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Sebastian took a deep breath. Turned to his paperwork. Shuffled through it. “I know you’ll never forgive me, Charlie, and that’s not what I’m asking. But I did want to make amends. I think… I think I did to you exactly what Lydia did to us. And I couldn’t make that right for my mom, but I’d like to make it right with you.” He pulled a stack of paper out and handed it to me.
“Contract of sale,” I read, then jerked. “Wait, what?”
“I’ve written it so that I’m responsible for bringing the plumbing and electrics up to code, and the repairs to the back wall.”
“What repairs?” I arched an eyebrow.
Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck. “There was some, uh, damage when the demo guys were here.”
“That’s what happens when you play with demo toys,” I said.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that too.” His gaze fell to the floor. “I’ve also started gathering some quotes from restoration specialists, but I don’t know if you wanted to handle that all yourself… After all, the house will be yours.”
Mine? The house would be mine? The ground was suddenly unsteady under my feet. I dragged in a harsh breath.
And then I saw the price.
My gaze snapped up to Sebastian’s. “You’re selling it to me for a dollar?”
The look he gave me made everything inside me go warm and soft. “Yeah,” he said.
“But—why?”
Sebastian’s lips parted. He let out a sigh, then spread his arms. “Because I’m in love with you, Charlie.”
“You’re what?” My voice was a bare whisper. I blinked at him, the light in the room seeming glittery and strange.
Sebastian reached for me, eyes desperate, and kneeled in front of me with a devoted smile that made my head spin. “I love you,” he repeated.
His hands moved to my knees as I sat there, stunned. I could feel the heat of his touch through my jeans, but I couldn’t move. “I love everything about you. I love that your middle name is Washington. I love that you give as good as you get. I love that you care about things like history and houses and principles and family. Really care about them, down to your core. I love that you’re loyal. I love you so much that when I realized I hurt you, it felt like I’d stabbed myself in the gut and tore myself to shreds.”
“So you’re selling me the house for a dollar because you love me?” I asked, breathless.
“And because I’m sorry. I can never make up for what I’ve done, and I’m not trying to win you over. I swear, Charlie, I just want to do this for you because it’s the right thing to do. I want you to have this house because it belongs to you. It always has. I just want to make sure no one can ever take that away from you again. Not even an idiot like me.” He began to pull his hands away with a small, sad curve on his lips.
The guard I’d so carefully erected as I walked in the door just—shattered. “You have been an idiot. A sorry, handsome, infuriating, wonderful idiot.” I grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, dragged him toward me, and kissed him with all my might. Our lips melted into one another, his hands cupped my cheeks, and my knees spread, allowing him to come closer. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and his kiss turned savage.
Then Sebastian pulled away. His hair was all over the place and his eyes were green, green, green and wild. “Does this mean you forgive me?”
I let out a strangled laugh and clawed at his shirt until he lifted his arms and let me take it off. “It means I love you too, Sebastian.”
His head popped out of the shirt’s collar, shock written on his features. “You do?”
I tossed the shirt aside, then pointed my index finger at him. “You hurt me. A lot. It was horrible.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, taking me into his arms.
“I know, but I still love you.” I ran my fingers over his stubbled cheek, staring at the flecks of amber in his eyes. “Maybe that makes me an idiot too, but I can’t help it. It’s been hell without you,” I admitted.
Because in my weeks of wallowing, I knew it wasn’t just the house I was missing. It was Sebastian’s cocky grin. It was the way he made me feel like anything was possible. The way he listened to me like all my ideas were valuable. The way he paid attention to me nerding out about historical features even though I knew he didn’t really care.
The way he kissed me and touched me like he’d never been given such a precious gift as the chance to simply be next to me.
His hands were warm as they dipped under the hem of my shirt to touch my waist. “So we have a deal?”
“Yes, as long as you promise to stay here with me,” I whispered, hands coasting over his shoulders, heart thudding against my ribs. “We can fix it up together. And it can be ours.”
Sebastian’s face split into a wide grin and he picked me up off the chair and cradled me against his chest. I yelped with all the happiness in the world. Somehow, all that was wrong was right again. Better even.
