Page 45 of Perfect Night

“I’m sorry, Charlie, but no. You’re not doing that job anymore. We’ll find another way.”

Charlie was overwhelmed by what his friends had done for him, but they’d also just made big decisions for him and expected him to go along with it. He wanted to argue with them, but he was too tired. He also wondered how long he’d been asleep if they’d sorted all this out.

“And what’s your gift?” he asked Paolo.

“We saved the best for last.”

Charlie doubted that. This would probably be the one which pissed him off the most, but he gestured for Paolo to get on with it. He took out a familiar envelope and Charlie winced. Paolo took the money out, but it was now all in American dollars.

“What’s this?”

“It’s spending money for New York.”

“I’m not going to New York.”

“We’ve got your mum covered. I spoke to her when you were asleep.”

“What did you say to her?” he panicked.

“Relax. I just said your boyfriend was whisking you off to New York and we were all gonna look after her. I’m taking my table round tomorrow to give her a massage. Gregory is taking her to that new exhibit at the Natural History Museum she’s wanted to see, and Langdon will, of course, be cooking for her and some of her friends. She’s having a poker night and wants some high-class nibbles, as she called them.”

There was a lot to unpick there, but one thing stood out over all of them.

“Sebastian isn’t my boyfriend.”

They all burst out laughing.

“Am I missing something?”

“Oh, you silly thing,” said Jason. “You didn’t see him when you passed out. That guy loves you, whether you like it or not.”

“He does not love me. We’ve only known each other two weeks.”

“And you’re saying you don’t feel the same?”

“I can’t go to New York.”

“Why? Your mum is sorted. You don’t have a job, and you have no pressing financial reason to rush into another.”

“Didn’t Langdon threaten to punch him?”

“He was flapping too much,” said Langdon.

“Sebastian doesn’t flap. He’s a CEO. He’s always in control.”

“Not with you, dear,” said Jason. “Look, it’s two weeks. You’ve never left the country in your whole life. All you need to do is get your arse in gear. Pack, and spend two weeks exploring New York and getting pounded by that beast of a man.”

“Jason!” scolded Paolo.

“Sorry, but it was all getting heavy.”

Everything his friends had done for him went against his mission for independence, but he couldn’t be mad at them. If the situation was reversed and he had the money, knowledge, strength, or heart of his brothers, he’d do exactly the same. The only thing he was uncertain about was Sebastian. He’d screwed the guy around so much, he had to have written Charlie off as a poor bet, but according to these guys, that wasn’t the case. They even believed Sebastian loved him.

Was that possible after such a short time? Charlie knew how he felt. He’d felt it the first night they’d spent together. Could the perfect night have actually led him to the perfect man? There was only one way to find out.

CHAPTER 14

SEBASTIAN

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