Happily Letter After by Vi Keeland

CHAPTER 15

SEBASTIAN

Jesus Christ.

I swallowed. What the hell was she wearing?

“Uhh. Hi. I didn’t expect you to be home. Birdie said you were at work.”

My uncontrollable attraction to Sadie pissed me off, and I took my frustration out on her. “Is that why you’re late? When the cat’s away, the mouse will play?”

“No. I called Magdalene and told her that my train got stuck. I was planning on going home to shower after my yoga class. But since the train delayed me an hour, I rushed straight here so I wouldn’t make Birdie even later for the birthday party she has tonight.”

She has a belly-button ring. So sparkly . . .

Fuck.I forced my eyes up to meet Sadie’s and found her staring at me expectantly. Had she just said something? Trying to rewind the last ten seconds in my head, I thought she might’ve . . . something about a train?

Whatever.

I stepped aside. “Come in. Magdalene just brought Marmaduke back from a long walk, so he’s sprawled out on the living room floor.”

We walked into the house, and Marmaduke looked up. He spotted Sadie, and his tongue started to wag out of his mouth.

Yeah, I know the feeling, buddy.

Birdie ran out from her room and hugged Sadie, who bent as they embraced, giving me a front-row view of her ass. Christ. She looked as good going as she did coming. My eyes were still glued to that ass when she turned around to speak to me, and I almost got caught.

“Were you able to get the training clicker I mentioned last week?” she asked.

My daughter ran to the coffee table and got the contraption from hell and started to click it.

Click-click. Click-click. Click-click.

That sound had been grating on my nerves for the better part of a week since I’d brought it home from the pet store. I looked at Sadie, still feeling irritated, though I was bullshitting myself if I thought my current mood had anything to do with that training clicker.

“Maybe next time you can pick something a little less annoying to use to train.”

Sadie’s hands flew to her hips. Her very shapely hips. “Is there something wrong?”

I raked a hand through my hair and grumbled. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

Luckily, my office had alcohol. Today had been a long day to begin with. My manager had given me two weeks’ notice, which meant I was going to have to find a replacement and spend a lot more time at the restaurant until I got a new one trained. Then a small grease fire had broken out in the kitchen, rendering one of our deep fryers unusable, and finally our vegetable shipment had been switched with another restaurant that apparently planned to make corn a side dish with every meal. I’d come home early, figuring that I wouldn’t get many chances to do that again in two weeks. Plus, I hadn’t been sleeping well the last few days for some reason. So I opened a bottle of wine from where I kept the liquor locked up in a credenza and poured myself a very full glass of cabernet as I sat down in my chair.

God, she is fucking sexy.

I slurped a mouthful of the purple liquid down.

I had the craziest urge to clasp my teeth around that diamond in her navel and give it a good strong tug.

I swallowed another mouthful.

And that ass. Maybe she could teach Duke to jump again. I bet it would be some view of her down on all fours in the getup she had on today.

Another mouthful.

What had she called it again? “Flunk shit.” “Flukerbutt.” “Flunkerbsht.” That was it. “Jump” was “flunkerbsht.” I started to laugh. The sound was almost maniacal.

Flunkerbsht.

I want toflunkerbsht the pretend dog trainer.

I shook my head and took another swig.

For the last week, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. The night she picked up her iPad, she’d been so vulnerable and open when I’d asked about her father. Her big blue eyes had been filled with emotion and sincerity. It had been a long time since I met a woman who put her heart out there for the world to see. Not to mention, there were a lot of other parts of her worth seeing. The little workout outfit she wore today nailed that point home, that was for sure.

God, that outfit.

I knocked back the last of my wine.

Over the next hour, I polished off half the bottle. The sound of Sadie and Birdie laughing in the other room had become so distracting that I’d cranked up music and shut my eyes. So I hadn’t heard the knock at the door when they finished up.

“Hey.” Sadie cracked the door open enough to stick her head in. “Sorry. You weren’t answering. We’re all done. Birdie just went to grab her backpack for the slumber party. Would you want me to walk her down to the house where the sleepover is?” Her eyes zoned in on the wine bottle and my empty glass. She smirked. “I can see you’re very busy.”

My lips pursed. “No, it’s fine. I’m perfectly capable of taking my daughter. Thank you.”

Sadie’s eyes narrowed. We stared at each other for a solid thirty seconds, and then she opened the door and stepped inside. Closing the door behind her, she asked, “Is everything okay? You seem . . . upset.”

Don’t check her out.

Keep your eyes on her face.

“Everything’s fine.”

She tilted her head and assessed me.

“Are you sure?”

My eyes dropped to her stomach. I just couldn’t help myself.

God, you’re such a dick, Maxwell.

Eyes back up.

Raise ’em up.

Come on. You can do it.

