Page 195 of Terms of Exposure
His hair was doing that messy-on-purpose thing again.
The one I'd decided wasn't attractive.
I was a liar.
His medical boot clunked against the hardwood as he crossed the room, that crooked grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"You look nice," he said, gaze dragging down my body and back up again.
I blushed, but played it off with a tease. "You sound surprised."
"I'm not. I'm just stating facts. You look nice. I'm allowed to say that."
I raised a brow. "Are you?"
"We're going on a date, aren't we?"
"It's not a date," I said automatically. "It's a double third-wheel situation."
"Keep telling yourself that." He hobbled past me toward my car. "Shall we?"
"Sebastian, I can get my own—"
But he was already moving, limping at an alarming pace across the driveway, reaching for my car door and throwing it wide with a flourish. "M'lady," he announcedwith a silly bow.
I nodded approvingly. "Such a gentleman."
He gave me a sheepish smile. "I'm not going to lie, Damien threatened to castrate me if I didn't open your door for you."
"That does sound like him," I laughed, sliding into the driver's seat.
"Have fun, you two!" Rosie called from the porch, waving like she was sending us off to prom.
Sebastian rounded the hood with that uneven gait—still healing, still pushing himself harder than he probably should—and dropped into the passenger seat with a grunt of relief.
"You didn't have to sprint," I said, eyeing his boot.
"I didn't sprint. I... enthusiastically limped."
"You're going to hurt yourself."
"Worth it." He flashed that grin. "Chivalry isn't dead, Candace. It's just slightly disabled."
I shook my head, turning the ignition.
The car rumbled to life.
Fuck yes.
I pulled out of Rosie's driveway. The evening sun slanted through the windshield, tracing the line of his jaw. The hollow of his throat.
I fixed my attention on the road.
"So," he said, fiddling with my radio. "Emma and Damien are meeting us there. Something about Damien needing to handle a work thing first."
"On a Saturday?"
"The man doesn't know how to turn off." Sebastian shook his head. "It's pathological. Emma's trying to fix it, but..." He shrugged. "Old habits."
