Chapter Twelve
Work was a waste of time. Three hours in, when she failed to duck the swung fist of the man in his nineties irate because she was attempting to change the festering, infected bandage on his wife’s knee, Rory told her to go home.
“Pack it in, hon.” He handed her an ice pack from the ambulance’s kit as the elderly man hurled abuse at them from his apartment window. “You’re off with the fairies. And I don’t mean my kind.”
“I can’t.”
“You can. When we get back to base, I’m telling the boss you sneezed all over a patient and can’t stop coughing.”
“Rory.”
He shrugged. “A guy’s got to do what a guy’s got to do. I’ll do your double shift. I don’t have any plans for tonight, and it’ll save me from having dinner with Mum again. She’s still trying to set me up with her chiropractor.”
She opened her mouth to argue and closed it. “Okay.”
You could have had dinner with Sebastian after all.
No. She wasn’t thinking about Sebastian anymore. That ship had sailed. Was done and dusted and over. Now she had to get her stupid heart on the same page. Just thinking about him kicked it into higher gear.
Cody’s face made leaving work early worth it. Surprise flooded his face when he saw her waiting at the school gate.
“Mum!” He ran up to her, beaming. No matter what she did after all this, she was going to make certain she spent every afternoon with her son. No more afternoon or evening shifts. She was missing too much.
“Heya, bug. Surprised?”
“Hell yeah.”
She mock frowned.
He grinned and then looked behind her, around her. “Is Seb here?”
And there was the punch to the stomach. “No.”
No way she could tell him Sebastian wasn’t ever going to be here again. She didn’t have it in her, not at the moment at least. She’d break it to him later. Before Sunday, when he expected Sebastian to arrive.
Before then, she intended to call Judge Myers and ask why Sebastian had been reassigned. Not because she wanted to see him again, but because Cody would be devastated.
Yeah, that’s the only reason.
Gritting her teeth, she took Cody’s hand in hers. “Want to go get ice cream? I’ve a hankering for some chocolate peppermint crunch.”
“Yuck.” Laughing, he twisted up his face. “I’ve got a hankering for some honeycomb twirl.”
Swinging their hands in a loose semi-arc, she nodded. “Honeycomb twirl it is.”
Ice cream didn’t lessen the dull ache deep in her chest, an ache she kept telling herself wasn’t there.
Telling herself was one thing. Listening to herself, however?
Bastard. Making her believe in him. Making her think he really was the guy she’d wanted him to be all those years ago. Making her…want him.
“Mum?”
She blinked. Shit, when had she started crying?
“You okay, Mummy?”
Swiping at her eyes, she nodded. “Yeah, I’m good, bug. Just…” She gave him a crazy smile. “Just got a bug in my eye.”
He didn’t laugh.
“C’mon, let’s go home.”
She prattled about nothing on the drive home. Better prattling than thinking about everything that had gone down during the day.
Pulling into her driveway hurt more than it should. No bright yellow Audi R8 sat there. No gleaming black Range Rover. No sleek gray Aston Martin.
Damn him.
“I’m going to work on my project.” Cody scurried out of the car and hurried inside, as if she were some kind of walking, talking virus he didn’t want to be close to.
A car drove along her street, and before she could stop herself she turned. An older-model blue Ford drove past. Continued past. The elderly man behind the wheel frowned at her.
Probably wondering why the crazy lady is staring at him so intently.
She needed to get a grip.
Entering her home, she tossed her keys and phone—a phone that stubbornly refused to make any incoming message beeps—on the kitchen counter and headed down the hall toward her bedroom.
Maybe a shower would—
Sebastian’s voice wafted down the hallway from Cody’s bedroom.
Grace froze. What the…
She hurried to Cody’s room, heart hammering in her throat, and slumped at the sight of Cody sitting at his homework desk, his small stare locked on the screen of his ancient iMac as he moved the mouse across his Captain America mouse pad.
On the screen was a freeze-frame image of Cody looking at someone off-screen, smile wide.
“Whatcha doing, bug?”
He twisted on his seat and regarded her with a solemn gaze. “Finishing my project.”
She entered the room and perched on the tumble of sheets and clothes and blankets that was the end of his bed. When was the last time he’d made it? “I thought I heard Sebastian talking?”
Damn, it hurt to freaking say his name. If he were here right now, she’d…she’d kick him in the shins.
“He’s in the video.”
She frowned. “Video?”
