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“But you told me to always tell the truth.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her head on his shoulder.
“I did, even if it hurts.” Sebastien leaned his head on hers.
My heart yearned for the affection that he was giving to Lucy. I knew it was wrong of me to be jealous, but I was. Seeing him so gentle and caring for her, I wanted him to be like that with me.
After a moment he pulled away and asked, “Lucy, is everyone here?”
“Everyone, except Uncle Axel.”
Sebastien shook his head. “Of course.”
Sebastien put Lucy back on her feet, and she took my hand and Sebastien’s, leading us to the living room where the others were having drinks and chatting. Dominic held a baby in his arms and his wife Emily, whom I had met briefly at the grand opening, sat next to him. As soon as she saw us, she stood up and walked over.
She wrapped her arms around me. “Delilah, welcome to our home.”
“Thank you.”
She moved onto Sebastien and pecked him on his cheek.
“Do you guys want anything to drink? Lord alone knows what time Axel will get here.” She shook her head.
“I’ll get us something to drink, don’t worry about it,” Sebastien smiled.
Emily returned to her seat next to Dominic and Sebastien steered us to the table with the drinks. He poured me a glass of red wine and he poured himself a glass of whisky before wesettled ourselves on a sofa next to Vincent. Sebastien placed his arm loosely around my shoulders as I leaned back into the sofa.
There was lively banter between the men until Axel arrived thirty minutes later. After Mrs. Kensington, Dominic’s housekeeper, set the table and said her goodbyes, we had dinner. I picked at my food as I listened to the conversation around me. I answered a question if it was directed at me, but other than that I just observed how Sebastien interacted with his family. I loved how there were no phones on the table and everyone listened attentively to each other as they spoke, especially to Lucy.
After dinner, I helped Emily clear the table and wash the dishes. We spoke about work—she was Dominic’s PA—and how impressed she was with the grand opening. Once the dishes were cleaned, wiped and put away, she looked at me.
“Delilah, I noticed that you hardly ate anything. Is everything okay?” Emily’s eyes were filled with concern.
“I’m just a bit tired. I’ve been juggling a few big upcoming events at the office,” I lied.
“We have a guest bedroom if you’d like to rest for a bit. I’m sure Seb wouldn’t mind.”
I stiffened at that, and then forced myself to relax. If Emily noticed she didn’t say anything.
“It’s just one night. I’ll be okay, but if I really do feel the need to take a rest later on, I’ll let you know.”
Emily stared at me for a moment, then nodded. Together, we walked back into the living room to see Lucy standing on Leonardo’s shoulders with her arms stretched out to the side.
“Look at me, I’m an acrobat!” she squealed.
I heard Emily gasp next to me.
“Leo, you know how I feel about you doing that! At least don’t do it while I’m here. It freaks me out,” she scolded Leonardo, who grinned and removed Lucy from his shoulders.
Emilly removed a sleeping Lillian from Dominic’s arms and turned to Lucy. “Lucy, say goodnight to everyone. It’s time for bed.”
“Aw, man!” Lucy groaned, but she went around and hugged all her uncles and me saying, goodnight. Then she made her way to Dominic, and he gave her a warm hug and a kiss.
“Good night, Lucy. I love you. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Lucy nodded, took Emily’s hand and then disappeared down the hallway. I took a seat next to Sebastien and the men looked at me.
“What?” I wiped my cheek. “Do I have something on my face?”
“No, I’m just wondering how a gorgeous woman like you ended up with a troll like Seb,” Axel grinned.