What a Girl Wants (19 page)

“Go then, darling.” Then before he could hang up, she said, “Sebastian?”

“Yes.”

“Have you shagged her yet?”

“Goodbye, Portia.”

“Then the answer is yes,
and
you’re thinking of staying. I’m telling Mother.”

“Por—”

She hung up with a giggle.

Shaking his head, he turned to greet Edward.

Instead of the older man, Esme was standing right there.

Sebastian jumped, startled. “Esme, where did you come from?”

“Castro Valley.” She stared at him, eyes wide, and then she smiled. “You have the soft glow of love.”

Aware of Edward joining them, he said, “I was just talking to my cousin.”

Esme glanced at him with a frown, which cleared up when she noted Edward. She winked at Sebastian. Then she pointed up at Ariana’s building and said, “There’s no doubt, you know. You belong here.”

She must have heard his conversation with Portia. Before he could reply, she faced Edward. “Find the letter and everything will be okay. It’s old, but the sentiments are still puissant.”

“Puissant?” Edward repeated, his brow furrowing.

“Strong.” She patted his chest and walked away, a spring in her step.

Edward looked at Sebastian.

“Don’t question it,” he said. He gestured to In Vino Veritas. “Shall we?”

As they walked in, Sebastian waved to Bronwyn, who winked at him as she finished her conversation on the phone. He picked a table set aside from the rest of the store, toward the back. It was the best bet for privacy, because he didn’t doubt that the woman would eavesdrop when she found out he was meeting Ariana’s father.

Edward looked around the shop. “Ariana’s lived here for three years, and I’ve never been here. Can you imagine?”

“You worked hard building your business.”

Edward nodded, but he didn’t look happy about it. “Would you do anything differently?”

Sebastian blinked, surprised by the question. “There are things I’d change going forward, but if I did things differently I probably wouldn’t be where I am.”

“You like where you are?” the older man asked, his gaze focused.

He thought about Ariana and his cousins, as well as everything that he had. “I like it a lot.”

The answer didn’t seem to satisfy Edward. He frowned, tapping his fingers on the table like he was processing it all.

Bronwyn held up two fingers in question, and he nodded. He took out his notes for Ariana’s business and scanned them over. “Everything is on track for Dew Me. I sent Whole Foods a prospectus, and I’ve been reaching out to high-end local outlets that would be a good fit to sell her products.”

Bronwyn set two glasses of red on the table. “Tuscan,” she said, “because I feel homesick.”

Edward watched the woman sashay back across the store to greet a customer who just walked in. “Is she from Italy?”

“I think Bronwyn is from wherever she feels like being.”

“Regardless, she knows her wine.” He lifted the glass and inhaled the bouquet. Nodding in approval, he sipped. “This is nice. Did you order it?”

“In a matter of speaking.” Sebastian lifted his glass, too. “I take it you’ve talked to Ariana about
The Hadley James Show
.”

Edward glanced away, the glass halfway to his mouth. He set it down, shaking his head. “It’s been a couple days since I’ve spoken with her. She hasn’t given me any details.”

“I’m pretty excited about how it all worked out,” Sebastian said brightly, wondering why Edward didn’t seem thrilled, too. “It was meant to be, I think. They had a cancellation, so when I called they were desperate to fill the spot.”

Edward nodded, drumming his fingers.

The man should have been thrilled, but the only feeling Sebastian detected was concern. “Is something wrong, Edward? I thought you’d be pleased about this.”

“No, you did a good job,” Edward said, almost as though he was distracted.

“Then why do I feel that you’re not happy?” He leaned back in his chair and studied the man.

“Just thinking about everything.” His expression clouded. “How is Ariana with this? She was resistant to growing her business.”

Sebastian shrugged, not sure how to answer. “I think she’s coming around to the idea, although frankly I was surprised she said she wanted to go on
The Hadley James Show
. It doesn’t seem like her.”

“It’s not,” Edward agreed somberly.

“But she’s been cooperating.” If grimly determined, which was the part he didn’t get.

Kind of like how Edward was right now.

He sat back and studied the man. Finally, he had to ask. “Is there something going on that I should be aware of?”

“You’re talking with Ariana, aren’t you?”

That was a non-answer, and they both knew it. But given that he was sleeping with the man’s daughter, he didn’t want to push it. That bit of information wasn’t something he wanted to divulge before it was time. To tell Edward now would pressure Ariana in a way that wasn’t to the benefit of their future. “I talk to Ariana daily about the goals, but I feel like there’s something you guys aren’t telling me.”

“No, you’re on point.” Edward picked up the wine and downed a large gulp. He pushed back from the table. “Just continue to keep me apprised.”

“Will do,” Sebastian said as he watched the man leave.

Bronwyn sauntered over after Edward left. “He didn’t look happy.”

“He didn’t, did he?” He stared after the man.

“He looked like he needed a hug. I’d have offered, but I had the feeling there was only one woman he wanted a hug from.”

Sebastian studied her, intrigued. “What gave you that insight?”

“The sad look in his eyes. The wedding ring was also a giveaway.” She winked and sashayed back behind the counter.

He took another sip of his wine, left money on the table, and packed up his things to go to Ariana’s.

She buzzed him in and was standing in her threshold when he walked up the stairs. “I have a lot to do today since I’m losing a day flying to LA,” she said the moment he came into view.

At first he thought she looked different because her hair was all brown—he still wasn’t used to the lack of color. But her lack of color came from more than her hair. He didn’t have to look hard to see the worry lining her face.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her softly. “Hello, Ariana. I missed you.”

She wilted in his arms, resting her forehead against his chest. “Hi. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dump on you.”

