Chaos (18 page)

Payton

Dinner was amazing, but it wasn’t just the food that made it complete. Everyone we had invited had shown up with more food than we could possibly eat. On top of that, Toby and Chloe had brought over a Christmas tree that morning, and they’d decorated it while we’d been gone. I hadn’t even noticed it at first until Sebastian said something to me. I’d been too engrossed in the fact that they’d all come through for Sebastian.

It was truly the best Christmas ever.

Now, as we all sat in the living room talking and drinking coffee, I watched Sebastian move around the room. He was talking to his aunt Tina, laughing at something she said. She looked as though she’d been given the gift of a lifetime, and I was so glad Conrad had thought to invite her. The kids had already bonded with Sebastian, grabbing his attention at every opportunity.

Yes, Sebastian looked happier than I’d ever seen him.

Not that I was taking credit for the smile on his face, but I was glad to have contributed to it. I listened half-heartedly to the conversations going on around me, answering when someone spoke to me, acknowledging others, but I still found myself watching him most of the time. When he looked my way and smiled, my heart swelled each and every time until I wasn’t sure I could contain all the love I had for this man.

The sound of metal against glass sounded, and the room grew quiet. I looked around, finding Toby grinning as he tapped a fork against his glass, Chloe at his side.

Sebastian started my way, and I moved over so I could give him room to sit beside me, but he continued to stand, facing the room.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt,” he addressed everyone in the room, laughing. “I really just wanted to say a quick thank you for coming. I’m still in shock, or maybe that’s just the turkey. After all, Leif did cook it. And Chloe, for the record, Toby does like turkey.”

A round of laughter escaped as Leif tried to defend himself. Aaliyah stopped him with a hand over his mouth, which only invited more laughter. Chloe laughed at Sebastian’s inside joke, and Toby grinned sheepishly, pulling her against him.

“So, thank you all for coming here today. For you to spend your Christmas with me… Well, let’s just say I’m humbled.”

“It was our pleasure,” Dale announced, slapping Sebastian on the back. “We were promised food. Who could refuse that?”

More laughter.

“I’m truly grateful to have you all here.” Sebastian turned his gaze on me and smiled again, making my insides light up like the colorful, glowing bulbs on the Christmas tree. “But most of all, I’m grateful to you,” Sebastian said to me directly.

I smiled, suddenly feeling my face heat from the embarrassment. I knew everyone was looking at us, which made me slightly uncomfortable.

But then Sebastian did something that caused my face to flush completely and my hands to start trembling uncontrollably.

He lowered himself to one knee in front of me, smiling as he did. When he took my hand, I knew he could feel the shudder that raced through me. Hell, I was surprised the other people sitting on the couch couldn’t feel it.

“Payton,” Sebastian began, “from the instant I saw you in front of my father’s house, I knew… No, wait, let me take that back. From the first time I dreamed about you, long before I actually met you, I knew that you were the woman I was going to spend the rest of my life with.”

“You dreamed about me?” I asked. I probably shouldn’t have interrupted such an intimate moment, but that was the first time he’d ever mentioned dreaming about me.

“I did. Several times before I saw you in front of my father’s house.”

My heart stuttered. He had dreamed about me. And I had dreamed about him. There was no way that was a coincidence.

“I knew from that moment that you were the woman I was going to spend the rest of my life with. You’ve made me whole in ways I never imagined possible. You manage to keep me together when I feel like I’m falling apart, and you manage to unravel me in the best ways possible. I love you, Angel.”

“I love you, too,” I whispered, tears forming in my eyes.

“Payton Michelle Fowler, will you marry me?”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat, nodding my head and trying desperately to force the word out. I finally managed, offering Sebastian a rough version of the word
yes
.

When he slipped the ring on my finger, I stared down at it in complete and total shock. It was the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen in my entire life. Granted, it was a little bigger than I had ever imagined a diamond that resided on my finger would be, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

I threw my arms around him, hugging him to me as the room erupted in whistles and applause.

There was no doubt about it — that was a Christmas that I would never forget.

Sebastian

Three years later

“Sebastian?” Payton called to me from somewhere in the shop.

“Over here,” I answered, rolling out from underneath the car I’d spent the better part of the morning working on.

“Can you take him for a little while?” she asked, moving toward me with our little boy in her arms. The instant he saw me, his eyes lit up, and he reached out for me, nearly launching himself from his mother’s grasp.

“Of course I can,” I replied, getting to my feet and moving toward them, catching Devon as he flung himself in my direction. “What’s up, little man?”

“He’s being a little ornery this morning,” Payton said, mussing Devon’s dark hair as she smiled down at him.

“Car,” Devon stated.

