“Whatcha doing, bug?”
He twisted on his seat and regarded her with a solemn gaze. “Finishing my project.”
She entered the room and perched on the tumble of sheets and clothes and blankets that was the end of his bed. When was the last time he’d made it? “I thought I heard Sebastian talking?”
Damn, it hurt to freaking say his name. If he were here right now, she’d…she’d kick him in the shins.
“He’s in the video.”
She frowned. “Video?”
Nodding, he turned back to his computer. A present from Shelli, given to him when the Big Brother offices upgraded all their office equipment a few years ago. “I had to make a project on an important person. So I made a movie. A documentary.”
“On Sebastian?” There went her heart again, thumping into her throat like a sledgehammer.
Cody shook his head. “Sebastian helped me. He interviewed me.”
That’s why she’d heard him. Oh God, it was going to tear Cody apart when she told him Sebastian was not coming back.
“Who did you do your documentary on, bug?”
He moved the cursor on the screen, his frozen image being replaced with what looked like red theater curtains. Superimposed over the curtains, unfurling like a fanfare of white letters were the words: A Cody Wilder Film.
Cody’s young face filled the screen. Shot high on a building outside somewhere, with sweeping views of Sydney Harbor behind him, he smiled at whoever was holding the camera, filming him.
Sebastian?
“There are a lot of important people in the world,” he said, looking first at the person and then straight into the camera. “The prime minister, the Queen…” The screen turned to the image of red theater curtains again, and once more, a white-letter title appeared: The Most Important Person, before it cut back to Cody high on the building.
“I guess the president of the United States is important,” he said and then laughed. The camera man laughed as well, and a hot bolt sheared through Grace’s heart. Yep. Sebastian. She’d never forget that confident, relaxed laugh in a million years.
“I guess he is,” Sebastian said off camera. “But only a bit.”
Cody grinned on-screen and then his expression turned serious. “But this project is about the most important person to me, so it can only be about one person.”
Red curtains again. For a beat longer this time. And then her name was on the screen.
Grace Wilder. Super Mum.
A lump filled her throat, and she let out a soft breath.
Oh wow.
The title disappeared in a whirl of sparkling stars, replaced with Written by Cody Wilder. Directed by Sebastian Hart.
The lump in Grace’s throat turned to an entire planet settling on her chest.
Wow.
Cody appeared on the screen again, smile stretching as he pushed his glasses farther up his nose.
And then it froze.
“That’s all you’re allowed to see at the moment,” Cody said from his chair, his hand on the mouse.
Grace blinked.
“It’s not finished yet. I’m still picking the right… No, I’m still—” His face twisted into a frown as he clearly searched for the word he wanted. “Editing. That’s it. I’m still editing. Seb has been helping me.”
“Has he now?” Definitely a planet parked on her chest. A big one.
“Yeah.”
She smoothed her hand over his head, his hair cool beneath her palm. So like Gary’s hair—straight and blond, rather than curling and copper. “When’s it due?”
“At the end of the week.”
“Can I help?”
He looked at her and then rolled his eyes. “No. You’re not allowed to see it until it’s done.”
The planet got heavier. Colder. “What if Sebastian can’t get here to help you finish it?”
Cody turned back to his computer, moving the cursor around the screen in circles. “He showed me how to do it. When he updated iMovie for me, we did some editing then.”
And now a desert had taken up residence in her mouth to go along with the planet on her chest. “When was that?”
“The first day he was here. We made a horror movie trailer together.”
“A what?”
He grinned up at her. If ever there was a visual representation of joy and excitement, it was Cody’s face right then. “Wanna see it? It’s only short.”
“Sure, bug.”
He moved the mouse again, closing the Super Mum project and opening up something else.
Dramatic music played, and then Cody ran across the screen, arms in the air, screaming and laughing as a Sebastian-size and shaped white sheet followed him, moaning.
Then came a black screen, with very dramatic groaning the only sound. Followed by the words: It’s looking for you…
More images of Cody appeared, cowering behind the sofa in the living room, running across the backyard, fighting with the front doorknob. Once again, the music was dramatic. Building.
Another black screen with It’s going to find you… appeared, followed by footage of the Sebastian-size sheet monster lurching down the hallway toward the camera.
It’s got a bone to pick with you…
Grace covered her small smile with her hand.
On-screen, Cody scrambled under the bed, almost all the way under until a sheet-covered hand grabbed one of his ankles.
She gasped.
The camera zoomed in quickly on the sheet monster’s face, which was no face at all, and then panned down to the floor, where Cody lay, eyes closed, tongue out.
The Shinless Thing!! appeared on the screen as the music grew in tempo and volume before abruptly cutting off.
There was silence, and then A Wilder/Hart film.
Coming Soon.
“Like it?” Cody wriggled on his seat, waiting.
“I…” She swallowed, staring at the screen. Wilder/Hart. “I love it.”
The planet rolled off her chest and prickling heat replaced it. All over her body.
She did. She loved it, and she—damn it—loved Sebastian. Who knows for how long? A day? A week? A lifetime?
Wilder/Hart.
“Seb says it’s a great name.”
She swallowed. “What is?”
