Contractual Obligations
: Chapter 17

I woke up warm.

Light filtered in through Sebastian’s sheer curtains, illuminating the space with a soft golden glow. I blinked, confused for only a moment as last night came back to me.

There was a part of me that was embarrassed I had told him I thought it was me, that I was the problem, but his reaction, the stern but honest words he told me, gave me so much more peace.

For once, it wasn’t me.

I found him already awake, leaning on his elbow, looking at me with an expression I had only seen since moving to Nashville. Seeing that soft, almost lovesick look had my heart racing. When he noticed I was awake, he pulled me in for a kiss.

“Good morning,” he said against my lips.

I kissed him back, unused to so much attention so early in the morning. My body was waking up as it warmed with his kisses. By the time he pulled away, I was fired up, but I couldn’t tell if I wanted to jump him or go write a few thousand words.

“What time is it?” I asked.

“Eight.”

“Aren’t you late for work?”

“It’s a holiday,” he said. “My dad wants me in, but he can deal with me being late.”

“Such a rebel,” I said.

“Only for you.”

There was that blush again. My cheeks could light matches. Sebastian laughed and gave me one more kiss before he got up.

I watched him get ready, which I never got to do before. He stayed in the room as he took off his shirt, showing an olive-toned chest, broad and solid. My mouth went dry as I watched him.

Sebastian threw on a button-up before he took off his sweatpants, revealing his thin underwear. When he walked to the closet to retrieve his slacks, I got a fantastic view of his ass.

Truly, it was spectacular.

I was almost disappointed when he pulled on his pants, and that disappointment drove me to getting out of bed, walking over to him, and kissing him, right as he buttoned the fly.

Sebastian made a surprised sound, but responded quickly by wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to him.

I wanted to touch him. I wanted him back in bed where I could be on top of him or under him, whichever came first. When he opened his mouth and I dared to dip my tongue into it, he groaned and pulled me to him tighter.

I could feel his hardness against me, and it sent a chill down my spine to know he still responded to me like this. I wanted to watch as he writhed in pleasure.

“Lily,” he said, pulling away, “I need to go to work.”

“Forget work. Fuck me instead.”

He laughed but continued to pull away.

“I promise I’ll make it worth your while to wait.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, pulling myself out of my haze. “Are you feeling better about us?”

“I am. Turns out talking about your problems really can help them.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that somewhere before.”

He kissed me again, but before we could get carried away, he said, “Unfortunately, I really do need to go.”

“Have a good day,” I replied, smiling at him. He kissed me one last time before leaving, and all I was left with were burning cheeks and a desire I knew I couldn’t satisfy myself.

Once he was gone, I had to resist the urge to dig out the vibrator and release this tension myself. I knew it wouldn’t be enough.

I only wanted him.

I looked out Sebastian’s window and saw Amy’s backyard. I decided that it was better to make myself busy rather than sit around the house and wait for my husband to come home and pick up where we left off.

Lily: You free?

Amy: Unfortunately not. Family drama.

Lily: Please tell me it’s not house related.

Amy: Luckily, no. This is all on the sister’s side, but I have to go see her and she’s out of town.

Lily: Good luck!

Amy: Did you want to hang out today?

Lily: Yeah, but don’t feel bad or anything!

Amy: Ugh, we have to make up for it for sure.

I sighed and turned off the phone’s screen. What was I supposed to do while I waited? I was almost done with my book but writing alone wasn’t what I wanted to do. I decided I should go to the coffee shop.

Riley was the one manning the station. When she looked up, her face brightened as she saw me. “I was hoping you’d come in today.”

“Oh?” I asked.

“Yeah, are you a writer, by chance?”

“Why?” I asked, growing nervous. Was I caught that easily?

“You’re always typing away on your laptop. Anyway, it gave me an idea. If you are a writer, there’s a writing group that reserved a corner of the shop today. Maybe you could join them.”

“My typing inspired all of this?”

“I’m always in the market for inviting groups into the shop. I figured if you weren’t, then it was still a good idea to invite a local writing group to have their sessions here.”

“I-I am a writer. What time does it start?”

“I think in an hour.”

“That’s perfect.” I ordered breakfast and a coffee, figuring I’d wait.