“Yep, that’s a car,” I told him.

“No, car,” Devon demanded.

I laughed. I knew exactly what he wanted. I’d taken to driving him around the race track early in the mornings. The promise of getting to go the following day was something I used to get him to go to sleep at night. Getting him to bed was never easy, not even on a good night, but these days, the terrible twos were certainly gripping him firmly, although we still had three months until he turned two.

“Remember, my parents and Conrad are coming for dinner tonight,” Payton reminded me, leaning forward and kissing me on the mouth. I wrapped my arm around her, holding her to me and refusing to release her.

“I remember,” I grumbled good-naturedly, my lips pressing against hers. She flicked my lip ring with her tongue, and I smiled. “Are we gonna tell them the news this time?”

It was a regular occurrence for Conrad and Payton’s parents to visit. They claimed it was to come by and check on us, but I knew it was really so they could spend time with Devon. Not that I minded. He’d certainly been spoiled by all of the love from his grandparents, and having them over certainly wasn’t a hardship.

“I think we probably should tell them,” Payton replied. “If not, my mother’s gonna figure it out soon enough.”

“Why’s that?” I asked, lifting Devon into the air and making him squeal.

“Because I want you to paint the room next to Devon’s.”

“Is that right? Is that gonna be the new nursery? What do you think about that, boy?” I asked Devon. “You wanna have a room right next to your sister?”

“We don’t know if it’s a girl yet,” Payton said, laughing at me.

“Oh, I know it is,” I assured her, still grinning up at Devon. “A sweet little girl. Sweet and beautiful, just like her momma.”

“Car!” Devon announced, pointing at the car behind him.

“All right, we’ll go for a ride,” I told him.

“I’ve got a couple of errands to run today, and Aaliyah and Chloe are gonna go with me,” Payton informed me.

“Okay. Do I need to do anything while you’re gone?”

“Just keep an eye on him.”

“Will do. We’re gonna have fun, aren’t we, buddy?” I asked my son. “We’ll go for a ride, then maybe we’ll hang out with Uncle Leif.”

“Unca Feef,” Devon muttered, making me laugh as he always did when he tried to pronounce words.

“Maybe Uncle Toby will come over, too,” I told him.

“Unca Poby. Unca Feef.”

“Yep, we’re gonna be fine,” I told Payton.

“Good. And while I’m out, I’m going to pick up the trophies that you ordered for the race next weekend. I got a call this morning that they’re ready.”

“Fantastic,” I told her. It’d taken us almost two years to get everything up and running once we’d finally broken ground for the new track, but next weekend, we had the first race scheduled. Not only would we have the official race, which I would be in, along with Toby and Leif, but we also had the first race with the kids. All sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds who’d been practicing with us for the last six months would finally get a chance to show their stuff on the track. I was both nervous and excited.

It was actually going to be a pretty big deal. There were news crews, and we even had sponsors, including Trovato, Inc., which had become a huge supporter over the last few years. Although I’d gone into business with Payton, Toby, and Leif and we’d opened a body shop that was doing surprisingly well, I still consulted for my father from time to time. Since the tension between us had dissipated after Lauren and Trevor had been tried and convicted of murder, my father and I found ways to work together quite often.

I still wasn’t sure how it all had come together, but I knew without a doubt it had everything to do with the incredible woman who stood beside me through every endeavor.

“I love you, Angel,” I told my wife.

“Angel,” Devon repeated.

“I love you, too,” Payton replied. “Both of you. Now be good while I’m gone.”

“Did you hear that?” I asked Devon. “Your momma wants you to be good while she’s gone.”

Payton laughed, a glimmer in her beautiful hazel eyes. “I was talking to you.”

Of course she was.

From the author

I really hope you enjoyed Chaos, the third and final book in the
Unhinged
series for Payton and Sebastian. I am excited to say that Aaliyah and Leif will receive their own story – a continuation of life after the events that Sebastian went through. This book will be a standalone book.

Although I have completed Sebastian’s story, Aaliyah has some things to deal with now that everything has unfolded. Stay tuned for more information on when Aaliyah’s story will be available.

You can stay up to date on the additional books in this series by going to my website:
www.TimberlynScott.com
. If you don’t want to miss any release dates, sign up for my newsletter and you’ll receive the information right to your inbox on release day. Or you can sign up for text messages, if you’d like.

About the author

Timberlyn Scott is the alter ego of
New York Times
bestselling author Nicole Edwards. Thanks to a significant difference in writing style, Nicole decided to bring Timberlyn to life in order to publish a more contemporary style of romance.

You can find out more about Timberlyn Scott on her website:
www.TimberlynScott.com