Lured into Love (Blossom in Winter #2) - Melanie Martins Page 0,44

though?”

The idea sounds terrifying at first, but I tell him, “That’s actually what I hoped for.”

Cocking his head, Sebastian looks at me with deep furrows creasing his brow. “I don’t get it…”

“I love her in a way I can’t explain.” And I have no idea why on Earth I just confessed that to him. Maybe it’s the privacy of the car, and the fact that it’s just the two of us here, that makes me feel so at ease. “If she had met someone else—someone in her league—then I’d have just remained her godfather and stood by her side, protecting her as I promised I would.” I pause for a beat, observing his expression. “But I had to be present in her life. I had to at least come back.” I sound cheesy as fuck, and we both know it. Clearing my throat and switching to another subject, I ask, “By the way, um, what’s the name of that castle where you held your wedding reception?”

Giving me a quick smile, Sebastian promptly answers, “De Haar?”

“Ah, yes, um, do you think it’s available on the fifth of December for ours?”

His smile keeps growing, and his face beams with joy. “Of course it is. I will take care of it myself.”

Looking at him, I can’t help but give him a big grin in return. “Thanks.” And as he continues observing me, I know there’s something else tickling his fancy. “What?”

“That’s where you want to turn her into a woman?”

My eyes widen in shock, and I can’t help but chuckle at his question. Of all the questions he could’ve asked, this seems like the weirdest of all. Does Sebastian really think Petra is still a virgin? Does he think we don’t sleep in the same bed? Didn’t Julia tell him about the miscarriage? My heart squeezes simply at the memory of it, making it difficult to even breathe. I press the brake as I close my eyes for a moment, focusing on my breathing.

“Are you alright?”

I swallow hard, taking a few more beats to breathe. “Julia didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?” he asks with squinted eyes, waiting impatiently for an answer. “You know Julia. She’s full of secrets.”

Looking at the GPS, I see we are finally arriving at our destination. “Nothing. It belongs in the past…” I tell him as I turn right again, before driving straight ahead for the last mile.

“C’mon, you’re really gonna keep secrets from me? After everything we’ve gone through?”

“I’m sorry, it’s really personal,” I say, having no desire to discuss any of it. It’s too soon for that.

“More personal than what happened twenty years ago?”

I twitch at his question. Not even your family and best friends should know the darkest side of you. And for an instant, I forgot how deep Sebastian’s been in my whole life—him and everyone else. That’s one of the reasons why I decided to leave the family office and start my own hedge fund with Roy. I ponder if I should tell him the truth or not, but if I don’t, he will most likely ask Julia and she’ll tell him anyway. It’s pointless hiding it from him.

“Petra and I lost a baby.” I pause for an instant, but I can’t control the gravity of my voice. “She had a miscarriage in the accident.”

“Fuck,” he blurts out instantly. “I didn’t know that.” Sebastian glances out the window and remains speechless for a while. In situations like these, there are indeed no words to be spoken. Then he turns his attention back to me, and I hear him say, “I’m sorry. Um, I knew about the coma and the accident, but not the miscarriage.”

“It’s alright.” Another lie. But this one hurts more that I’d like to admit. Finally, I can see Mark, the landowner, as he stands in front of his big fence, waiting for us to arrive. “Well, here we are.”

As Mark opens the fence, we drive into the open yard, and I park the car where he instructs me to. After shutting off the engine, silence fills the space between Sebastian and me. I close my eyes for an instant, rubbing tiredly at my eyelids to get rid of all the gloomy thoughts haunting me. But I know he’s witnessing all of this, which makes it even worst.

“Alex, you’re like a brother to me, you know that.” He puts a hand on my shoulder. “What’s going on? You know that whatever you tell me, it stays between us. You’ve got my entire