I spent the first hour writing, and then Riley walked up and introduced the group to me when they arrived. The planner excitedly invited me to join in.

They seemed welcoming and soon I was sitting next to other writers who were all trying to do the same as me. I wasn’t going to tell anyone who I was, because one writer had already recognized me as Lily Miller, so I had to pretend I was just doing it for fun so it wouldn’t get out.

Luckily, no one pushed me for any information about my marriage. They were simply glad to have another writer friend.

And just like that, I was a part of their group. They invited me into their Discord and told me to come to other meetings. I wound up giving a few of the writers advice, and I felt, for one of the first times, like I belonged somewhere.

When I got home, I worked on cooking dinner for Sebastian. However, he didn’t come home in an excellent mood. I could see the rigid edge of his shoulders all the way from the car. My first thought was that I had somehow done something to cause this, but then I remembered our parting this morning and realized that there was no way it could have been me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked from the dining room when he walked in the door.

“How did you know something was wrong?” he asked, his voice hard.

I didn’t know how to answer that, so I just gestured to his whole body.

Sebastian sighed. “My dad called today.”

“Did he have something to say about work?” I asked. “You went in on a holiday like he asked.”

“No,” Sebastian said. “It’s not that. He wants us back in LA.”

“What—permanently?”

“No. Thank God. Just for a few days. I think he wants a family photo.”

I couldn’t resist the groan.

“I tried to get out of it, Lily, I did,” Sebastian said. “Not even the work excuse got him to let it go.”

“It’s fine,” I replied. “I mean, I figured something like this would come up eventually. When do we go?”

“Next week.”

I sighed. “Okay. So that’s why mom sent me an email about party planning.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, really,” I reassured him. “It’s just what’s required of us.”

“I know. I just know you’re going to hate it. Are you and Jessie in contact at all?”

“No,” I said. “Not since I left.”

“I was hoping maybe you’d want to see her and maybe that would take the edge off.”

“She said she was tired of watching me mess up my life. The day we left she told me she was done with me.”

He turned to me, eyes intense. “She did that the day you left? Was that why you were so upset?”

I nodded. “I knew I needed to act like I always did, but after she did that, I couldn’t.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. Seeing you angry is what made us finally talk.”

“You’re right, but I wish it wasn’t started by Jessie ending our friendship.”

“I’m sorry, Lily,” he said. “You deserve better.”

“I have Amy now, and you, I think.”

“You always have me,” he said, smiling. “Even if we have to go back to LA.”

Sebastian’s expression turned guilty, like I’d take this out on him. But I was used to this. I learned never to make true plans because my family would come out of nowhere and mess them up. This was my normal.

“We’ll be fine,” I told him, touching his shoulder comfortingly. He looked at me, relief written on his face. “I’m not mad at you or anything. This is just part of it all.”

“I’m sorry I came back in a bad mood. Things were good this morning.”

“It’s okay. Life happens sometimes.”

“Tell me about your day. I saw you posted.”

Did I post? I opened my phone and found a scheduled post that I’d put together weeks ago.

“I honestly forgot I even did that,” I said. “I was busy today.”

“What did you do?”

“I, uh . . . went to a writing group actually. Here in town.”

I wondered if he would be defensive and tell me I needed to be home. My chest tightened as I watched his expression carefully.

“Did you like it?” he asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Um, yes. I did.” I turned away from him, grabbing the food. It gave me a moment to think of what to say next. “Some people asked for advice, and I was able to help. I only offered fantasy advice since that’s what I write.”

“You write fantasy?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Dark fantasy, so most of my advice was telling people to kill off their characters. It worked for some.”

“Hm, so dark fantasy about a woman who’s under her family’s control and tries to escape.” His eyebrows knitted. “I hope that’s not my hint. That doesn’t narrow it down at all.”

“Well, you said you were a reader,” I said carefully. “Maybe you’ve read it.”

“Dark fantasy? I’ve only read two series in that genre—The Fair Originals and the first book in the Game of Thrones series. It’s about all I can stomach before I start getting worried dragons are going to come out of the sky and eat me.”

I laughed. “So, why did you read those two then?”

