Page 84 of First Comes Marriage

His eyes flitted about the room, clocking the groups of guests talking and laughing, as though he were mapping out his exit. When his gaze fell back on her, she felt the coldness in his stare like the temperature in the room had dropped several degrees.

“I’m not doing this here,” he said, pushing past her on his way to the back door of the kitchen.

“Sebastian?”

“No. I’m done being lied to,” he barked without bothering to look back at her.

Then he threw open the kitchen door and was gone.

Panic rose in her throat. She was too late. She’d waited too long to tell him how she felt and—No.This was not how their story ended. She would not let him march away from her with a head full of assumptions like last time. She would not wait another ten years to tell him how she really felt.

She pushed past the elderly women inspecting the mini quiches on the kitchen counter and followed Sebastian out the door onto a small porch at the back of the house. He stood at the bottom of the three wooden steps with his back to her, his hands in his hair, elbows out to the side, as though he’d just run a marathon. Sabrina knew the instant he registered her presence, the clacking of her heels on the wooden deck causing his shoulders to tense, his back to expand with the slowest, deepest breath.

“Sebastian, there’s something I need to tell you.”

He whirled around on her, his nostrils flaring, and for a wild, panic-addled moment she thought it must be what a dragon looked like before they breathed fire on their victim. “You had me fooled. I didn’t see this coming.”

“See what coming?” Another stab of pain and she dug the heel of her hand into the spot.

Nope. Definitely not food poisoning.

His eyes shot to the spot and softened for a moment, but he blinked it away, refocusing his anger on her. “Was this your plan all along? Is that why you really moved back here? To get some kind of revenge for—for what?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The post-nup. Your father sent it to my lawyer this morning.”

All the breath rushed from Sabrina’s lungs and her mouth went dry. “He did what?”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t know.”

“He wasn’t supposed to send anything. I didn’t—”

“You didn’t tell your father you wanted my condo and spousal support?”

“What?” Her head spun, her stomach twisting in on itself. None of this made any sense. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“So you didn’t ask your dad to draft a post-nuptial agreement that would screw me over?”

“That’s not what—” She winced as another stab tore through her abdomen, this one stronger than the last. Sebastian paced on the lawn, barely looking at her, and she could feel each brick in that wall he was erecting between them. A wall she knew she’d never break through again if she didn’t stop this. “I was scared. I told you I never wanted to get married again.”

“I didn’t force you down the aisle!”

“I know!” They were shouting now. Likely everyone in the house could hear every word of this argument, but she could hardly care about that. She waslosinghim, and he didn’t even know she loved him.

“At least when your sister fucked me over, she didn’t try to pretend she gave a shit.”

His words were a slap across the face, stinging and drawing tears to her eyes faster than she cared to admit. “I didn’t— I’m not— I didn’t ask him to do that. My parents wanted us to sign a post-nup. I told him I’d consider it, to show me a draft. I knew within minutes that I’d never sign it. I knew—” He released a grunt of disbelief and ceased his pacing, staring her down with eyes that seemed to look right through her. “I was scared,” she repeated.

“Of me. You didn’t trust me.”

“No, that’s not—”

“Then why?” he barked.

“Because I have so much more to lose this time! I lov—”

“Don’t.” He shook his head, swallowing hard, his eyes flashing with fire like he’d been backed into a corner and was prepared to fight his way out. “Don’t fucking say that now.”

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