by Ashley Blake
I smiled at her. “Sure Bev, come in. Did I forget to do something?”
She laughed at me. “No, nothing like that. I just wanted to find out how court was today. I know you didn’t say anything about it but I could tell you were worried. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
She had such a calming spirit and I thought it was really sweet of her to ask so I gave her a friendly smile. “Thanks, Bev. Court went really well today, they found him guilty.”
She let out a deep breath and clasped her hands together. “Oh, that is such good news! You must feel like you can relax a bit now.”
I smiled. “Yes, I actually do.”
“How long is his sentence?”
“We won’t know for a few weeks, but hopefully it will be for a long time.”
“Well, don’t worry, I bet it will be.”
I smiled at her and she gave me a half smile as she shifted uncomfortably in her chair and I could tell that she wanted to say something else.
“Is there something else Bev?” My voice was gentle so that she would feel comfortable. Bev was an incredible assistant and she was very close to Sebastian so I wanted her to feel that she could ask me anything.
“I don’t mean to be nosy, but have you spoken to Sebastian?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact I have. He will be home today.”
“Is he doing okay? Is Jaden okay?”
“Yes, it’s tough you know, but he said they are getting through it.”
“That’s good. And the two of you, are you okay?”
“I think so, we are going to have dinner tomorrow.”
A huge smile spread across her face and she didn’t even try to hide how happy she was.
“That is wonderful news. He cares very much for you, Elena. It would be nice if you both could work things out.”
I was a little bit surprised by how blunt she was but her words were not lost on me. I could tell that she cared about him very much and he must have shared with her how he felt about me.
“One day at a time, Bev.”
"Okay, okay I will mind my own business. I better get back to work." She stood to leave and before she walked out the door she turned to me, smiled, and quickly said one last thing. “This is meant to be.”
I couldn’t help but smile, Bev definitely did not hold back and it was one of the many things that I liked about her. The rest of my day passed quickly and at around 6:30 I was completely exhausted so I headed home.
I felt really good when I got home and I was happy that the day was finally over. I scoured my closet for something nice to wear for my date with Sebastian, and I decided to wear a simple black tank dress that skimmed my figure with sling back heels. I couldn’t wait to see him. I went to bed early that night and as I lay in bed, thoughts of what Sebastian had just gone through flew through my mind along with thoughts of my dealings with Brian. Even with everything he was dealing with, Sebastian was concerned about me, and that meant a lot. I had just dozed off when my phone rang and jarred me awake.
“Hello?” My voice sounded groggy.
“Did I wake you?” Sebastian’s rich, smooth voice purred in my ear.
I instantly perked up. “No, it’s fine, I just dozed off for a minute.” I didn’t want him to feel bad for waking me.
“I won’t keep you, I just wanted to find out what happened today.”
It occurred to me that he probably already knew since he was so confident that Brian wouldn’t be released.
“I have a funny feeling that you already know, don’t you?”
He hesitated for a minute and then answered me. "Yes, but I wanted to hear it from you, I wanted to give you the chance to say it because I know that has to feel good and it probably gives you a sense of peace.”
I smiled as I thought about his words, he knew me pretty well. "Well, you're right about that. He was found guilty and he will be sentenced in a few weeks. It’s kind of hard for me to believe that I won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“I’m happy to hear it.” His voice was kind of strained as he uttered the words and it worried me.
“Are you okay? You sound upset.”
"Yes, I'm fine. It's just that with everything you have been through and I have been through it's a relief to get some good news.”
“How is Jaden? Is he happy to be in Miami?”
"I don't know if he understands what everything means, I think he might think this is just another trip to visit me. The reality will probably set in with him some time next week when he realizes that he is not going back to Paris for a while. We have an appointment with a therapist on Thursday afternoon so hopefully that will help him adjust.”
“It will take some time but he will be okay.”
“I hope so. Well, I don’t want to keep you, I know you must be exhausted after the day you’ve had. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow, Elena.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing you too. It will be nice that it will just be us.”
"Yes, it will. I will be in the office tomorrow morning but then I have business in the afternoon outside of the office, so if I don't see you during the day I will pick you up at 7 o’clock. Does that sound good?”
“Yes, sounds good.”
“Okay, sleep tight baby.”
“I will, goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
I don’t know that I have ever been looking so forward to something as I was to my date the following night with Sebastian.