Sadie stayed quiet. I couldn’t even tell you if she was looking at me. Because my eyes were all over her . . . tracing the curve of her waist, salivating over her flat stomach . . . fantasizing about that sparkly diamond in her belly button.

She took a few steps and started to walk toward my desk.

Maybe it was the wine, but my heart started to beat out of my chest. I attempted to lift my eyes to her face, and this time it worked. Well, sort of. They raised, but unfortunately, they snagged on her chest.

What are those, C cups?

Nice.

Very nice.

I bet her cleavage gets really sweaty doing that yoga.

Hot sweat dripping down from between her luscious round tits to that belly button.

By the time I managed to drag my eyes up enough to meet hers, Sadie was standing right in front of my desk.

She rocked back and forth ever so slightly. “What are you doing, Sebastian?”

Our eyes locked, and the wicked hint of a smirk made me think she’d just heard all my thoughts. I swallowed. “Nothing.”

“Nothing, huh? So you’re just sitting there . . . looking around, then?” The corner of her lips tilted upward.

What a smart-ass.

She knew exactly what I was doing.

I straightened up in my chair and cleared my throat.

“If you’re done. You can show yourself out.”

“Is that what you’re sitting there thinking about? How much you want me to . . . leave?”

A knock at my office door made me blink a few times.

I was thoroughly confused when I looked over and saw Sadie pop her head into my office.

What the . . . ?

Wasn’t she . . . ?

I glanced to where I could’ve sworn she’d just been standing. It took a few seconds to snap out of it and realize that I must’ve dozed off from the wine and had been dreaming.

Jesus.

Sadie smiled. “We’re all done. Why don’t I walk Birdie down to her sleepover for you, since I’ll be heading out anyway?”

“Umm. Yeah. That would be great. Thank you. Let me go say good night to her.”

I walked out to the living room. Birdie was already standing there with her backpack on, a pillow and sleeping bag in her hands. “Looks like you’re all ready.” I squatted down to her level. “How about a hug for your old man.”

My daughter threw her arms around my neck with a huge smile. “I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart.”

“Marmaduke did great today! When Sadie clicks the clicker, he sits now.”

“Is that so?”

She nodded.

“Alright.” I gave a gentle tug to her ponytail. “Why don’t you get going to your party.”

Birdie turned to start to walk away but then ran back to me. Her tiny hand cupped my cheek. “I’m right down the block if you need me.”

My heart squeezed and I smiled. “Thanks. I’ll remember that.”

She kissed me one more time and then skipped off toward the door.

“Anything you want me to tell the parents?” Sadie asked.

“No. I’ll text Renee and check in later.”

“Okay.” Apparently that nap and my ensuing fantasy had done me some good. I managed to have a civil conversation with Sadie and didn’t eye fuck her like I’d done in that dream. Though when she turned around to follow Birdie to the front door, I just couldn’t help checking out her ass in those yoga pants again. I mean, it was right there, so in my face. What man in his right mind wouldn’t take a peek?

“Oh, I almost forgot . . .” Sadie turned around, and my eyes jumped to meet hers.

Fuck.

She caught me.

If I hadn’t been sure I’d just gotten busted, the knowing smirk Sadie flashed would have confirmed she knew what I’d done.

She didn’t even bother to try to hide it. Extending her hand, she held out the clicker. “This is yours.”

I looked away as I took it from her hand. “Great. Thanks.”

After she walked out, I hung my head behind the closed door.

God, you’re a jackass, Maxwell. You need to get laid.

Since I had the night all to myself, maybe that’s exactly what I should do. I’d been talking to this woman Irina for a while, a busy advertising executive who I’d met online and who was seeking the exact same type of arrangement as I was. But I had blown her off for the last few weeks. Maybe it was time to get back in touch.

As I walked back to my office where I kept my laptop, I tried to psych myself up.

Irina.

She was sexy.

Long red hair.

A woman who knew what she wanted.

That’s exactly what I needed.

Yeah, that’s it.

I’m definitely going to see what Sadie’s doing tonight.

Irina. I mean Irina.

Reaching my desk, I decided to pour another glass of wine before jumping online to see if Irina might be available.

I sat down and sipped but decided to shut my eyes once again. I needed a moment to clear my head.

But instead of gaining clarity, visions of Sadie flooded my mind.

Again.

She was so damn sexy.

That ass.

That flat stomach.

That sparkly freaking diamond.

Her big, beautiful eyes.

And that mouth. The way the corners turned up when she’d caught me checking out her ass . . . Jesus . . . what I wouldn’t give to fuck that mouth.

I laughed at myself and opened my eyes.

Good thing she was gone. Because God knows what dumb thing I would’ve done tonight. The woman had me losing my mind.

I took another big swig of my wine and opened my laptop.

Just as the doorbell rang . . .