A week had passed since I told Sebastien that the next time we’d be having sex would be our wedding night. His eyes had shot daggers at me and his voice had sent an eerie chill down my spine. It was at that moment I realized how dangerous Sebastien was; to be that calm and furious at the same time, yet have so much self-control, made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
Seven days without seeing or hearing Sebastien, at home or at the office. He left before I got up and returned home long after I had gone to bed. Rex and another security guard, Viper, were responsible for dropping me wherever I needed to go.
This was his exact reaction after we made out in the dressing stall.
He was avoiding me.
I was hurt that he chose to be this way instead of understanding.
I missed him.
Why would you miss a man who is upset because you set boundaries for yourself? It’s obvious that Sebastien just wants to use you to pass time. Let him stay mad! The more he avoids you, the easier it will be to detach when the time comes.
I sighed.
With Sebastien out of the office, some of my colleagues didn’t care if I overheard them gossip about the reasons they thought the Sebastien Quantum had ended up with a nobody like me. Luckily, most of them were genuinely happy for me and didn’t think I was a loose whore who slept to the top or thought I had used witchcraft to bind Sebastien to me.
With everything going on, I hadn’t been sleeping well, nor did I have much of an appetite, so most of the time, like today, I just worked through lunch.
Around noon, I received a text message from Sebastien.
Family dinner at Dominic’s tonight. Will meet you home at 5:15 p.m. Dress casual.
After work, I wanted nothing more than to take a shower and climb beneath the covers and block out everything. But I knew that staying at home would raise questions I’d prefer not to answer. I shot back a quick reply that I’d be ready and watched as the hours ticked by to the dreaded family dinner.
Promptly at five-fifteen p.m., Sebastien walked through the front door and headed straight for me. I stood awkwardly and waited. Wanting to look nice for the dinner, I left work at three, giving myself enough time to wash and curl my hair. I wore a navy-blue dress, made of soft, flowing material with a sweetheart neckline that hugged my curves before flaring at the waist, stopping just above my knees. I slipped a pair of black sandals on my feet, and applied a touch of makeup to hide the exhaustion on my face.
“When we get to Dominic’s we’ll pretend to be the happily engaged couple they expect us to be. Got it?” His face was blank and his tone was expressionless.
“Yes.”
It’s not too late to back out now.
“If my brothers smell anything out of the ordinary, our cover would be blown.”
“We’ve been pretending from the beginning, so another night of pretending with your brothers isn’t rocket science,” I snapped.
Sebastien’s jaw twitched, but he didn’t say anything. He walked towards the front door and I followed him. The drive to Dominic’s was quiet, as expected, and I even dozed off a couple of times before Tony pulled into Dominic’s driveway, which already had a row of expensive cars in it.
I opened the door and gaped at Dominic’s house. It was almost twice the size of Sebastien’s. Tall pillars adorned the entrance, and just like Sebastien’s, a balcony looked over the manicured lawn. The stonework on the walls at the front of the house, together with the large windows, reminded me of a palace. I didn’t even realize Sebastien had come to stand beside me until he took my hand in his.
Pushing down the urge to pull away from him, I swallowed hard and allowed him to steer me to the front door. Sebastien opened it and I knew my jaw had dropped. The inside of the house was just as impressive as the outside, but before I could feast my eyes more, tiny arms wrapped around my waist.
“Aunty Delilah, you came!” Lucy exclaimed excitedly.
I wrapped my arms around the excited little girl and kissed the top of her head. “Of course, I came.”
Sebastien cleared his throat next to us. “So you don’t see your favorite uncle standing here?”
Lucy pulled away and I let her go. She beamed up at Sebastien.
“Uncle Vincent is my favorite because he lets me eat chocolate cake for breakfast, but you’re close second.”
My hand shot up to my mouth in an attempt to stop myself from bursting out laughing, despite my tiredness. Lucy threw her arms around Sebastien, and he hoisted her up into his arms, and holding his chest playfully.
“That was a hard blow, Lucy.”
“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 we settled 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.
I blushed.
“How’s Dean? I thought by now he would’ve shown his face too after hearing that his baby sister got engaged to his best friend,” Nathaniel stated.
“He, uh…”
“He’s in Germany on business. Unfortunately, he may not be able to attend the wedding,” Sebastien said calmly.
“Is sounds like you two lovebirds plan to jump the broom real quick. Why not wait till he comes back?” Leonardo asks. “Unless there’s a reason the both of you want to get married quickly?” He lifted his eyebrow and glanced at the others, a smirk on his lips.
Sebastien threw a sofa pillow, and it smacked Leonardo in the head. “She’s not pregnant, bonehead. But the sooner we do get married, the sooner we can have those babies.” Sebastien squeezed my thigh gently, not only did my face flush, but I became instantly aroused, thankful for the padded bra that protected me from being more embarrassed than I already was.
As Sebastien’s brothers tossed questions like missiles my way, he answered playfully, not giving anything away about our agreement or Dean’s real location. For that I was grateful.
“So Delilah, when did you realize that you loved Sebastien?” Dominic asked.
“Delilah, don’t answer that,” Emily strolled back into the room and smacked Dominic on his arm. “Is that any way to welcome her into this family? If it were Lucy, would you like her husband’s family to be grilling her like this?”
