________

BRYAN

 

Later that night, after Carl left and Sebastian and I were alone, he gently stroked my cheek as his eyes searched mine.

 

“We need to make a doctor’s appointment for you.”

 

“Okay.  Will you be able to go with me?”  I asked.

 

“Of course!  Honey, I will be with you every step of the way of your pregnancy.  Whatever you need, I will make sure you have it.  If you want me to rub your feet, all you have to do is ask.  If you want me to rub your back, all you have to do is ask.  If you want a massage, all you have to do is ask.  I will do whatever you want, baby.  I want you to be as comfortable as possible during your pregnancy.”

 

“Thank you, sweetheart,” I said as I gently stroked his hand that lay on my knee.

 

“Of course,” he said as he smiled at me, “I can’t wait to marry you and start a family with you, baby.”

 

I smiled at him, still in a daze about how much my life had changed in the past few hours.

 

“I feel the same way.  Is this really happening, Sebastian?  Or am I dreaming?”

 

“Yes, baby, this is really happening and there is one more thing that is going to happen.”

 

“Oh?  What is that?” I asked.

 

“You are going to move in with me as soon as possible.  I want to be able to take care of you and be there when you need anything, Bryan.”

 

“Sebastian, you are so sweet and this is all so overwhelming and I can’t wait to move in with you!  I am so glad you came to check on me today.  Thank you for doing that.”

 

“Of course, I was worried about you.”  His eyes searched mine and he reached out and gently touched my cheek.  “I have missed you so much, Bryan.”

 

Before I could say anything, my stomach grumbled.  He raised his eyebrows in surprise.  “You’re hungry!  Do you want me to make you something to eat?”

 

I smiled at him.  “Sure, I would like that.”

 

“Here, you should be able to keep this down.”

 

He made chicken soup for me and it felt so good sliding down my throat into my belly.

 

“Thank you, honey.”

 

“Sure,” he said as he gave me a soft smile.  “Is it safe to talk about what happened in Paris?”  Sebastian was treading lightly and I appreciated his approach.

 

“Yes, it is.  I’m sorry I didn’t listen before but I was so overwhelmed with everything that was happening.  I needed time to process everything.”

 

His eyes were sincere.  “I can understand that.  I know it looked bad, but nothing happened with Jason, Bryan.  Nothing has happened for a very long time.  We are over and he cannot accept it, so I took steps to make sure he won’t bother us again.”

 

The way he said it was almost mafia like so I was curious about what exactly he had to do.  “You did?  What did you do?” 

 

“I treated him like an elementary school child and I had a long talk with his father.”

 

“Are you serious?”  I nearly choked on my soup and I couldn’t stop giggling.

 

“Dead serious.”

 

“Wasn’t he embarrassed?”

 

“At this point I really do not care.  He has caused so much unnecessary stress in my life for the past two months, so it was time to get his father involved.  He worships the ground his dad walks on and he never wants to disappoint him.  His father was not happy with his behavior and apologized to me profusely.  He even arranged to return the ring I had given Jason.”

 

“He did?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What are you going to do with it?”

 

“I am going to donate it to charity. Proceeds from the sale of that ring will go a long way in helping a lot of people.”

 

“That’s a very generous thing to do,” I said.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“So where have you been all this time?”

 

He gave me a flirtatious smirk.  “Did you miss me?”

 

I giggled at him.  “You can’t answer a question with a question!”

 

“I know, but I just thought it would be nice to hear it.”

 

My eyes held his.  “Yes, I missed you.”

 

He leaned across the table and gave me a soft peck on the lips and then held my gaze with his crystal blue eyes.  “I love you.”

 

“I love you, too,” I smiled.  “So, you didn’t answer my question.”

 

“Oh, right.  I was at my house in Florida doing a lot of thinking,” he said with a flirtatious grin.

 

“Thinking about what?”

 

“Us and how I was going to get back into your good graces. I know we didn’t start off the best way because I was not honest with you about who I really am and it killed me that you thought I was lying to you again. I was so angry with Jason and I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to gain your trust again. I thought about it for weeks and I just decided I was going to be honest, come to you and ask you to believe me.”

 

“You didn’t travel anywhere?” I asked.

 

“No, honestly I enjoyed just being still for a while. I never get to be still and it was amazing.  Bryan, you have to come with me to my place in Florida. It is so breathtakingly beautiful. I promise, you will love it.”

 

“Have you ever taken anyone else there?”

