Page 162 of When We Ignite

“My dad knows, but he lives out of state, and…” I trailed off, biting my lip.

“And you told Henry,” he finished for me.

“Yeah,” I admitted, feeling a little sheepish.

Sebastian chuckled, pressing a kiss to the side of my neck. “You don’t have to hide that. I tell him a lot of things without meaning to, too.”

“Don’t take the morning off. We’ll celebrate if I win, and if I lose, you can buy me a drink. Deal?”

Sebastian hummed thoughtfully. “Not sold. I’m still going,” he said, kissing my cheek. “Besides, I haven’t seen you in your tennis shorts since the day we met. I’ll be looking forward to it.” His hand slipped down the back of my pants, giving a playful squeeze.

“Stop that,” I said, laughing as I shoved him away.

He grinned, and for a moment, everything felt light, easy. I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I finished getting ready for the day.

* * *

It turned out to be a terrible idea.

I walked out of the changing rooms and onto the court, scanning the crowd. It didn’t take long to spot Sebastian and Henry sitting in the front row. Henry waved enthusiastically, calling out to me, while Sebastian sat back, trying—and failing—to hide his smile. I forced myself to focus on the game, managing to win the first set.

During the break, I headed over to say hi. We were chatting casually when I noticed three people approaching.

“Shit,” I muttered, glancing quickly at Sebastian and Henry. “Charlotte and Oli are here.”

They both turned to look.

“It doesn’t have to be weird,” Henry said, but even he looked more serious now.

That wasn’t even the worst part.

“Who’s that with them? He’s hot as fuck,” Henry added, grinning as he adjusted his glasses.

“Don’t go there,” I warned.

Realization dawned in Sebastian’s eyes. “That’s your dad, isn’t it?”

“Yup,” I said, the word clipped.

Tension was written all over Charlotte’s face, while Oliver’s expression turned cold. My dad, on the other hand, seemed relaxed, oblivious to the silent storm brewing. I just hoped it stayed that way.

“Good game, kid,” my dad said, as he gave me a grin.

“Thanks. What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady as they exchanged greetings.

Oliver introduced Sebastian and Henry to my dad. Just as the conversation started to pick up, I got called back to the court.

This was a nightmare. As if being around him wasn’t hard enough, now I had to do it while he sat next to Sebastian?

Predictably, I lost the second set.

My focus was shot. Every time I glanced over, Sebastian was chatting with my dad. They didn’t look tense—in fact, they were smiling—but it didn’t stop my nerves from spiraling.

Before the final set, I walked over to them—my dad, Sebastian, and Henry. They stepped forward to meet me.

“What happened there?” my dad asked.

There it was. The disappointment.