“His family.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop myself.
Sebastian’s eyes widen, an unreadable expression taking hold of his features. “That’s lovely to hear.”
Feeling this deserves more of an explanation, I add quickly, “I’ve always hungered for a family, and yours is so. . .”
“Big? Loud? Noisy?”
“Perfect. And they’re very warm. Don’t worry, I won’t intrude or anything. Pippa was the one who offered to—”
He holds up a hand to stop me. “My family already loves you. If you like their company, you can do whatever you like. You wouldn’t intrude. In fact, I’d like nothing better than for you to get closer to them.”
“Okay.” I slurp from my cocktail, wondering—again—how different Sebastian is from the men I’ve dated. They postponed until the last possible moment introducing me to their family, as if they thought I’d be expecting a ring the next second. I rarely imagined that, but as I sip from my drink again, a crazy thought rumbles in my head. Ava Bennett would sound so elegant. Even my initials would look beautiful in my signature. A.B. Oh crap, I’m only on my first Sex on the Beach. I’ll be picking names for our imaginary kids by the time I drink the second one. You’re in this deep, Ava.
“What are you thinking about? You have a beautiful smile.”
“A and B—” I stop midsentence
, horrified.
“Are the start of the alphabet?” Sebastian raises his eyebrows.
“Never mind.” The waiter saves me, putting a large plate with three different kinds of spreads—orange, white, and blue—in front of us. “This looks delicious.” Immediately, I smear some of the blue stuff on the bread and take a bite.
“I love your appetite for food,” Sebastian comments.
“Why, thank you.”
“Actually, I love your appetite for everything.”
“What do you mean?” I ask through mouthfuls.
“You put passion in all things. Your work, your food. Me.”
I giggle. “Especially you.”
Midway through dinner—and my second cocktail—I lose my pseudo-first-date jitters. At some point, Sebastian leaned over the table, laying his fingers over mine in a gentle touch. He’s kept them there the whole time.
We’ve been eating and laughing loudly for what feels like hours, when someone stops at our table: a woman in her thirties with beautiful red hair and legs up to her armpits. I bet she can play vixen, no problem. Remarkably, I don’t feel threatened. I’m sure the fact that Sebastian interlaces his fingers with mine while looking at her with disdain contributes to that.
“Sebastian, long time, no see.” She gives me a curt nod.
“I didn’t have the impression you wanted to see me at all the last time we talked. Ava, this is Lisa.”
Lisa narrows her eyes. Clearly, she was expecting a different welcome. “I see you found another trophy.” She points at me, scanning me up and down.
“I see you found another sponsor.” Both Sebastian and Lisa turn to look at her date. He looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t place him. “He doesn’t have quite the caliber of the last one. Or do you have multiples now?” Lisa purses her lips as her companion joins us. He’s a plump man in his late fifties.
“My, my, Sebastian Bennett.” He holds his hand out, and Sebastian shakes it politely but coldly. He and I exchange pleasantries, and when he tells me his name, I realize why he looks familiar. He’s a local media mogul.
“Lisa’s told me a lot about you,” he tells Sebastian. “Maybe we could get together, discuss some business opportunities.”
“Maybe.” It’s clear from Sebastian’s voice he has no intention of doing that.
“Did you tell him the good news?” the man asks Lisa. “We’re getting married.”
“Good for you.” Sebastian smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.
“Let’s go, Lisa. We’re interrupting their date.”