by Keeland, Vi
A giant grin spread across her face. “Good. If you were watching a naked woman dance, would you rather she danced to Sir Mix-a-Lot or Lewis Capaldi?”
I chuckled. “You’re an interesting woman, Sadie. That is definitely not a question I could have anticipated you asking right now.”
“Is that a bad or good thing?”
My eyes looked back and forth between her eyes. “It’s a very good thing. And I really like big butts.”
It took her a second to realize what I’d meant. I had no idea why she’d asked the question, but the smile on her face told me I’d picked the right answer, and I liked that a whole lot.
We ended up busting out Birdie’s cookies and talking some more. She told me a little about her childhood upstate, about her dad’s funny weather instruments, and asked me some questions about the restaurant business, which of course I could’ve talked about all night. We spoke about her career. Sadie told me while she didn’t foresee leaving the magazine, she hoped to move away from the dating column eventually to try something new. The conversation with her was just . . . easy.
And it had felt good to unload, too. But now that I’d snapped out of my fleeting emotional stupor from earlier, I was back to staring at her lips while she spoke. That felt wrong for so many reasons. If it were just a physical attraction, maybe I could have justified it. But there was a pang in my chest right now that I didn’t want to feel. That I couldn’t feel.
And here comes closed-off Sebastian in three, two, one . . .
My chair skidded against the floor as I slid it back. “Well, I don’t want to keep you.”
She looked surprised by my sudden hint that it might be time for her to leave. She’d seemed so comfortable. Just like I’d felt before that realization hit. I was comfortable. Too comfortable.
She looked down at her phone. “Yeah. I, uh, better get going.”
I ended up calling her an Uber.
After she left that night, I took our dirty teacups to the sink and noticed the red lipstick mark on hers. And my dick twitched.
Now I’d resorted to getting turned on by a lipstick mark? It was definitely time to get laid again. Just not with Sadie.
I repeat. Not with Sadie.
CHAPTER 14
SADIE
“So what’s going on in Birdie Land? I feel like you’ve clammed up ever since you started going back to the Maxwell household again.” Devin plopped down in a guest chair on the other side of my desk with her coffee in hand. She wiggled her eyebrows. “Better yet, what’s going on with Hot Dad?”
I had been pretty quiet on that front lately. While I’d shared all the crazy antics with her since the very first letter, something changed after I’d come clean and Sebastian let me resume my visits. I wasn’t pretending to be someone I wasn’t anymore, so things sort of became . . . I don’t know . . . real. And that made it feel private, like something I shouldn’t be gossiping about.
But after the other night when I went to pick up my iPad, and Sebastian and I spent some time talking, I did feel the need to talk about things right now. God knows I’d overanalyzed that evening enough already and still couldn’t make heads or tails of what had gone wrong.
“Actually . . . I spent some time alone with Sebastian a few nights ago.”
Devin’s eyes widened. “Oh my God! And you are telling me this now? Why didn’t I get the play-by-play the day after it happened?”
I smiled. “It’s not what you think. I forgot my iPad, and Sebastian called me to tell me. I was in the middle of a bad date, so I used his call as an excuse to end it early and went over there to pick it up. We wound up having tea and talking for a long time. I thought we were having a great conversation, very heartfelt, yet we were still able to poke fun and share a few laughs. At one point, I could’ve sworn I noticed him watching my lips with that look . . . you know the one . . . where you’re paying attention to the conversation and then all of a sudden your body takes over for the brain and starts to focus on what that mouth might feel like if you pressed your lips up against it.”
“Oh wow. That kind of a look. Yeah, I totally get it.”
“Right. Well, shortly after what I thought might’ve been him giving me that look, he got up and abruptly ended the conversation. Next thing I knew, I was suddenly in the back of a smelly Uber with a driver eating curried goat as he drove.”
“Mm . . . did you find out where he got the curry? I love it, and the place I used to go to closed down.”
“Uhh. No, sorry.”