“I don’t know. I read The Fair Originals first. Something about it felt so familiar, like I really knew what the writer was getting across. I read the first book in the Game of Thrones series hoping for the same feeling, and it didn’t happen.”

I paused.

“What . . . what did you think the writer was getting across?”

“That no matter what trials you go through, you can escape. At least I think that’s what they’re going for. It’s hard when I don’t know the ending.”

And that was when I knew how I wanted to end The Fair Originals.

I couldn’t end it on a sad note. Not when Sebastian was right—the story was about escaping and coming out on top no matter what happened.

Oh God, I needed to write.

“What?”

“I just had a breakthrough on my book. Would you be offended if I went and wrote?”

“No,” he said, smiling. “As long as the breakthrough wasn’t that you’re secretly mad about having to go back to LA.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s about the ending. I’m super inspired and I need to get this down before I forget.”

“Then you better get to it.”

“I’ll see you later!” I called as I raced up the stairs to my room.

I wrote for hours and finally reemerged after midnight. By the time I shut my laptop, I had drafted out every detail of the ending. Now I only had to write it.

I needed a drink of water and to eat. I carefully went down the stairs, trying not to wake Sebastian, who was more than likely asleep.

“Good writing session?” Sebastian asked.

I jumped out of my skin. “Sebastian! You’re awake?”

“Yeah, my dad sent me a project to work on,” he said, sounding bitter. “And I wanted to see you before you went to bed. How did writing go?”

“My back is sore, and my wrists hurt. So, it went well. Really well.” I stretched happily, exposing my stomach as I leaned back. “I need water,” I muttered when I was done.

After getting rehydrated, Sebastian was still working. I walked over to him and closed his laptop. “It’s almost one,” I said. “You need to get some sleep.”

“I know,” he said. “I just didn’t know if you were sleeping in my room or not.”

“I can sleep in there if you want me to.”

“I’d really like that,” he said.

I leaned down to kiss him. It was only supposed to be a light brush of the lips, but he grabbed my jaw and kept me there. He pulled me to sit on his lap, lips moving against mine.

Despite it being one in the morning, I was wide awake.

I gripped his shirt, keeping my fists balled in the fabric, worried he would pull away and replace some sort of excuse as to why we shouldn’t do this.

But my body was screaming for it. Everything was begging to be touched. My breasts ached. My clit pulsed, begging for the whisper of anything. Sebastian let out a long breath, trailing his hands down to my leg, bringing one up to press my core to him.

I whimpered at the contact, and I shamelessly moved against him. He was rapidly hardening under my touch, and I dared to dart my tongue across his lip. He moaned and picked me up, carrying me to the couch.

We collapsed against it, and I moaned as he was fully on top of me. His hands gripped my ass, keeping me arched to him. I opened my legs, more than ready to feel him press into me.

Sebastian was now fully hard, straining against his pants, and all I could think about was getting his clothes off, but my body was pressed to him. I didn’t want to pull away, even if it was to get him naked.

He ground against me, sending jolts of pleasure up my spine. My body begged for his, and I was finally getting what I needed.

After a moment, his mouth left mine, but he kissed my nose, my neck. I dimly remembered him saying he wanted to kiss all of my freckles, and I wondered if that was what he was doing. His kisses were soft, peppering my face as he slowly returned to my neck. That was when he nipped at the sensitive skin, pulling another whimper from my lips.

One of his hands trailed up my shirt, reaching the lace of my bralette. His palm rubbed at my nipples through the fabric, and I jerked against them. They stiffened under his touch, and he kept his open mouth on my neck, torturing me in the best ways.

Eventually, Sebastian pulled off my loose shirt, and the distance gave me only a moment of reprieve before he was back on me. His kisses trailed downward until his mouth was on my breast, his tongue circling the hard peak as I bucked against him.

I wanted his mouth. I wanted his cock. I wanted him, and I was finally getting it.

I was gasping when he finally pulled his mouth away from my breasts. He kissed downward, until he was pulling my leggings down, and letting cold air spill on my wet core.

Once I was entirely naked, he kissed my knee at the mole I’d had for years. Then the one on my thigh. Then another on my inner thigh. I opened my legs for him, my body more than ready for him.

