“Have you had many serious relationships?” I was hanging on her every word, cataloguing everything about her.
“Not really. I dated a couple of guys for about a year each. One in college, one since. But I find that’s around the time when you have to decide if the relationship’s going anywhere, and for me, it wasn’t.”
“So you ended it?” I tipped back my beer as I wondered whether this little heartbreaker would do the same to me if I let her.
“Yeah. I still see my college boyfriend from time to time. He lives a few blocks from our apartment.”
“Oh yeah?” Wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that, which was crazy. I barely knew this girl and sure as hell didn’t have any right to act territorial.
“Yeah, he’s married with the sweetest little baby girl named Hailey.”
Good. “Big of you to stay friends with your ex like that. Can’t say I’ve ever felt so inclined.” Probably because most of my exes were greedy bitches who’d still had a hand in my pocket on their way out the door.
“The way I see it, I liked him enough to spend a year of my life in an intimate relationship with him. He’s still the same person he was then, so why wouldn’t I want to be friends with him, right?”
The thought of Skylar being intimate with someone made me strangely uncomfortable. “If you say so.”
She laughed. “Why do I get the feeling you’ve been burned a time or two?”
More like ten, but I’d stopped counting. “Guess I always go for the wrong kind of woman.”
“And what kind of woman is that?” she asked, setting her half-empty glass on the table before tucking her leg under her.
“They care more about appearances than they do about me, that’s for sure.” I was still bitter about my last romantic entanglement, and I knew that was coloring my opinion of all of my previous relationships.
“I find that hard to believe.” She curled her hand around my knee. It was an innocent gesture, but the way my body reacted, you’d have thought she’d made a grab for my package. “You seem like a great guy. I’m sure there’ve been a lot of women who’ve appreciated you.”
I reached for her hand to remove it from my leg, but I found it hard to let go, so I surprised her and myself by holding it instead. “I don’t know about that, but I’m not giving up hope.” Until Skylar had walked into my office, I’d been beginning to think finding someone I could trust was hopeless, but she seemed so sincere, so genuine. I wondered if she was the kind of woman I’d been waiting for.
“Sometimes hope is all we have.” Her gaze fell to our joined hands.
I knew she was referring to her uncle’s condition, so I said, “I know you told me, but what’s wrong with your uncle again?”
“Pulmonary hypertension.”
I’d never even heard of the ailment, but I could tell by her expression that she knew so much more about it than she’d ever wanted to know.
She said, “I guess the symptoms were easy to ignore at first: fatigue, shortness of breath, swollen ankles and feet. Since he hated doctors, he did ignore them. But when I saw him cough up blood, it scared the hell out of me, and I took him to the emergency. They ran a whole bunch of tests, and that’s when they figured out what it was.”
“I’m assuming by then it was pretty advanced?”
“Yeah, by then he had fibrosis, which led to right heart failure.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, I’m told the heart can’t compensate for the decreased blood flow and oxygen supply, so heart failure is the probable outcome.” She exhaled, withdrawing her hand from mine. “Sorry, that’s way more information than you needed. Suffice it to say he’s sick and not getting any better.”
I knew she wanted time to collect herself, so when she said she needed to check on dinner, I let her go, but it wasn’t easy. I just wanted to wrap my arms around her and hold her until she stopped hurting so much.
Chapter Four
Skylar
If this had been a first date, I would have called it the best of my life, but I had to keep reminding myself it wasn’t a date. I was just there to provide dinner and thank Seb for having the car towed while we tried to figure out how I would repay him for his generosity.
“So the website seems like a good place to start,” I said, setting two slices of warm apple pie on the table along with the coffee I’d prepared. “But I was wondering if it would be possible for me to work on it at your office, at least in the beginning. I’d like to get a sense of the kind of look you’re going for with the website, and I can’t do that until we consult once or twice. I’d like to have access to you, just to bounce ideas and questions off you.”
He watched me intently as I put a bite of pie in my mouth, making me wonder if I had crumbs on my face.
“Uh…” He shook his head quickly, as though he was trying to refocus. “We don’t have any extra offices.”
“I wouldn’t need much space. Just a place to set up my laptop.” I smiled when he moaned appreciatively after taking a bite of my pie.
“This is amazing,” he said, using his fork to point at the pie. “My sister-in-law, her mother, and my brother’s fiancée have a bakery. I bet they’d love to have the recipe.”
I blushed at the compliment. It was silly to be thrilled that he’d been raving over my cooking all night. “I’m sure they have their own fabulous pie recipes, but thank you. About the office…”
I didn’t want to seem pushy, but I was anxious to get started on his website. The sooner I could begin repaying my debt, the better. Seb’s friend Paulie had dropped off my uncle’s car over an hour ago, and Seb promised he’d get started on it in the morning, which meant I had to start doing my part to live up to our end of the agreement.
“You really don’t wanna work in my office,” he said, shaking his head with a rueful smile. “You’ve seen it. It’s a dive. I keep meaning to go through everything and get it organized, but there’s never enough time. It’s kind of embarrassing actually, having to meet high-profile clients there. I sure as hell wouldn’t make you work in that mess.”
