Page 24 of Worth the Heat
“How do you mean?”
“Did anything hit you,mi Cielo? Are you hurt?”
She sighs, her voice noticeably softer. “No, nothing hit me. I’m fine.”
“Physically, yes. But I imagine it frightened you.”
“A large cabinet coming at me? Yes, Sebastian, I was a little unprepared for that.”
“Anything broken in the cabinet? Dishes? Glassware?” I ask, as I slowly walk back into the bar. My bartender looks at me quizzically, after watching me bolt only moments before, but I don’t acknowledge him. Heading into my office, I grab my tablet and Google bakery necessities.
“A bunch of cheap plates. Nothing too important …” she trails off. “Sebastian, what are you doing?”
“Hmm?”
“Right now. Right this very second. What are you doing?” she asks impatiently. I can almost imagine one hand on her hip, tapping a foot in aggravation.
“I’m at my bar. Doing inventory things this week,” I answer innocently.
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I’m sitting at my desk in my office.”
“And you’re not doing anything else? Like looking up the cost of cabinetry, or buying me replacement plates?”
“I’m not buying anything right now.” I’m adding a ton to a cart on a wholesale restaurant website, but again, she hasn’t asked that specifically.
“Don’t you dare replace this kitchen, Sebastian,” Isabella says loudly.
“Do you really see me as the type to hang cabinets?” I tease.
“I think you can do almost anything you put your mind to, and being a knight in shining armor is absolutely up your alley,” she replies.
“You see me as your knight,Mami?” I coo, knowing I’meffectively redirecting her. “Unrelated question. Are you attracted to men in knight costumes?”
“Sebastian,” she sighs in exasperation, but I can hear a smile in her tone.
“I’ll have you know, I look good in silver.”
“Your modesty knows no limits,” she replies, deadpan. “Women must line the streets, just trying to get a piece of you.”
“Don’t fucking care about any of that, sweetheart,” I answer huskily. “I only want you.”
ISABELLA
“Icould have just gotten a rideshare,” I mumble as Trace opens his truck door for me.
“Nah. I’m headed back to the Clubhouse anyway. Besides, I’m pretty sure Seb would cut off my balls if I allowed you to go in a car with someone neither of us vetted,” Trace says with a shrug, before wincing. “Fuck. Now he’s really gonna have me by the balls for saying ‘cut off my balls’ to his old lady.”
My mouth drops open in shock. “I am not old!”
Trace throws back his head in raucous laughter. “I know that. Damn, darlin’. You’ve gotta be a decade younger than me. The term ‘old lady’ is an MC thing. It means your woman.”
“I’m not —” I say, but he cuts me off as I slide into the seat. One hand on the top of the truck and the other casually draped across the door, Trace looks at me seriously.
“It’s a status thing. A sign of respect, and also a sign that no other club member can fuck with you. Whether you think you’re Seb’s or not, he’ll let everyone know that you’re off limits. Although in my opinion, you could do worse than Sebastian Garcia.” With that, he closes the door and walks around to the driver’s side. Sliding in, he turns on the ignition and buckles his seatbelt. “I don’t know a more honorable man than Seb. He’d take the shirt off his back and give it to just about anyone. You couldtell him you have no interest in him romantically, and I know he’d still have us looking after you, because even if he couldn’t have you, he’d want you safe.”
I don’t reply as I let Trace’s words marinate. I know Sebastian is honorable. My brothers wouldn’t respect him if he weren’t. They certainly wouldn’t allow me to stay at Sebastian’s home right now. I got a couple of strongly worded texts from Dominic this afternoon, threatening to come and remove me from Sebastian’s if I didn’t answer him about the status of our relationship, but then got texts from his wife Kate, telling me she’d calmed him down. She also encouraged me to ‘ride the sexy motorcycle man,’ but I chose not to acknowledge that text.