Chapter Eighteen – The Perfect Date
I didn't stay late that day at work and I took my time getting ready for our date because I wanted to look extra special for Sebastian. By the time he buzzed me from the lobby, I was happy with the way I looked. My hair was flat-ironed super straight, and my dress fit perfectly. I missed him and I couldn’t wait to see him. As soon as I stepped off of my elevator he was standing in the lobby, leaning against the wall, his hand in his pocket and his phone in the other. He was looking down at his phone and didn’t see me at first and I was able to drink him in from head to toe. My belly flipped as it hit me that the gorgeous man standing in my lobby was waiting for me. Sebastian really was a beautiful and sexy man and my mind quickly shifted to the last time I felt his hands and tongue on my body. I couldn’t take a step for a second as the memory momentarily paralyzed me. I quickly shook my head to bring me back to the present knowing that if he looked at me at that moment my naughty thoughts would be written all over my face. I didn’t want him to see that I wanted him that very second, I mean he had to work for it a little bit, I couldn’t give in so easily, could I? As I pondered the question Sebastian glanced up at me and smiled.
“Are you going to stand there staring at me all night or did you still want to have dinner?”
My cheeks were flooded with warmth as I glanced at the ground, totally embarrassed and totally caught. I cleared my throat.
“I was just trying to see if it was raining outside, I wasn’t staring at you.”
He kissed me on the cheek as I walked over to him and the smell of soap and light musk was intoxicating as it flooded my nostrils. He looked at me and gave me a sexy smile. “Sure you weren’t. What I’d really like to know is what you were thinking about as you studied me.” He leaned down and whispered in my ear. “I bet they were dirty thoughts.” He grinned as I fidgeted with my purse and he raised an eyebrow at me.
I don’t know how it was that such simple flirting could shake me to the core. Our driver was waiting for us and I felt like a teenager as he held the car door for me. I counted to ten to give myself a chance to collect my thoughts as he came around to get in beside me.
Sebastian reached out and gently pushed my hair behind my shoulder, his fingers lightly brushing against my neck, his eyes searching mine.
“You look beautiful, Elena. I’ve missed you.” His voice was gentle and sincere.
Suddenly the air in the car was very thick and I found it hard to breathe. He gently stroked the back of my hand and
I looked down at it for a few seconds and then up at him.
“I’ve missed you too.”
I could see the relief sweep over his face and then he leaned in and touched his soft lips to mine. He gently pressed his hand against my cheek as he held my gaze.
“I’m so happy to be with you again.”
I scooted closer to him and he put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head as I lay my head on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry that you’ve had to go through so much these last few weeks, and I’m sorry it took so long for me to come to my senses Sebastian. I was scared when I found out about Jaden and it’s not because you had a son, it was because I wasn’t sure where I would fit into your life. I should have trusted my heart instead of listening to my head.”
"And I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about him sooner. I wasn't trying to hide the fact that I had a son, I was just waiting for the perfect time to tell you but what I found out is there is no perfect time. I should have just told you from the beginning.”
“I have a question for you about that. So much of your life is in the media, why didn’t I ever hear about Jaden?”
“Sophia and I were very careful about that because we didn’t want him exposed to the crazy paparazzi so when she became pregnant she never said who the father was. The media always speculated but she never responded, not once. That was probably the most selfless thing she did and I am forever grateful to her for that. She was a horrible companion but she was a wonderful mother.”
His voice cracked when he said that and my heart broke for him. I knew it was hard for him to think about Jaden growing up without his mother and I wished there was something that I could do. But all I could do was let him know that I would be there for him. I held his hand, gently rubbing it.
“I wish I could make everything better for you, I hate to see you hurting.”
“Thank you, it means a lot. It’s just going to take time. Therapy and time.”
“Are you going to be in therapy with Jaden or is he going to talk with the therapist alone?”
“It’s mostly going to be for Jaden but if she wants me to join in on the sessions I will.”
“I think therapy will be good for him, and like you said before, kids are resilient.”
“Yes they are, thank goodness.”
We arrived at the restaurant right on time and were seated right away. Sebastian and I enjoyed a beautiful dinner, keeping the conversation light, even talking about the Dubai hotel. I noticed that he kind of kept the pace moving along and we didn’t really linger at dinner. I almost felt he was rushing us. Is he ready for the date to end already? The waiter came over to us when we were done eating.
“Would you like to see the dessert menu?”
Sebastian looked at me and I was going to order but he stopped me and then looked at the waiter. “We’ll just take the check.”
The waiter left and I gave him a curious look. “I’m not allowed to have dessert tonight?”
“Of course you can have dessert, you can do whatever you want. It’s just that I have something planned for us back at my place.”
I raised my eyebrows at him and held his gaze. “Oh, you are assuming that I am going home with you. Are we there yet Sebastian?”
He looked uncomfortable and fidgeted in his chair as he searched for words and then he raised his eyes to mine.