“Wilder Heart. But spell it the way he spells his last name. He said it was like all the good things about you and all the good things about him put together to make an amazing thing.”
And the planet was back. With a friend. “He said that?”
Cody nodded.
“When?”
“Last Sunday, when we were designing the logo for my film company.”
She closed her eyes. It was too much seeing those two names together. Too much.
All the good things about you and all the good things about him…
There were so many good things about Sebastian. She’d seen glimpses of them growing up. She’d seen them again now, in all their glory.
He was a good man. Sure, he was supremely confident and his ego needed to be checked every now and again, but he was a good man. There were so many good things about him… So many things she loved.
Oh man, if only he hadn’t…
“You okay, Mum?”
She smoothed her palm over his hair again. “I’m fine, bug.”
“I didn’t mean to make you sad.”
Enveloping him in a hug, she pressed her cheek to the top of his head. “You didn’t. Promise. Maybe I just need a cup of tea?”
Earl Grey.
Damn it, even the thought of a cup of tea made her think of him. He’d ruined tea for her. Bastard.
A chuckle bubbled up through her chest, and she rolled her eyes.
If she ever saw him again, she definitely would kick him in the shins.
…
“She dumped you?”
“Could you look any more incredulous, brother?” Sebastian slumped back in his desk chair. “And get your feet off my desk.”
Dropping his feet to the floor, Harrison leaned forward in his seat. “So she dumped you.”
“No. Yes.” Sebastian frowned. “Maybe. I don’t know what’s going on right now.”
Hell, they were hard words to say.
“You told her to quit her job because you wanted to have dinner with her.”
“No. Well, maybe I suggested it. I didn’t mean to get so—”
“You suggested she quit her job because you didn’t want to share her with her work.”
“Yeah. I think I did.”
“You fucked up, brother.”
“I fucked up.” A clammy chill crept over him. “Shit, I fucked up.”
Harry nodded. “Yeah. Big time. But I’ve gotta ask, does it matter?”
Sebastian frowned again. “What do you mean, does it matter?”
“Does it matter? That Grace Ford—”
“Wilder.”
“That Grace Wilder dumped you?”
“Of course it fucking matters, Harry.” Had his brother gone mad? “I love her.”
Harry smiled. “Ah, see now you left that little fact out when you were complaining about her dumping you.”
Sebastian swallowed. It was out there. He’d vocalized it. There was no turning back now. He’d never said he loved anyone in his life before. Had he ever told his mother? His brother? Doubtful. Alice Hart had told him and Harry they loved her, many times. And as for letting Harrison know how he felt about him? Well, brothers didn’t do that. Not the Hart brothers, at least.
But it wasn’t just that. It wasn’t a reticence to express his emotions, or a fear of being vulnerably weak if he did so. No, it was the simple, indisputable fact he’d never loved anyone the way he did Grace.
Ever.
And he’d fucked it up.
After the way he’d behaved on the phone, the narcissistic attitude, it would take more than a swift kick in the shins for Grace to forgive him.
“I love her.” A wave of something warm and wonderful rushed through him. No, not something, the very emotion he’d just named. Love. Followed by a bleak hope. “I love her. And I’ve messed it up.”
Harry raised his eyebrows. “What are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t know.” Those words again. He scrubbed his hand over his face. “Make her love me back?”
“Really?” Scorn cut Harry’s voice.
He snorted, rubbing at his face again. “No. That’s the old me talking, isn’t it? And since when have I ever been able to make Grace do anything I want her to do? She’s frustrating and stubborn and fierce, and so bloody determined never to admit she’s struggling or needing help.”
“I had a major crush on her,” Harrison said, watching him closely.
Sebastian ground his teeth. “She was too good for you.”
Harrison laughed, raising his hands. “Dude, as much as I like Grace, I never would have made a move. I knew how you felt about her, even if you were too stupid to see it.”
Sebastian frowned. “What… Why didn’t you—”
“Tell my big brother he’s got the hots for the girl next door he calls Tinsel Teeth? Tell him he’s in love with her when all he does is complain about her? You were bigger than me back then. And honestly, I expected you to figure it out long before you freaking moved to New York. You didn’t, though. ’Cause you’re a moron.”
Mouth dry, Sebastian swallowed. “Jesus. I have really fucked up.”
“Yep. So again, I’m asking what are you going to do about it?”
What was he going to do? How the fuck did he recover from this? Guilt and fear twisted and tangled together in his chest. He’d lost her, driven her away. What chance did he have of convincing her he wouldn’t do it again, when she’d grown up believing he knew no other way of behaving? How did he show her he knew he was everything she’d accused him of being for all those years, but he wasn’t now?
“Any thoughts?”
He clawed his fingers through his hair at Harrison’s gentle prod. “None. At all. But whatever it takes, I’ll do it.”
Harrison settled back on his seat and threaded his fingers behind his head. “Call her and say sorry. That’s a start, right?”
Sebastian snatched up his phone, brought up Grace’s number, and hit dial.
It rang three times. Was she seeing his number and not answering?
“Maybe she’s doing that thing you told her to quit?”
