his face. It makes me blush even harder.
“What’s that whole face for?” I circle my finger in the general direction of his face, and his smirk widens.
“You seem happy. You both do.”
My heart gallops. I look down at my feet, warring with myself, wondering if I should say what I want to. Inhaling a deep breath, I peek at him through my lashes and decide to hell with it.
“I am happy, and I have you to thank for that, but there’s something miss—”
“Wow!” We hear Ava yell from the window, looking out at his infinity pool. “It’s so big.”
She all but presses her face against the glass. I take her cutting me off as a sign that the words are never supposed to leave my lips. Baz pauses, looking like he wants to ask me to finish what I was saying, but then he sighs to himself, obviously thinking better of it, and heads toward Ava. He opens the door, walking out with her. I follow them, my heart twinging with each step, just being this close to him again.
I watch from a distance as he listens to Ava prattle on and on. He asks her questions while he shows her around the top floor of the penthouse. My heart does something strange as I watch him with her. It feels like someone is sitting on my chest, crushing me, but there’s this light, fluttering sensation in my belly. I press my hand to my stomach, trying to quell the sudden wave of emotions slamming into me. I tune into the conversation they’re having, a smile pulling at the corners of my mouth.
“Do you know how to swim yet?”
Ava shakes her head. “Not yet.”
Baz mock gasps. “That’s insanity. You mean to tell me you have an amazing pool in your backyard, and she hasn’t shown you what to do with it yet?”
We both laugh like little schoolgirls with a crush. Ava shakes her head. “Will you teach me?”
“I will. Whenever you want, just say the word, and I’ll be there. Also, let’s keep this between us, but it’s probably better you learn how to swim from me anyway. I heard your mom isn’t the greatest swimmer.”
“Hey!” I yell out lightheartedly, playing the part. Ava laughs, obviously enjoying the ribbing session she’s having with Baz. I try not to focus too much on the fact that he’s promising to teach her to swim. It’s insane how she can be nine years old and still not know how to swim. There are so many things that’ll be firsts for her that we’ll need to catch up on. I just hope he won’t let her down on this. I’ll obviously need to have a talk with him about promising stuff to her he doesn’t intend on following through with, but I’ll save that for a later time.
For a while longer, I stand off to the side, watching how easy it is for Baz and Ava to interact with one another. I thought she’d be a little hesitant around him, seeing as he’s not really a part of my life anymore, but she seems all too happy to spend time with him, and Baz, he’s just as good as he was with her at the gala. He listens intently to her every word, his focus solely on her.
It warms my heart.
Ava busies herself with some pen and paper, courtesy of Baz, and draws another masterpiece while he and I finish up the paperwork we came here for.
“You didn’t have to buy that shitty car,” he says, handing a thin file of paperwork over to me.
I shoot him a scowl. “Yes, I did. I feel like you’ve done everything for me. I wanted to do one thing myself, but…I get why you did it. And I’m thankful.”
Our eyes lock, that lingering tension zapping between us, the current suffocating us both. He clears his throat. “Anytime.”
When it’s time to leave, I want to hang back and ask Baz to come over for dinner, but I don’t know if that’s crossing the line. Today was just about signing papers. It might be a bit premature of me to invite him over. We hover near the door. The easygoing nature we had earlier is now gone and in its place is tension-filled air.
“It was good seeing you. And thank you.”
Baz nods, his gaze darting between the two of us. “See you later, Ava. And don’t forget about those lessons, okay?”
She smiles. “See you later, Sebastian.”
Our gazes linger on