Page 62 of His Secret Virgin
Chapter 25
Christopher
Checking the time, I sat up, rubbing my sleep-filled eyes. The fact that Emma lay next to me making small snoring sounds filled my heart in a way nothing ever had.
She’s home.
I had to wonder how things could feel so right for both of us, but not for anyone else who loved us.
It wasn’t as if I’d never come up against the occasional hardhead or prejudiced type before. I’d spent decades negotiating deals with a number of characters who exhibited those exact traits. It looked liked I’d just have to step up my game with Emma’s parents and my daughters. This woman and our baby were the most significant part of my life now. I had to make our families understand and accept that fact.
Getting up at five in the morning wasn’t my usual routine, but I knew Sebastien was an early riser. So, I left Emma to sleep while I got up to go give Sebastien and Celeste a surprise morning visit. I might have to take one to the chin from my old friend, but if it would make him feel better, then I’d gladly take it.
Leaving a short time later, I kissed a sleeping Emma on the forehead, being careful not to wake her. If she knew what I was up to, she’d ask me not to do it, or worse, demand to come with me.
I owed Sebastien an explanation for what I’d done. He deserved that. I should’ve been honest with him from the start. I’d hid everything just to avoid the inevitable, but now the inevitable had to be dealt with.
Just as I pulled into the drive, Sebastien came out the door, heading to the garage. I guessed since he wasn’t wearing a suit that he was about to go turn in the company car. When Celeste came out behind him, I knew that’s what he was about. I’d come just in the nick of time.
Once they noticed me, they both stopped and stared at my car. Sebastien took his wife’s hand as they waited for me to approach. The two looked prepared to stand their ground, and I had to admit that seeing them like that shook me a bit.
But determined to fix this for my new family, I parked and got out of my car. “Good morning.” Neither said a thing. So I went on. “I want to speak to you both. I owe you an explanation for what’s happened.”
“You don’t need to explain a thing to me, Christopher,” Sebastien said sternly. “You wanted something, and you took it. Just like so many other powerful men do without a thought for the consequences. All we want is for you to do the right thing by our daughter.”
“Which I intend to do,” I pointed out.
Celeste shook her head. “We mean that you need to let her go.”
Raising one brow, I couldn’t understand how anyone would see that as the right thing to do. “Maybe we should take this inside. The neighbors don’t really need to know our business, do they?” No need to create a scene for the neighbors to watch over their morning coffee.
Thankfully, Celeste concurred. “Yes, let’s take this inside.”
I followed them into the house, where neither saw fit to take a seat, even though that would’ve put us in a better position to speak more calmly. Instead of waiting to be asked to sit down, knowing neither would offer, I instigated the action. “Let’s take seats and talk to each other like the adults that we are.”
After I sat down, Celeste and Sebastien took places on the sofa, facing me. They were a team, and I was alone, but I didn’t let that get to me, not even when Sebastien said, “You might win the first few battles, Christopher, but I assure you, my wife and I will win the war.”
“You know what would be even better?” I asked. “If there were no battles and no war. All I want is for us to understand each other better. For instance, do you understand that I am the father of your first grandchild?”
Sebastien ran his hand over his brow, obviously trying to keep his anger subdued. “I don’t want to talk about that right now. I want to talk about how you thought it would be okay to seduce my little girl.”
How to explain this in a way that wouldn’t stir his anger?
“When you met Celeste, how did you know that you were attracted to her?”
“We’re not going to do this, Christopher,” Sebastien told me. “We’re not going to pretend that you had good intentions with Emma. Mostly because all three of us know that’s just not true. You knew that she was inexperienced. I’d told you as much. That’s when you decided you had to ruin her.”
“That’s just not true, Sebastien.” Agitation began to boil up inside of me. “From the moment I saw Emma, I felt something spark inside of me. I tried and tried to not think about her, and I failed miserably each time.”
“That’s called obsession, Christopher,” Celeste pointed out. “I think you need help. Mental help.”
Looking at Christopher, I asked him, “Do you remember how you couldn’t stop talking about Celeste when you first met her? Because I remember what kinds of things you did to make sure you ran into each other. I remember all the nights that you would talk about her for hours on end. You actually enrolled in one of her classes, just so you could be around her more. Does that sound like obsession too?”
“I was a kid in my early twenties back then. You’re a man in your forties. Celeste and I were the same age when we met,” he told me, as if I didn’t already know that. “Our daughter is only twenty years old, and she was as pure as the driven snow before you came along. You’ve got daughters who are older than Emma. How can you justify your obsession with someone so young?”
Trying to find the words to explain the enormity of my feelings was difficult. “Emma does more than just make me happy. She’s the sun in a world I hadn’t realized was black. I thought I’d be fine living the rest of my life simply being alone, but content. I wasn’t unhappy, just okay with how things were going. And then I saw her.” I shook my head, still not fully comprehending what had come over me that day. “And everything changed. I’ve never experienced anything so amazing.”
“And what about her?” Celeste asked. “I want to know what she felt. I’m convinced that you seduced her, Christopher. While you’re a nice-looking man, you are much older than she is, and she’s always been so shy. It just doesn’t make sense to me. And I’m her mother—I know her better than she knows herself.”
