Page 61 of The Spice Play

Morris’ pale face went reddened. For as surprised and horrified as I was that Seb had even turned up, I couldn’t deny that he was playing his role so well that I had to bite back laughter. It was supposed to betheirday, and yet here Sebastian was, looming even greater as a plus one and offering to give him an autograph.

He was making Morris feel small.

“Morris,” the man beside him hissed. “We need to start.”

“Maybe, uh, maybe later,” Morris said, taking a step back from us with his eyes flitting back and forth between me and Seb. He looked positively confused out of his mind, flustered to the highest degree, and even though I was angry with him and hadn’t spoken to him in weeks, I wanted to kiss the fucking ground Sebastian walked on.

The moment Morris was out of earshot, he turned to me.

“I really am sorry I’m late, for what it’s worth,” he said, his hand dragging along my exposed upper back before settling on my shoulder. “Are you okay? I tried to call you on the way over.”

I stared up at him, lost in a combination of swirling irritation that he’d had the guts to show up here and overwhelming gratitude that he’d had the guts to show up here. I had half a mind to start crying right then and there, and I stuffed it down before the tears could threaten to make an appearance, but other things took their place, things I wasn’t ready to really think about. Things I had norightto think about. Things that I shouldn’t have felt after a few months of being around him, and things that I was almost certain weren’t reciprocated — even if his appearance here made me think twice. “I have Do Not Disturb on while driving,” Isaid, but the words were croaked and sniffled, and goddammit, I wasn’t fooling anyone. “I’m fine.”

His lips tightened into a thin line as he brushed a single strand of hair from my face. “You’re still mad.”

“Of course I’m still mad.” The words tasted like acid as they left my mouth, but I needed to say it, needed to not pretend at least for a moment that things weren’t still tense between us, even if I was softening to him. Even if I was admitting things to myself that made me want to die.

I missed him. I missed everything about him.

And a part of me, however small that part might be, had fallen for him harder than I’d ever expected to — and the full, unbridled reality of it hadn’t hit home until now.

His mouth pulled to one side, a ripple of what looked likeregretcrossing his features. “Let’s forget about that for tonight, okay? I’m not here to talk you into coming back to work or to beg you to talk to me. I’m not here toteachyou anything, either, if you think that’s my aim.” That regret he’d briefly donned turned into the slightest bit of mischief. “Except maybe some lessons in revenge.”

Chapter 26

Sebastian

The ceremony was a goddamn snooze-fest.

The bride, whom Nelly had reminded me was namedRuby, had eyed the two of us at least ten times during her vows. Apart from that, there were no hiccups, no unhappy men or women storming in when the officiant asked if there was any reason they should not be wed. I’d been tempted to stand up myself and make a scene just to get a rise out of them, but I wasn’t here to be the center of attention. I was here to help Nelly.

And my God, I was glad I’d come.

She looked absolutely stunning in her dress, and considering I’d not been able to touch her for more than four weeks, I was grateful for the excuse to have my hands on her, even if it wasn’t nearly as much as I wanted.

The time she’d been away had been rough for too many reasons. My sister was furious with me but had become Matty’s part-time babysitter when I couldn’t shuffle my schedule, and with playoffs in full swing now, she’d had him every single night we had a game. He’d had to come to practice orstay at the after-school club most days, and even then, I was struggling to keep up. But more than that, more than anything else, I’d found myself thinking of her every waking second of the day, the memories too much and too many to stamp down. I’d tried, every single day, to figure out what I was going to do regarding this, but nothing had felt right, nothing had seemed like the best possible option when I was caught between wanting to track her down and wanting to give her room to breathe and come back by her own decision.

But showing up here, doingthisfor her, felt like the best possible thing I could have done for both of us.

I’d laid in bed the last two nights, wondering if it was the right decision. She hadn’t told me outright that I was uninvited, but she also hadn’t spoken to me since that single text, and I didn’t want to make things worse by showing up if she didn’t want me here. But then the thought of her going through this alone, seeing him on her own, and dealing with whatever that would bring up for heralonemade me want to die.

“How’s Matty?” she asked, clutching her bag with both hands as we walked from the ceremony space to the reception room.

I pulled her in tighter to my side with a hand around her waist. I could be honest — tell her he was still asking about her, tell her he still cried when I had to tell him that I didn’t know if she was coming back. But I didn’t want to upset her or make her feel like I was guilt-tripping her. “He’s okay,” I said. “He’s with Dani tonight.”

She nodded, but I wasn’t sure if it was to me or just to herself.

“Try not to think about that,” I insisted, shufflingbehind her as we stepped into the massive reception hall. “You’ve got enough on your plate this evening.”

Blue lights lit every wall of the room. Circular tables filled over half of the space, ornate white tablecloths draped across them with bouquets of baby’s breath acting as the centerpieces. At the other end, a dance floor sat empty, with giant lit-up letters spelling M&R behind it. It was tacky and gaudy, not a single piece of it meshing well together, and the massive chandelier that should have been a focal point was lost in the loudness of the decor.

I wasn’t exactly the best when it came to this kind of thing, but Taryn and I had at least goneclassyfor our wedding. This just seemed like an insult to the otherwise nice house they’d rented.

“God, this looks awful,” Nelly mumbled, turning her head over her shoulder just enough that I could catch her voice.

“I mean, I wasn’t going to be the one to say it…” I chuckled and wrapped my arm around her midsection, pulling her spine into my chest before she could get away. “Enlighten me, Nell. Is it just Morris and Ruby you want to annoy, or are there others here we should be playing it up for?”

Her hand wrapped around my forearm, holding it in place, and I took that as a sign that I was okay to touch her like this even if they weren’t in the room. “Mostly them,” she said. “But there’s family from both sides here that might think it’s weird if we go from being touchy-feely one moment to avoidant the next.”

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