moved into the hall to see a wet Sean stepping through the door. He caught my eye and waved, and I pointed to the phone and mouthed, One second.
He nodded, kissed my cheek, and then headed off to the bathroom.
“I don’t want to tell you how to live your life,” Mom said. “But are you sure about this? About Sean? It seems a little—”
“I’m sure, Mom.”
“And Bailey? What does he think about it all?”
And that was my cue to get off the phone. “Look, I’ve got to go. If you and Dad still want to come to town next week, let me know and I’ll tell the front desk at my building to expect you.”
“I— Okay. I’ll talk to your father and call you during the week.”
“Sounds good. We’ll talk then. Thanks for calling.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too, Mom. Bye.”
After ending the call, I made my way down to our—Sean’s—bedroom, and found him stripped down to his briefs, pulling on a dry pair of jeans.
I leaned up against the doorjamb and watched the show before making my presence known. “Well, this doesn’t bode well. Did Bailey toss you out in the rain?”
Sean glanced at me then pulled a shirt from a drawer and tugged it over his head. “Didn’t even see Bailey. Boudreaux wouldn’t let me inside.”
“What?” I straightened and walked in.
“Yeah, turns out Bailey doesn’t want to talk, see, or even let me in the house.”
Damn it. Bailey was taking this much worse than either of us had expected him to. We’d known there would be pushback, but not at this level. Bailey was always the congenial one. The lover, not the fighter.
“So now what?”
“Boudreaux said he’d call. I guess he’s going to try to help us.”
“Really?” I cocked my head to the side. “He didn’t threaten to kick your ass?”
“Shocking, right?”
“Very.” I’d figured Henri would have a great time holding this over Sean’s head. “Well, I guess we wait and see what Henri suggests. If anyone knows Bailey’s mind right now, it’d be him.”
Sean nodded and squeezed my arm. “Funny, before all of this, I would’ve said you knew Bailey the best.”
I would’ve too. But things had changed, and I wasn’t sure they’d ever be the same again. “Henri will know what to do.”
“Agreed.” Sean stepped around me and toward the door, but at the last second stopped and looked back at me. “Oh, who was on the phone? Everything okay?”
I looked down at the phone still in my hand and was about to tell him, but changed my mind. Best to tackle one thing at a time, and since Mom wasn’t sure if they were definitely coming, I’d let Sean worry about that at a later date.
“Everything’s fine.”
Sean’s eyes narrowed on me. “You sure?”
“Mhmm.” I slipped my phone into my pocket and walked over to him. “Why don’t you throw those in the laundry and then come and help me pick out a movie to watch? It’s the perfect weather for it.”
“You’re right.” Sean slipped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. “And pizza?”
I chuckled. “Why not? With this new exercise program you have roped me in to next week, I’m going to need the carbs.”
Sean slid his hand down my back to my ass. “Then you better think of a meal to eat tomorrow night, because I plan to make you work off these carbs today. In a very private and personal workout.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Uh huh. One-on-one training.”
I grinned and shoved him away from me. “Go and put your clothes in the laundry, and I’ll start searching for a movie.”
“Something with some action.”
“Okay. But also a little romance.”
Sean’s mouth parted as though he were going to have an opinion on that, but then he nodded and disappeared into the laundry room.
Sometimes opposites could attract—they just had to compromise and meet somewhere in the middle. We both knew and believed that. Now if only everyone else in our life could get on board, that would be amazing.
5
Sean
A RAP OF knuckles on my passenger window Monday morning made me unlock the car door, and Boudreaux pulled it open.
Late last night he’d reached out and asked if I was free first thing to meet, which I’d agreed to—although now I was starting to have my doubts. This was all feeling a little devious, and wasn’t that what had pissed Bailey off in the first place? If he knew about this, he would not be happy.
“Morning, Dick. How goes it?”
As Boudreaux climbed inside and shut the door