Page 78 of Late Nights & Love Lines
Kade must have taken her words as a challenge because he runs back into the house, yelling for Uncle Beck.
“I’m sorry,” Stella says, her unease softening her tone. “Did I say something wrong?”
I shake my head even as sweat trickles down my spine. What the heck is happening to my body right now?
“Do you have a big family?” Tabby asks. Her demeanor has changed as well, and she’s approaching me as you would a wounded animal.
“I don’t have family,” I admit. I don’t even know why. I’ve always evaded the question before. “Not since I was sixteen. They’re alive, but not to me.”
What in the ever-living hell is wrong with me? I don’t share. I don’t open up. And yet, here I am spilling my freaking guts like we’re at a sleepover having alcohol for the first time. I eye thewine glass on the table beside me, but I didn’t even drink the first glass Sebastian handed me.
“I’m so sorry for what you’ve gone through,” Stella says. The sincerity in her voice is unnerving. “My whole life, it was just me and my mom. We moved so much I never even truly learned how to make friends, so when I entered this” —she sweeps her hands out in front of her to encompass the chaos happening in her kitchen—“it was completely overwhelming.”
“But now you’re all related?”
“Hey, guys.” Bella sits beside Tabby, holding another baby.
“Hey, Bell,” the other women say in unison.
“Rowan’s overwhelmed by the family dynamic,” Tabby explains. I’ve learned quickly that Tabby doesn’t have a filter of any kind.
“Oh, no. I was—I was just thinking out loud,” I say.
“Good grief. It’s so overwhelming.” Bella giggles. Her voice is wispy and gentle. It matches her personality. “I still have to hide sometimes.”
“Tabby and Beck are cousins. Leo grew up with them,” Stella says. “The rest of us are all loners who found our hearts and souls here in Sailport Bay. We’ve made our own little family. Well.” Stella laughs. “Obviously not little. And even though Beck has a loud bark when it comes to business, I knew the second he told me he was partnering with Seb that our family was about to expand again. Especially after learning what they’ve been through.”
“Yeah.” Tabby’s expression is soft—warmth radiating from her with gentle ease. “We’re an orphanage for lost souls—a place to belong. All of us have felt lost at one point and had resigned to never finding love or happiness, and in some cases, ourselves. But Sailport Bay is magical—destiny’s landing spot.”
My gaze snaps to Pappy. Did he put them up to this?
“Oh, we’ve heard all about Pappy’s thoughts on destiny, and I’m not sure he’s wrong,” Bella says. “But what Tabby said is true.”
My attention returns to the kitchen. Sebastian’s smile is easy and carefree. He belongs here, with these people who are taking him and his kids in as part of their own.
Inexplicably, moisture collects on my lashes. I’m happy he and the kids will have this. They deserve all the love a big, mostly sane family can give them.
“We’ve seen how Seb looks at you,” Stella says, bumping my shoulder with hers. “Applications to the messy mansion are always open. So, if you’re thinking about staying, we’re all here for you too.”
Todays and tomorrows.
“Oh,” I splutter. “That’s very…kind of you.” I shrug with a sadness that makes the movement sluggish. “I’m not really the sticking around kind, you know? I’m always ready for a new adventure.”
Roaring laughter comes from the kitchen, stabbing me in the chest with each shake of their bellies.
“I’m…temporary,” I mutter so softly I’m not sure anyone heard me.
“I thought I had an expiration date once too,” Stella says ruefully. “But sometimes you really can’t fight destiny.”
I replay her words in my head as they change subjects and talk around me. By the time the gathering comes to a close, my mind is still challenging her sentiment because what happens if your expiration date is stronger than your destiny?
Like clockwork,my phone rings at eleven. I’ve been in bed for close to an hour, but I haven’t been able to sleep.
“Single Dad Hotline, I’m your helper, how can I help you?”
“Technically we were together all night, so how come I still miss you?”
My throat catches. I knew it was Sebastian calling, but the way he unabashedly lays out his feelings still catches me off guard.
