Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
18
BYRON GRAHAM
This had to be one of the first times I’d woken with a smile on my lips. I stretched and my foot hit the railing of the futon, but I didn’t care. The only thing that could have made this morning better would have been waking with Sebastian beside me, one hand resting on my stomach or hip, his eyes closed and his lips parted as he slept. I would have lain there, watching him peacefully sleep, admiring how handsome he was even with his hair messy and his cheeks flushed.
One of these days. It was going to happen. I’d be able to sleep over at Sebastian’s house and wake up to his warm body next to mine. So far, we hadn’t been able to make it happen because of work or our own busy schedules on the weekend, but there was still plenty of time.
It didn’t matter, though. Not after this past weekend. Sebastian had seen the very worst of my life, learned some of the darkest secrets I tried to keep hidden from everyone, and he was still there. He hadn’t run away, hadn’t declared that I was more trouble than I was worth. The sexy billionaire had rolled up his sleeves and proved that he was willing to stick beside me.
More than that, he’d listened to me. He’d let me talk. All the words and emotions had poured out, and he’d stuck by me, soaking up all that pain so that I’d been left with relief. The boulder resting on my chest was lifted away, and I could catch my breath. For the first time in too many years, I truly felt safe. The ground was no longer slipping away under my feet.
And it was all because of him.
I didn’t need to go on the other four dates to know that I wanted to be with him. Sebastian Courtland was everything I’d dreamed of finding in a boyfriend, and I wasn’t about to let him go. Today, I was going to schedule a meeting with Declan Foster and formally request to be made his assistant. I could get Kaylan trained up in a couple of weeks, and then I’d be around for questions until I could find a new, more permanent position outside of Courtland Enterprises. It was time to end this silly bargain and claim Sebastian as my own.
A high-pitched alarm screamed through my tiny apartment, and I winced. I usually woke before my alarm, but I’d forgotten to turn it off. My brain was too full of Sebastian. I rolled over and fumbled with my phone, getting the app silenced. My vision was bleary and unfocused, but it looked like I had a ton of social media notifications waiting for me, which was strange. I had very few friends and followers on social media. I maintained the accounts for work purposes.
Frowning, I plucked my glasses off the makeshift table and slipped them on my face to find that the numbers were worse now that I could see. Who the hell was lighting up my accounts? All my accounts.
I tossed aside the covers and sat up. With the first account that I pulled up, my stomach sank to my toes like I was on a roller coaster. There was no need to search. The software pulled up a picture someone had secretly taken of Sebastian and me in the park yesterday as we’d kissed. It had taken three tries to get my brain to register the words, but someone had seen us, snapped a picture, and posted it to support gay love. And it had been shared. There were thousands of shares. It had hopped off one social media platform and bounced across numerous others, where people had shared it more and more.
Eventually, it had reached someone who recognized Sebastian.
And someone had recognized me.
Someone had shared the picture and tagged us both, linking our names with the picture.
Our relationship had been outed.
The bright new day I’d thought I had ahead of me disappeared before I could even get out of bed. The dark storm clouds I’d feared from the first second Sebastian had proposed dating had appeared—and in the very worst way.
I kept scrolling through my notifications, skimming the comments, searching for familiar names. I couldn’t fault the person who’d taken the picture and posted it. Their intention had been sweet and well meaning. It was our fault for not being more cautious. Until now, we’d been careful about how we’d acted while in public in case we ever ran into someone who recognized either of us.
But yesterday, the park had been deserted. There had been a couple of kids playing on the swings with their mother watching them. Had it been her? Or had someone been walking through the park as we talked and caught our kiss?