Page 54 of My Year of Saying No
‘Apparently you have an eye for design then.’
‘Thanks.’ He stood, gaining a height advantage over me. ‘Are you going to tell me what unsettled you earlier when I said about building our friendship and no expectations? Did I say something wrong?’
I forced that nonchalant face back on and prayed to god Seb bought it. ‘I honestly don’t know what you mean. I’m fine and agree, it’s been lovely to meet up. I just still feel like I’m imposing a little.’ Maybe if I gave some sort of possible reason, Seb would stop sniffing around for any others like Humphrey did when he knew I had treats in my coat pocket.
He gave me a long look and I could tell he had his doubts, but, in the end, he decided not to push it and let it pass.
‘OK. Well, you’re not. Let’s get that established once and for all. Deal?’
‘Deal,’ I said, sticking out my hand and feeling like I’d dodged a bullet. However, as Seb took my hand within his own large one, he met my eyes and I knew I hadn’t dodged it at all.
14
Seb gave me a quick tour of the house, Scooby trailing us the whole time, and talked to me about the improvements he’d made and those he hoped to make in the future.
I took a seat at the breakfast bar as he made us hot chocolate. No powder and microwave here, as was my general procedure, but the full works, with hot milk and proper chocolate melted slowly in, his hand moving rhythmically with the whisk as we continued chatting, relaxed in each other’s company.
I knew Seb still felt I was hiding something, but I was really enjoying the time I was spending with him. Not just because he was gorgeous, but because I had always felt, from the first moment I’d met him, that I could be myself with him and that wasn’t something I wanted to lose, even putting aside the fact that he was my best client. He was fun and kind and entertaining. And, bonus, he had a great dog. I’d managed this silly crush well enough in the past and I could get past it now. Admittedly, it wasn’t quite as easy as I’d hoped, knowing now that he was even better in real life than he was on a screen, which made the process a good deal harder, but there we are. It was still totally doable.
‘Here you go!’ Seb said, cutting into my reverie by placing a steaming mug of the most delicious smelling hot chocolate in front of me, along with a spoon for the whipped cream and tiny marshmallows decorating the top.
‘Oh blimey!’ I said, looking down at the creation. He’d had his back to the breakfast bar for most of the time he’d been creating these masterpieces, so I’d had no idea quite how much he’d gone to town. ‘This looks amazing! It’s a good job I don’t live closer or else I think I’d be having to look for a bigger model car tomorrow.’
‘Oh, nonsense,’ Seb said, coming around the kitchen island and grabbing both the drinks. ‘Let’s go and sit in the lounge. It’s more comfy.’
The living room, as with the guest bedroom, had no whiff of macho bachelor about it. Again, it was homely, comfortable and bright. It embraced the look of a show home but with softened edges so that it still looked like you could live in it rather than be afraid to sit down, unlike my sister’s house. Beautiful but don’t mess it up – but that suited Sally. It was very much her ethos in life.
It amazed me how we were even related sometimes, but, as Seb had said earlier, it wouldn’t do for everyone to be the same, and when it had come to me moving out of the house I’d shared with my ex, Sally had been an absolute star. Her organisation and penchant for tidy and neat had been the help I needed to get myself organised when, in reality, I was still a little bit in shock at the fact the relationship I’d just assumed would be the one that would lead to marriage and possibly kids had fizzled out into nothing. I wasn’t sure if I had much to offer her in return, but we got along and loved each other – so long as I didn’t cover her in animal fur – so it worked pretty well and was certainly a lot less dysfunctional than a lot of sibling relationships.
‘Do you mind if I just check in with my parents and Humphrey?’ I said, glancing at the clock on my phone.
‘Be my guest. I’ll take these out.’
‘No, stay. It’ll be much easier that way as, I warn you now, Mum will be super interested in you.’
‘That’s fair enough. Her daughter is staying under my roof.’
‘Yeah, I’m not sure she’s too worried about that aspect. Like I said, she’s kind of always on the lookout for potential suitors and,’ I held my hands up, ‘believe me, I’ve told her that you don’t fall into that category, but you’re a male, in the right age bracket, decent, single, straight and… well, that’s kind of enough so far as Mum is concerned.’
Seb grinned. ‘I like the sound of her.’
‘That’s because she’s not trying to marry you off every five minutes.’
‘I’m not sure she’s trying to marry you off. She’s just looking out for you. She wants you to be happy.’
‘I know,’ I said, pressing the call button on the video chat. ‘It’s all a bit Bridget Jones and the turkey curry buffet at times though.’
‘I can handle it.’
‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you,’ I managed to get out just as Mum answered the call.
‘Hello, love, everything all right?’
‘Yes, thanks. Just thought I’d quickly check in before you went to bed. I didn’t wake you or anything, did I?’
‘No, not at all. We were binge watching something on Netflix actually.’
My parents had a habit of doing this. For someone who barely watched telly, it amused me that my parents were always watching the latest cult series and were up on all the gossip.