Sebastian’s tongue had always been something that haunted my dreams. He licked me from my core up to my clit, circling it deftly. I ran my hands through his dark locks. I pressed him in, needing the friction as he worked on my wanting body.

He circled it, licked it, and let me build the best sort of pressure. I refused to let him go.

It felt otherworldly, and I brokenly called his name as I felt myself build until an impossible peak, and then shatter. I cried out as I came, my entire body twitching as wave after wave of intense pleasure rolled its way through my entire body.

As it finally ebbed, I could feel his tongue still working on me. He gently licked me, pressing one finger into my soaked entrance. He toyed with it, and then pushed inside, hand going right for my G-spot.

His fingers combined with his skilled tongue had me moaning again, begging for more.

Sebastian added a finger, and I whimpered as he filled me up. Both my clit and my core were being worked on, tightening my body in the best way.

“More pressure,” I begged him, tightening my fingers in his hair. He complied instantly, sucking my clit, and adding yet another finger.

I crashed again. My body exploding in fireworks of pleasure. I yelled out, throwing my head back as I lost my sight against the intense pleasure cresting through my body.

When I came back to myself, I knew I wasn’t done. I needed him. I needed his cock stretching me, filling me.

“Get up here,” I said, out of breath as I took my fingers out of his hair.

He took his damn time getting back up to my mouth, but before he could kiss me, I unbuttoned his shirt and threw it across the room. I ran my hands up and down his body, across his nipples and down to his hard and heavy cock, more than ready to see it in person.

I almost ripped his pants off in my haste.

It was still standing at attention, and it sprung free from the confines of his pants and boxers. My mouth watered, and I debated on taking him in my mouth, but he laid me back down.

“The sounds you made,” he said, his voice low, “I am not going to last long. Especially not if you use your mouth.”

I sighed. “We’ll have to save that for next time then.”

He pressed the head of his cock against my opening, and I forgot where I was for a moment. All I knew was that this felt so right, and that I needed him opening me up, pressing inside of my core.

As he worked his way in, my body was ready for him. I was open, but he still stretched me, filling me in such a delicious way that I moaned as he pushed himself all the way in.

“God,” he said. “I love the sounds you make, how you feel.”

“Seb-Sebastian,” I said, my breath hitching. “I need you to move. Please fuck me.”

“Where’s your flowery language now?”

“I don’t have time for flowery language when you’re inside of me. I want you to lose control. I want to feel this tomorrow.”

Something snapped inside of him. His eyes grew impossibly darker, lust filling them. He slammed into me, harder than I’d ever felt, and the couch moved with him.

“Fuck, yes.” My body was begging for more.

He did it again, thrusting his cock so deep into me that I saw stars.

I wish I had words for how glorious it felt to have him let go in front of me. This was raw. This was real. It made every nerve ending within me light up in pleasure.

I felt everything. The pressure of his cock deep into me. The slamming of his pelvis against my clit, sending shockwaves up my body with every thrust. I felt my pussy gripping him as I got what I needed, and I built into yet another impossible orgasm.

I screamed, head thrown back as my core tightened around him, body twitching in a feeling I would never be able to do justice with words. Everything erupted in hot, pleasurable heat.

Sebastian pushed into me even harder, and I dimly noticed the sound of wet skin slapping in between us. When he came, he gripped my hips like a vice, and I could feel him spill into me, his warmth mixing with mine in an entirely new way.

His head fell to my shoulder, his breath ragged. “That was insane.”

“I think you’re ruining me for other men,” I said, my voice coming out barely over a whisper.

“I think you’re ruining me for other women,” he replied, kissing my neck. My tired body tried to come alive again, but it was fruitless.

I needed sleep.

Sebastian’s lips left my neck, and he leaned his head on my shoulder tiredly.

“Okay,” he admitted. “Maybe I did stay up too late.”

“Well,” I said, still feeling hot from our escapade, “it’s nothing cuddles and sleep can’t fix.”

In the commending haze of orgasms, I needed to replace time to pack to return to LA. Sebastian kept my mind off it with his hands and his mouth as much as he could, but I knew it would be painful if I didn’t plan what I was going to wear and look like the best possible version of Instagrammer Lily.

I packed for both of us since our things became so intermingled. We slept in the same room, either fucking each other to sleep or holding one another so tightly the world fell away.

