Page 79 of Late Nights & Love Lines
“You were pretty busy all night. It was nice to see you so happy. You belong with them, Seb. They care about you and the kids.”
“Yeah. The boys are happier too. They have a freedom here they never have in Boston.”
“Are you thinking about staying in Sailport Bay? P—permanently?”
His sigh flows through the connection and kisses my cheek. “It would make work easier, at least for now, but I’ll have to talk to Seren and probably her therapist because I have no idea what the right call is for her anymore.”
“You’re a great dad, Seb,” I whisper. “Those kids are very lucky to have you. The boys have made this transition almost seamlessly. I’m sure they miss their mom, but you’ve done an amazing job of being there for them. That’s a testament to the kind of dad you are.”
He grunts on the other end of the line. “Honestly, not much has changed from when I was with their mother. I was the parent who did carpools and doctor appointments. I took them to extra curriculars and playdates. The more I recall of our past, well, I’m realizing Mya acted more as a warm body to be present when I had to work. Physically she was there, but she was never really emotionally available to any of us. I chose not to see it because I wanted that nuclear family so badly.”
“Have you…have you heard from her?”
Sebastian growls as if the pain is being ripped from his throat. “I tried to call her a few weeks ago. I wanted to lay into her for not even attempting to contact the kids, but she must have changed her number. I called her father, but it didn’t seem as if he knew it either.”
“Isn’t that a little…suspicious? I’d think that even the worst narcissist would make contact if only to keep their claws in them.”
“Probably,” he admits. “But I don’t have the energy to put toward her, not when I’m doing everything to be both parents for all of them.”
I nod, even though he can’t see me.
“My mom never wanted me,” I blurt, then squeeze my eyes shut and drop my forehead into my open palm.
Silence fills the line until I pull the phone away from my ear to check the connection. When I do, my door opens, and Sebastian’s silhouette is backlit by the hallway light.
I push to a sitting position and lean against my headboard, waiting for him to make a move.
He enters quietly, shuts the door, then crosses my room and climbs in beside me. I’m still holding my phone in my hand, so he takes it and places it on the nightstand.
“Tell me,” he whispers.
19
SHE STAYED
SEBASTIAN
Ididn’t ask permission to enter her room or to climb into her bed, and I have no right to demand her story, but I want all of her. Once again I find myself praying that she’ll give me more, so I wait patiently, clasping my hands over my lap so I don’t fidget.
The second I heard the wordsmy mom never wanted me, my body moved on instinct. That invisible thread that has always tied us together pulled hard at my core—she needed me.
But that’s not the only reason I want her secrets. The more I learn, the more I understand how similar her life is to Seren’s, and I now know with resolute certainty that I’ll do anything in my power to protect them both.
“Why?” she asks, her voice low as she stares at her hands. She’s highlighted by a sliver of moonlight that slips through her sheer curtains.
We sit shoulder to shoulder, but my face is angled so I don’t miss a single expression.
“I thought that would be obvious,” I say gently.
Finally, she looks at me—really looks at me—and I allow her to see into the very depths of my soul.
“I want to know everything about you, Rowan, whatever you’re willing to share.”
Her forehead creases as she lowers her chin to her chest.
When she speaks, my entire body tilts forward to hear her.
“She never wanted kids, but she loved my dad almost obsessively, and he wanted a big family. My birth was…difficult, I guess.” She shrugs, pressing against my shoulder with the movement. “I don’t remember how she was when I was a baby, but from my very first memory of her, I don’t think she ever tried to bond with me. Then, when Dad got sick, she blamed me.”
