Page 98 of The Bitter Rival

“Yeah, buddy.”

“Sebastian isn’t here. He left.”

Pushing back from Sebastian, I hold my finger up to my lips to shush him and grab my nightgown from the end of the bed. Walking to the door, I try to calm Austin. “Hey, bud. I’ll be right out. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

Rotating to Sebastian, I cross my arms over my chest. “Just to be clear. Is this happening? We’re going to make a go of this? Because I wasn’t the only one hurt when you left.”

I watch as his face turns solemn, and he sits himself up. “I know, GG. I’m sorry. Yes. I meant what I said last night. I need you two crazies in my life. What can I do?”

“Well, I’m going to try and find a way to explain things. I’ve never had a man stay the night with him here. We haven’t had a lot of conversations about this type of thing. This could be all kinds of awkward.”

I open the door and make my way to the kitchen. Austin is sitting at the table with a bowl of Captain Crunch in front of him. Giving him a quick peck on the head, I grab the coffee pot and fill it with water. “Austin. I have something I need to talk to you about.”

“Is Sebastian okay?”

Placing the carafe in the coffee maker, I scoop the last of the fragrant grounds into the top of the appliance, turn it on, and sit down at the table. “He’s fine. Sebastian slept in my room last night.”

There’s a change in his facial expression, but I’m unsure whether this is confusion or relief.

“I care a lot about Sebastian,” I say.

As if his ears were burning, Bas comes into the room and slowly lowers himself into the chair beside Austin. “Hey, bud.”

Austin’s eyes flick from me to Bas and back again.

“Sometimes when a man and a woman care about each other, they sleep in the same bed.” Holding my breath, I attempt to prepare myself for further questions.

“Like the mom and the dad on that movie the other night, when you said we should change the channel?”

Sebastian looks over at me with one side of his mouth raised in a knowing grin.

“Yeah, kinda like that.”

The room gets quiet, and Sebastian reaches for my hand, seeming happy to let me take the lead on this. I’m glad none of this has him running for the hills. Yet.

I watch as Austin turns to look at Bas. “Does this mean you’re going to be my dad now?”

Holy crap, so much for that. This might be more reality than Sebastian is-

“I’d be honored to be your dad, buddy. I love youandyour mom. I’m sorry I hurt you guys when I left. I didn’t handle the news about my illness well. I shouldn’t have done that to you.”

Astonished, I gawk at him. That he could share the magnitude of his feelings for me last night was one thing. But for this man to say these things to Austin, without provocation, is more than I could’ve hoped for. The tears are back, and this one is a gusher. Covering my face with my hands, I try to regain control.

Tugging on my arm, Sebastian pulls me to him, and I sit in his lap as he holds me close. As his warm hand strokes my hair and my back, he places a gentle kiss on my temple. “Austin. I’d like to set up an art space for you at my house. Turn one of the guest rooms into your art room and maybe put a connecting door between it and a room you can use to sleep if you stay over there sometimes. I like it here, but your bathroom is going to be the death of me.”

A chuckle escapes when I think of how difficult it’s probably been maneuvering that small space in his current condition. Yet, he never complained and refused to leave us.

“I’d like to build a wall where we can remove your art after you finish instead of painting over it. Your art is too beautiful to destroy. It should be shared.”

“Okay,” Austin says, scooping a large spoonful of cereal into his mouth like these conversations happen every day.

“I also want to see if we can try to take some trips together. We could start off with a few short car trips close to home and progress to train or cruise travel. We’ll work our way up to flying. But, I want you to see the world. There’s so much more out there for you to explore. And a lot of great new things to paint.”

“Okay.” He abruptly stands from his chair, places his bowl into the sink, and makes his way back to his room.

“Well, I think that went well,” Bas says.

Squeezing his beautiful sexy face, I plant my lips over his and kiss him tenderly. “I’m so in love with you, Sebastian Lee.”

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