Page 154 of Late Nights & Love Lines

“You also bought the house next door to me in an attempt to gain my trust. And I told you, that’s fucking weird,” she hisses.

Now Thane looks thoroughly confused. “I was under the impression we’d moved on from that.”

Lottie drops her forehead to the table with a dull thud.

“Ah, as I was saying,” Sebastian interrupts again. “If you’re willing to partner with Rowan, and if that’s what she wants, I’ll make a deal with you that will, I believe, allow you to move forward as you wish to.”

My friend slowly lifts her head to stare at my amazing boyfriend. A little shiver works through my body every time the word boyfriend crosses my mind. Sebastian Walker is my boyfriend.

What is this life I’m living?

“What’s your deal?” Thane asks, pulling out his laptop from the bag at his feet. His gaze lifts to mine. “I need to take notes. I see things in black and white, and this helps me process.”

I nod and smile at him. For so many weeks I was annoyed with this man, and perhaps I’d been unfair to him. But there’s something about the way that he looks at Lottie that lets me know he’s pushing himself beyond his realm of comfort to be here, with her, and that makes him okay in my book.

Well, I might need to look into this little house-stalking issue of his, but otherwise, he might be good for her.

“That’s fine, Thane,” I say with a smile.

“My ex-wife.” Sebastian still can’t say her name without growling. He clears his throat and tries again. “She made a last-ditch effort to save her soul, or maybe she was trying to protect my kids. Anyway, when I married her, I purchased five percent stock in her father’s company. Each of my children inherited ten percent when they were born. Mya has always owned twenty percent, but in her last few months, managed to acquire another ten percent without her father knowing.”

This isn’t news to me. He’d told me as soon as he’d opened the envelope she’d given him, explaining that even though her behavior was vile, she wanted to be sure they’d always be taken care of. He’s sure it was a way to ease her guilty conscience, but I’m choosing to see it as her loving her kids the only way she knew how. But even knowing what Mya did, I don’t know where he’s going with this any more than Lottie does.

“Her father never changed the terms of my children’s inheritance. I assume that was because it never occurred to him that Mya wouldn’t will her shares and executive powers of my children’s shares back to him when she passed. But she didn’t. She willed it all to me. I now control sixty-five percent and am the majority stakeholder of The Fitzgerald Group.”

“That’s perfect. Perfect,” Thane mumbles while poking away at his keyboard with his two pointer fingers.

“I’m not sure I follow,” Lottie says. I nod in agreement.

“The Fitzgerald Group is, or was, in the top ten tech companies in the United States. It’s been mismanaged,” Thane says robotically. “But the company has the infrastructure that you require, and with the right people behind it, could be wildly successful.”

“What exactly are you suggesting, Seb?” I ask.

“I want nothing to do with that company, but I don’t want it to sink either—my children may feel differently about their mother’s inheritance someday. So what I’m proposing is selling my shares, at a deeply discounted rate, to Lottie. With the understanding that I’ll vote on behalf of my children’s shares however she needs, as long as Thane has a hand in bringing that company back from the brink of foreclosure. And that we oust Fitzgerald and his lackey Nick, of course.”

“Brilliant. That’s a brilliant plan.” Thane’s nodding excessively. I think it might be the most expressive I’ve ever seen the man.

“Why would you do that, though?” Lottie asks, crossing her arms over her chest. It’s a defensive move I rarely see her make.

Sebastian smiles. “Because I love Rowan, and she loves you. And because I’ve been sitting on this company for months now with no ideas for how to move forward. This kills two birds with one stone. It gives Rowan a career she loves, it’s a giant fuck you to the two people left in my life who think they can screw me over and come out on top, and because if the rumors are true, whatever it is that Thane’s working on will carry over to every project he touches, and that will ensure a very secure future for my children.”

He lifts his brow in her direction. “Is that reason enough?” he asks gently.

“Yes,” Thane grumbles. “A simple ‘because I want to’ would have covered it.”

Lottie rolls her eyes, then the weight she’s been carrying on her shoulders appears to lift with the twitch of her lips.

“It looks like we’re going into business together then.”

She holds out her hand, but I run around the table and hug her tightly.

“This is going to be amazing,” I whisper. “Thank you for trusting me with your baby.”

“Thank you for being my friend,” she whispers back through a cloud of emotion. “It’s going to be a ton of work.”

“We can handle it,” Thane says.

Lifting my gaze to his, I find him watching our interaction with something close to longing sheltered behind his eyes. I almost feel sorry for him. And when Lottie turns and wraps her arms around his middle, I know there’s more than business brewing between my friend and the elusive tech billionaire, Thane Wilder.

Only time will tell how it all plays out.

Come one, come all, to Sailport Bay’s Fall Festival.

This year’s theme is Good Luck and Bad Omens.