Page 41 of Sebastian

“Stone called me. Said you turned deathly pale and swiped the knife off his table. You backed up, saying ‘it can’t be him, he can’t be here’. Did you see your step-father?”

“N-no,” she couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Okay…” his voice held a thousand questions and she buried her face in her hands, knowing she didn’t have the strength to share what she needed to next.

“I haven’t told you everything.”

His sharp inhale made her flinch.

“Will you tell me now?”

“No.”

“Why not, Em? If it’s something more, something worse, than what you’ve already told me about your step-father, I need to know.”

“I don’t want to talk about it more than once. So, if you think the guys need to hear it too, then you should call them. Because I’m not going to relive it more than once. It’s too much.”

“Sprinkles. Whatever it is, whoever you saw, I won’t let them hurt you.”

“Call them, Seb,” her voice was robotic and cold, but she didn’t care. He needed to know she was serious about this being the one and only time she relived everything. She’d chosen to stay and fight if her step-father was there. Now she needed to be brave enough to do the same. She needed to stay and fight Marco.

* * *

“Okay, Em. The guys are going to meet us over in the conference room in twenty minutes. Will that be okay?” He watched her eyes move to the door in her office and nod gently.

“I just need to lock up here. Melissa won’t be in to start her shift until school lets out this afternoon. I need to call Mrs. Simon too and let her know to pick up her order later. And the cookies for Addie’s dance class still need to be made. If I can be back here by?—”

“Sprinkles, all those things can wait, okay? You need to be resting.”

Her eyes snapped to his. Oh boy, there was fire in them, and a tightness in his chest eased knowing she was coming back from her panic attack.

“Excuse me? I don’t need rest. I need to make sure my business is operating so that I continue to have income to support myself. I won’t let anyone take that away from me…you, of all people, should know that by now.”

“I do know that, trust me. I can still feel the verbal slap you gave me a few weeks ago when I offered to buy this building.” He laughed and saw her eyes sparkle with just a little infusion of her prideful sass.

“I’m not weak, Seb. I was before, but never again.”

“No one thinks you’re weak. Hell, I think you might be the most incredibly strong woman I’ve ever met.”

She wiped her hands across her thighs, and Sebastian couldn’t help but sit down next to her and wrap his hands around hers to stop the nervous motion. “Do you think you could give me just one small clue as to what happened? I’m feeling very out of sorts trying to put things together in my mind.”

She shook her head, and for a moment he thought she really wouldn’t say anything before they were in his conference room, but then he heard her inhale sharply.

“I saw him Seb. On the sidewalk outside the shop,” she whispered. “I wasn’t sure at first. But he turned and I saw his face. He looked right at me, and I knew it was him. Those eyes…I could never forget how much hatred they held in them.”

“Who, Em? Who did you see?”

He couldn’t have imagined the words that would come out of her mouth next. They burned an ache into his chest that he feared might be permanently there.

“His name is Marco Santoro. He’s my husband.”

Fourteen

Sebastian didn’t say anything as she closed up the shop. Nothing as they walked across the street and into Montgomery Equities. The only thing he did say was in hushed tones to Natalie before he placed his hand on the small of Emma’s back and guided her towards the conference room.

Now she sat at the far end of the table, wringing her fingers together in her lap, waiting for the rest of the guys to show up.

“Here,” Sebastian placed a glass of water down in front of her.

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