Page 104 of The Flirty Forward

“How did your busy day go?” I ask, and he fills me in on his day. Sooner than I’m ready for, we arrive at the event. “Do you get nervous for these things?”

“Nah. I just have to show up, talk to people, present a check, and eat whatever weird food we’re having.”

“Wow, I totally can’t wait to get in there,” I say in a dead-panned voice.

“But tonight is different,” he says.

“How so?” I ask.

He turns his face fully to me. “You’re here.” He winks at me before climbing out of the car and coming around to my side where he opens my door and takes my hand. We walk towards the door quickly because it’s getting colder. Once we’re inside, we follow signs down a long hallway. There’s a place to get rid of our coats, and Sebastian hands them over. When he turns back to me, his smile slides off his face. His eyes do a slow once-over, and I feel his gaze torch me as if he were touching me. When he finally meets my eyes, I can see the heat there. “Stephanie.” He steps close. He shakes his head. “You look...”

“Yes?” I can’t help teasing him.

He shakes his head like he’s trying to wake up. “That dress.” He sucks in a deep breath. “I don’t think I should take you in there, looking like that.”

I roll my eyes. “Come on.”

“No, I’m serious. I don’t want my teammates seeing you like this.” He steps close and wraps an arm around my back and pulls me so close, our chests touch. “Stay by my side tonight.”

I shake my head. “You’re being dramatic.”

“And you have no idea how gorgeous you are,” he retorts. He kisses me softly. “And you’re all mine.”

“Come on, Caveman, we’re already late.”

He gives me his arm, and I place mine inside. “It’s called being fashionably late,” he says with a grin.

“Sure it is,” I respond. We walk into the large banquet hall, and I immediately feel overwhelmed at the sheer number of people. Nerves catch me. “Have I mentioned that I don’t like large crowds, or big gatherings. Basically, I don’t like people.”

He chuckles softly and puts his other hand over the top of my hand. “Just stay with me, Love. I’ll do the talking for you.” Something settles inside me.

“I will definitely let you do that.” We walk a little bit further into the room. “Thanks, Sebastian.”

He looks down at me. “For what?”

I shrug. “For just being you, and for taking care of me.”

“I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you.” His eyes are so earnest, I look away. “Come on, Beautiful, let’s go find what weird, tiny food they’re serving tonight.” It’s just the right thing to say. I laugh, and he grins down at me. We wander around the room, and he makes small talk with the people he needs to before we find our spot at our table. I’m grateful to see that Brielle and Aiden are at our table too. Rico and Gunner are as well. Sebastian pulls out the chair next to Brielle for me.

“Thank you.”

“Hey,” Brielle says, smiling. “I didn’t think Mr. Social would ever let you come sit down.”

I take a drink of water. “I know.”

Sebastian puts his arm on the back of my chair and leans forward. “Hey, somebody’s gotta grease the skids at these events and give our team a good name. It's certainly not going to be your man,” he says, nodding at Aiden.

Rico laughs. “Can you imagine if Aiden was responsible for representing our team?” He and Sebastian have a good laugh, laughing harder when Aiden scowls at both of them.

Aiden puts an arm around Brielle. “Say what you want; I’m the one who has a girl.”

Brielle laughs out loud. “Ooo, burn.”

“Hey, I’ve got a girl too,” Sebastian says with a grin at me. “Stinks to be you two,” he says to Rico and Gunner. I smile at the expressions on their faces.

“Maybe we do, and we’re just holding out,” Rico says smugly.

I turn to him. “Oh, so you’re dating?”

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