Nodding, he turned back to his computer. A present from Shelli, given to him when the Big Brother offices upgraded all their office equipment a few years ago. “I had to make a project on an important person. So I made a movie. A documentary.”
“On Sebastian?” There went her heart again, thumping into her throat like a sledgehammer.
Cody shook his head. “Sebastian helped me. He interviewed me.”
That’s why she’d heard him. Oh God, it was going to tear Cody apart when she told him Sebastian was not coming back.
“Who did you do your documentary on, bug?”
He moved the cursor on the screen, his frozen image being replaced with what looked like red theater curtains. Superimposed over the curtains, unfurling like a fanfare of white letters were the words: A Cody Wilder Film.
Cody’s young face filled the screen. Shot high on a building outside somewhere, with sweeping views of Sydney Harbor behind him, he smiled at whoever was holding the camera, filming him.
Sebastian?
“There are a lot of important people in the world,” he said, looking first at the person and then straight into the camera. “The prime minister, the Queen…” The screen turned to the image of red theater curtains again, and once more, a white-letter title appeared: The Most Important Person, before it cut back to Cody high on the building.
“I guess the president of the United States is important,” he said and then laughed. The camera man laughed as well, and a hot bolt sheared through Grace’s heart. Yep. Sebastian. She’d never forget that confident, relaxed laugh in a million years.
“I guess he is,” Sebastian said off camera. “But only a bit.”
Cody grinned on-screen and then his expression turned serious. “But this project is about the most important person to me, so it can only be about one person.”
Red curtains again. For a beat longer this time. And then her name was on the screen.
Grace Wilder. Super Mum.
A lump filled her throat, and she let out a soft breath.
Oh wow.
The title disappeared in a whirl of sparkling stars, replaced with Written by Cody Wilder. Directed by Sebastian Hart.
The lump in Grace’s throat turned to an entire planet settling on her chest.
Wow.
Cody appeared on the screen again, smile stretching as he pushed his glasses farther up his nose.
And then it froze.
“That’s all you’re allowed to see at the moment,” Cody said from his chair, his hand on the mouse.
Grace blinked.
“It’s not finished yet. I’m still picking the right… No, I’m still—” His face twisted into a frown as he clearly searched for the word he wanted. “Editing. That’s it. I’m still editing. Seb has been helping me.”
“Has he now?” Definitely a planet parked on her chest. A big one.
“Yeah.”
She smoothed her hand over his head, his hair cool beneath her palm. So like Gary’s hair—straight and blond, rather than curling and copper. “When’s it due?”
“At the end of the week.”
“Can I help?”
He looked at her and then rolled his eyes. “No. You’re not allowed to see it until it’s done.”
The planet got heavier. Colder. “What if Sebastian can’t get here to help you finish it?”
Cody turned back to his computer, moving the cursor around the screen in circles. “He showed me how to do it. When he updated iMovie for me, we did some editing then.”
And now a desert had taken up residence in her mouth to go along with the planet on her chest. “When was that?”
“The first day he was here. We made a horror movie trailer together.”
“A what?”
He grinned up at her. If ever there was a visual representation of joy and excitement, it was Cody’s face right then. “Wanna see it? It’s only short.”
“Sure, bug.”
He moved the mouse again, closing the Super Mum project and opening up something else.
Dramatic music played, and then Cody ran across the screen, arms in the air, screaming and laughing as a Sebastian-size and shaped white sheet followed him, moaning.
Then came a black screen, with very dramatic groaning the only sound. Followed by the words: It’s looking for you…
More images of Cody appeared, cowering behind the sofa in the living room, running across the backyard, fighting with the front doorknob. Once again, the music was dramatic. Building.
Another black screen with It’s going to find you… appeared, followed by footage of the Sebastian-size sheet monster lurching down the hallway toward the camera.
It’s got a bone to pick with you…
Grace covered her small smile with her hand.
On-screen, Cody scrambled under the bed, almost all the way under until a sheet-covered hand grabbed one of his ankles.
She gasped.
The camera zoomed in quickly on the sheet monster’s face, which was no face at all, and then panned down to the floor, where Cody lay, eyes closed, tongue out.
The Shinless Thing!! appeared on the screen as the music grew in tempo and volume before abruptly cutting off.
There was silence, and then A Wilder/Hart film.
Coming Soon.
“Like it?” Cody wriggled on his seat, waiting.
