Page 4

Amelia

This had to be the weirdest, most awkward conversation I was about to have.

And that was saying something, considering I once had to negotiate with a warlord while duct-taped to a chair.

I had seen the way Kabir looked at me during breakfast yesterday. Like I was a puzzle he used to know how to solve, but now? He didn’t have the fucking pieces anymore. His voice had been tight, strained, as if forcing himself to stay composed.

Maybe I was overthinking this.

Maybe I shouldn’t do this.

I should.

I would.

I needed to.

Right?

As everyone scattered from the dining area, I made my way toward the Blackthorn building across the bridge, my steps purposeful. This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. I had thought about it. And I strongly believed this would jolt Kabir into realizing things.

Because I wasn’t imagining the tick in his jaw when I told him I’d date Sebastian.

It had been there—the rage. The annoyance.

The jealousy?

That had to mean something.

Just as I was about to turn into Sebastian’s hallway, an agitated voice made me pause. Logan.

“This… is coming with me.”

A groan followed, then Sebastian’s irritated voice. “Fine! Take the whole damn crate, if you want. I’ll find another way.”

“Bastian, brother, please,” Logan’s voice was softer now, “Let me just fucking help you… mhmfmhmhmm.”

…Huh?

I strained to hear, but Logan’s retort was muffled. Whatever argument they were having was serious enough to make Sebastian actually raise his voice.

“Leave. I don’t want you here.”

“Brother—”

“Get out!” Seb roared.

“I’m not even in your apartment, brother.”

I could feel the eye roll in Sebastian’s silence.

“Fine, I’ll go. And I’m taking this with me!”

As Logan bit out his final words, his footsteps suddenly headed in my direction.

Fuck.

I froze. I—Amelia ‘Falcon’ Desmond, trained ex-FBI, expert in drone warfare, elite operative—froze.

Logan rounded the corner, caught sight of me, and stopped dead in his tracks.

His expression shifted into mild curiosity. Speculative. I barely noticed that he was holding something in his hand.

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

I sputtered. Sputtered . “Just wanted to see… uh… talk to Seb.”

He nodded slowly, but his frown never left. His gaze flicked behind me, scanning the hallway.

“Where’s Kabir?”

My frown deepened as I bit out. “Not with me.”

Logan’s lips twitched. Amusement? Annoyance? Who the hell knew? Then, with a careless shrug, he stepped past me and disappeared down the hall.

I exhaled sharply.

Okay. Let’s do this.

Rolling my shoulders back, I strode toward Sebastian’s apartment door. Before I could even knock twice, he swung it open.

“You have some ner—oh.”

I smirked. “Yeah. Oh.”

His brows furrowed, shifting from annoyance to curiosity. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Can I come in and… talk?”

His lips parted, clearly surprised, but he stepped aside to let me in.

I had never been to Sebastian’s apartment before. And I had no idea what I was expecting. Maybe something sleek, maybe something annoyingly put together.

It was neither.

It was… a disaster .

Takeout bags. Empty containers stacked precariously on the coffee table. I blinked at the absolute mess.

“Wow! Didn’t know you were the messy one, Seb.”

He cleared his throat. A sign of embarrassment. A rare thing for Sebastian Blackthorn.

“Yeah. Been going through something,” he admitted sheepishly.

I nodded, making my way to the couch—but not before chucking an empty pizza box onto the floor to make space.

Seb settled into the armchair opposite me. He looked tired.

“What can I help you with, sweetheart?”

“That!” I pointed at him. “Why do you still call me that? We’re not kids anymore.”

He chuckled. “I don’t know. Habit, I guess. Does it bother you?”

I opened my mouth to say yes .

But… I couldn’t.

Because it didn’t, really.

I shook my head and blurted, “Kabir kissed me.”

Sebastian’s brow shot up. “Okay?” He shifted slightly in his chair, his expression unreadable. “I’m lost, sweetheart. Care to explain what’s going on in your head?”

I gulped. Hard.

“So… okay… I may or may not have feelings for him. But I also think he may… or maybe not… have feelings? Wait. I’m fucking this up. So, Kabir didn’t kiss me. Not really.”

Seb bit his lower lip—definitely to keep himself from laughing.

“Go on.”

“ I kissed him .”

He nodded slowly, thoughtful.

“I’m loving this teen-drama recap, sweetheart, but you gotta tell me why you’re here. Talking to me . Your boss .”

My heart sank.

Maybe the ‘sweetheart’ didn’t mean anything to him. Maybe I was latching onto something stupidly innocent because I was an idiot.

Fuck. Maybe he thought of me as a sister.

I mean… I was his friend’s little sister, wasn’t I? And also, his employee.

Boss. Sebastian was my boss.

For fuck’s sake.

I shot up from the couch, muttering, “Sorry. This was a mistake. I’ll see you… later, I guess.”

Before I even made it to the door, his hand wrapped around my elbow, spinning me around so fast I almost crashed into him.

His speculative gaze ran over my face. My eyes. My forehead. My cheeks. And then—for a brief, horrifying moment—my lips.