Some nights it was his room, and some nights was mine. I didn’t really care which one—I just liked being with him.

Both of our families had plenty of room for us to stay with them, but I gagged at the thought. Martin’s house was a weird mid-century style with hardly any walls. I half expected him to be lurking, waiting for either one of us to slip up. Plus, Sasha would be there, and I’d honestly rather sleep in a cardboard box than see her again.

My family’s home was just as bad. Their mansion was excessive, and my mother never kept food in the house.

Instead, we would be staying in a hotel. I picked a suite in a decent area. It had a pull-out couch in case, for some reason, Sebastian got tired of me and wanted to have the bed to himself.

The morning of the flight was cold and dreary. Both Sebastian and I rolled out of bed like we were heading to our executions and dragged our feet to leave.

I was sad to leave our house. I’d grown so attached that shutting the door to our home, even only for a few days, was harder than I imagined it would be.

Our Uber driver didn’t talk much, and neither of us were in the mood to discuss anything about our lives with a stranger. I was wearing leggings and an old T-shirt, both in an effort to let go of some of my public persona, and because I was too tired to dress up. Sebastian looked just as casual as I did.

At this point, I couldn’t care less if someone said something about how I looked. I was so close to being done with this contract that one photograph in leggings wouldn’t be the end of the world.

By the time we landed, I was missing Nashville more than I’d like to admit. We took our things to our hotel where I laid in bed and messaged the writing group I’d joined, telling them I wouldn’t be at the next meeting.

I was interrupted by a frustrated sigh from Sebastian.

“My dad already wants me in the office,” he muttered, looking at his phone. “I just fucking arrived.”

“Is there any way we can lie and say you’re sick or something?”

Sebastian scoffed. “I’d still need to come in. God, what could he possibly need me to do?”

“Maybe it’s a power trip,” I suggested. “He just wants to see how fast you’ll come.”

“Not helpful, considering I need to go now.”

I sighed and stood, putting a hand on his shoulder. I could feel him relax slightly at my touch.

“You have to do what you have to do,” I said softly. “It sucks, but no one is going to judge you for following what Martin asks for now.”

Sebastian nodded. “I know. I just don’t want to see him. I never do.”

“We should work on setting boundaries with our parents.” I groaned. “This can’t go on.”

“I keep waiting for the contract to end,” Sebastian admitted.

“Why?” I asked. I knew I had my inheritance on the line, but why did he keep doing this?

“It’s when my noncompete clause ends,” he replied.

“Hey, you only have a few more months to go.”

Sebastian looked at me, eyes conflicted. “But then you’re gone too.”

Words I wanted to say got stuck in my throat.

Maybe we didn’t have to end this. Maybe we could go on forever.

“I need to go,” he said quietly before pulling out of my arms. “I’ll be back when I can.”

I nodded. He kissed me before he left, which did nothing to help my fast-beating heart.

I thought about staying in the hotel room, but I knew I would get way too bored. I was in LA, the place I’d once considered home. Shouldn’t I be more excited about it?

The more I thought about it, the less I felt like I was happy here. At the time, I had Jessie, but she never seemed interested in understanding why I did what I did. Besides her, I didn’t have anyone else.

The city felt like a ghost to me. I looked out the window to the skyline and simply felt . . . nothing. Nashville was now my home; Nashville now had my heart.

I was in walking distance of the old coffee shop Jessie and I used to frequent, so I packed my laptop and headed in that direction.

I had no clue if I should even tell Jessie I was in town. I doubted she would want to hear from me, considering I was still married.

I sat in our old spot, feeling a little sad and wistful. I assumed she didn’t come here anymore since we were no longer friends.

Of course, I wasn’t right about that. Just as I started writing the final scenes of my novel, I saw a familiar, tall woman come in. I looked up, blush coloring my cheeks as I watched Jessie walk in with a guy I didn’t recognize. He had his hand on the small of her back, and they looked close.

My mouth fell open. Was she seeing someone?

Jessie had held off on dating while getting her graduate degree, but she would have been done with it by now. She’d always wanted to graduate in the winter, which was one semester early.

