Page 59 of Sebastian

“You up for an adventure?” Her dark brown hair was fanned out across the pillow she was laying down against on the sofa, and Sebastian almost questioned his sanity about taking her out of the house instead of back up to his bedroom.

“What?”

“Get up. We’re heading out into the great wilderness today.”

She slammed her book shut as she sat up, her eyes bright with excitement. “Really?”

“Yup. And we’re ditching Nash and Gage. It’s just going to be the two of us. It’s about time I took you on that second date.”

“And what are the two of us going to be doing…out in nature?” She lifted her right eyebrow and he couldn’t hold in his laughter. By the flush on her cheeks that was growing brighter by the second, he knew her mind had traveled to their time spent outdoors the night before.

“Oh, a little of this, a little of that.”

“Give me a little more than that, Seb. How am I supposed to dress? Do I need hiking boots and a bunch of layers to keep warm?”

“You could wear nothing and I could keep you warm myself.”

“You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” she rolled her eyes. “So?”

“Yes,” he laughed. “Dress warm. I’m thinking a hike and a picnic are just what the doctor called for.”

She jumped up from her spot on the couch, throwing her blanket to the side. He watched her leave the room, her gorgeous brown hair floating behind her.

“Looks like that was a good idea, Cap,” Nash laughed as he walked into the office.

“Yeah, but I don’t want her to know why we need to get out of the house. Okay? You and Gage handle the meeting with Agent Wilson and let me know what information he shares.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Don’t leave the meeting without getting something concrete on Marco, Nash. I mean it. We need to figure out his weakness and use it to our advantage.”

“And what if that weak spot is Emma? Are you willing to use her to lure him out?”

The hair on the back of his neck prickled. He wouldn’t have risked Emma before there was anything going on between them, but now that they’d taken things to the next level, there wasn’t a snowflake’s chance in Hell he’d put her anywhere near Marco.

“No. You know I’m not. I won’t put her in danger.”

“Not even if it’s controlled? Not even if we are all there, ready to step in before he can hurt her? It might be our only way, Cap.”

“I meant what I said. It’s off the table.”

“What’s off the table?” Emma asked, strolling back into the office with her hair up in a tight bun, absolutely drowning in one of his Navy sweatshirts.

“Classified work stuff, Sprinkles.” He walked over to her and placed a kiss on her cheek.

“I see something has changed between you two.” Nash’s eyebrows raised and he let out a laugh at the scowl Emma was sending his way.

“Pay no attention to him. Let’s get out of here and go see all the beauty Colorado offers.”

“Sounds good to me, as long as there are snacks. I don’t want to starve while we hike. Talk about double torture.”

“Snacks will be provided, Sprinkles, but only after the hard work is done.”

“Nope. I’ll stay home then, thank you very much.” She plopped down on the sofa and smiled big at Sebastian. He scooped her up, walking towards the garage as she yelled at him in between bursts of laughter.

* * *

“I. Cant. Keep. Going.” God, forget about Marco, this hike was going to kill her. Maybe that was Sebastian’s plan all along. Get her alone in the wilderness, then make her hike until her heart gave out. Then he’d be able to buy the bakery without worrying about her putting up a fight.

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