“I was hoping that we were, I have missed you like crazy and I want you in my life. I thought it would be nice if we had dessert at my place. My chef baked a delicious lemon cake for us.”
“But you didn’t even know if I would be going home with you.”
He looked at me, his eyes sincere. “I was hoping.”
As much as I thought I wanted to, I couldn’t resist him so I smiled at him. “Lemon cake sounds delicious.”
“Good, I’m not ready to say goodnight to you yet.”
It suddenly occurred to me as we were riding in the car that I was going to his house for the first time and I thought of Jaden.
“Is Jaden at your house? It might be awkward to meet him like this.”
“No, he’s with my mom. I wouldn’t have you two meet each other like this Elena. You both mean too much to me. I’m trying to figure out the best way for it to happen. He knows about you, he knows that you are my special friend so it’s just a matter of finding the best way to get you two together.”
“He knows about me?” I was totally shocked.
“Yes, of course. Jaden knows that Sophia and I were just friends and we always made sure that we were nice to each other in front of him. We were never together after he was born so he has never seen us acting as a couple.”
“I just wonder if it will be weird for him to meet his father’s special friend.”
“No, I don’t think so. I talked to a professional about this exact thing and she said that it will be good for Jaden to see me in a healthy relationship. She said that I should only introduce him to someone when I know that the relationship is special because I don’t want him to get attached to someone who is not going to stick around.”
“Okay, well I do want to meet him, I’m looking forward to it.”
“I will plan something soon, maybe we’ll go to the zoo or something like that. He loves animals.”
“That sounds fun, I would be up for something like that.”
The car pulled up to the gate and as we drove through I was once again in awe of how beautiful his house was. I felt like I was in a fairytale and I was getting ready to walk into a castle with my handsome prince.
Sebastian linked his fingers through mine as we walked into his house. The first thing I saw was a beautiful double wrought iron stairway leading up to an enormous landing. His house was beautifully decorated and it looked like it had been professionally decorated.
“Sebastian, your house is gorgeous.” I had to admit that I felt a little bit intimidated once I was inside. His house was the first obvious display of his wealth that I had seen. I mean, I knew he had money, but I guess it was hard to wrap my head around exactly how much he had until I walked into his house and saw it all practically staring me in the face.
“Thank you. I know it’s a bit big but I bought it when I found out about Jaden because I knew I wanted to have more children. I really want to have a big family so I had to make sure that I had a house that was big enough.”
I looked at him and smiled. “I didn’t know you wanted to have a big family.”
He turned and looked at me, holding my gaze. “I do, do you?”
“Well, I guess I’ve never really thought about it beyond knowing that I do want to have kids someday.”
He winked at me. “Well, at least that’s a start. Let me give you a quick tour.”
His house must have been at least 15,000 square feet and each room seemed to be more beautiful than the one before it. He showed me every room except his bedroom and when we were seated at the breakfast bar in the kitchen with our pieces of cake, I decided to play with him about that.
“So, is there a reason we skipped the bedroom?”
He was just getting ready to put his first piece of cake in his mouth when his fork stopped in mid air and he raised an eyebrow at me. He slowly put down his fork.
“I’ll show you that room the day that you decide to stay with me and share my bed.” His voice was teasing but his eyes smoldered as they searched mine and I couldn’t help but blush.
“Oh really? And when do you suppose that is going to happen?”
“I would prefer that it happened sooner rather than later.” The teasing was gone and he became very serious.
My body betrayed me and I blurted out the next words without thinking. “Be careful what you wish for.”
He pushed his plate away, walked over to me, grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me. Something was different about this kiss as I threw my arms around him; I wanted to melt right into him and never let him go. I wrapped my legs around him and scooted forward on my stool, press
ing my body to his. His hands moved down over my hips and up over my dress to my breasts as I ran my hands over his strong shoulders down to his muscular biceps. I didn’t want to wait for anything, I wanted to be with him that very second. I pulled away and grabbed his hair, steadying his head so that he had to look at me, both of us panting heavily.
“I want to go to your bedroom.”
Without saying a word he hoisted me up off of my stool, my legs wrapped around his hips and he walked upstairs. He held me with such ease as we reached the top of the landing and then he walked down the long hall to his bedroom. He opened the door and gently laid me down on his bed. His eyes held mine as he dropped to his knees, slipped off my shoes and slowly ran his fingertips up my legs and under my dress. Something seemed to click in Sebastian because he was no longer being tender and gentle, he was a little rougher and I liked it. He hooked his thumbs around the band of my damp panties and removed them in one quick motion. He pushed me back on the bed and shoved my knees back leaving me wide open and vulnerable.