I planned on hiding behind my laptop. I figured she wouldn’t take note of me with my messy hair and bare face, but her eyes trailed over to my table nonchalantly, and she stared at me for a long moment before walking over.

She didn’t even tell the guy she was with where she was going. I almost bolted out of the coffee shop. Was she going to yell at me? Was she still mad?

“Lily?” Jessie asked, blinking at me. “Is that you?”

“Uh,” I said, my voice weak to my own ears. “No?”

“I’d recognize those freckles anywhere.”

Betrayed by the freckles. I rubbed my face absentmindedly. Jessie’s eyes caught on my hand where I wore my wedding ring.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her tone just a little colder than before.

“I’m in town for a few days,” I muttered, putting my hand under the table. “I was nearby so I decided to get out of the hotel for a bit.”

Jessie sighed. “Right. I guess you’re still doing the whole contract thing, huh?”

I looked away. Instead of feeling my usual shame, I felt a little bitter this time. Yes, of course I was still doing the contract.

“Well, it was good to see you,” Jessie said. “I hope Nashville is treating you well.”

I bit my tongue and didn’t say anything. She must have thought I was going to call out to her, because she turned back to me.

“Where’s the makeup?” she asked.

“At the hotel,” I replied.

“And the hair?”

“I’m not going to style it for a plane.”

“So, you came alone,” she said.

“No, I . . .” I trailed off. “Why are you asking?”

“You would never come with Sebastian looking like that.”

But I had. These days, I didn’t even think about wearing makeup around him. Sure, I’d wear it if we were seeing his coworkers or I needed a photo.

But any other time, I was just myself. Just Lily.

I wanted to say this to Jessie, but would she believe me? Or would she laugh and say that she was right all along and I had feelings for Sebastian?

I sighed. “Yeah, I probably wouldn’t.”

Jessie looked at the table and then back at me. “What are you doing on the laptop?”

On instinct, I laid my hands on the device, as if Jessie would run off with it at any moment. “Why do you want to know?”

“I’m curious. You were typing when I walked in, and you’ve never had one before.”

“I was . . .” I floundered for an answer. “I joined a writing group in Nashville.”

Jessie blinked.

It was technically true.

“You’re writing again?”

I slowly nodded.

She knew I wrote fanfiction when I was a teen. I’d never said it out loud to her, but she somehow knew.

Writing had been my hobby in high school, but when I married Sebastian, I stopped talking about it to anyone. Jessie must have assumed I gave it up, though in reality, I never did—but of course she didn’t know that.

“That’s . . . good,” Jessie said. “No, that’s great.”

“Sorry to interrupt, babe,” the man she had come in with said. “But your coffee is ready.” He handed her a cup.

“Oh, thanks Mark. This is Lily. The, uh, one with the marriage.”

Mark’s eyebrows raised as he looked at me. Great. She had talked about me.

“Nice to meet you,” I said, barely able to keep the edge out of my voice.

“Yeah, uh, you too. How long are you in town for?” he asked.

“Just a few days.” And boy, I could not wait to leave.

“That’s cool. Jessie mentions you a lot. Maybe you two could hang out.”

I was surprised Jessie mentioned me at all, but with the way she glared at Mark, I could tell that was something he shouldn’t have said.

I glanced at the door. In that moment, I wished I could disappear.

“Yeah, maybe,” I replied.

“Mark, could you give me a minute? I’ll meet you at the car.”

“Oh, yeah,” Mark said. “Nice meeting you.”

I nodded at him awkwardly. As soon as she said what she needed to say, I was out of here. Lesson learned—I would stay in the hotel from now on.

“Are you okay?” Jessie asked, turning back to me with narrowed eyes.

I blinked. “What?”

“I asked if you were okay. You don’t seem like yourself, at least not the version of you that got on the plane to Nashville.”

“I was always myself,” I replied.

Jessie raised an eyebrow.

“I’m serious,” I replied, voice firm. “I was. Yes, I got busy, and it sort of sucked never speaking to my husband and having all the social media shit to deal with, but I never changed. I’m still me, but I’m bound in a contract and have to be careful.”

“You’re not being careful now. You used to never leave the house without makeup. What happened?”

“Nothing happened,” I said, my face red.

“You’re blushing, which means you’re lying.”

