The Sweet Spot (21 page)

“Sure, that would be nice,” Raffi agreed quietly.

“I’m also going to pick some things from the house to bring here and I wanted to know if there is anything from home that you’d like to have here, anything that would make this feel more like home for you,” Ani asked carefully.

“You mean like furniture?” Raffi asked, wrinkling her brow in confusion.

“Furniture, or a painting, or certain dishes….” Ani replied, her voice trailing off uncertainly.

“Well wouldn’t daddy miss the things if we took them from the house?” Raffi asked
, biting her lip.

“Well, since daddy and I won’t be living together anymore, we’re going to split some of our st
uff up. I won’t take anything that is special to daddy,” Ani assured her daughter.

“You’re special to daddy
and you’re taking yourself away,” Raffi observed quietly, staring at her mother with a challenge in her eyes.

“That’s true,” Ani replied carefu
lly, meeting her daughter’s gaze. “And I’m very sorry about that, but daddy would rather I take myself away than keep me if it’s not the right thing for us.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Raffi countered.
“I think that he would keep you if you would stay no matter what.”

“But I can’t stay,” Ani replied sadly.

“Because of Sebastian,” Raffi stated matter of factly.

“
Not because of Sebastian,” Ani replied, choosing her words carefully. “I can’t stay because of what’s in my heart. It wouldn’t be fair to daddy in the end. Your father is a wonderful man, Raphael, and he deserves to be with someone who loves him with her whole heart, someone who will cherish all of the amazing things about him and never let him go,” Ani choked as her eyes started to fill with tears.

“Yes he does,” Raffi agreed softly, setting her mug on the coffee table and rising up from the couch.
“Good night mommy,” she murmured, turning and walking away without giving Ani her usual goodnight hug and kiss.

“Good night baby,” Ani whispered, watching her daughter walk away.

Chapter Twenty

“Hello, anyone home?” Sawyer called out, striding into the loft
with a drop dead gorgeous Kate Moss look alike trailing behind her.

“Hey,”
Ani called out softly in response from the couch where she was sitting with her legs up on the coffee table, reading the Sunday paper and drinking a cappuccino.

“Is Sebastian snoring?” Sawyer asked with a grin as she and her model
walked over to the couch.

“A little,” Ani admitted with a laugh,
gazing down tenderly at Sebastian who was sprawled out on the couch in nothing but his boxers, napping peacefully with his head in Ani’s lap.

“He’s been working so much lately, trying to do everything for our apartment and going out on the boat with his dad
, he’s totally exhausted,” Ani declared, running her fingers over Sebastian’s cheek gently.

“Ani, this is Siobhan, Siobhan, my sister Ani,” Sawyer introduced the girl standing beside her to Ani.
  “And that tattooed freak snoring in her lap is her boyfriend Sebastian,” Sawyer added with a laugh.

“Savage
ink,” Siobhan murmured in a lyrical Irish accent as she gazed at the Celtic shield on Sebastian’s bare chest in appreciation.

Sebastian startled awake at Siobhan’s soft wor
ds and he sprung up almost instantly, blinking and gazing around at his surroundings cautiously.

“Jaysus, relax the cacks, and m
ind your scunders now,” Siobhan said with a mischievous grin as she glanced down at Sebastian’s boxers that had gapped open a little when he sprung up.

“So you’re the reason Sawyer hasn’t been home in two months,”
Sebastian replied with a grin, giving Siobhan a once over and shaking his head with a laugh. “You’re a fucking piece of work Soy.” He adjusted himself and relaxed back against the couch next to Ani.

“I
better be the feckin reason she hasn’t been around,” Siobhan replied, plopping down into the overstuffed chair across from the couch.

“Please, she knew she had me after the threesome at Bobby’s,” Sawyer snorted, plopping down onto Siobhan’s lap. “In fact, she’s practically made me her chase her down like a bitch in heat,” Sawyer complained, sticking her tongue out at Siobhan.

“That’s a lot of shite and you know it,” Siobhan replied in disgust. “She’s a fine ting, and Jaysus she knows it too.”

“She means I’m hot shit and full of myself,” Sawyer translated with a self-satisfied grin.

“Can you believe the cheek on this one?” Siobhan asked Sebastian and Ani in disbelief. “And I was worried after that night at Bobby’s too. Didn’t want her to think I was a slapper. It was a one-time ting ya’ know,” she confided. “Bobby knows me from his cousin. I did a shoot in New York with her, and he knew I was in Boston that night, so he rang me up and sent me a photo of Sawyer. Bobby was talkin’ like a wet wellyboot, but she was so feckin gorgeous I went to his flat anyway.”