I was touched that he viewed me as more important than his wealthy and famous clients. “I could take care of that for you before I get started on the site. It seems to be more of a priority anyhow.” I held my breath as I waited for his reaction.
He frowned, making me question whether I’d overstepped. “You’re a graphic designer, Skylar. Not a personal organizer.”
If only he knew I thought tidying and organizing was fun. I really needed to find a hobby. “I can’t repay my debt with my graphic design services alone, so I was thinking we could agree on a fair hourly wage and I could just kind of be your girl Friday?”
He smirked. “My girl Friday, huh?”
“Yeah, you know, your errand girl.” I bit my lip when his eyes traveled over me before he shoved the last bite of pie in his mouth as though he needed an excuse to keep his mouth shut. “I could answer phones, man the front desk, clean up after your crew—”
“Uh, I’d suggest you stay the hell away from my crew,” he said, wiping his mouth with a paper napkin before balling it up and tossing it on his plate. “They’re pigs, the lot of them. And I wouldn’t trust any one of them alone with you.”
His surge of protectiveness caught me totally off guard, but I had to admit it was sweet… and kind of hot. “Well, we can negotiate my tasks, but based on the estimates I got for the car before I came to see you, I know it’ll cost between fifty and sixty grand to restore it.” Working for him part time, it could take me years to repay my debt. The thought of being around Seb so much was strangely appealing.
“Maybe, if you’re including labor costs. I’m not.” He watched me over the rim of his coffee mug. “This’ll be fun for me. Besides, based on what you told me about your uncle, he deserves this. Call it a good deed.”
“But you don’t even know my uncle.” That Seb had agreed to my crazy proposal in the first place was more than enough. I couldn’t all
ow a guy who probably billed more than most lawyers to work on my uncle’s car for free. That wouldn’t have been fair, and I refused to take advantage of him.
“We could change that,” he said, grinning. “You think he might like to meet me?”
My eyes must have been as big as saucers when I said, “Are you kidding me? He’s probably your biggest fan. He has every magazine you’ve ever been featured in and records your show so he can watch every episode more than once. He would love to meet you!” I was getting excited just thinking about my uncle’s reaction. It had been so long since he’d had anything to look forward to. I couldn’t wait to see his reaction to the news he was going to meet the Seb Steele.
“Awesome.” Seb seemed genuinely pleased by my enthusiastic response. “Why don’t we take him out for dinner tomorrow night?” My eyes must have dimmed because he said, “If you don’t think he’s well enough to go out and eat, we could do it here.”
I should have invited Seb over to our place, but it was too small for entertaining. We didn’t have a dining room, and our kitchen table only seated two people.
“Are you sure you don’t have other plans?” I already felt as though I was monopolizing way too much of his time.
“Dating isn’t high on my list of priorities right now, so no, I don’t have other plans. It would be nice to hang out with you guys instead of sitting around here feeling sorry for myself because I don’t have a date.”
I rolled my eyes, convinced he was teasing me. A man like Seb could have dated a different woman every night if he wanted to. “I’m sure finding a date isn’t a problem for you.”
“You’re right,” he said, pushing his chair back before crossing his arms. “I could go out tomorrow night if I wanted to and waste even more of my life with a woman who doesn’t interest me, or I could spend the evening with a woman who does interest me. More than anyone has in a long, long time.”
I didn’t have to feel my cheeks to know my face was on fire. He couldn’t have said it any more plainly—he was into me. And the feeling was definitely mutual. But what did that mean? Dating was a bad idea since I would basically be working for him for the foreseeable future. If things went south between us, my uncle’s beloved car would be returned to him in pieces.
“Don’t overthink it, Skylar,” he said, leaning forward to cover my hand with his. “I like you. I want to spend more time with you. It would be nice to get to know your uncle. End of story.”
I couldn’t possibly deny my uncle the opportunity to meet Seb. “Okay, sure. What can I bring for dinner?”
“No way,” he said, leaning back in his chair and making me miss the heat of his skin on mine. “You’re my guests. That means I cook.”
“I thought you couldn’t cook?” I asked, unable to hide my amusement. Eating spaghetti with a jar of sauce or macaroni straight out the box came to mind. Not that I would have minded. I’d be too busy admiring him to notice the food.
He chuckled. “My brothers would revoke my man card if I didn’t know my way around the grill. How do you think I survive?”
I’d wondered about that and assumed he was a regular at most of the local fast food joints. But with a body like his, that didn’t seem likely either. “Fine, but you have to let me bring dessert.”
“Another pie?” he asked, looking so cute and sounding so hopeful I had to giggle.
“How does chocolate fudge cake sound?”
He moaned before tipping his head back and closing his eyes. I got so hot imagining what else I could do to him that would prompt that kind of reaction that I was tempted to grab the paper napkin and fan myself with it.
“How did you know that was my favorite?” he asked, opening one eye to look at me. “My mother used to make that every year on my birthday. I haven’t had it since she died. I figured no store-bought cake could compare to hers.”
