Page 73 of Sebastian's Baby

“I’m not sure that’s any less scary than you walking through the paparazzi without me, though,” I laugh.

We get notified that the limousine is waiting for us, and Daryl escorts us downstairs. By the time we’re in the elevator heading downstairs, my nerves have quadrupled.

Lita is pale and looks as scared as I feel, so I pull her into my arms and kiss her quickly while we’re in the safety of the elevator. I don’t think I’ll be able to breathe until I know she’s safe.

“Good luck, princess,” I say quietly as the doors open in the lobby.

She strides away, and I follow slower, coming into the view of the hotel entrance as Lita reaches it. I walk slowly toward it so their focus is on me instead of Lita. They make room for her to pass, paying no attention to her, but I still can’t breathe.

I’m almost at the entrance, and people are calling out to me when the limousine driver opens the door and she slides inside. She’s safe, and I can breathe.

“Sebastian! Did you get someone pregnant?”

I ignore the question as Daryl leads me through the group of paparazzi.

“Are you in Seattle to see your baby?”

“Sebastian! Who got into that limousine?”

We’ve almost reached it, and I’m grateful when the driver opens the door. The reporters are angling to try and see inside, but Lita is safely out of sight as I slide into the car. Daryl gets into the front of the car with the driver, and we're finally on our way to her parents’ house.

“Are you okay, princess?”

“Yeah, they didn’t give a shit about me until I got in the car,” she tells me, but she still looks shaken.

We’re about a block away from the hotel, and the paparazzi are safely out of sight when Lita climbs over to sit next to me. I link my hand with hers and stroke the skin of her hand with my thumb.

It’s as comforting as ever, which is good because I have to tell her, “That won’t work again, princess.”

“I know. Look, I just wanted for us to be the ones to tell my family and not have them read it in some news article. I’ve accepted that my time being an unknown part of your life is swiftly coming to an end.” She grimaces.

Guilt washes over me that I’m the cause of all of this for her. She’s going to be harassed and followed and become a source of gossip for people worldwide, and it’s my fault.

“I never wanted this for you, Lita,” I tell her quietly.

“We can’t change what’s happened, Seb. We’re having a baby. We’ll just have to take everything as it comes and figure out what to do as we go. No point stressing about all the possible outcomes that might not even happen.” Lita smiles at me.

“Okay, so back to stressing about meeting your family, then?”

I smile back at her as my nerves hit me again. Now that we’re through the paparazzi, I don’t have that concern to distract me from them.

“No. No point stressing about that either. I say we look out the windows and enjoy the view and completely and utterly ignore everything else.”

“Denial, I like it,” I laugh. “Top-notch coping mechanisms you’ve got there, princess.”

It takes about thirty minutes to reach Lita’s parents’ place. It’s a nice enough home, nothing fancy, but it reminds me of the house I grew up in.

There are a couple of cars parked in the driveway, so I assume the rest of Lita’s immediate family are here already.

Her body has gone rigid, and her jaw tightens as she looks at the cars, while a red flush comes to her cheeks.

I think she might be self-conscious about her family’s financial position, so I tell her, “This reminds me of my childhood home. Right down to the Ford in the driveway.” I’m glad when she seems to relax slightly at my words. “Come on, let’s go face the music.”

Daryl opens the door of the limousine, and I get out, with Lita following behind me. Someone walking their dog along the path stares at us, but I just take Lita’s hand and walk toward the house in front of us.

I stroke her skin with my thumb as she presses the doorbell, and I don’t have enough time to prepare myself mentally before it opens.

We’re greeted by the sight of a man who looks younger than Lita but with the same brown hair and eyes. He smiles brightly at her, and I notice immediately that he has the same smile as Lita. The smile disappears as he catches sight of me, and his jaw drops open.

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