Page 33 of Best Kept Vows (Savannah’s Best #6)

Sebastian

I t was getting easier to live without Lia, mostly because I saw her at least twice a week: once during counseling and then for lunch with my father.

I had also started a new tradition—a phone call every Saturday after lunch with my father, when we called the kids on video. This was so my dad could see Tristan and Ada, and we could see them. It was a connective tissue I wanted to build on so we could stay in touch.

According to Dr. Ryan, a lot of the problems between Lia and me stemmed from a lack of communication.

When we saw each other every day, we could manage—or at least ignore—what wasn’t being said.

But once I became consumed by Boone Metals and barely saw her or the kids, all that silence turned into distance, and that distance turned into damage. That’s how we ended up here.

When I told Lia at a counseling session that I’d be going to a Boone family Sunday dinner to announce that I’d be selling Boone Metals, she asked me if I wanted her with me.

I said yes without any hesitation, which was why she was in the car with me as I navigated through Savannah’s historic streets as the sun set on a warm late summer day.

I knew this was her least favorite thing to do—spend time with my mother and sister. And today’s conversation, we both knew, was going to be a shitshow.

But she was showing up for me.

Her generosity humbled me.

Dr. Ryan had asked me how it made me feel that Lia wanted to support me through what was going to be a challenging discussion at best.

“I’m grateful and lucky.” I smiled at Lia. “And I feel like a complete asshole for having taken all this for granted when I had it.”

Dr. Ryan considered me carefully and asked, “Sebastian, you assumed Lia would always be there through every late night, every missed milestone. And now that she’s put space between you, you’re realizing you took that for granted. How does that feel?”

I had swallowed the urge to defend myself, to point out that I had been working for us, for our future, for the family legacy. But that was the thing about therapy—it didn’t let you lie to yourself.

“Like I said, I feel like an asshole.” I took Lia’s hand in mine.

We did that from time to time during our sessions—reaching for each other’s hand, especially when one of us had to say something hard. And every time Lia did it, I felt a rush of relief. It meant she still cared. It meant we still mattered.

“I put my family…my birth family before the one Lia and I built. What future was I building when I wasn’t present for the life I already had? The one I let slip through my fingers?”

Lia shifted beside me in the car, pulling me from my thoughts.

“The kids were happy.” She was referring to the call we’d had with Tristan and Ada the day before.

I glanced at her, a small smile tugging at my lips. “Yeah, they were. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Tristan that relieved.”

He’d actually said, ‘ About time, Dad ’ when I told him that I was selling the company and that their grandfather had signed off on it.

“We’re all proud of you,” Lia murmured.

Ada had also said she was proud of me. That had made me feel ten feet tall since I knew I’d plummeted in her eyes when I had forgone Lia’s graduation ceremony for work and to have lunch with Jane.

Remembering that day still made me want to kick myself because I was sure Lia thought about that day as well, and felt her heart break again and again.

I could see now, with such clarity, what I hadn’t been able to see before: I had been hurting my wife, plain and simple.

The woman I’d vowed to protect and care for was neither being protected nor cared for by me.

I moved my hand from the gearshift to squeeze her bare thigh under her sundress.

That was another thing that I’d screwed up—I’d been too tired to be intimate with my wife, to hold her close, forge the bond we had. Sex wasn’t just about getting off. It was about loving each other, having fun, staying… connected .

“Thank you, baby. For the first time in a very long fucking time, I feel like we’re on the same team.”

She let out a deep exhale. “The kids and I have always been on your team, Sebastian.”

“I know. I’m the one who wasn’t playing on the right team,” I admitted.

She put her hand on mine and squeezed.

We drove in silence, but her actions screamed her commitment to being there for me.

“You know it’s a little creepy to see how”—Lia waved a hand around when we got out of the car—"well, made up everything is, considering the money problems the family has.”

I nodded.

“It’s going to crush her to sell the place,” Lia continued.

“Just her ego, baby,” I replied flatly.

Lia’s expression turned sympathetic. “You don’t have to…say such things. I know how much you care about Dolly.”

Fuck! This was why I was a bigger asshole than even I admitted. This woman was full of grace, and I’d treated her with the kind of neglect that should have me flogged.

I pulled her to me at the front door and cupped her face so she’d look into my eyes, see my truth. “My mother has always been someone I didn’t want to upset, not because I care about her , but because I don’t want the drama that comes with her being in a snit.”