 

“No, I haven’t.”

 

I looked at him, kind of shocked.  “Really?”

 

“Yes, really.  I was waiting until I met someone special who I knew I wanted to be with forever before I shared that place with them.  It is where I go to find real peace and I have been waiting for that special someone to come into my life and share that peace with me.  Now I finally found him,” he said as he smiled at me.

 

“I can’t wait to see it,” I said as I gave him a small peck on the lips.

 

“It will happen soon, I promise.  So, I have been meaning to tell you how impressive you were at the gala in Paris.  My mother raved about you; you really made a wonderful impression on her.”

 

“Sebastian, your mother was so amazing to me and I could have easily talked to her all night. She is one of the kindest people I have ever met and I am so honored that she is even spending a second of her time helping me.”

 

“When mother sees talent and potential in a person, she wants to do whatever she can to help them get where they want to be. My family is having a dinner next Saturday night and I would love for you to accompany me.”

 

“Does she know anything about us?”

 

“She does now.  I told my parents that I was planning to propose to you.”

 

“You did?  What was their reaction?”

 

“They were delighted.  They are happy that I finally found someone who makes me happy.”

 

“I am so happy to hear that, it puts me at ease.  Do they live in Eden Pines?”

 

“Yes, not too far from me.  You’ll see most of my family again on Saturday night including my brother, Tyler.”

 

“You don’t talk about him very much.  Are you guys not close?”

 

“We are, we’re both just really busy.”

 

“What does he do again?”

 

“He is the CFO.”

 

“Oh right, he told me that.  So how big is the company?  How many divisions are there?”

 

“I guess we haven’t talked about this,” he said.

 

“No, we haven’t.”

 

“We have a bunch of different businesses under the umbrella of Blocke Industries.  There is Design, Art, Finance, Real Estate, and Retail.”

 

“Wow, I had no idea it was so big!”

 

“Yeah, my great, great grandfather started the company and it just grew from there.”

 

“Wow, Sebastian, that is so impressive!”

 

He was talking old money and I felt more intimidated than ever. I was pretty sure his family had their own idea of who they wanted their sons to be with.  Sure, Doris was nice to me as an employee, but would it be that way when she found out I was more than that to Sebastian?

 

“I can hear some trepidation in your voice and I can tell what you’re thinking, Bryan.  Even though we have a lot, my family is really down to earth.  We have worked hard for what we have but we don’t think we are above anyone.  You’ll see.  Everyone is really nice.”

 

“Well, if they are like you and your mother, I am looking forward to getting to know your dad and brother better.  Is your brother Tyler married?”

 

“No, but he has a boyfriend.”

 

I could hear in his voice that he didn’t care for the boyfriend.

 

“Really?  And why don’t you like him?”  I looked at him and smiled.

 

He shook his head and slowly smiled back.  “Is it that obvious?”

 

“Probably not to a stranger, but I think I know you pretty well.  What’s wrong with him?”

 

“I just don’t trust him.  He doesn’t treat Tyler the way someone who cares about you should be treated.  I think he is after my brother for his money.  I have tried to warn Tyler but I think it’s a lesson he’ll have to learn on his own.”

 

“Hmmm, hopefully his eyes will be opened about this guy before it’s too late.”

 

“I can only hope.”

 

“From the small amount of time I spent talking with him, he struck me as a pretty smart person.  I bet he won’t let his boyfriend take advantage of him.”

 

“You’re probably right and that is another of the many reasons I love you.  You are wise beyond your years.”

 

“Thanks, honey.  I am looking forward to seeing your family, so thank you for the invitation.  I’m kind of nervous for them to find out about our engagement.”

 

Sebastian gently stroked my arm. “Oh baby, don’t be.  I am sure they are going to be thrilled for us.  It will be fine, I promise.  I didn’t want to tell you during dinner, but I have to go out of town for a few days again.”

 

“You do?”  I tried really hard not to whine.  “When will you be back?”

 

“Tuesday.  The time will fly by, I promise.”

 

I looked at the ground, trying not to pout and failing miserably.

 

“You just came back.”

 

He gently stroked my hair.  “I know, sweetie.  It’s just a really quick trip.  Let’s have dinner when I get back.  We’ll go somewhere nice and it will be a surprise. I will pick you up at 7:30 on Tuesday.  How does that sound?”

 

That made me perk up a bit and I smiled at him.  “That sounds great.”

 

“Good, it’s a date,” he smiled.