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“Good to see you, man.” They hugged, and Sebastian patted his friend on the back.
The two had known each other since their private school days, and Franky was Sebastian’s dearest friend. It had been a while since they’d seen each other, and Franky was just home from a whirlwind tour of Europe with his most recent girlfriend.
“How was the trip?” Sebastian asked.
A shadow crossed over Franky’s face before he replied. “It was amazing. We stayed a month in France and then moved on to Italy.”
“I love Italy,” Skylar interjected. “Did you visit Positano? That’s my absolute favorite place to stay.”
“We didn’t make it that far. See, my girlfriend loved Italy too. She also loved Italian men.” He shook his head, looking rather annoyed. “One Italian man, actually. So much that she stayed there with him in Florence.”
“You’re kidding.” Sebastian looked at Skylar, who wore more of a pleased expression on her face than a look of sympathy for their friend.
“I wish I was. She didn’t care much about the fact that I had money. Apparently, I wasn’t romantic enough for her.” He shook his head. “Of course Italian guys seem romantic with that language of theirs. They could say they had to go to the bathroom and sound sexy.”
Sebastian and Skylar laughed.
“I’m sorry, man. At least she wasn’t out to get your money. That’s always been my problem.”
After a nice dinner filled with plenty of catching up and even more laughter, Dad and Wayne retired to the study. Sebastian was sure they were discussing Gus’s legal problems, because Wayne was a well-known attorney—the best in the business. This wasn’t the first time he’d helped get Gus out of a scrape, but it had been a long time since he’d needed to. Sebastian felt confident that Wayne would be able to help.
Mom and Glenda moved into the formal living room to chat, leaving the three kids alone.
While the housekeeper took care of the dinnertime dishes, the three of them headed out to sit on the pool deck with glasses of iced tea.
“So, how the heck are you guys?” Franky looked at Skylar as he pushed his honey blond hair back from his forehead. “How’s work, Miss Vice President?”
Skylar reacted with the biggest smile Sebastian had seen on her face since Gus left.
“Great.” She beamed. “I love it.”
“Vice President makes you seem so …” Franky looked deep in thought.
“Important?” Sky offered.
He shook his head.
“Official? Prestigious? Awesome?” She tilted her head, waiting for him to reply.
“Grown up.”
Sebastian noticed her tilt her head shyly. Was she blushing?
“Sebastian met someone,” Skylar blurted, clearly deflecting Franky’s compliment—if that’s what he intended it to be.
Franky’s eyes widened and shot to Sebastian’s. “No way! Finally. Who is she?”
“A girl at work,” Skylar answered for him.
“Dating the employees. How taboo.”
“Not dating.” Sebastian spoke for himself for once. “Just met.”
“She doesn’t even know who he really is,” Skylar blurted.
“Sky!” Sebastian narrowed his eyes at her.
“It’s Franky. If anyone will understand, it’s him.”