“She didn’t know he wanted a threesome,” Sawyer laughed. “But we were both so into each other immediately that we decided what the fuck, we kind of owed Bobby for the hookup.”

“Makes sense,” Sebastian grinned, and Ani hit him, shooting him a warning look.

“Ani come into the kitchen and help me make cappuccinos for everyone,” Sawyer said to her sister, hopping off of Siobhan’s lap and heading over to the kitchen area.

“She’s a model,” Sawyer whispered when Ani followed her.

“No way, really?” Ani replied drily. “The six foot, 90 lb blond thing with big pouty lips that she has going on kind of gave it away.” She rolled her eyes at her sister then glanced back over at Sebastian and Siobhan, keeping her eyes on them while she passed Sawyer the milk and cups.

“Oh leave
Sebastian alone,” Sawyer cried in exasperation when she noticed Ani watching him interact with Siobhan.

“What, he has a thing for Irish blonds and she’s the real deal,” Ani replied, giving her sister the finger.

“Get real A,” Sawyer laughed. “You’re the only Irish blond Sebastian O’Reilly has ever had a thing for. Besides, Siobhan is a straight up lesbian, trust me. She wouldn’t let Bobby touch her. Boys are not her thing.”

Ani
ignored her sister and continued to watch Sebastian and Siobhan talking and laughing across the room.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you
this jealous,” Sawyer murmured wonderingly as she passed the first cappuccino over to her sister. “Not even when Jordan’s old assistant was throwing herself at him and he had to let her go. Remember her? That hot big-titted brunette? You would have had to be a fucking corpse not to notice her, but you didn’t even bat an eyelash,” Sawyer reminded her sister.

“I never worried about Jordan cheating on me,” Ani replied thoughtfully.

“But you worry about Bast?” Sawyer asked her sister in amazement. “Sebastian, who has worshipped you since you were in diapers?”

“I don’t kno
w,” Ani murmured thoughtfully. “Sometimes I think it’s always been the other way around. I was the one who pined after him for years before he kissed me. I was the one who took multiple busses to the prison to see him for years even when he refused to see me,” she reminded her sister. “He’s the one who didn’t want to see me for the last fifteen years. He was the one who waited almost a year after he got out before he came to see me.”

“Oh A,” Sawyer sighed, putting the cappuccinos and a bowl of sugar cubes onto a tray.
“I’ll never understand what it is about Bast that makes you doubt yourself,” she murmured. “Maybe that’s why I loved you and Jordan together so much. You always accepted that he loved you, you never doubted it, and it gave you a confidence that shaped you into the woman you are today. You’re not a sixteen year old girl anymore Ani,” Sawyer declared to her sister as they walked over to the couch. “You’re a strong, beautiful, desirable woman.”

“Who’s a desirable woman?” Sebastian asked as they approached the table
.

“Your girlfriend,” Sawyer replied
pointedly, setting the tray down on the table.

“The most desirable in the world,” Sebastian murmured in agreement, pulling Ani into his lap
and gazing at her quizzically.

Ani mustered up a weak smile in return and leaned her head back against Sebastian.

“So what are your plans for the day?” Ani asked Sawyer and Siobhan. She could feel Sebastian’s thoughtful eyes on her as she leaned forward and picked up her coffee.

“We’re actually just going to hang out around here
. It’s been a long week,” Sawyer replied.

“Yeah
the guy in charge of my shoot is a total back pocket in a shirt, completely feckin useless,” Siobhan complained, taking a sip of her cappuccino. “The whole week’s been complete ballax, retakes every feckin day, I’m completely knackered.” She put her cup down and leaned her head back against the chair.

“Well it was nice meeting y
ou,” Sebastian said to Siobhan after they finished their coffee. He stood up and pulled Ani to her feet with him. “We’ll let you guys relax. I think we might go to the beach and back to my place for a little bit.”

“Really?”
Ani asked Sebastian, raising her brow at him as he slipped his hand into hers and led her back to her room. “I thought you were completely
knackered
too,” she said sarcastically mimicking Siobhan as they walked into her room and Sebastian closed the door behind them.

“Ani Mackenzie
are you jealous?” Sebastian asked Ani in wonder, with a devilish grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

“No!” Ani protested vehemently as Sebastian scooped her
up and laid her down on her new bed. As promised, Sebastian had built Ani a beautiful headboard out of weathered driftwood and a platform framed with colorful buoys, and the bed looked perfect against the white washed walls and deep blue floor that Sebastian had painted.

“Me thinks you doth protest too much,” Sebastian murmured, brushing the hair out of Ani’s face and kissing her gently.

“And it’s not Mackenzie anymore,” Ani muttered, feeling her face heat up with embarrassment.

“What’s going on Mackenzie?” Sebastian asked Ani
, pointedly ignoring her comment about her name. 