Devin shrugged. “Anywho . . . back to Hot Dad. It’s obvious he’s into you and that freaked him out a bit.”
“But why? He’s been with women before. He as much as admitted that to me when I told him his daughter was listening to him talk to women at night. So his problem isn’t celibacy.”
Devin frowned. “You’re looking for Mr. Right, Sadie. Anyone can see that pretty quickly. It’s why you haven’t really had a long-term relationship of more than a few months. You don’t want Mr. Right Now or just some random guy to take care of business. I’m sure Sebastian senses that about you.”
I sighed. “I wouldn’t mind Sebastian taking care of my business.”
My friend’s eyes sparkled. “Now you’re talking. So why not put that out there? You’re both adults. He’s attracted to you, we’re attracted to him.”
I laughed at how she’d said we’re attracted to him. But I wasn’t so sure about proposing to Sebastian that we get it on. “What if I misread the entire situation, and I had a piece of salad from dinner between my teeth that he was staring at?”
“Do some testing. Bend to tie your shoe when he’s behind you, and see if you find his eyes glued to your ass. Better yet, show him that red-and-black lacy bra and underwear set you bought at that Victoria’s Secret sale we went to last month.”
“Sure . . . I’ll just whip off my top and jeans while I’m training a Great Dane. That’s a great plan.”
Devin stood. “You’ll figure out something. I’m pretty sure you can easily get the reassurance you’re looking for to feel certain that Sebastian is attracted to you. That’s not the issue.”
My brows drew together. “It’s not?”
“Nope. The issue is you’ll be too chicken to act on it even once you’re sure he wants to bang your brains out. You don’t do that type of thing.”
“I’ve had casual sex before. You know that.”
She sipped her coffee. “Yes, but that’s when you knew the guy was all wrong for you. In your mind, it could only ever be casual sex. But with Sebastian, I think you see him as real potential. You’ll be too chicken to jump into the fire—no matter how hot and sweaty that fire might be—because you’ll be too concerned about getting burned.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
Devin walked to the door of my office. “Prove me wrong. I’d love to see it.”
Friday night, I had a forty-five-minute yoga class at five thirty in the evening and then I was scheduled to go train Marmaduke at seven thirty. I figured I’d have time to run home, take a quick shower, and throw my hair into a ponytail before heading uptown. But I considered altering those plans after walking out of the studio. I hadn’t changed out of my yoga outfit, and a really cute guy looked my way while I stood out front checking my cell phone messages. His eyes were so glued to me that he actually tripped over his own two feet.
I looked at him on the ground. “Are you okay?”
The man looked embarrassed. He stood, wiped dirt from his pants, and offered a crooked smile. “Yeah. Though you really shouldn’t walk around the streets in that. People could get hurt.”
I blushed a little, and after he walked away, I looked down to check out my outfit. I had on a deep-purple Lululemon cropped top and a pair of matching leggings with a swirl of mesh cutouts running down each leg. It fit like a second skin, which was why it was perfect for yoga. I had a matching zip-up sweatshirt, but it was stuffed into my gym bag, since it was almost seventy degrees out still
, even though it was late October. The last two days had been a real Indian summer. But the man’s reaction gave me an idea. Or rather it was Devin’s idea. Perhaps I should skip going home to change and head over to the Maxwell house dressed like this.
I picked up my phone and debated texting Sebastian to see if I could come a little early, but after a minute, I rolled my eyes at what I’d been considering. What the hell is wrong with me? I didn’t need to resort to tactics like this to get a man’s attention. Any man who wasn’t interested in me without me being half-naked wasn’t really interested in me. Wow . . . I really just sounded like my dad.
Blowing out a stream of hot air, I headed for the subway. Once I got on my train, I noticed another man looking my way. This outfit definitely caught attention. It made me wonder about what Sebastian would do if I actually showed up wearing it. Would I be disappointed that he didn’t even notice, or would he trip over his own two feet?
Oh my God.