Nobody said a word as the men looked at each other.
“That’s what I thought,” Emily scolded. “I love you guys, but sometimes you just don’t get it.”
Emily walked up to me and took my hand. We left the men dumbfounded and she took me to a quieter part of the house. The room was smaller and there was a French window with a bookshelf carved into it.
“Are you okay? I hope they didn’t scare you off,” Emily said.
“They didn’t, but thanks for what you did there. I appreciate it,” I smiled.
“We Quantum women have to stick together and ward off those bossy tyrants when needed.”
“So Dominic’s the same way?” I gasped.
“He’s the head of the pack—of course, he is. When I met him, he was worse.”
“How did you meet him?” I asked, curious to know their story.
Emily dived into how she worked for Dominic as his PA, made a mistake and was roped into marrying him. But she soon realized that Dominic, the boss versus Dominic, the doting husband and father were two totally different people. And even though she detested him at first, she loved him now more than anything. I knew that Emily wasn’t telling me the entire story, but the fact that she and Dominic eventually fell in love gave me hope that maybe the same could happen between Sebastien and me.
Don’t hold your breath.
Then she gave me a strange look and spoke in a softer tone. “The Quantum men are alpha men. They dominate in everything they do. They’re as bossy as hell and don’t take no for an answer.”
“Sounds just like Sebastien,” I muttered before I realized it, and Emily chuckled.
She continued, “But they are fierce protectors and loyal to a fault. Amazing providers financially, and otherwise.” Emily winked and I laughed.
“Sebastien couldn’t keep his eyes off you tonight, and when you were just pushing your food around your plate, it may have looked like he was chatting with his brothers, but he noticed and looked worried. Sebastien is a good man. Please, don’t break his heart.”
“I won’t.”
“Aunty Emily?” Lucy’s soft voice came from the doorway.
Immediately, Emily opened her arms to Lucy, and she came up to her and sat in her lap.
“Lucy, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” Emily asked tenderly as she stroked Lucy’s wild curls.
“No, I just can’t sleep. Can you come stay with me? You too, Aunty Delilah?
“Sure. Delilah and I can come with you.”
Lucy nodded, and together the three of us climbed the stairs and made our way to Lucy’s room.
Lucy’s room was painted pink. She had rows of tiaras on shelves and princess slippers. A huge dollhouse stood out in one corner of the room, surrounded by at least a dozen large stuffed animals, and a ceiling-to-floor bookshelf on the other. Next to the bookshelf was the paper doll she made at the grand opening, now fully decorated. I couldn’t believe she kept it.
While I was scanning the room, Emily had already helped Lucy under the covers and sat on the bed beside her. I moved to sit on the other side.
“Aunty Emily, do you mind if Aunty Delilah read me a story?”
Emily smiled, “Not at all.”
After grabbing a book from the bookshelf, Lucy snuggled next to Emily as I read The Princess and the Red Dragon.
When I was finished, Lucy yawned, “You’re a good reader.”
“Thank you,” I chuckled. “I love reading.”
“Oh, really?” Emily asked interested. “What’s your favorite genre?”
“I love to curl up after a long day and turn the pages of a mystery book, but romance novels will always be my first love,” I said in a dreamy voice. “There’s something about a character who goes through everything life throws at her and eventually gets the life she’s always dreamed of.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
A knock on the door interrupts us and Sebastien steps into the room.
“Hey, ladies.”
Lucy scrambled out of bed, and Emily shook her head and laughed as Sebastien scooped Lucy into his arms.
“Why are you still awake? You're keeping your dad’s wife away from him and my fiancée from me,” he said playfully.
Lucy yawns again. “I’m going to sleep soon and then you can have them back. It’s not like you and Daddy aren’t sharing rooms with Aunty Emily and Aunty Delilah.” She shrugged innocently.
Sebastien laughed but didn’t comment on what she said. He skillfully changed the topic. “It’s a school night, and if I were you, I’d go to sleep sooner rather than later. Your dad wouldn’t be happy if he came up here and you were awake.”
She tilted her head toward him. “Are you going to tattle tale on me?”
“I will,” Sebastien said with a serious expression on his face.
The look of horror on Lucy’s face made Sebastien continue his sentence, “If you don’t surrender my fiancée to me. It’s time for us to leave.”
Lucy’s shoulders sagged and she wiggled out of Sebastien’s grip. She climbed into my arms and gave me one last hug, and I hugged her back.
“Thank you for the story.”
“You’re welcome.”
When I released her, she crawled back under the covers. Sebastien walked over to the bed, extended his hand to me, and helped me to my feet.
“Bye Emily, see you soon.”
“Bye guys, get home safe.”
As we made our way downstairs to say our goodbyes to the others, I couldn’t stop thinking about how sweet Sebastien had been to Lucy tonight. He’d make a wonderful father. A part of me wished we had met under different circumstances, wished he had truly loved me, so we’d have the possibility of having a family together.
Having a child had always been a dream of mine, but with everything so complicated, I knew I’d have to push that dream aside for a few more years. After all, Sebastien and I would eventually go our separate ways.
I blinked back tears as I felt my heart crack, just a little.