“I…” She swallowed, staring at the screen. Wilder/Hart. “I love it.”
The planet rolled off her chest and prickling heat replaced it. All over her body.
She did. She loved it, and she—damn it—loved Sebastian. Who knows for how long? A day? A week? A lifetime?
Wilder/Hart.
“Seb says it’s a great name.”
She swallowed. “What is?”
“Wilder Heart. But spell it the way he spells his last name. He said it was like all the good things about you and all the good things about him put together to make an amazing thing.”
And the planet was back. With a friend. “He said that?”
Cody nodded.
“When?”
“Last Sunday, when we were designing the logo for my film company.”
She closed her eyes. It was too much seeing those two names together. Too much.
All the good things about you and all the good things about him…
There were so many good things about Sebastian. She’d seen glimpses of them growing up. She’d seen them again now, in all their glory.
He was a good man. Sure, he was supremely confident and his ego needed to be checked every now and again, but he was a good man. There were so many good things about him… So many things she loved.
Oh man, if only he hadn’t…
“You okay, Mum?”
She smoothed her palm over his hair again. “I’m fine, bug.”
“I didn’t mean to make you sad.”
Enveloping him in a hug, she pressed her cheek to the top of his head. “You didn’t. Promise. Maybe I just need a cup of tea?”
Earl Grey.
Damn it, even the thought of a cup of tea made her think of him. He’d ruined tea for her. Bastard.
A chuckle bubbled up through her chest, and she rolled her eyes.
If she ever saw him again, she definitely would kick him in the shins.
…
“She dumped you?”
“Could you look any more incredulous, brother?” Sebastian slumped back in his desk chair. “And get your feet off my desk.”
Dropping his feet to the floor, Harrison leaned forward in his seat. “So she dumped you.”
“No. Yes.” Sebastian frowned. “Maybe. I don’t know what’s going on right now.”
Hell, they were hard words to say.
“You told her to quit her job because you wanted to have dinner with her.”
“No. Well, maybe I suggested it. I didn’t mean to get so—”
“You suggested she quit her job because you didn’t want to share her with her work.”
“Yeah. I think I did.”
“You fucked up, brother.”
“I fucked up.” A clammy chill crept over him. “Shit, I fucked up.”
Harry nodded. “Yeah. Big time. But I’ve gotta ask, does it matter?”
Sebastian frowned again. “What do you mean, does it matter?”
“Does it matter? That Grace Ford—”
“Wilder.”
“That Grace Wilder dumped you?”
“Of course it fucking matters, Harry.” Had his brother gone mad? “I love her.”
Harry smiled. “Ah, see now you left that little fact out when you were complaining about her dumping you.”
Sebastian swallowed. It was out there. He’d vocalized it. There was no turning back now. He’d never said he loved anyone in his life before. Had he ever told his mother? His brother? Doubtful. Alice Hart had told him and Harry they loved her, many times. And as for letting Harrison know how he felt about him? Well, brothers didn’t do that. Not the Hart brothers, at least.
But it wasn’t just that. It wasn’t a reticence to express his emotions, or a fear of being vulnerably weak if he did so. No, it was the simple, indisputable fact he’d never loved anyone the way he did Grace.
Ever.
And he’d fucked it up.
After the way he’d behaved on the phone, the narcissistic attitude, it would take more than a swift kick in the shins for Grace to forgive him.
“I love her.” A wave of something warm and wonderful rushed through him. No, not something, the very emotion he’d just named. Love. Followed by a bleak hope. “I love her. And I’ve messed it up.”
Harry raised his eyebrows. “What are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t know.” Those words again. He scrubbed his hand over his face. “Make her love me back?”
“Really?” Scorn cut Harry’s voice.
He snorted, rubbing at his face again. “No. That’s the old me talking, isn’t it? And since when have I ever been able to make Grace do anything I want her to do? She’s frustrating and stubborn and fierce, and so bloody determined never to admit she’s struggling or needing help.”
“I had a major crush on her,” Harrison said, watching him closely.
Sebastian ground his teeth. “She was too good for you.”
Harrison laughed, raising his hands. “Dude, as much as I like Grace, I never would have made a move. I knew how you felt about her, even if you were too stupid to see it.”
Sebastian frowned. “What… Why didn’t you—”
“Tell my big brother he’s got the hots for the girl next door he calls Tinsel Teeth? Tell him he’s in love with her when all he does is complain about her? You were bigger than me back then. And honestly, I expected you to figure it out long before you freaking moved to New York. You didn’t, though. ’Cause you’re a moron.”
