. . .
LILY
Sebastian Cartier was a pleasant man.
I thought about it for a while and then just... agreed. While this wasn't ideal, it was the better option. I even managed to squeeze 20 thousand dollars out of Elliot, who had just grumbled about how he thought I was making a mistake.
Maybe I was. But I couldn't live on a ship for the rest of my life. In this way, I could have some form of freedom. And that was especially helpful after being confined by my fears for so long.
I admired the diamond. "This must be expensive."
"It is," Sebastian said, eyes forcing on the part of his wrist he was tattooing.
"My bosses pay well." He glanced at me. "Are you scared of me?"
"Nah." I crossed my legs, putting the book on my lap. "I just never quite pictured my future husband to be like you."
"An incredibly handsome tattoo artist?"
"A man in love with my best friend."
"I'm not in love with Henry."
"Sure."
He shook his head. "I have a feeling you'll be a delight to marry."
"I'll be a good little wife."
"Of course," he said dryly as he finished up with his tattoo. The words were in Italian, so I couldn't understand them.
"What does that mean?" I asked, getting off the chair and walking towards him as my heels clicked on the floor.
"Just something my mother used to say a lot. Love till your heart dries."
"That is... weirdly creepy yet sort of...sweet?"
He chuckled, applying something to the tattoo. "Yeah. She was a...funny woman. I darken this tattoo every time it starts to fade."
I looked at the beautiful words on his wrist, curled in cursive, as I walked closer. He had a gift.
"So," he said, after a pause, his voice low but seeming to echo in the quiet studio. Why did he even have a studio in Australia? I didn't know. "What is going on with you and Dante?"
My heart stilled as it always did when his name was mentioned.
I gave him a shrug. "He kept me safe."
"I know for a fact that that is not it," he said, standing up as he messed around in the room. "I do not think whatever it is that we are doing can be done without trusting each other."
"We hooked up once," I mumbled. "That's it. Then my mansion sold and I left."
"How much did the mansion sell for?" he asked.
"Five million."
He frowned. "Okay. How much did Elliot take?"
"Fifty thousand."
"Where is the rest of the money?"
"Dante."
"We'll have to open up an account for you and transfer the money there," he said. "I will talk to Dante about it."
"Does Dante know about this... arrangement?" I asked, motioning at him and then at myself.
Sebastian shook his head once. "No." He looked uncomfortable for a moment. "He is going to kill me."
I was surprised. "Why would he?"
He chuckled, shaking his head, and looked down at his tattoo. "You're both so dumb-"
"I am a bestselling au-"
Henry barged into the studio.
"What did you do?" Sebastian and I asked together.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "What makes you think I did something?" He huffed, folding his arms against his chest. "Maybe I ran in here because I miss-"
"What did you do?" I repeated.
"So..." He rubbed the back of his neck again. "I sort of, kind of, maybe, told your moms that we're here and they are sort of, kind of, totally, checking in at a hotel right now."
I glanced down at my ring and then back at my best friend. "I'm going to fucking kill you-"
Sebastian grabbed me before I could launch myself at Henry. "Not in my studio," he said. "Go fight outside."
I brushed his hands off me and walked out of the studio, my heels clicking on the ground. I frowned as two bodyguards, who had been stationed outside the studio, followed me. Sebastian had assigned them to me.
I turned and watched as Henry looked everywhere but at me. "So, the weather -" he looked at the stormy sky. "It is quite nice. You write well when it is raining, don't you?"
"I will write with your blood tonight."
"You're creepy." He sighed. "They got it out of me. You know how Chelsea can be."
"I do. I still want to scream at you." I sighed. "How am I even going to be able to explain this shit show to them?" I asked. "They are going to deep fry me." I kicked a pebble with my feet, looking around. It was a fairly quiet part of town. "Which hotel?"
"That one." He nodded his head toward a building. It looked to be a mediocre hotel. My mothers may be rich, but they spend money like cheapskates. I didn't get it when I was younger, but as I grew older, I realised it was just hard for them to spend money, they valued it too highly after having so little of it.
"Lily - it's not my place, but..."
"I know," I said. "I have been avoiding them for too long. I need to tell them."
"Yeah," he said. "I can come with you if you want."
"Nah, it's alright." I rolled my shoulders to get some tension out. "Wish me luck."
"Oh, luck is not gonna help you, honey."
"Fuck right off, Henry."
His laugh followed me as I walked to the hotel.
. . .
