Page 40 of The Sebastian Guarantee
“One more thing, Sebby,” Tula trilled.
“Yeah?”
“Your face looks better.”
Sebastian touched his cheek. “My face?”
The girl’s amber eyes sparkled. “It’s not your pretending happy face.”
Pretending happy face?
Phoebe looked up and basked in the glow of a Sebastian Cress boyish grin.
“No, T, it’s not,” he answered softly.
Tula’s expression darkened. “You haven’t told Phoebe about my you-know-what, have you?”
Sebastian’s smile twisted into a mischievous smirk. “Your secret’s safe with me. Love you, kiddo.”
“Bye, Big Foot,” Tula replied and blew a kiss.
Phoebe ended the call and handed Sebastian his phone. She had a million questions. What were they keeping from her, and what had him so frazzled that he’d taken a cab meant for a bunch of kids? But she held back and waited for him to speak.
He pocketed his cell. “Thanks for saying that, Pheebs. It was kind of you to bail me out with Tula and Ivy.”
“I wasn’t being kind. It’s the truth, and I meant it,” she answered as the air grew charged with whatever crazy vibe pulsed between them.
“Pheebs, I . . .”
“Yes?” she breathed, but her laptop pinged again. Dammit, she’d forgotten about the video call.
He glanced at the table. “You better get that.”
“You’re right.” She crossed the room, entered the kitchenette, then opened her laptop. She stared at the name of the caller. “You know how I just bailed you out?”
“Uh-huh,” he answered warily.
“You might be bailing me out on this call.”
“Why?”
She sat down at the table. “My aunt and uncle are calling.”
“What’s so bad about that?” he asked, taking the chair to her left, out of the camera’s view.
She glanced at a picture on the refrigerator taken the day she’d helped her uncle propose to her aunt. “Nothing, they’re great. I just look at them and see . . .”
“What you want?” he supplied.
This man knew her inside and out.
“Yeah,” she agreed, surprised at how emotional it made her to acknowledge the statement out loud. She exhaled a shaky breath and accepted the call. They’d barely been connected for a fraction of a second before her aunt started in.
“How’s our favorite lady boss tech entrepreneur?” Penny asked, grinning from ear to ear.
“I’m plugging away.” Phoebe studied the video feed. “Are you guys on your plane?”
“We’re on our way to California for a quick getaway, but we wanted to call and see if you’d gotten into LETIS. We’ve been on pins and needles,” Penny said, nearly vibrating with excitement.