Now I was worried my cake wouldn’t measure up to his late mother’s. “Why haven’t you ordered it in a restaurant? Or your sister-in-law’s bakery? They must have it.”
He looked at me for a long time, as though he was deciding between the truth and an offhand remark. “You know how some things are just powerful triggers when you lose someone you love?”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Seeing Disney World commercials always did me in because that was the last fun outing my parents and I had had as a family.
“I knew you would.”
Our eyes collided, and the air in the room got thicker. I’d never felt so connected to someone, as though his thoughts were my own. I didn’t have to ask what was going on inside his head—I knew. He was thinking how nice it was to talk to someone outside of his family who understood his pain because they’d lived it.
“Skylar, I can’t tell you how much I admire what you’re doing for your uncle.”
“Thank you.” Just those few words told me he got me. He understood how much family meant to me and the depth of my connection to the only person I had left.
“I was just a kid when my mom died, and it killed me to see her wasting away like that.”
“I can imagine,” I said, trying to convey with my eyes how much I wished I could comfort him and take his pain away, even if only for a little while.
“I wanted to do something to help her, but I couldn’t. A hundred times over the past few years, I’d wondered if things would have been different if she’d gotten sick now, when we all have the resources to find her the best doctors and get her the best medical attention money could buy.”
I would have given anything to be able to do that for my uncle. The doctor had told us about an expensive, potentially life-saving therapy, but knowing it was so far out of our reach only made me wish I didn’t even know it existed.
“But I can’t go back. I can’t help my mother. I guess that’s why I have so much respect for what you’re doing: selling your house, quitting your job to be there for your uncle. Not many people would be willing to make those kinds of sacrifices. It’s impressive. Says a lot about who you are as a person.”
I’d just met Seb. His opinion shouldn’t have mattered so much to me, but it did. Because I admired him too. He hadn’t had it easy with a deadbeat dad and mother who’d died too young, yet he’d followed his passion and earned a reputation as the best in his business. Not many people could say that.
“Seb, I…” I shook my head, trying to find the words to say what was on my mind and in my heart. I wasn’t very good at expressing my feelings, especially with men. “I really like you. When I came to see you, I thought I knew what to expect. I’d watched your show a few times, and you seemed… I don’t know. Gruff, serious, maybe even temperamental.”
He laughed. “My brothers tell me I’m a pain in the ass, but the truth is I just wanna do my job to the best of my ability. That’s all.”
I nodded. “My point is you’re not at all what I expected. You’re… great.” Now I felt foolish, like a teenager who’d just told the quarterback she was crushing on him.
He grinned, reminding me why his show drew so many female viewers. “I think you’re great too. I have a feeling this’ll be fun, you and me working together.” His smile receded, and the light in his blue eyes dimmed. “And the truth is I haven’t had much fun outside of work lately.”
I knew he was referring to his social life…or lack thereof. I was dying to know what had happened to prompt him to take himself out of the dating game, but I couldn’t ask. Maybe someday, if our friendship continued to evolve, he would feel comfortable telling me.
“Well, I should head out. My uncle has to take his meds before bed, and sometimes he falls asleep in his chair and forgets.” I stacked our plates, preparing to load the dishwasher.
His hand stilled mine. “I’ll take care of this.”
“But—”
“No buts,” he said, pressing his fingertip against my lips to silence me. “It’s the least I can do. Let me pack up the leftovers for you. You can take them home for your uncle.”
“No,” I said, grabbing his arm. “Keep them for your lunch tomorrow. I can pick up the pans and stuff tomorrow night if you’re done with them.”
He was standing so close I could feel his breath fanning my face before he finally broke the spell. “Uh, thanks. Let me walk you out.”
At the door, I gathered my purse and fished inside for my keys. “Thanks for—”
“Skylar.” He grabbed my arm and turned me to face him. “I know this wasn’t a date and you’re not looking for anything right now.”
“No, I’m not,” I whispered, unable to tear my eyes away from his mouth. He had full lips and straight white teeth that made my belly clench every time he smiled.
“You’ve got enough on your plate taking care of your uncle.”
“Right.” I didn’t know if he was reminding me or himself why we shouldn’t take this any further. Either way, it didn’t seem to be having the desired effect, because we were both leaning in closer instead of pulling back.
“Kissing you would be a mistake,” he said, his lips hovering over mine. “Because I know once wouldn’t be enough.”
“Right, a mistake.” I felt like a fool for parroting him when it was obvious how much we both wanted this kiss.
“Damn it.” He grabbed my head, thrusting his hands into my hair as he claimed my mouth. His kiss was demanding, with a hint of anger and frustration, almost as though he was punishing both of us for not having the will to resist temptation.
My purse and keys fell to the floor as my arms wound around his neck, and my body molded to his as he drew me even closer. I felt the effect the kiss was having on him as acutely as I felt my own reaction. We wanted to take this further, and with a bedroom just down the hall, nothing was standing in our way. Except common sense. Which finally permeated my muddled brain. I set my hands against his shoulders, pushing him away.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his hands resting against my cheeks as his breathing returned to normal. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. There’s just something about you. I haven’t felt this in a long time.”
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