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“I thought I’d make Sebastian’s life a living hell,” Jonathan said with a heartfelt sigh that had their mother murmuring, “That does sound like a lovely plan.”
“Doesn’t it?” Jonathan asked as their mother turned her attention to Braxton.
“Getting ready for tryouts with Mikey,” Braxton said, earning a warm smile.
“What about you, Sebastian?” his mother asked as she shifted her attention to him.
“I was hoping to work with Dad this weekend,” Sebastian said as he glanced at his father.
“You want to gut a house with me instead of sleeping in late and hanging out with Mikey?” his father asked as he shared a look with his mother.
“I could use the extra money,” Sebastian admitted, hoping that his father was able to give him a few hours, otherwise…
“Is everything okay?” his father asked, watching him curiously as he settled back in his chair. “You’ve been working a lot lately.”
“I’m saving up for something,” Sebastian said, hoping that his father would leave it at that.
“And what would that something be?” Jonathan asked, propping his chin onto his fists as he blinked at him. “Is it something pretty?” Jonathan asked with a dreamy little sigh that had Sebastian narrowing his eyes on the little bastard. “I bet it’s pretty.”
“It’s probably for Mikey,” Mathew said, shrugging it off as he helped himself to a sausage off Braxton’s plate, making Braxton sigh as he grabbed another sausage off the platter only to have Jonathan steal that one, too. That was followed by Mathew helping himself to the last piece of bacon off Jessica’s plate.
“Sleep with one eye open tonight,” Jessica bit out as her hand tightened around her fork, clearly struggling with the urge to reach over the table and finish what she’d started.
“Always do,” Mathew said evenly, keeping his gaze locked with his sister as he shoved the last piece of bacon in his mouth.
“As you should,” Jonathan murmured absently as he watched Sebastian with a calculating look in his eye as he added, “I could use some extra money, too,” taking him by surprise.
“Fair enough,” their father said, moving to finish off the rest of his pancake when their mother cleared her throat, drawing their attention to find her looking pointedly at Mathew as he reached over and helped himself to Jessica’s chocolate milk.
Keeping his eyes locked with hers, Mathew took a long sip only to release a curse when Jessica leaped over the table and-
“Be ready in ten,” their father said as he caught Jessica before she could wrap her hands around Mathew’s throat and threw her over his shoulder while Sebastian sat there, wondering what his brother was up to now.
CHAPTER33
He had five more minutes, Mikey thought as she swiped to the next page and-
Felt her lips pull up into a smile when she heard the telltale sound of her bedroom window opening seconds before a cold draft swept over her. Before goosebumps could finish racing across her skin, Sebastian was closing the window behind him and stumbling towards her bed, looking exhausted as he toed off his shoes.
Without a word, Sebastian gestured for her to move over and-
Dropped down on her bed face-first with a groan, making her lips twitch as she took in his messy, damp hair, the firm lips that made him incredibly handsome when they pulled up into a teasing smile, and the Bradford Construction hoodie that was most likely going to end up joining her collection in the morning before reluctantly shifting her attention back to the iPad in her hands as she said, “You’re late.”
“I’m never late,” Sebastian mumbled into the comforter.
“You almost were this time,” Mikey pointed out with a sad shake of her head, only to smile when the large teenage boy hogging her bed released a muffled grumble.
“I had plenty of time,” Sebastian mumbled sleepily as he shifted to get more comfortable while Mikey focused back on the book that Uncle Jason mentioned in class last week.
“You really didn’t, though,” Mikey said as she glanced over to find Sebastian cracking one eye open so that he could glare at her. That was followed by him glancing back at the alarm clock on her nightstand before settling back in with a sigh and a muttered, “Plenty of time,” making her lips twitch.
For the past few months, Sebastian had been picking up extra shifts working for her mother, helping his father renovate houses on the weekend, picking up shifts at The Fire & Brimstone and Dixon’s Bakery when they needed help and somehow still managed to tutor during lunch every day and a few hours after school a week, and now, he was picking up shifts working for Uncle Jared at Bradford Construction on the weekends and he wouldn’t tell her why. The only thing that she knew was that it didn’t matter how tired he was or how late it was, Sebastian always made sure that he spent time with her.
Always.
He looked so exhausted, Mikey thought, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she reached back and placed her iPad on her nightstand. As soon as she lay down, Sebastian was reaching for her. In a matter of seconds, he had his arm wrapped around her and she was snuggling closer as she placed her hand on his bicep and began absently running her fingertips up and down his arm as she watched him.
“You’re working too hard,” Mikey mumbled softly as she raised her hand and ran her fingertips along his jaw.
