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“But not like this. Not as my lover and my friend. This is new for me,” he said with wonder in his tone while he brushed my hair out of my face.
“For me, too,” I said softly.
“I don’t know how to navigate this thing with Ember.”
“Are you okay with her knowing we’re dating?” I asked gently.
He frowned. “I’m not sure how she’ll react.”
I suspected she’d be okay with it, but I wasn’t her parent. I’d defer to Sebastian’s feelings on it.
“Let me feel her out.”
“Of course. You’re her father. How we move forward is up to you.” I’d never come between him and Ember or push myself on him in a way he wasn’t comfortable with. But at some point, she’d need to know. I’d hate to only have just gotten him and then have to hide our relationship.
We’d ignored our feelings our entire lives. I didn’t want to deny myself much longer.
He kissed me softly before moving the eggs from the pan to the plates. He slid mine across the counter.
He settled beside me. “What are your plans for the holidays?”
“I’ll spend it with my family. My sister is coming home this year. She’s not dating anyone.” Sometimes she missed the holidays when she went to a boyfriend’s family’s house, but not this year.
“You must be excited to see her.”
“Definitely.” Except this year, I wanted to spend it with the Monroe family, too, but I’d wait for an invitation. “You’ll spend it with your family?”
“Yeah, our traditions have changed a bit since the girls moved here. A couple of my brothers are planning to be here on Christmas morning to watch Ember open her presents. There’s nothing more magical than watching kids opening presents.”
My heart contracted in my chest. “I didn’t realize they did that.”
“Last year, they couldn’t because we didn’t live here, and I think Ireland and Emmett went to Addy’s.”
“Are you going to get a puppy now that you’re living on the farm?” I asked, thinking of how Heath and Knox already had one.
“I don’t think so. I’ll be too busy at work.”
“Oh, right.” With Sebastian, work was his priority, whether it was the farm or his accounting firm. I wondered if I’d fit in there somewhere.
He cleaned his plate and put it in the dishwasher.
In the past, I’d admired that he was set in his ways. That stubbornness made sense with a child, but now I was wondering if it would be a problem when it came to a relationship. Would he not want to try new things?
I was looking forward to a future that was different than the one I had yesterday, but maybe nothing had changed for Sebastian. I’d still be living here, taking care of Ember while he worked. There was nothing wrong with that, but it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. I wanted more. I wanted a family. I wanted the marriage, the kids, everything.
What if he didn’t want that because he already had the kid? I wasn’t getting any younger. All my coworkers were married, and a few had already started families of their own.
The thing was, we’d only expressed our feelings last night. My heart was galloping ahead. We had plenty of time to figure out the details. I shouldn’t be worrying about our relationship on day two.
Sebastian’s phone buzzed. “Knox is bringing Ember over.”
“Oh, good. I missed her.” Although it was nice to have Sebastian to myself, I wondered how often that would be the case. If Sebastian didn’t want Ember to know about us, would we only spend time together after she went to sleep?
I should have asked more questions, but I didn’t want to seem clingy or desperate.
“Do you have plans for the day?” Sebastian asked me as he washed the frying pan.
“I have a few things I need to do for school.” I wanted to plan a new holiday craft for the winter stations scheduled for the end of the week.