Mouth dry, Sebastian swallowed. “Jesus. I have really fucked up.”
“Yep. So again, I’m asking what are you going to do about it?”
What was he going to do? How the fuck did he recover from this? Guilt and fear twisted and tangled together in his chest. He’d lost her, driven her away. What chance did he have of convincing her he wouldn’t do it again, when she’d grown up believing he knew no other way of behaving? How did he show her he knew he was everything she’d accused him of being for all those years, but he wasn’t now?
“Any thoughts?”
He clawed his fingers through his hair at Harrison’s gentle prod. “None. At all. But whatever it takes, I’ll do it.”
Harrison settled back on his seat and threaded his fingers behind his head. “Call her and say sorry. That’s a start, right?”
Sebastian snatched up his phone, brought up Grace’s number, and hit dial.
It rang three times. Was she seeing his number and not answering?
“Maybe she’s doing that thing you told her to quit?”
He picked a pen up from his desk and threw it at Harrison.
No. It seemed she wasn’t going to answer the—
“Hi, Sebastian.”
“Grace,” he choked out her name. Christ, he loved the sound of her voice. “I know you’re at work, but I just—”
“I’m at home.”
“You are?”
“Couldn’t focus. Not a safe thing when an ambo can’t keep her head in the game.”
He closed his eyes. Jesus, he really had messed everything up. “I wanted… I mean, I would like to say I’m—”
“Please don’t say sorry, Seb.”
He frowned. “Why not?”
“It doesn’t change anything.” The softly spoken words flayed at his hope, fed his fear. “You will always be you. I get that now. And while I admit you’re not one hundred percent the Sebastian I grew up with, especially when you’re with Cody, he’s still there in you. At the first hint of you not getting what you wanted, you want me to quit my job. I don’t…” Her voice cracked, and for a heartbeat, silence filled the connection. “I don’t like that Sebastian. I didn’t when I was a kid, and I don’t now.”
He was cold. And numb. “What Sebastian do you like?”
A wobbly laugh came through the line. “The one who admitted he was wrong, who didn’t blame other people for his film not being good. The one who made me feel like I was his equal, who behaved like I was important to him.”
“Jesus, Grace, you are important to me. I’ve fallen in—”
“Don’t you dare say that word, Hart.” Anger cut the demand. Jesus, he wished he could see her face.
“Let me come see you. Please. Let me talk to you face to face.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
She let out a ragged breath. “Because you are too good at getting what you want. And I think I’d…”
There was silence. Again.
His heart smashed hard and fast, as if trying to beat its way out of his chest. “Grace?”
She’d what? Surrender?
“You threw a shopping trolley through a window so you could try on a hat, Sebastian. That says it all, doesn’t it? You’ve never thought for one moment of your life that normal rules apply to you. You don’t live in the normal world, Seb. And I do.”
“Grace.” Fuck, where had all the heat gone? “Grace, I’m—”
“I’ve got to go. Cody needs me.”
She disconnected the call.
No. He scrunched up his face. No.
“Brother?”
She was lost to him. Because he was who he was.
Then don’t be that person. Be better. Show her.
“Bastian?” Worry cut Harrison’s voice. “What did she say?”
Opening his eyes, Sebastian yanked open his desk drawer and moved its contents around. Where was it? Shit, where was…
“What are you looking for?”
Ignoring Harrison, he slammed the drawer shut. “Mitch,” he shouted at the door. “Mitch, get in here.”
The door was flung open and Mitch ran into the room. “Yes, sir?”
“Get me Judge Myers on the phone. Now.”
Mitch blinked.
“No. Wait. Get me her number. I’ll call her.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mitch scurried from the room.
“What are you doing, brother?”
He shoved himself to his feet, raked his hands through his hair, and threw Harrison a grin. “Owning up to a lifetime of being a narcissistic, egomaniacal bastard the only way I know how.”
Harrison’s eyebrows shot up. “And you’re doing that how, exactly?”
“Come with me.” He walked from the room, plucking the small piece of paper from Mitch’s hand just as his PA came running back in. “Thanks, Mitch.”
Dialing Judge Myers’s number, he strode toward the elevator.
The call went straight to the judge’s message bank. “Hello, this is Judge Myers. Please leave your name and number and reason for this call. Thank you.”