“You’re allowed to dump on me whenever you want.” He escorted her inside and closed the door. He did a quick sweep of the studio. The kitchen looked like there’d been an explosion of herbs, and the table was covered with labels in different stages of production. “You have a lot going on.”

She nodded, instantly frowning again. “I forgot I promised a batch of products to a woman for party gifts at the wedding shower. I have to make and package—”

“Breathe, Ariana,” he said, rubbing her back. He felt her inhale and release it, but the tension held in her back. “Tell you what. I’ll sit in the corner and work quietly. You do what you need to here, and when there’s something I can help you with, you just ask.”

“Really?” she asked with hopeful eyes.

“Really.” He kissed her temple. “Go.”

She went into the kitchen and resumed whatever she was making in there. He sat on the futon and answered some emails, looking up every now and then when he heard her mumble to herself. The air in the apartment smelled fresh and lively.

He liked this. He could see himself sitting here with her for a very long time, if not forever.

But maybe on a more comfortable couch. He shifted, putting a throw pillow behind his back.

“Sebastian.”

He looked up. “Yes, love?”

Her brow furrowed. “Will you affix the labels on these jars?”

“You’d trust me with that?” he asked, standing.

The lines on her face deepened, as if the answer in her head bothered her. Instead of voicing it, she just joined him at the table, setting down a tray of small jars. She reached across him for a loose set of labels.

As she brushed against him, he took her waist, turned her to face him, and kissed her properly.

She startled but melted against him, her arms snaking around his neck. He caressed her back, feeling her tension fade a little more with each second their lips were touching.

When she started to pull away, he didn’t let her, deepening their kiss. She needed this—he knew that as well as he knew his own heart. She needed a distraction, something to help release the remaining tension in her.

He turned her around, her back to his chest. Nibbling her neck, he held her in place with one arm while his right hand undid her jeans and slipped inside.

“What are you doing?” she asked, looking over her shoulder.

Her lips were red and moist, and he couldn’t help kissing them again as he slid his hand under her panties to her soft wetness. “If you can’t tell, I’m doing something wrong.”

She closed her eyes and rested her head back against his shoulder. “No, you’re good, I think.”

“You think?” He trailed his finger over her sensitive flesh, watching for the moment when he touched her right. “Maybe we should make sure.”

Her breath hitched, and her body jerked.

“There,” he whispered in her ear, focusing his finger on it. “That’s where you like it. You want me to talk to you while I pet it?”

She gasped, her arms reaching up to go around his neck.

“I think that’s a yes,” he said, watching the ecstasy on her face, loving that he affected her this way. “I know your body is saying yes to me. Open your legs a little, love. Let me in.”

She did as he said, so he rewarded her by letting his finger ease between just enough to concentrate on the right spot. She gasped, her hips arching up.

“You want me. But I want you, too. Do you feel how hard you’ve made me? Do you know what I want to do?”

She whimpered incoherently as his finger rubbed her faster.

“I want to make you come, over and over. By touching you, by kissing you, by sliding into you.” He felt her body tighten, almost there, as if his words affected her as much as his touch. “Next time, I’m going to bend you over the table and take you here, buried deep inside you as my fingers bring you off. I’ll make you come, Ariana.”

“Yes,” she cried out, her grip tightening as her body bowed in release. She moaned, collapsing against him.

He held her up, kissing the side of her neck. She smelled delicious, a combination of sex and Christmas that was very erotic.

Now wasn’t the time. He slid his hand out of her pants, zipped them up, and turned her around to kiss her one more time. He seated her in a chair and said, “I’ll be back.”

Going into her little bathroom, he washed up and rearranged his erection to make it more comfortable. He started to recite baseball stats in his head, hoping that’d help take some of the steam out of it for the time being.

When he rejoined Ariana, she frowned at him. “What about you?”

“I’m ready to help put labels on your bottles,” he said enthusiastically.

“No”—she pointed at his crotch—“about that.”

“That will be fine until later.” He ran a hand down her hair. He really did miss the purple. “Right now let’s get you caught up. Then maybe you’ll let me take you to dinner, and after you can show me how much you appreciate me by bestowing sexual favors upon my person.”

She smiled for the first time since he arrived. “You want sexual favors?”

He touched her lips, feeling like he’d made the sun rise. “Only if they’re from you.”

‡

T
he flight down to Los Angeles was easy, just Sebastian, Ariana, and her nerves. Her nerves loomed so large over her that she wondered if she shouldn’t have booked them their own seat.

Though she supposed it was warranted. It wasn’t every day that a woman met her birth mother.

Sebastian had obviously picked up on her nervousness; he’d kept offering her wine and mindless chatting. She figured he thought she was just afraid of flying—he had no reason to suspect anything else.

Because she hadn’t told him about Hadley.

Yet. She still had a little time before they arrived at the station. “When will we arrive?” she asked him as the car crept through L.A. traffic.

“Not long now.” He took her hand and kissed it. “Don’t worry. You’ll do great.”

Would she? Maybe. It was hard to gauge how Hadley was going to react. After all, she hadn’t wanted Ariana thirty-four years ago—why would that have changed?

“You really are worked up.” Sebastian kissed her hand and then her lips, gazing into her eyes like he was looking into her soul. “Want to talk about it?”

Tell him now.

She opened her mouth, but his phone rang. He looked at the screen, his brow furrowing. “I need to take this. It’s Whole Foods.”

She stilled as he answered the call.

“How are you, Mark?” he asked, using the deep business voice she recognized from when he used to leave her messages before they’d met. “Actually, I’m with her now.”

She held her breath, trying to listen to what was being said. Sebastian didn’t say much except for an agreeing murmur. Then he said, “Yes, we’d love to hear more, of course. Now isn’t a good time, we’re scheduled to be on
The Hadley James Show
this morning, but maybe we can chat later this week.”