Sebastian had tripped the other day! I’d forgotten all about that. It was right after he’d opened the door and went to go get my iPad. But that had to be a coincidence. I’d only ever noticed him ogling my body once before that. Though that night, I had been all dressed up for my date. But then again, the Maxwell house had an area rug in the living room. I bet the end was rolled up from Marmaduke’s running around like a madman, and Sebastian hadn’t noticed. Yeah . . . that had to be it.
I took out my phone to scroll through emails and occupy my six-stop train ride with something other than thoughts of Sebastian Maxwell. It worked for the first two stops, but then the train came to an abrupt halt. A few minutes later, we were still not moving when a muffled voice came overhead.
“Ladies and gentlemen. We have another train on the track up ahead that seems to have run into some mechanical problems. We’re going to stick it out here for the time being. I’ll update you as soon as I know more.”
The occupants of the train let out a collective sigh and mumbled bitching echoed all around. After ten more minutes, the conductor’s voice came overhead again.
“Alright, so it looks like they’re going to need some time to work on that disabled train up ahead. We’re going to have to back it up to the 23rd Street Station and let you out to jump on another line. But there’s a train behind us, and they need to be relocated first. Service employees will be on hand for those of you not familiar with our lovely subway system. Hope you enjoyed this fun start to your weekend.”
Everyone groaned. It took almost another half hour of waiting, but eventually we started to back up slowly. By the time we made it to the 23rd Street Station, it was twenty after seven already. As soon as I got up to street level, I dialed the Maxwell house. Birdie answered.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Birdie. It’s Sadie. Is your dad home?”
“No. He’s at work. Are you still coming?”
I smiled hearing the concern in her voice. “Yes, of course. I’m just running late because my train got stuck. Could I maybe talk to Magdalene to see if it’s okay if I come later than planned?”
“Sure!”
Magdalene got on the line. “Hi, Sadie.”
“Hi, Magdalene. I’m running a little late. Would it be alright if I came at maybe eight thirty? Is that too late for Birdie?”
“Umm. Well, she actually has a sleepover tonight. Her friend down the block is having a slumber party for her birthday. Six girls are going. It starts at eight, but I was just going to run her down when you guys were done. But I guess she could go at nine thirty. She just went into the bathroom. Want me to ask her if that’s okay with her?”
I sighed. “No. I don’t want her to miss even more of her party. I can jump back on the train and head uptown now. I’ll probably still be, like, ten minutes late.”
“Okay. No problem.”
“Thanks, Magdalene.”
I speed walked the two blocks to cross over to the uptown line that stopped closest to their house and then slipped inside a waiting train just as the doors were beginning to slide closed. The car was packed and standing room only. So I jockeyed for a spot next to a pole so I could hold on as the train jerked to start moving.
Unlike my earlier commute, the express train uptown proved uneventful, and I arrived at the Maxwell house only seven minutes late. I knocked and waited, expecting Magdalene to let me in.
Only it wasn’t Magdalene staring at me once the door swung open.
CHAPTER 15
SEBASTIAN
Jesus Christ.
I swallowed. What the hell was she wearing?
“Uhh. Hi. I didn’t expect you to be home. Birdie said you were at work.”
My uncontrollable attraction to Sadie pissed me off, and I took my frustration out on her. “Is that why you’re late? When the cat’s away, the mouse will play?”
“No. I called Magdalene and told her that my train got stuck. I was planning on going home to shower after my yoga class. But since the train delayed me an hour, I rushed straight here so I wouldn’t make Birdie even later for the birthday party she has tonight.”
She has a belly-button ring. So sparkly . . .
Fuck. I forced my eyes up to meet Sadie’s and found her staring at me expectantly. Had she just said something? Trying to rewind the last ten seconds in my head, I thought she might’ve . . . something about a train?
Whatever.
I stepped aside. “Come in. Magdalene just brought Marmaduke back from a long walk, so he’s sprawled out on the living room floor.”
We walked into the house, and Marmaduke looked up. He spotted Sadie, and his tongue started to wag out of his mouth.
