by Sian Ceinwen
“I’m going to look at more apartments with Vince today,” he told her.
“Cool, let me know how it goes.”
He told her that he would, then left to shower. So far, the two men had been to see about twenty apartments, and nothing seemed suitable to him, even though he’d shown Lita the listings, and she thought that any one of them would have been fine.
Later in the day, he sent her a text.
I’ve found some apartments. You cool to come to see them tonight?
Lita smiled when she read it. Progress, at last.
Sure. Sounds good.
Once Lita had logged off her laptop for the day, Vincent came to meet them and take them to visit the three apartments that Sebastian had narrowed it down to.
Ben had the evening off, so it was Daryl that drove them out apartment hunting. Lita was sitting between Sebastian and Vincent in the backseat of the big, black SUV that he drove them around in.
“I think you’ll like the apartments that Sebastian has chosen,” Vincent said as he smiled at Lita.
“I’m sure,” Lita said and rolled her eyes. “They all looked wonderful, and they’d want to be for the small fortune that Sebastian is going to spend on one of them.”
Sebastian laughed. “Don’t hold back, princess, tell us what you really think.”
“I think that these apartments are ridiculously expensive, but I also think that I’m forced to admit that we need it for the security aspect and that I was crazy to ever get involved with you, but that last part isn’t necessarily to do with the apartment hunting.” She poked her tongue out at him.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, I guess that I’m lucky you’re crazy, huh?”
“I guess you are,” she told him.
The first apartment they saw was incredibly modern, but it was a bit sterile, and Lita didn’t like it. It hadn’t had this cold feeling to it in the pictures she’d seen online. She walked through it quickly, and Sebastian followed her, while Vincent waited in the entrance for them to look around.
“Nope,” she shrugged at him when they were standing in the master bedroom with a view of Seattle spread out in front of them.
Sebastian asked her, “Are you sure?”
“Do you like it?” Lita asked him.
“Well, okay, not that much; I just wanted to see if you did. There’s one of the three that I’m excited about, but I didn’t want to force you into the one I liked.” He gave her a chagrined smile.
“So, you brought me to see a trash apartment to make me like the one you want instead?” Lita narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him.
Sebastian laughed. “Maybe. Actually, I just figured that you’re a programmer, so maybe you’d like this kind of place.”
“What? You thought that because I like to code, that I would like a place that’s cold and clinical?” she laughed.
“Okay, princess, not this place; got it,” he grinned back at her.
He took her hand in his and led her back to where Vincent was waiting for them. Lita knew that she shouldn’t let him hold her hand, but it was incredibly comforting to feel the familiar action of him stroking her skin with his thumb. Like the kiss from last night, she missed these moments with him terribly.
“Sorry, Vince, maybe we’ll have better luck with the others,” Sebastian said.
He let go of her hand once they reached the car and got into it. Lita missed the warmth of his hand in hers. She was struggling with the boundaries of their new friendship and couldn’t seem to find the right ones to put in place.
They still joked and flirted often. In that respect, Lita felt as though very little had changed between them, except that she went to bed alone, they didn’t have sex, and he continued to go out to sleep with other women.
When they arrived at the second apartment, Lita walked through with Sebastian; it was definitely better than the first one, but it didn’t strike her as somewhere that she could make her home. While the first apartment was cold and clinical, this place was almost the opposite.
“Maybe it’s the way they’ve decorated the place,” Lita said while wrinkling her nose, “But it feels like somewhere that my nonna would live. So many florals, so little time.”
Sebastian laughed. “Okay, but ignoring the decorations, because we could always change those, what do you think of the layout?”
“I’m not a massive fan. The master bedroom is on the opposite side of the apartment from the other bedrooms. I’ll be too far away from the baby when it eventually goes into its own room.”
“Good point, Lita; I hadn’t thought of that.” He frowned for a few seconds before he continued, “Okay, let’s go check out the last one.”
It was only a five-minute drive to the final apartment. The building was a new high-rise building in the center of Seattle, and Vincent put a code into the elevator.
“You have to use a code for the elevator?” Lita asked him.
“Yes, this is the elevator that goes to the penthouse,” Vince told her.
“Hayden’s apartment in Chicago isn’t a penthouse, but it has the same kind of thing for his elevator.” Sebastian shrugged.
“Penthouse, you say? Why do I get the feeling that this is the one you like the best?” Lita rolled her eyes.
Sebastian smiled at her. “What, just because it’s the penthouse? I don’t have to live in a penthouse, princess; I just like living in a penthouse.”
“Exactly.” She smirked at him. “Which is why I think this is the one you like the best.”
When they reached the apartment, though, Lita forgot about whether or not Sebastian liked it because she liked it so much herself. Across from the entryway they were standing in was the perfect place for a pool table. There was massive floor to ceiling windows showing them views of Seattle to the south of them.
To the right of them was a kitchen and dining area with doors that led out onto a private balcony, and when they walked out there, the view was breathtaking. Sebastian stood next to her as they took in the view.
“It’s spectacular,” Lita whispered.
“Yeah, it is,” he agreed.
