“He would be the father any child would hope for,” Ashley said slowly as she thought about how Sebastian embodied everything she hoped for in a man, a husband, and yet he was also everything she feared. “But I don’t think he has the inclination to become one.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. Sebastian had to look after his sisters at such a young age. He may not want to do it again. But that man should have a wife. Children of his own.”
“Carry on the Cruz name?” Ashley added as she absently rubbed her flat stomach. She wanted Sebastian’s child. More than one. She wanted to create a large family filled with sons and daughters that had the same dark hair, stubbornness and strength as their father. Most of all, she wanted to see those children bring out Sebastian’s fierce paternal side.
“Exactly.” Patricia smacked her armrest with her hand like a judge would bang a gavel. “He should marry.”
Don’t look at me. Ashley gritted her teeth before the words tumbled off her tongue. Men didn’t marry their mistresses. She had it on good authority. Her mother had tried every trick for twenty years to make Donald her husband.
Donald and Linda may have shared a past and a child, but they never shared a family name. Donald had given his surname to Ashley, but she had never understood why. Why had she been considered good enough for the Jones name and not her mother?
But Sebastian was different, Ashley thought as she watched him set down his nephew and hoist his small niece into his arms. He would marry her if she was carrying his child. She longed for a traditional family but not like this. If she was pregnant with his baby, she would have some tough decisions to make. She had been tolerated in her father’s home, part of a package deal. Ashley wasn’t going to go through that again.
* * *
Later that night, Sebastian stepped out of the bathroom and into the guest bedroom. The steam from his shower curled around him as he slung a towel low around his waist. His heart beat against his ribs as he anticipated having Ashley all to himself.
He stopped in the middle of the room when he noticed Ashley wasn’t in the large bed waiting for him. She wasn’t in the sitting area or at the desk. Sebastian turned and saw Ashley standing at the long open window, the gauzy curtains billowing against her.
Desire slammed through him as he noticed how the silk slip skimmed against her gentle curves. The dark pink accentuated her sun-kissed skin and the short hem barely reached her thighs. He was tempted to pull the delicate shoulder straps until they broke and watch the silk tumble to the floor.
It took him a moment to notice that Ashley was waving at someone outside. “Who are you waving to?” he asked gruffly. As much as he enjoyed the sight, he was prepared to cloak her with something heavy. He should be the only one who saw her like this.
“Your sister Ana Sofia and her husband,” she responded without looking at him. “Apparently, they take a moonlight stroll along the beach every night.”
“I’m sure that’s real romantic when it’s pouring down rain.” He refused to hear the catch in her throat. “You and Ana Sofia were thick as thieves tonight.”
She turned away from the window and he saw her smile. “She wanted to tell me all of the mean things you did to her while you were growing up. I have to say, none of it surprised me.”
“I had to be strict with her,” he said as he approached her. “I’m her big brother and our father had died.”
She nodded. “I understand, but you’re lucky you had your sisters.”
“It didn’t feel so lucky,” he muttered.
“Well, I was an only child. I would have loved a sister or two.”
He noticed Ashley had watched how his family interacted with a mix of amusement and bewilderment. “They were in full force today. You didn’t find them overwhelming?”
“It took some time to get used to it,” she admitted. “Your sisters got a little vocal at the dinner table.”
“That?” He rested his hand against the wall and he leaned into her. “That was nothing.”
She gave him a look of disbelief. “You were arguing about a vase that broke almost twenty years ago.”