“I remember you used to always call me Mackenzie
when we were kids and I wondered if you would call me O’Reilly if we ever got married,” Ani whispered.

“Is that so?” Sebastian replie
d, studying Ani with a tender look. “Did you think about us getting married a lot?” He kissed her lips gently.

“I was pregnant with your child asshole, of course I thought about it,” Ani replied, pushing Sebastian off of her
and staring across the room blankly.

“A
, what’s going on?” Sebastian asked quietly.

“You never asked me to marry you,” Ani murmured, feeling her eyes fill up with tears.

“You were sixteen,” Sebastian replied in exasperation. “I was waiting for you to grow up. Of course I was planning on marrying you. You were the only girl who I ever wanted to marry and have a life with. You are the only girl who I ever wanted, and you’re the only woman who I want now,” Sebastian said softly, pulling Ani back into his arms. “Do you really doubt how I feel about you?” he asked Ani incredulously, kissing the tears away that slipped out the corners of her eyes.

“I don’t know,” Ani admitted
. “You’re the only person who has ever made me feel vulnerable. I feel like I’ve been chasing after you for years, waiting for you to want me.”

“I would marry you today, this second,” Sebastian murmured against Ani’s lips. “Do you know how it makes me feel to hear you say that you’re not Ani Mackenzie
anymore? To know that you are another man’s wife? The only name that I ever wanted you to have was O’Reilly. In my heart you’ve always been Ani O’Reilly, a rún mo chroí.”

“I’m sorry.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Sawyer is like a Goddamn frat boy. She is the biggest fucking pig I know. Of course she’s dating a drop dead gorgeous model who’s blond and Irish and speaks Irish and is like a wet dream come true for you,” Ani sighed mournfully. “I feel like Siobhan is the real deal, she’s like me, except five hundred times hotter and more authentic.”

Sebastian burst out laughing, holding his chest and gasping for air
as he drew in deep wheezing breaths.

“Oh A
, you are too much,” he gasped, pulling Ani against him and hugging her tightly. “Siobhan is a skinny Dublin guttersnipe,” he grinned. “You’re right about one thing, she is perfect for Sawyer. She’s trashy and fiery and looks like she just got out of high school. She ate Sawyer out while Bobby fucked her doggy style,” Sebastian reminded Ani with a grin. “She’s
Sawyer’s
wet dream come true, not mine, baby,” Sebastian kissed Ani tenderly and whispered Irish love words in her ear as he held her against him. “
You’re
my real life walking wet dream,” Sebastian whispered against Ani’s neck, sliding the straps of her tank top off of her shoulders and trailing kisses down her neck. “The perfect combination of sugar and sass, curves in all the right places; you’re the one I dream of seeing barefoot and pregnant in my kitchen.” Sebastian sucked Ani’s nipple into his mouth. “You’re the one who I dream of at night and I yearn for in the morning. You and only you,” he promised, easing Ani’s legs open underneath him.

“You want me barefoot and pregnant in your kitchen?” Ani murmured in wonder.

“It’s all I think about,” Sebastian confessed as he kissed his way down Ani’s body. “I want you to be completely mine.”

“
I can’t help being jealous,” Ani confessed with a sigh. “You’re so hot and grown up now.” She gasped as Sebastian kissed his way up her thighs. “Whenever we’re together I see women staring at you and I know what they see. You’re all muscle and mystery, brooding watchful eyes, strength and confidence. You’re like a panther in a jungle, every woman who sees you wants to fuck you,” Ani sighed, closing her eyes and finally giving into the sensation of Sebastian’s lips on her skin.

“Like a panther in a jungle,” Sebastian murmured against Ani’s thighs. “Oh sweetheart, you’re the only one who sees me like that,
” he laughed, trailing kisses up and down Ani’s thighs. “I’m an ex-con baby. I scare small children. I’m the guy mother’s warn their daughters to stay away from,” he teased, licking his finger and sliding it inside Ani.

“Well the mother’s may warn their daughters
to stay away from you, but you’re the guy the daughters sneak out the window for,” Ani gasped as Sebastian finally slid his finger out and slipped inside her with a moan. “You’re the one the girls are willing to risk everything for; you’re that guy now,” Ani moaned as Sebastian thrust inside her and licked a path up her neck.

“Do you know that I would fight to the death for you?” Sebastian whispered before he finally collapsed onto Ani with a shuddering moan
.“I can’t believe Jordan let you go without a fight,” he admitted, trailing his fingers across Ani’s cheek. “I wouldn’t have gone quietly into the night you know.”

“Jordan’s
been fighting your ghost for me for the last ten years Bast. He knows it’s time to let me go,” Ani replied sadly.