Chapter Seventeen
SEBASTIAN
The little bubbles indicating Grace is typing back pop up on the screen before disappearing again. I’m starting to think she won’t reply when her message comes through.
Grace:I’m looking for new panties as we speak…
Fuck.
Me:Don’t you dare change them.
I sit for five minutes, waiting for a response, but nothing.Bloody hell.Not even the little bubbles to say she’s typing. Knowing she’s having fun relaxes me a little, but a growl sits in my throat at the fact she’s leaving me hanging.
With Lauren gone for the day, it’s a fucking nightmare. My phone has been ringing nonstop all morning to the point I had to unplug the damn thing. I haven’t had any more encounters with Vincent since the board meeting last week and him fucking showing up at the house. Not wanting to risk that shit happening again, I had all the locks replaced and a brand-new security system installed.
With one more glance at my phone, I see there are still no new messages, so with a sigh, I get back to work.
Grace:You’ll have to wait to find out.
The message comes through just as I shut the door to my BMW, and I let my head fall back against the headrest. I have one more surprise for Grace today, and I roll my neck towards the passenger seat, looking at what I just picked up.
With a shake of my head, I put the car into gear. If I’m going to make it back with time to find out if she listened to me after all, I’m going to need to step on it.
Once I’m out of the main city, the drive isn’t so bad, and I’m back home before I know it.Home.It hasn’t escaped me that I’ve started seeing this place as home again, although I have no idea if it’s because I finally let myself come back after all these months or if it’s because of the girl inside I’m dying to see, even though I just saw her this morning.
Grabbing thegiftfrom the passenger seat, I make my way inside.
“How’d today go?” I ask Mason as he stands from the dining table with his empty bowl.
“Really good, I think.” He smiles. “It seemed like she had fun. At least there were lots of giggles and even more bags…”
“Jesus… how many bags?”
“Go find out for yourself.” He smirks, loading his bowl into the dishwasher. “I left her in the bedroom,” he says.
“Thank you for today. It means a lot to me.”
“It’s my job,” he says, but there’s a lightheartedness to his voice.
“Bullshit, Mason. It’s not about the money. You said so yourself.” I still don’t know what I would have done without him. There’s no way I could have left Grace all the way out here, day in and day out, while I go to the office. I probably could have hired someone, but it wouldn’t be the same. I trust Mason.Gracetrusts Mason.
“You’re right,” he says. “Do you need anything else tonight? I don’t want to admit it, but chasing two girls around a shopping centre all day has really taken it out of me.” He chuckles.
“No, I’ve got it from here. There’s somewhere we have to be. Feel free to use one of the guest rooms if you like.”
“I think I just need my own bed tonight, but thanks,” he says before saying goodbye and heading home.
After a deep breath, I make my way up to the bedroom,our bedroom,but what I see when I walk in has me freezing where I stand.
“Holy shit,” I say, my brows rising into my hairline.
Grace spins from where she stands by the bed, her cheeks blooming with the sweetest pink.
“You weren’t kidding when you said crazy, were you?” I ask, finally finding my feet again. The whole bed is covered in shopping bags—not the crappy plastic kind but the fancy, this-came-from-an-expensive-store kind.
“Are you mad?” she asks, chewing on her lower lip.
“Why would I be mad?” I ask, wrapping one arm around her waist, sealing my lips to hers, and pulling the lip she was biting betweenmyteeth.