He picked a pen up from his desk and threw it at Harrison.
No. It seemed she wasn’t going to answer the—
“Hi, Sebastian.”
“Grace,” he choked out her name. Christ, he loved the sound of her voice. “I know you’re at work, but I just—”
“I’m at home.”
“You are?”
“Couldn’t focus. Not a safe thing when an ambo can’t keep her head in the game.”
He closed his eyes. Jesus, he really had messed everything up. “I wanted… I mean, I would like to say I’m—”
“Please don’t say sorry, Seb.”
He frowned. “Why not?”
“It doesn’t change anything.” The softly spoken words flayed at his hope, fed his fear. “You will always be you. I get that now. And while I admit you’re not one hundred percent the Sebastian I grew up with, especially when you’re with Cody, he’s still there in you. At the first hint of you not getting what you wanted, you want me to quit my job. I don’t…” Her voice cracked, and for a heartbeat, silence filled the connection. “I don’t like that Sebastian. I didn’t when I was a kid, and I don’t now.”
He was cold. And numb. “What Sebastian do you like?”
A wobbly laugh came through the line. “The one who admitted he was wrong, who didn’t blame other people for his film not being good. The one who made me feel like I was his equal, who behaved like I was important to him.”
“Jesus, Grace, you are important to me. I’ve fallen in—”
“Don’t you dare say that word, Hart.” Anger cut the demand. Jesus, he wished he could see her face.
“Let me come see you. Please. Let me talk to you face to face.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
She let out a ragged breath. “Because you are too good at getting what you want. And I think I’d…”
There was silence. Again.
His heart smashed hard and fast, as if trying to beat its way out of his chest. “Grace?”
She’d what? Surrender?
“You threw a shopping trolley through a window so you could try on a hat, Sebastian. That says it all, doesn’t it? You’ve never thought for one moment of your life that normal rules apply to you. You don’t live in the normal world, Seb. And I do.”
“Grace.” Fuck, where had all the heat gone? “Grace, I’m—”
“I’ve got to go. Cody needs me.”
She disconnected the call.
No. He scrunched up his face. No.
“Brother?”
She was lost to him. Because he was who he was.
Then don’t be that person. Be better. Show her.
“Bastian?” Worry cut Harrison’s voice. “What did she say?”
Opening his eyes, Sebastian yanked open his desk drawer and moved its contents around. Where was it? Shit, where was…
“What are you looking for?”
Ignoring Harrison, he slammed the drawer shut. “Mitch,” he shouted at the door. “Mitch, get in here.”
The door was flung open and Mitch ran into the room. “Yes, sir?”
“Get me Judge Myers on the phone. Now.”
Mitch blinked.
“No. Wait. Get me her number. I’ll call her.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mitch scurried from the room.
“What are you doing, brother?”
He shoved himself to his feet, raked his hands through his hair, and threw Harrison a grin. “Owning up to a lifetime of being a narcissistic, egomaniacal bastard the only way I know how.”
&n
bsp; Harrison’s eyebrows shot up. “And you’re doing that how, exactly?”
“Come with me.” He walked from the room, plucking the small piece of paper from Mitch’s hand just as his PA came running back in. “Thanks, Mitch.”
Dialing Judge Myers’s number, he strode toward the elevator.
The call went straight to the judge’s message bank. “Hello, this is Judge Myers. Please leave your name and number and reason for this call. Thank you.”
“Heya, Judge.” He stabbed the down button at the elevator. “This is your favorite reprobate, Sebastian Hart. I’m coming in. Well, I’m coming to the court house at least. Will be there in thirty minutes. Can you meet me on the steps? I’ve got something I need to get off my chest.”
He ended the call, and then turned and grinned at Mitch just as the elevator door slid open. “Tell Kimmy to schedule a press conference in thirty minutes on the Sydney Court House steps.”
Mitch blinked again.
“And then send my driver to Grace’s house. Now.”
“Where’s the driver taking her?”
“Sydney Court House.”
Mitch nodded and ran off.
“What are you doing?”
He grinned at Harrison. “You coming?”
Harrison narrowed his eyes at him and then shrugged. “What the hell.”
Sebastian couldn’t stop smiling on the ride down to the car. His gut churned at his plans, but his gut could go take a hike.
He was doing this.
Ignoring Harrison’s constant demands for an explanation, he typed out a message to Grace.
Grace. You don’t ever have to speak to me again if you don’t want to. But please, when my driver arrives at your house, please go with him. Just this once. For me. And old times. Please. Seb.
“Will she come?” Harrison asked.
He hit send and shoved his phone into his jeans pocket. “I’m doing this even if she doesn’t.”
“Doing what?”
He grinned.
Forty-two minutes later, he pulled his Range Rover to a halt outside the Sydney Court House.
A crowd had gathered on the steps. He saw various network reporters, quite a few print journalists, and Dickie. Of course Dickie would be there. Sebastian Hart was making a media statement. The entertainment reporter wouldn’t be anywhere else. They all stood about, cameras and microphones waiting.
Absent was Theo Olsen.
Another reason to love Grace for the rest of his life.
The Irredeemable Billionaire (Muse series) Page 19