Then, his eyes settled back on mine.

“Amelia?” His voice was somewhere between a whisper and a groan.

“Yeah?” I squeaked.

His hand slipped from my elbow to my waist. Now, I was wearing a crop top. My waist was thoroughly exposed. So, when I felt his warm hands gently caressing my skin, I involuntarily shivered.

“Not your boss, then,” he murmured, smirking. “Not right now.”

I stepped back, putting distance where I suddenly, desperately needed it.

“Take me out on a date.”

His head tilted, amused. “Excuse me?”

“You and me. Date.”

His frown deepened, but I powered through. “Fake date.”

His expression shifted. From amused, to something colder.

“I don’t fake-date women who have feelings for other men, Amelia.”

“Oh? What happened to ‘sweetheart’?” I smirked, goading him. Wrong move.

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, looking at me like I was a petulant child. “Use your words. Full sentences. And then properly explain to me your request, motivation, and intention.”

Okay. So. I didn’t know why, but that was gloriously sexy. Apparently, I had just learned something new about myself. I liked men who were communicative. Effectively communicative.

And I, Amelia, actually found Sebastian attractive. My feelings for Kabir may have been way more. But my plan with Sebastian wouldn’t be too hard to execute.

I exhaled sharply. “I want to pretend to date you so that Kabir, who—frankly—is already acting jealous, gets jolted out of his self-sacrificing, non-communicative, stupid… martyrdom.”

His lips twitched, but he stepped closer, invading my personal space. “Sorry, sweetheart. I can’t pretend to date you.”

My shoulders slumped. Shit .

“I can, however,” he continued, voice lower, lips brushing against my ear, “ actually date you. You can keep pretending.”

My heart slammed against my ribs.

“Also,” he added, like this wasn’t already derailing my life, “I could use your help with something.”

I blinked, leaning back, and took a second to process that last part. “My help?”

He nodded solemnly. “I need to fire Logan.”

I jerked back. “What the fuck?”

Sebastian chuckled. “Logan has decided that his life mission is to rid me of my alcoholism. I need him fired from that position. I think I’d respond better if a beautiful woman such as yourself… I don’t know… scolded me?”

My eyes widened. “Alcoholism? You’re… an alcoholic?”

Sebastian shook his head before giving me a small, sad smile. He gestured for me to sit back down, reclaiming his seat opposite me.

“Not really. I was an addict as a teenager,” he admitted.

“When I was rehomed to your neighborhood with the Blackthorns, I made sure to stay away from that stuff. You and Dylan? You guys were a big part of helping me with that. Even though you didn’t know it.

Talking to you both, hanging out with you, even the mundane stuff…

kept me away from it. I had relapses. But, I never told you. ”

I must not be hiding my sorrowful, stunned expression well, because a second later, he was beside me.

“I’ve been sober from hard drugs for over seventeen years, Amelia. But with everything that happened—Logan dying, coming back, almost dying again—I picked up alcohol. I never drank every day like this before.”

He exhaled slowly. “Now, I appreciate Logan being concerned. I love him for it. But I can’t stand the look of disappointment on his face. The same face I see dying over and over again in my nightmares. The nightmares that keep me up. The insomnia I try to cure with alcohol.”

He reached out, fingertips brushing my chin, tilting my face toward him. “You get me?”

I nodded, barely breathing, before forcing out, “I know we’re talking about something very serious. But, why… uh…”

God, why was it so hard to breathe with him so damn close?

“Why are you being so—I don’t know—flirty?”

Sebastian froze before throwing his head back and laughing. A deep, rich, completely unbothered laugh.

Catching his breath, he looked at me again, eyes bright, lips curled into a boyish grin. “Am I?”

I nodded dumbly.

His dark gaze dropped—lingering too long on my lips.

“Okay,” he murmured, voice smoother than I had ever heard it. “I’ll try not to be so… flirty .”

I gulped.

Don’t you fucking dare lick your lips, Amelia!

“We wouldn’t want you distracted from your mission to entice Kabir, now, would we?”

Ice-cold fucking water.

Kabir’s name hit like a punch to the gut.

This wasn’t cheating. Logically, it wasn’t. But then why did it feel like I had just crossed a line I wasn’t supposed to?

I scooted back so fast I nearly tripped over the arm of the couch, clearing my throat. “So… okay. We’ll fake-date. And I’ll help you with your… you know.”

Sebastian grinned like he had just won a war with my nervousness. “Yep. We’ll date, and you will help me get rid of my addiction.” He cocked his head slightly. “You can say it, you know?”

I nodded, swallowing. Whispering. “Date.”

His thick bottom lip caught between his teeth, amusement lighting up his entire goddamn face.

“I meant addiction.” His smirk deepened. “But glad to see where your head’s at, sweetheart.”

Then this motherfucker winked. Winked!

My entire body short-circuited.

I unhurriedly got up—graciously sprinting the fuck out of his apartment.

My heart still pounding in my throat.

What in the Pandora-box?!