Page 39 of A Reluctant Boy Toy
How did Sebastian see me?
How did he grow up in the most vicious business I’d seen outside of war to become this sweet, caring man?
Why would Deacon warn me away from him, not once but twice?
What had Sebastian done in the past that made Deacon speak of him with such disdain?
“Oh, well. We’ve lost the light completely.” He mimicked his director, Craig. “I can’t work like this. For God’s sake, Deacon. Where’s Deacon? Somebody find my thrice-damned AD and tell him to get the sun back, pronto!”
“The van’s coming.” Morrigan's ears twitched before I heard its tires crunch over the gravel. “Wait, though. Will you tell me what upset you so badly today?”
“Nothing.” Sebastian picked up his glass. “I’m fine now.”
“You know…” He resisted any attempt on my part to get him to meet my gaze. “I’m here if you want to talk about it.”
“Really. I’m fine.” His lips curved upward in the first fake smile I’d seen on Sebastian’s face.
It was an insult—graffiti on a sacred work of art.
I knew I shouldn’t press the issue. Not then, anyway. Not with Molly bearing down on us with meatloaf and mashed potatoes and her arsenal of wine.
But maybe we could spend some time alone later.
The situation was foreign to me. I’d never wanted to share quiet confidences in the darkness with anyone but Serena. But I sensed nothing about Sebastian was what it seemed, and I was worried about him.
If I didn’t get the chance that night, I’d make it happen sometime because I had to know what had upset Sebastian so badly it had knocked his legs from underneath him.
It wasn’t idle curiosity on my part.
It was more like the compulsion Molly talked about. The desire to be in the presence of a wild thing. To understand it, deep down where it was different from me, an untamed piece of divine creation.
How could I help the man who had become so important to me—who made me see things I didn’t know were there and want things I didn’t understand—if I didn’t know what was bothering him?
Chapter Ten
Bast
Dinner that nightwas meatloaf and mashed potatoes with broccoli au gratin. Delicious and hearty. We ate under the awning as a thick mist crept ashore from the sea. After dessert, Molly was ready to go back, and I wasn’t tired. Stone offered to walk Molly home with Morrigan. I would be glad for the time alone with Stone’s menagerie before he came back.
Though I’d tried explaining that I didn’t get any kind of sexy vibe from Stone, Molly still wanted to matchmake. She was just tipsy enough to give me a few exaggerated winks before heading out.
I couldn’t fault her for it. She knew people. She could see Stone and I lived lonely lives, and that we got along great. It was just like her to try to give us a little push.
If I thought he wanted me, even a little, I’d have worked harder, but I believed what Stone wanted was to take me under his wing, punch out guys who messed with me, and change the oil in my car.
Molly said, “Oh, ye of little faith,” and flipped me off with both hands before leaving with him.
While they were gone, I did the dishes, except our wine glasses, which were still half-full. I hoped Molly wasn’t making some sort of sales pitch about me. Sometimes she was a great PA, and sometimes she wanted to play wing man. She had a good heart.
Four padded feet thumped up the stairs and Morrigan came around the corner before I heard Stone’s heavy treads. As she brushed in behind me, I saw a cloud of dog hair attach itself to my jeans and laughed.
“What?”
“Don’t ever try to commit a crime. Morrigan’s a DNA dispensing machine. I took home a whole dog’s worth of fur on my clothes last night.”
“Yeah, she sheds some.”
“Understatement of the century.”
