Chapter 306

Stephanie glared at Sebastian, her voice sharp and rushed. “Was that Mom on the phone? You told her everything, didn’t you?” She wasn’t even sure if he’d let slip the things she was terrified about. Her head was all over the place, spinning like crazy. Her voice shook a little. “What’d you say exactly?”

‘Please, don’t let it be that,’ she thought to herself. Right then, her heart was stuck in her throat, thumping hard.

Sebastian tweaked her nose with a grin, turning to grab her clothes as if he was about to dress her himself. “What do you think I said?” he teased, keeping it light and chill.

“What do you think? This whole thing between us now!” Stephanie snapped.

Sebastian shot her a look, a little smirk pulling at his mouth. She pushed, “How’d you say it?” She slapped her hands over her face, dread creeping up her spine.

‘How did he even start?’ She couldn’t wrap her head around it.

Sebastian just shrugged, totally relaxed. “I just said it straight. Come on, get dressed—I’m taking you out for food.” Then he started tugging off her pajamas, smooth and unbothered.

Stephanie’s brain froze. She stood there, stuck. Just said it straight… She repeated it in her head, totally lost. “So what’d Mom say?” she blurted, snapping out of it.

He just said it—but how? She had no idea what he’d actually told her. Still, she was dying to know their mom’s reaction. Her eyes locked on him, intense.

Sebastian shrugged again. “Like I said, I told her, and that’s all.” He stayed super calm, still messing with her clothes.

Stephanie’s head was filled with questions. “Did Mom just go ‘oh, okay’ too? What did that even mean?” She was about to flip out. Her voice jumped. “So what’s her deal? What’d she think?”

459

This whole thing had been eating at her since two nights ago. She’d been stressing nonstop about how to tell Mom herself. Mid-thought, Sebastian finished dressing her, fast and smooth. He’d snuck in a couple of playful touches, but Stephanie was too freaked out to notice. A quick flash of victory crossed his face, though, his lips twitching upward.

She shook it off. “Well? Say something!”

Chapter 366

Knowing he’d already called their mom made her brain go blank. Her stomach twisted, and her brows scrunched up tight.

Schastian pinched her cheek, smirking, “Chill, she’s not gonna freak out on you?”

Stephanie’s mouth twitched. She rolled her eyes, annoyed. “Not freaking out didn’t tell her much. No reaction? Yeah, right—that wasn’t her mom, no way.” She shook her head. No way Mom didn’t have something to say.

Sebastian stood up. “Let’s go.”

Stephanie mumbled, “Go where? It’s freezing out there. I’m not feeling it—plus, Ella’s coming over soon?” Ella was dropping by, and Jennifer too. She counted them off on her fingers.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “You sure you’re not coming?”

She sighed. “I’ve got a lot going on.” Ever since he showed up in Long Harbor, her studio schedule had been a mess. With Fiorenza coming up, she had to get moving. She wanted to wrap things up at the studio—no loose ends.

“Oh, and,” she added, “you said you’d talk to Skyriver Travel’s CEO. Did you?”

Yeah, she was leaving soon, but she still wanted to make sure the crew who’d been with her for two years had some job security.

Sebastian leaned in close. “What, heading back to Fiorenza and closing the studio?”

She gave him a look. “Close it? No way. There’s a whole team—I’m passing it to Ella.” She couldn’t just ditch people. She wasn’t gonna leave them hanging. Plus, the studio hadn’t lost anyone in two years—not even the front desk had changed.

Sebastian messed up her hair, nodding. “Got it.”

Stephanie shot Sebastian a look. “Hey, make sure you talk to him, alright? Just tell him I’m stepping back, but my designers are solid—they won’t drop the ball.”

Sebastian nodded, keeping it simple. “Yeah, sure.” He watched her, a little grin sneaking onto his face despite himself.

Now Sebastian wondered how the Hart family totally missed this about her—this big, loyal heart—and still screwed themselves over. Since showing up in Long Harbor, Sebastian could see it plain as day: Stephanie wasn’t leaving even a shred of sympathy behind for the Hart crew.

Since Stephanie wasn’t caving on going out, Sebastian took a call and headed for the door alone.

Chapter 306

Just yesterday, he’d promised he’d be stuck to her side starting today. But over lunch, as Stephanie dug into her plate, she found out Luca had already left. Macro dropped the news with a tired sigh, his shoulders sagging like he’d been beat.