing Cody’s door, Sebastian met her gaze. “Home?”

  An image of him walking into her messy home flitted through her mind. It should have freaked her out.

  Should have.

  She opened the front passenger door. “Home.”

  During the drive, Cody—in typical Cody fashion—recounted the entire evening’s events, all embellished with his unique spin on them. Sebastian chuckled often, encouraging Cody throughout the retelling.

  “And then,” he said from the backseat, “Mum smiled at you all gooey like.”

  “Did she now?”

  “Yep.”

  Grace pressed her palm to her mouth. Thank God the interior light of the car was off. Her cheeks burned like fire. “I did not.”

  “Yes, you did.” Cody grabbed at the back of her seat. “It was all big and soppy and looked like this.”

  She twisted in her seat as Cody gave her the most ridiculous smile she’d ever seen. Sebastian chuckled beside her. Damn it. “Bedtime, bug. Now.”

  Cody’s over-the-top smile melted into a pout of shattered hope. “Do I have to?”

  “You do. School tomorrow.”

  Sebastian pulled into the driveway and then twisted in his seat to look at Cody in the back. “How will everyone see me drive you to school if we’re late, buddy?”

  She frowned. “You don’t need to drive him to school. Your big brother commitments don’t include—”

  “Yes, he does.” Cody leaped out of his seat, poking his head between theirs. “Sebastian’s going to show the other kids at school I’m not a liar.”

  “A what?” Grace blinked. A cold slither of unease crawled over her. “He’s going to what?”

  “Bedtime.” Sebastian opened his door.

  Muted light filled the Range Rover for a moment as he alighted from the car, and then Cody was doing the same.

  The two of them made their way to the front door of the house, chatting. Their voices—one low and deep and thoroughly male, the other young and excited and full of joy—wafted back to her on the still night air.

  She closed her eyes. Cody was falling for Sebastian. That was simple. And while Seb was already proving to be an enormous help with him, what was going to happen to Cody’s heart when Sebastian’s community service finished and he dropped them both like a hot potato? They didn’t live in his world—the world of celebrities and private planes and paparazzi and more money than Grace could fathom. When his time was done, no matter how amazing his kisses were, he would go and never look back.

  How was Cody going to deal with that?

  Justin? According to Sebastian, Justin was thumping on his chest, just waiting to swoop in.

  She grimaced at the thought.

  “Coming?” Sebastian called on a laugh from the front door. “You can sleep in the car if you want, but the bed’s far more comfortable.”

  Had he shouted that for Justin’s benefit? Surely the way he was treating her, the overt interest, was because he doggedly refused to accept Justin wasn’t the answer to all her problems. It was the only reason that made sense, after all. When it came to arrogant assumptions, Sebastian was the champion.

  She climbed from the car and made her way to her house.

  Both Cody and Sebastian smiled at her as she unlocked the door. Cody ran in. Sebastian waited on the porch.

  Okay, this was the part where she thanked him for dinner and told him to go home. The logical cause of action. Simple and easy to do.

  “Want a cup of tea?” she asked.

  He drew in a slow breath and dipped his head in a single nod. “I would.”

  What the hell was she doing?

  Chapter Six

  So getting a ten-year-old boy to bed involved more negotiation skills, emotional manipulation, and bribery than directing Oscar-winning actors to do something they didn’t see their character doing. Trying not to chuckle at Grace’s ongoing efforts to get Cody into bed and to stay there, Sebastian made the tea.

  The bergamot scent of Earl Grey filled his nose as he poured the boiling water into their two cups, stirring in him a memory from a long time ago.

  The day he found out Grace’s dad had multiple sclerosis.

  They’d been over at the Ford house—dealing with the fallout of him declaring her hair was too orange, and her calling him a psychopath—when her mother let it slip.

  Grace had burst into a sobbing, “He has what?” and his mother had snapped her mouth shut.

  “Love will get us through this,” Grace’s mother had said, smiling at Reg.

  Seb’s mother, still smarting from her own love story imploding, had called Grace’s parents deluded fools and left, dragging both him and Harrison by their wrists behind her.

  He never drank Earl Grey. Ever. He liked tea. Considered himself somewhat a connoisseur, but he never drank Earl Grey. And yet now he was pouring himself a mug.

  “Okay, so that was an effort.” Grace’s weary sigh played with his senses, an
d he turned to find her slumped in the armchair, head back, hands covering her face. Once again, she looked tired. But unlike the first time he saw her, not beaten down. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Lips still slightly colored with the remnants of gloss.

  Crossing to the living room, tea mugs in hand, he lowered himself onto the sofa. “It’s not every day a boy gets to battle a member of the paparazzi in defense of his mother.”

  “That bastard called me plain,” she grumbled without removing her hands from her face. “I feel like I want to go back and find him and beat him up with his own camera.”

  “We can do that. I’ll get one of my PAs to come stay here with Cody. Anya is great with kids.”

  She dropped her hands and frowned at him. “I have no idea if you’re serious or not.”

  He chuckled and handed her one of the mugs. “Depends. Do you want me to be?”

  Letting out a wry snort, she took the tea. “There’s a part of me that does. What a prick. Do you deal with that kind of thing often? I thought only movie stars and singers copped that kind of attention.”

  “Olsen is a special kind of prick. He learned his trade at the notorious Carl Holston School for Paparazzo Bastards.”

  “Who?”

  “Carl Holston was one of the world’s most notorious paparazzo. Started his career here in Australia hounding Nick Blackthorne. He was killed a few months ago trying to get a photo of James Dyson’s fiancée. Ran out on the road and got hit by a speeding garbage truck. Quite fitting, to be honest. Olsen is trying to claim Holston’s crown. So he goes after any celebrity he thinks worth his time. I fall into that category when I’m in Australia. And when no one else more famous than me is in town. Now Chris Huntley is here, I suspect tonight will be the last time we’re harassed by him.”

  We. When had they become a we?

  Grace shook her head and took a sip of her tea. “Chris Huntley, James Dyson. I still can’t believe I’m having a conversation with someone who just casually name-drops such famous people. Who would have thought the bane of my existence would grow up to have such famous friends?”

  Sebastian picked up his own tea and grinned. “I did.”

  She rolled her eyes with a soft laugh. “Y’know what? I think I did, too.”