“Heya, Judge.” He stabbed the down button at the elevator. “This is your favorite reprobate, Sebastian Hart. I’m coming in. Well, I’m coming to the court house at least. Will be there in thirty minutes. Can you meet me on the steps? I’ve got something I need to get off my chest.”
He ended the call, and then turned and grinned at Mitch just as the elevator door slid open. “Tell Kimmy to schedule a press conference in thirty minutes on the Sydney Court House steps.”
Mitch blinked again.
“And then send my driver to Grace’s house. Now.”
“Where’s the driver taking her?”
“Sydney Court House.”
Mitch nodded and ran off.
“What are you doing?”
He grinned at Harrison. “You coming?”
Harrison narrowed his eyes at him and then shrugged. “What the hell.”
Sebastian couldn’t stop smiling on the ride down to the car. His gut churned at his plans, but his gut could go take a hike.
He was doing this.
Ignoring Harrison’s constant demands for an explanation, he typed out a message to Grace.
Grace. You don’t ever have to speak to me again if you don’t want to. But please, when my driver arrives at your house, please go with him. Just this once. For me. And old times. Please. Seb.
“Will she come?” Harrison asked.
He hit send and shoved his phone into his jeans pocket. “I’m doing this even if she doesn’t.”
“Doing what?”
He grinned.
Forty-two minutes later, he pulled his Range Rover to a halt outside the Sydney Court House.
A crowd had gathered on the steps. He saw various network reporters, quite a few print journalists, and Dickie. Of course Dickie would be there. Sebastian Hart was making a media statement. The entertainment reporter wouldn’t be anywhere else. They all stood about, cameras and microphones waiting.
Absent was Theo Olsen.
Another reason to love Grace for the rest of his life.
Harrison pressed a hand to his shoulder, “I think I’ve got an inkling about what you’re going to do.”
He looked at Harrison. “I love her, Harry. And if this is what it takes…” He shrugged. “It’s what I’ll do.”
He opened his door, then climbed out before Harrison could reply.
The first reporter saw him as he was halfway up the steps. The rest turned into a flock of hungry seagulls the second they became aware of his presence.
Kimmy met him on the steps, puzzled frown in place. “I don’t know what you’re planning—”
He held up a finger. “Don’t sweat it, Kimmy. It’s all good. Trust me.”
She didn’t look convinced. Why would she? He’d never done anything like this before.
He smiled at the waiting, surging media and made his way up to the microphone and portable speaker waiting on the top of the steps. He could always rely on Kimmy to know exactly what he wanted.
Ha. The irony of it all.
A wave of elation rolled through him. Surreal and wonderful at the same time.
Judge Myers frowned at him from beside the microphone. The apprehension in her face made him chuckle. What was she going to make of it all?
Climbing the last step, he dropped her a wink. “Heya, Judge. Glad you could make it.”
“What are you doing, Mr. Hart?”
He smiled. “Something. It may sound a little wild at first, a little crazy, but I want you to bear with me? I think you’ll approve. And maybe even be a little proud of me.”
He turned, his heart hammering in his throat, his ears.
Was she here? Had she arrived? He scanned the waiting crowd, searching for any hint of glorious, copper-blonde curls. Any sign—
A black Audi sedan pulled to a halt at the curb. The rear passenger door opened, and he sucked in a sharp breath.
She was here.
Grace climbed out of the backseat, confusion and frustration etching her face. Her hair was a crazy mess, shining copper fire in the afternoon sun. She wore a flowy emerald-green dress that showed off her amazing curves and creamy skin. If he never saw her again, he would spend the rest of his life adoring this last glimpse of her.
She was beautiful.
My Grace.
Cody climbed out of the Audi wearing an Iron Man T-shirt and carrying an ancient video camera.
Sebastian smiled. Damn, he loved that kid. He really did.
Grace’s gaze met his across the crowd, and her frown deepened.
Okay, let’s do this.
With a smile only for her, he stepped up to the microphone. “G’day folks.”
His voice carried over the inner-city noise. The throng fell silent and looked up at him. Waited.
He drew a deep breath and began. “I’ve spent the last week or so with a very special family who have been treated woefully by fate. This family lost their husband, their father, to a fire. He was a firefighter here in Sydney, doing his job, saving the lives and loved ones and property of strangers. Every day, he put his own life in danger for people he did not know. One day, unfortunately, that job took his life. And forever changed the future for his wife and son.”