Lita took a deep breath and sighed as she looked at Seattle spread out in front of them with him standing by her side and imagined her life here with their child.
“This is the one you like, isn’t it?” she asked him.
“I don’t want to influence your decision, princess,” he told her.
“I know it is, though. Let’s see the rest of this place; it could be awful, and I just don’t know it yet.”
Sebastian laughed and took her hand, rubbing her skin with his thumb as they made their way through the rest of the apartment. The master bedroom had a massive walk-in-closet that was more like a dressing room, and the bathroom was phenomenal.
“Oh, I can totally see myself unwinding in here,” Lita told him in delight.
It had a massive oval bath with spa jets. It was so big that they could easily both fit in there together with room to spare. Lita was incredibly turned on by the thought of being in there with Sebastian and was saddened by remembering that wasn’t something she could indulge in anymore.
“Maybe,” he agreed with a casual shrug of his shoulders. “I’m not swaying your decision in any way.”
There were three minor bedrooms, one with an attached bathroom that rivaled the master bathroom. One of the minor bedrooms was perfect for setting up as an office for Lita.
“There’s even a toilet for me to do my usual thousand toilet runs each day,” Lita joked.
By the time they’d seen the whole thing, Lita knew that they’d found the apartment. She felt certain that this was the one that Sebastian loved as well, though he was still refusing to give anything away.
They went back out to the balcony again, and Sebastian asked her, “So, which one is it, princess? Or is it none of them, and I keep looking?”
“You know it’s this one,” she laughed, “I know you do, and I know that it’s the one you love
as well.”
“I love it as much as I love our baby—well, almost as much,” he finally admitted with a grin. “I love it as much as my apartment in Chicago, and I feel confident that you and the baby will be safe here.”
Lita couldn’t resist hugging him before she said, “Thank you, Sebastian. For everything.”
“You’re welcome, princess. So, I’m buying this place, then?” he asked.
Lita nodded her confirmation. “Yes, I can’t wait to move in.”
Sebastian signed the paperwork with Vincent then and there to put an offer in on the apartment. On the drive home, Lita was already starting to plan out a nursery for the baby in the new place and looked forward to starting the next phase of her life there.
22
LEVEL 17.6 – Feisty McGee
On a positive note, by the end of this week, you might be able to feel the baby moving. Some women will have experienced this before, and for some, this is brand new. It may take a few more weeks for you to discern the difference between your baby’s movements and your bowel’s movements.
Lita was sitting on the sofa in Sebastian’s apartment in Chicago. They had flown in late last night on a private plane from Seattle that had a bed Lita had been very impressed by, although she had used it to sleep rather than have sex, given their new arrangement. It had been late, and it was good to get the chance to sleep for a few hours as they flew here.
Lita smiled at Sebastian when he sat next to her on the sofa while holding a cup of coffee in his hand. “When you see me tomorrow, I’ll be wearing one of your lover’s amazing designs.”
“You’ll be the most beautiful woman to ever wear any of her clothes,” he told her with a smile.
“Um, no. Did you not see any of the models at her fashion show last year?” Lita raised an eyebrow at him.
Sebastian laughed and placed his mug on the coffee table in front of them before sitting back on the sofa and telling her, “Yes, I did. Up close and personal, too. Heather wouldn’t let me backstage until after the show was done.”
“I bet.” Lita rolled her eyes at him. “Heather is a smart woman.”
“Not as smart as you.” He winked at her.
“I don’t know; I got involved with you, didn’t I? She was smart enough to avoid doing that,” Lita said swiftly.
She worried for a second that she might have offended him, but Sebastian laughed and said, “Fair call. I have no regrets about getting involved with you, though.”
He smiled at her, leaned over, and softly rubbed her stomach with one of his hands. Lita smiled back at Sebastian as he sat back up and picked up his coffee to take a sip. They fell into a comfortable silence, and Lita pondered his words. It felt as though there were unspoken words in what he was saying. He hadn’t said that he loved her since last week, but sometimes she felt like the things he said were along those lines. At the same time, he had slept with at least three other women since he’d said it to her.
As they sat in silence, Lita felt a weird sensation of butterflies in her stomach. It was strange because she was feeling so content—she wasn’t nervous about anything at all right now.
After another thirty seconds, she felt it again, and she gasped. “Oh my god.”
“What’s wrong, princess?” Sebastian asked her, seeming concerned.
She looked up at him, and her mouth was open in shock. “I just felt the baby, Seb!”
“Really?” he asked with a massive smile on his face. “What does it feel like?”
“Kind of like I have butterflies in my stomach. Except, I’m not nervous, so it’s not that—just these tiny little butterflies. Oh, I love our baby so much, Seb.” Lita sighed and closed her eyes to focus on the tiny movements inside of her.
Sebastian moved closer to her on the sofa and kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad that I was here with you when it happened.”
“Me too,” Lita said as her phone lit up with a text from Heather.
I’m on my way over. I’ll see you soon.
It wasn’t long at all before the elevator doors opened, and Heather walked into the apartment, followed by a man in a suit that Lita assumed was her bodyguard. There was an immediate tension in the room.