I groaned. “Okay, fine. People know I live in Nashville, but even there, I’ve been without makeup and people don’t recognize me. Even if they did somehow know I was here, I’m probably safe. The only person that would recognize me is you, my mother, and Sebastian.”

Jessie only stared at me.

“Why would he recognize you? You’ve never been around him without makeup.”

“I have now. We’ve . . . we’ve been getting along.”

I tensed, waiting for her judgment.

She shook her head. “I was right, then.”

“Maybe a little,” I answered, bitterness clawing up my throat.

“So, you just suddenly started talking with him? After four years of never speaking?”

“That’s kind of what happens when you replace yourself alone in a city with someone. He’s a decent guy, Jessie. And things are working between us.”

“It seems convenient.”

“Believe me, it’s not,” I replied. “None of it is. I hate that we’re bound by contract, but making it work while we’re stuck like this can’t be a bad thing.”

“So are you finally admitting you’ve always liked him, then?”

I glared. “Yes. I am, and I don’t regret it.”

“What about Heather? The woman he called on your honeymoon?” she said it like a reminder.

As if I could have forgotten.

“He never slept with Heather. That call was about work.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Well, I do, and he and I are the ones married.”

She shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re still doing this.”

“Really? I’m doing exactly what I said I would be doing.”

“Yes, by letting your family walk all over you.”

“That’s not what’s happening,” I said, standing up to look her in the eye.

When I did, she looked at my body. “Did you gain weight?”

“Yes, I did,” I said, refusing to feel bad about it.

“You look . . . healthy, Lily.”

“I know, and trust me when I said I heard about it.”

“From Sebastian?”

“No. My mother. Sebastian said he’s happy when I am.”

“Are you happy?”

“Yes,” I said firmly.

“You are? You don’t look it.”

“It’s a little hard to be happy when you’re seeing someone who told you they were done with you.”

Jessie’s jaw dropped. “What did you say?”

“Do I really need to repeat it? You can’t say I don’t look happy after seeing me one time when our last conversation was you telling me you didn’t want to see me anymore. I get why you did it, but can you really think you know me when you haven’t talked to me for months?”

Jessie blinked. Instead of getting mad, she stayed still for a long moment. “Did you just . . . stand up for yourself?”

“Yes?” I asked, confused. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No,” she replied. “You’ve just never done it before.”

“Maybe it was time to start then. It’s made life easier in Nashville.”

“You do this with him?”

“Yes,” I replied. “He was one of the first, actually.”

“I-I can’t believe this. You’re so different. How did this happen?”

“Maybe I needed empathy instead of judgment.”

Jessie winced. “Mark said the same thing. How long are you in town for?”

“I don’t know. We’re supposed to do a family photo,” I paused to roll my eyes, “then we’ll head back as soon as we can.”

“So not long then.”

“No, I don’t want to be in LA for longer than I have to.”

“Damn, I was hoping we could catch up.”

“My mom’s planning a five-year anniversary party for us in a few months. The last day of the contract.”

“Seriously? And you’re going?”

“Yeah, as a goodbye. We could catch up before everything falls apart.”

“So you’re not going to renew?”

“No,” I replied. “We both don’t want that.”

“Okay. I might be free then. Text me the details?”

“Will you answer?”

Jessie looked at the ground, but nodded.

“Okay, then I will.”

Jessie sighed and shook her head. “Okay. It’s a deal. See you then?”

I only nodded and watched her go, hoping this wouldn’t blow up in my face.

The family photo was set to be taken in Martin’s house. My mom had set up a whole party, decked out with food and drinks that were for other people who weren’t me. Whenever I neared the spread, she glared at me.

I donned a red sparkling dress that had taken me almost an hour to get into. It was heavy and annoying, and all the makeup I wore made my skin itch.

Sebastian was pulled into a conversation with his father and Heather, who kept looking at him as if she wanted to talk to him alone. I ignored my jealousy, knowing Sebastian wasn’t going to do anything, and tried to comingle the best I could. My mother, unfortunately, kept following me, telling me I needed to dye my hair and lose weight, even though Sebastian had told her off.

“He may say he doesn’t care,” my mother started, “but look at you and look at Heather. There’s a world of difference.”