Yeah, I know the feeling, buddy.
Birdie ran out from her room and hugged Sadie, who bent as they embraced, giving me a front-row view of her ass. Christ. She looked as good going as she did coming. My eyes were still glued to that ass when she turned around to speak to me, and I almost got caught.
“Were you able to get the training clicker I mentioned last week?” she asked.
My daughter ran to the coffee table and got the contraption from hell and started to click it.
Click-click. Click-click. Click-click.
That sound had been grating on my nerves for the better part of a week since I’d brought it home from the pet store. I looked at Sadie, still feeling irritated, though I was bullshitting myself if I thought my current mood had anything to do with that training clicker.
“Maybe next time you can pick something a little less annoying to use to train.”
Sadie’s hands flew to her hips. Her very shapely hips. “Is there something wrong?”
I raked a hand through my hair and grumbled. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”
Luckily, my office had alcohol. Today had been a long day to begin with. My manager had given me two weeks’ notice, which meant I was going to have to find a replacement and spend a lot more time at the restaurant until I got a new one trained. Then a small grease fire had broken out in the kitchen, rendering one of our deep fryers unusable, and finally our vegetable shipment had been switched with another restaurant that apparently planned to make corn a side dish with every meal. I’d come home early, figuring that I wouldn’t get many chances to do that again in two weeks. Plus, I hadn’t been sleeping well the last few days for some reason. So I opened a bottle of wine from where I kept the liquor locked up in a credenza and poured myself a very full glass of cabernet as I sat down in my chair.
God, she is fucking sexy.
I slurped a mouthful of the purple liquid down.
I had the craziest urge to clasp my teeth around that diamond in her navel and give it a good strong tug.
I swallowed another mouthful.
And that ass. Maybe she could teach Duke to jump again. I bet it would be some view of her down on all fours in the getup she had on today.
Another mouthful.
What had she called it again? “Flunk shit.” “Flukerbutt.” “Flunkerbsht.” That was it. “J
ump” was “flunkerbsht.” I started to laugh. The sound was almost maniacal.
Flunkerbsht.
I want to flunkerbsht the pretend dog trainer.
I shook my head and took another swig.
For the last week, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. The night she picked up her iPad, she’d been so vulnerable and open when I’d asked about her father. Her big blue eyes had been filled with emotion and sincerity. It had been a long time since I met a woman who put her heart out there for the world to see. Not to mention, there were a lot of other parts of her worth seeing. The little workout outfit she wore today nailed that point home, that was for sure.
God, that outfit.
I knocked back the last of my wine.
Over the next hour, I polished off half the bottle. The sound of Sadie and Birdie laughing in the other room had become so distracting that I’d cranked up music and shut my eyes. So I hadn’t heard the knock at the door when they finished up.
“Hey.” Sadie cracked the door open enough to stick her head in. “Sorry. You weren’t answering. We’re all done. Birdie just went to grab her backpack for the slumber party. Would you want me to walk her down to the house where the sleepover is?” Her eyes zoned in on the wine bottle and my empty glass. She smirked. “I can see you’re very busy.”
My lips pursed. “No, it’s fine. I’m perfectly capable of taking my daughter. Thank you.”
Sadie’s eyes narrowed. We stared at each other for a solid thirty seconds, and then she opened the door and stepped inside. Closing the door behind her, she asked, “Is everything okay? You seem . . . upset.”
Don’t check her out.
Keep your eyes on her face.
“Everything’s fine.”
She tilted her head and assessed me.
“Are you sure?”
My eyes dropped to her stomach. I just couldn’t help myself.
God, you’re such a dick, Maxwell.
Eyes back up.
Raise ’em up.
Come on. You can do it.
Sadie stayed quiet. I couldn’t even tell you if she was looking at me. Because my eyes were all over her . . . tracing the curve of her waist, salivating over her flat stomach . . . fantasizing about that sparkly diamond in her belly button.