Page 10 of Best Kept Vows

The way Ada had looked at me still rattled me. There had been no trace of Daddy’s baby girl, who looked at me with adoration. Hell, no! And then called Jane mymistress? What the fuck?

“Jane,” I interrupted her, not particularly paying attention to what she was saying. “You called me Seb at the restaurant.”

I glanced at her as I changed lanes to get ahead of a Toyota Corolla doing forty in a sixty-five zone. She frowned. “I did?”

“Yes.”

She shrugged. “Probably. I call you Seb all the time.”

No, she didn’t. But I also didn’t make a big deal out of it; I’d sound like an idiot.

“But I know you prefer Sebastian.” She chuckled. “Why is this a priority?”

Because I remember the hurt in my wife’s eyes, and it doesn’t sit well with me.

“It’s not. Just thought about it and wondered.”

I heard her release a long breath. “You’re still upset about what happened at the restaurant?”

“Yes,” I admitted. “Lia thought I’d come there for her, and…she was hurt.”

“Come on, Seb…astian.” Jane put a hand on mine, which was on the gearshift. “Not the first time you’ve missed something.”

I’m missingsomethingelse.Why the fuck is Jane touching me?

I quickly removed my hand from the gearshift. She noticed and pulled hers away, a flash of embarrassment crossing her face. Silence filled the car, heavy and fucking uncomfortable.

By the time we reached Jane’s place, the quiet was so loud that my eardrums hurt. I pulled up into her driveway and waited for her to get the hell out.

“Hey,” she whispered.

“Have a good?—”

“Do you want to come inside for a drink?” She sounded like she’d just run a mile, which she hadn’t since she’d had her ass in my fucking car.

When I didn’t say anything, mostly because I was tongue-fucking-tied because I was just getting the memo that Jane Gipson, my Chief Operating Officer, was blatantly hitting on me, a married man.

“We can talk about the contract with Harley,” she blurted out.

Jesus!

“Thanks for the offer, Jane, but I need to get home to my wife.” I hoped she got the message becauseI didhave a wife, and there wasn’t a universe in which I’d cheat on her. I’d rather be celibate for the rest of my life and fuck my right hand than sleep with a woman who wasn’t Lia.

Speaking of which, I needed to get home and make things right with her, and fuck herhardlike I used to so we both could get on the same page.

I hated the feeling that a rift had formed between us.

Lia was not one for histrionics or drama—she was the model of equanimity, even with my mother and Coco, both of whom could drive a man, woman, and/or child to drink. Case in point: Coco’s daughter Birdie, who was twenty-two and still lived with Coco and Bryce because they were worried about her. And with good reason, as she’d been arrested six months ago at a nightclub in Savannah for possession of drugs. Birdie did the mandatory twenty-eight-day rehab, and thanks to a judge who knew the family, she wouldn’t have a criminal record.

Considering that shitshow, the fact that Ada and Tristannevergot into trouble and were freaking amazing, was all because of Lia—I knew that. I wasn’t at home much, raising the kids. She was. When I had my own business, I worked hard and traveled a lot. But I’d never worked as long as I was now.

“Are you sure, Seb?” Jane asked softly, her voice intimate.

I recognized the invitation clearly—I wasn’t naïve. I’d been propositioned before, both before and after I got married. Before Lia, I’d accepted offers like Jane’s without hesitation. After her,absolutely not.

She looked at me with her blue eyes—so different from Lia’s deep brown ones. Jane was blonde, tall, undeniably gorgeous. But she did nothing for me. Not like Lia. Why the hell had we stopped having sex? That was on me. I’d been an ass. I should’ve made time forus—for Lia and me. The lackof connection between us was what left me feeling adrift. Alone.

“It’sSebastian, Jane,” I stated firmly.Enough was fucking enough. “And, yes, I’m sure. Goodnight. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”