Her brown eyes seemed to search mine, as if she wanted to be convinced of what I was saying. I brushed my lips against hers, letting her warmth and scent permeate me, calm me.

“I chose to be drama-free—not her . That was selfish.”

Lia put her hands on mine against her face, and her lips quivered. “You made me feel like I wasn’t enough.”

If there was a hell, I was living it.

I’d hurt this wonderful woman, this life partner who’d been by my side, and for what? For things that didn’t matter. For people I didn’t even like—even though I felt a responsibility, an obligation for.

“I love you, Ophelia Boone, more than you can imagine, more than I’ve expressed, but I do, and I’m going to make it my life’s mission to let you know it so you feel it in your bones.”

She blinked and bit her lower lip to keep the tears at bay.

I kissed Lia’s forehead and murmured, “Thank you for being you.”

I would’ve said more, but the door opened, and Pamela’s face greeted us.

Sunday dinner was, as expected, a formal affair in the grand dining room, where appearances mattered more than family.

“Thank you for gracing us with your presence,” Mama mocked when we came into the dining room.

We were late by design, so we didn’t have to do the tedious pre-dinner drinks. I intended to get the hell out of here before dessert was served.

“How are you doing, Mama?” I pulled a chair for Lia.

She sat, and I took my seat next to her.

“Dolly, you look very nice,” Lia said politely with no undertone of malice or irritation, just a simple, “It’s nice to see you.”

My wife was elegance personified. My mother, not so much as she spat out, “I’m surprised to see you here, Lia, since I hear my son has left you… finally .”

Coco sniggered.

This was over the top, yes, but I’d seen subtler variations of this over the years and ignored it so we could keep the peace; told Lia to let it go so we could keep the peace, told myself not to hear the contempt so…we could keep the fucking peace .

“Mama, watch your tone and your words,” I warned sharply. “I’m here to talk to y’all, but if you upset my wife, we’ll leave, and you can hear about my plans for Boone Metals like everyone else when we announce them to the public.”

The whole table gasped, and Mama eyed Lia with derision.

“So the rumors are true?” Bryce rose, his hands clenched into fists.

Dad grunted.

Hendrix smirked.

Lia drank some wine.

“Can we at least get through the meal before we get into work talk?” Mama gritted out.

Bryce sat down, and Coco patted his arm, giving me a nasty look. Rumors were swirling about everything from my selling the company to new leadership to the company going under.

Pamela served a cold cucumber soup as an appetizer, and the only sounds for a while were of spoons hitting bowls.

Once they were cleared up, Pamela told us that the Hunter’s chicken with vegetables would be served shortly. She filled and refilled wine glasses, and while she was in the room, I knew everyone would refrain from talking about anything important . You didn’t do that in front of the help.

“You’re still working, Lia?” my mother asked, her tone clipped. “I assumed this…hobby of yours would have run its course by now.”

Lia set her wine glass down, but I didn’t let her respond. “Lia has a career, and it’s not a hobby, not that you’d know since you’ve never held a job in your life.”

My mother looked like she’d eaten a lemon.

A flicker of surprise crossed Lia’s face before she quickly masked it. But I had seen it.

“Craig and I want to talk about the wedding,” Birdie chimed, and that’s when I noticed she was engaged. I was sure someone had told me, but I’d obviously missed it. The ring was huge.

“My parents are thinking destination wedding in the Seychelles,” Craig announced smugly.

“Who pays for this wedding?” I asked .

“We do,” Mama snapped. “The bride’s family?—”

“Can’t…afford it,” Dad said more forcefully than I’d ever heard him speak since his stroke.

Everyone looked at him in shock.

Lia leaned back, and I saw amusement in her eyes.

I didn’t blame her. These dinners were usually staid and boring—but today, with me changing my tune and my Dad addressing the elephant in the room, that the family’s finances were going under faster than a rowboat with a busted bottom—there was an almost dramatic comedy flair to the setup.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Mama thundered.

“Daddy?” Coco blurted out, her blue eyes swimming with hurt.

“Technically, Bryce, you are the bride’s father,” I reminded my brother-in-law.

“Sebastian Michael Boone, we will not discuss money at this dining table,” Mama declared, her fist landing on the table in a very unladylike manner.