Page 15

“If you marry Uncle Seb, that’ll make you and Dad’s wife sisters, right?”
I choked on my saliva and began to cough uncontrollably.
Did she just say marry Sebastien?
I scrambled to my feet, retrieved a bottle of water from the small fridge in the corner of the office and gulped it down.
“Are you okay?” Lucy asked, her big brown eyes filled with concern.
“I’m okay,” I croaked, tossing the empty bottle into the waste bin.
I returned to the sofa and forced a smile. I cleared my throat. “And to answer your question, it would kinda make us sisters.”
Lucy grinned, “Cool!”
I needed to steer the girl’s thoughts in another direction. “So, how are you enjoying the event?”
“I begged Dad to bring me, thinking it would be fun, but this event isboringme to death,” Lucy groaned as she fell back onto the side of the sofa dramatically. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I have an idea of something fun we can do, if you’re interested.” I wiggled my eyebrows teasingly at her.
“I’m interested! I’m interested!” Lucy jumped off the sofa excitedly.
“Okay, come with me to the next room and we’ll get the supplies.”
I led Lucy to supply room, where I gathered a huge roll of paper, scissors, extra flowers, sequins, markers and glue. Then we made our way back to Sebastien’s office.
“Okay, Lucy, we’re going to make life-sized dolls out of paper. My mom and I used to do this when I was younger. Here’s what we’re gonna do. We’ll each lie on the paper and the other will trace the outline. After that, I’ll cut them out and we’ll decorate them with all these pretty things we have here. Sounds good?”
“Yes!”
We sat on the floor and got to work, and it wasn’t long before we were both laughing and decorating our dolls. My doll had flowers for hair, while Lucy chose colorful sequins.
As we decorated the body, the door suddenly opened, and Sebastien walked in. He looked at the mess on the floor and then at me, and felt myself shrink under his gaze.
“Uncle Seb!” Lucy jumped up and grabbed Sebastien’s hand, pulling him into the room. “Look at the amazing dolls Aunty Delilah and I are making.”
Seb stooped to Lucy’s level and held her hands. “I see them, princess. Your dad sent me to get you, Emily is ready to leave.”
“Oh man,” Lucy pouted. “Can I take my doll with me?”
“Sure.”
“Yay! Let me help Aunty Delilah clean up before I leave,” she insisted.
As she began to pack away the things in the box, I rose to my feet and dusted the sequins from my dress.
“It’s okay, Lucy. I’ll take care of it. Go show your parents the amazing doll you made.” I smiled at her.
Lucy ran up to me and wrapped her hands around me.
“Thanks for the fun time. See you soon!” Her eyes twinkled.
“You’re welcome. Bye, Lucy.”
Lucy pulled away from me, picked up her doll, and Sebastien scooped her into his arms before he turned to me. I expected to see anger, but instead, there was something else I couldn’t quite place.
“When you’re finished cleaning up, you’re needed downstairs.” His voice was husky, and it sent a flutter straight to my core.