My heart sunk. Not because I didn’t trust Sebastian, but because this was the last thing I needed. When we sat down for dinner, my mother had only shoved a salad into my hands before sending me to sit next to my husband dutifully.

“Did you want that salad?” he asked.

“What do you think?” I muttered.

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s fine,” I said.

He leaned in. “They have pie. I’ll get you a slice and we can meet by the bathrooms.”

“That might be the hottest thing you’ve ever said.”

We ate dinner in silence, letting other people talk around us. After we finished, I made a break for the bathroom, where Sebastian was waiting with a huge slice of apple pie.

“Oh my God, thank you,” I said, taking it from him. I took a bite, then recoiled. “Oh, this isn’t even good pie.”

“Really?” He took a bite, and then shook his head. “Why does this taste so off?”

“No clue, but I’ll still eat it. Bad pie is better than a salad I don’t want.”

“I’m exhausted,” he said. “I can’t wait for this to be over.”

“You and me both,” I replied, sighing. I offered him another piece.

“After this,” he said, “I want to go to the hotel and never leave.”

“We can arrange that. A spicy post from me and they’ll think we’re spending the weekend very busy.”

Sebastian raised his eyebrows. “Does that come with the actual act?”

“It does if you want it to.”

His grin was devious as he grabbed the pie and pulled me to him with one hand. “You know I want it to,” he growled.

“We just have to make it until the photo,” I said.

He put more of his weight on me. I sank into the wall, which supported us both.

“This is helping,” he said. “You’re helping.”

I wanted to kiss him, but I was distracted by someone coming down the hall. I peered around Sebastian; Heather rounded the corner and froze. All she could see was my red dress and Sebastian’s back, but her jaw dropped.

“Lily?” she asked, her voice horrified.

Sebastian pulled away, turning to her.

“Oh, Sebastian,” Heather said. “I didn’t think that was you.”

Heather and I hadn’t talked since she brought up her feelings for Sebastian. I didn’t want to know any more about her, if I was being honest.

“Yes, it’s me,” he said, and his hand slid to my lower back. I couldn’t feel it as much as I wanted to because my gaudy dress was in the way.

“Oh,” she said, crossing her arms. “So, I guess you two are okay then?”

“We’ve always been okay,” he said.

Heather looked disappointed. “Good for you.”

Sebastian tensed, and then glanced at me. “Thank you,” he said.

Heather headed toward the bathroom. She paused, as if she wanted to say something else, but thankfully decided against it.

“I think she was about to try to talk to you about her feelings,” I said softly.

“I know,” Sebastian said, “but you have to know I wouldn’t have—”

“I trust you,” I said. “I know you wouldn’t do that now.”

We finished off the pie and went back to the party. Sebastian and I kept glancing at each other tiredly as people continued to spout bullshit at us about work and other things we didn’t care about.

It took forever for all of us to pose for the photo. My mother kept moving us around, trying to get the perfect shot. Sasha complained about every one of them not looking perfect, and Martin made snide comments to my dad about his company. It was torture. I could tell by the tick in Sebastian’s jaw that he was annoyed.

But once a hundred photos were taken, we were free. I was immediately told to post the winning photo since I hadn’t posted mine or Sebastian’s face in far too long.

After my lecture, I was more than ready to go, and so was Sebastian. We wasted no time getting out of there.

When we got back to the hotel, I dove onto the bed face first, feeling exhausted throughout my body.

Sebastian groaned and sat next to me. “That was terrible. Can we go home now?”

“Our flight is tomorrow,” I muttered.

“I may be willing to get one tonight,” Sebastian said. “I just need out of this town.”

I was tired, but I wanted to be home. Our plans for sex were out the window, but I’d much rather have sex in one of our beds instead of this hotel room. I looked at him, at the desperation on his face, and I nodded. “Let me get changed.”

Photo: Lily and Sebastian surrounded by family. Everyone looks happy, except for Lily and Sebastian

LilyRMiller: Spent some time with family before I got to have a very special weekend with the hubby *eyes emoji*

Sussybaka: I hate to the one of those weird conspiracy people, but they don’t look happy. Neither of them do.

SebandLily4ever: They’re in love. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THEM.

RealBarbaraRoberts: You two could look happy to see us LOL …