“It’s too hot,” she complained. “Linnea, get me a cold glass of white wine.”
I didn’t argue with her even though she wasn’t allowed to drink anymore. Instead, I moved into the kitchen with a tight smile for Seb and got some cold lemonade from the fridge. When I returned to the living room, he was gone, but Miranda didn’t seem to mind, already flipping through the latest issue ofVogue.
“They almost asked me to be on the cover in ’99,” she told me for the millionth time. “Willa Percy couldn’t make it last minute, so they askedme. But then Francis asked for a divorce, and it got ugly.” She pouted. “Why are men never very nice to me?”
“I don’t know if some men are ever very nice to anyone,” I told her as I handed her the lemonade.
Her fine motor function wasn’t great, so she spilled some on her shirt, but I was ready with a napkin to mop it up.
“Some men are,” she crowed, spilling even more lemonade as she clapped her hand against the glass.
The happiness on her face so transfixed me that it took me a second to look for the cause of it.
Sebastian stood in the doorway with an armful of flowers—a large bouquet filled with white and pink freesia and lilies—and another beautifully made blue glass vase stuffed with yellow flowers, including a few varieties of orchids.
“A man should always bring a beautiful woman flowers,” Sebastian said, as he handed the freesia bouquet to Miranda, who giggled in delight.
But he was looking at me.
And when he handed the flowers off to Miranda, he closed the space between us with a few long strides and brought the yellow flowers up between us.
“Yellow reminds me of you,” he said softly, just for me. I watched as he plucked a daisy from the stem, brushed the hairaway from my ear with his fingers, and hooked the bloom there. “As warm and vital as the sun.”
“Sebastian,” I murmured, because it was the only word I knew how to say at that moment, absolutely struck dumb by his sweetness.
“Linnea,” Miranda called too loudly. “Put these in water for me. I don’t want them to wilt before Bobbi can see them. When was the last time someone brought that old hag flowers, hmm?”
Sebastian bit the edge of his lip to hide his smile, but I gave in to mine, shaking my head slightly as I took my flowers from him.
“Thank you,” I said, rolling to my toes to brush my lips along the edge of his jaw because that was as high as I could reach even though I was fairly tall. The texture of his inky stubble made me shiver.
His warm hand found my hip, branding me through to the bone. He tipped his head into the kiss, smoothing his own mouth over my forehead.
“Anytime.”
“Linnea!”
I laughed a little breathlessly as I pulled away to grab her flowers, taking both bouquets into the kitchen. Sebastian stayed back with Miranda for a minute, but finally made his way into the back when I had finished cutting the stems and put them into a Waterford crystal vase Miranda refused to sell.
“You didn’t have to do this,” I told him. “But you’ve made her month, honestly. She loves pretty things, especially when they come from pretty men.”
He chuckled, eliminating the space between us until he was right at my back. I shivered as his fingers traced my ear and the flower he’d set there then trailed down my hair to my low back where the waves ended.
“I wish I could say I did it for Miranda,” he admitted. “But I think I’m becoming addicted to your smile now that I’ve seen it in person again.”
“You’re dangerous,” I said, sidestepping him because I couldn’t breathe right with him so close, and I was frankly terrified by my crush on him.
For the first time in my life, I understood why they called it a “crush” because it threatened to annihilate you under the weight of it against your heart.
“I think you mean charming,” he countered with a crooked smile.
“Did you just come over to flirt with my mother, or did you need something?” I asked, slanting him a look that made him laugh again.
God, I loved that husky sound and the way humor lit those sun-gold eyes.
“Actually, I was hoping to chat with you about something. Can you spare a few minutes away from her?”
I frowned, but nodded. “Sure, let me just take the flowers in to her and put on the TV. We can talk on the back porch. Do you want a glass of lemonade?”