“Hi, darling.” Heather smiled at Lita and walked over to the sofa, leaning down to give her a hug.
“No hug for me, lover?” Sebastian asked with a grin on his face.
Heather turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know, Sebastian Fox. The last time we spoke, you hung up on me, then called me ‘Heather’ in a text, and I haven’t heard from you since. I’m also led to believe that you’ve been off fucking even more women since then, so I don’t even know what to say to you.”
Sebastian seemed completed unfazed by her cold response, and he laughed. “You could say that you love me, and you’ll forgive me because you understand that my relationship with Lita is none of your business, and who I sleep with is between me and her, no one else.”
“Except that I don’t think I will say that,” Heather shrugged. “Because I’m the one that Lita is texting while you’re out all night fucking randoms.”
Sebastian cringed when she said it, and Lita hated being the cause of turmoil in their friendship.
“That’s not fair. Lita and I have an agreement; I can sleep with whoever I want, and she’s going to find a boyfriend to move into the apartment with her,” Sebastian told her.
Heather narrowed her eyes at him. “I see. Should we discuss this later, or do you want to do this now?”
“Go ahead, Heather Fletcher.” He emphasized her name heavily. “There’s nothing that you can’t say to me in front of my baby mama.”
“Okay, Sebastian Fox. I love you a lot, but I don’t like you very much right now. You told Lita that you’re in love with her, then you went off and fucked someone else—”
“And she told me to do it,” he reminded her.
“I don’t give a shit what she told you to do. You’re a grown-ass adult with a brain in your head—or so I thought. You haven’t spoken to me all week. If you had, I’d have told you not to be an idiot.”
“I haven’t spoken to you because I already told you that I didn’t want or need your opinion on this, and you didn’t reply to my text,” Sebastian shrugged at her.
They glared at each other for a few moments before Heather sighed heavily and rolled her eyes at him. “Come on, Seb, that text was bait, and you know it. You called me fucking ‘Heather.’”
“It’s your name,” he said to her, but Lita could see that he couldn’t stop himself from grinning when he did.
“When you say it, it’s practically an insult,” she told him but grinned as well.
“Forgive me, lover?” he asked her.
Heather laughed and leaned down to hug Sebastian. “Of course I do. I don’t approve of what you’re doing; you should know that much, but…I’ll try not to meddle.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” he smirked at her.
“Shut up,” Heather said as she sat down on the sofa next to Lita, whom she looked at with a smile, then said, “Oh my god, your bump is so obvious now. I think the dress you wore last weekend was hiding it.”
“Yeah, I feel like I’m getting fatter by the minute,” Lita laughed.
“You’re not fat, Lita; you’re growing a baby!” Heather scolded her. “Okay, we’d better get going. I designed your dress so that we’d have some wiggle room for sizing, but we’ve got work to do. I also need to pick up Megan on the way.”
“Who’s Megan?” Lita asked.
Heather smiled. “She’s this gorgeous fan that I met last year. Her mom is amazing, and now Megan helps me out sometimes at Serenity as an intern. When she finishes school, I’m going to give her a job.”
“Wow, that’s kind of awesome, Heather.” Lita was impressed.
People on the Cruise Control subreddit had told stories about how nice Heather was to the fans, but Lita had never expected that she would’ve gone to leng
ths like that.
“Heather even invited Megan to her wedding,” Sebastian told her, then laughed. “I thought her head was going to explode when she met Gabriel and me.”
“Yeah, that was pretty cute,” Heather agreed. “Anyway, we should go. We’ll see you tomorrow, Seb.”
Heather gave him another hug after standing up from the sofa. Lita instinctively followed suit, and Sebastian wrapped his arms around her much tighter than he had when he hugged Heather. He held her tightly to him, and when Lita relaxed into his embrace, she was flooded with memories of hours spent in his arms before everything got so fucked up last week.
“Bye, Seb, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He let go of her and said, “See you later, princess.”
Heather had a knowing look on her face as they walked to the entryway where the man that had escorted Heather here met them. “Lita, this is Callum Archer, my bodyguard.”
“Hi, Callum,” Lita said and shook his hand.
“Call me Cal,” he smiled at her.
Once they were in the elevator, Heather said, “That was quite a hug considering you two are supposedly not in a relationship.”
“Is this you not meddling?” Lita laughed.
Heather shrugged and mimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key.
“You two are crazy. I swear to god, it’s like you met when you were teenagers, and your friendship never matured beyond that level,” Lita commented and rolled her eyes.
Heather laughed. “Yeah, Seb probably brings out the worst in me, but he’s always been one of my favorite people in the world. I love him to death, even though I think he’s being a dick right now.”
As they walked through the parking garage toward a big, black SUV, Lita couldn’t resist asking, “Do you guys get some kind of discount for buying these in bulk?”
“No, they’re part of the package we get from the protection agency. Isn’t that right, Cal?”
“Correct, Mrs. Fletcher,” he replied from the driver’s seat.
Callum pulled out of the underground garage and started driving along the street as Heather asked, “So, you guys found an apartment in Seattle?”