Cameras and phones focused on him. Recorded his every word. He didn’t care about any of them.
Grace. Grace and Cody. Only Grace and Cody.
She watched him, her expression unreadable. At some point, Harrison had moved down to stand near her. Cody stood on her other side, camera trained on Sebastian.
“When you compare what I do for a living…” He shrugged and let out a shaky laugh. “Well, there really isn’t a comparison, is there? Not a worthy one, at least.
“So I’ve decided it’s time I do something worthwhile. I am establishing a foundation here in Australia, and then hopefully, throughout the US, the UK, and the rest of the world, that will offer support—financial, emotional, social support—to the families of first responders who have lost a loved one on the job. And to show I’m not messing about, I am kick-starting this foundation with a personal donation of forty-two million dollars and a perpetual five percent cut from every movie I will ever make. Starting today.”
Grace pressed her hand to her mouth, curling her other hand around Cody’s shoulders to pull him closer to her. They both looked up at him. Both motionless. Both too far away for him to read their expressions.
A cheer went through the crowd. The gathering reporters surged forward. Questions were shouted at him. Fired at him.
“Mr. Hart?”
He turned and raised his eyebrows at Judge Myers. “Judge?”
She smiled. “I’m impressed. Surprised and impressed. Well done.”
He grinned. “I’m not finished yet.”
Turning away from her puzzled frown, he held up his hand to quiet the din. “I’ve been a self-indulged, self-centered idiot most of my life,” he said with a wry laugh. “The rules of society haven’t always applied to me. And I’ve used my money and my influence to make sure that’s the way it is. You can do that when you are rich and famous, you see. It’s surprisingly easy, and incredibly wrong. But as someone I know very well said to me a little while ago: I don’t live in the normal world.”
He drew another breath. Held Grace’s stare. “But I’ve come to realize I want to. I want to live in the normal world, and to do so, the rules of society must apply to me as well.”
A murmur went through the crowd. Grace stared up at him, shaking her head in small little side-to-side motions, pressing her hands to her stomach.
“A little while ago,” he continued, “I threw a shopping trolley through the window of the Hugo Boss store on George Street all because I liked a hat in the window and wanted to try it on. Instead of being severely punished, I was given community service. And during my community service, I met an amazing young man who has forever changed my world, and I was reacquainted with the one person in my entire life who has never let me get away with thinking I am above the rest of the world.”
Grace’s frown deepened. She caught her bottom lip with her teeth.
“I want to be a better person for them, so as of today, I am going to begin the six-month jail term I was originally meant to receive. I hope the world will know that when I get out, I will be coming out a better man. The man Grace Wilder knows I can be.”
The media erupted.
He ignored it, standing motionless.
Waited.
And then he let out a shaky breath as Grace climbed the steps, Cody a little behind her.
The media parted. Cameras and phones trained on them both.
He rounded the microphone and met her, stopped as she climbed the last step and drew level with him.
“Hi,” he said. “Any chance you’ll make me a cup of Earl Grey when I get out?”
She stared at him, eyes wide. “Are you crazy?”
He smiled. “Crazy in love with you.”
She rolled her eyes. “I never thought the Sebastian Hart would resort to clichés.”
He shrugged. She was so close and yet still a world away. “I never thought the Grace Wilder would be in love with me.”
Her lips twitched. “Who says I’m in love with you, Hart?”
“I do. And even though you told me I wasn’t allowed to tell you I am madly in love with you, I’m going to anyway.”
“Because you always do what you want, right?”
He chuckled, drowning in her eyes. “Not always. And I’m beginning to realize that’s okay. But I’m hoping to hell this is one of the times you’ll let me get what I want.”
She regarded him for a heartbeat, and then rolled her eyes again with a smile. “Oh, okay. You can say it.”
Yes.
He smoothed his arms around her waist and drew her to his body. “I am madly in love with you, Grace Wilder, and I hope you and Cody will want me in your life for the rest of mine.”
“And I am insanely in love with you, Sebastian Hart. And I think”—she looked at Cody, who grinned and nodded—“and I think we would like that a lot.”
He cupped the side of her face with a trembling hand. “Will you wait for me?”
She rose onto tiptoe and brushed her lips against his. “I think I’ve been waiting for you—this you—ever since you first came into my life.”
“Hurry up and kiss already.” Cody laughed at their side. “My battery is flashing red.”
Sebastian hurried up and kissed her.
And kissed her.