Page 86 of Punishing His Runaway Bride
I stood, watching his little figure.
Ella was right. Five years.
These five years, she came every quarter. Every time stayed half a day. Every time left an envelope. Every time I pushed it back.
And I never went back to America. Never saw Sophie. Never saw anyone connected to my past except Ella.
I thought that was enough.
I thought if enough time passed, I could bury all of it.
But every time Leo looked at me with those green eyes, the memories came flooding back—that manor, that door, that man's face.
And those eyes.
Eyes exactly like his.
I took a deep breath, turned to organize the flower racks.
The door chimes rang.
"Welcome—" I turned my head, the rest caught in my throat.
Sebastian stood in the doorway, holding a bag of bread.
"Hey, hope I'm not interrupting?" He smiled, handed the bag to Leo who cheered and threw himself at him.
"You're always welcome."
I turned to Leo, who was excitedly picking through the bread. "Leo, what do you say?"
Leo didn't look up, just shouted loudly, "Thank you, Uncle Seb!"
"Leo!"
"It's okay." Sebastian walked over, ruffled his hair. "My name's too long anyway. This is fine."
I sighed. "You're going to spoil him, sweet mommy."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow, teasing. "No, don't call me that. You know I don't want to be his mommy."
Meeting his smiling gaze, my heart skipped a beat. I quickly looked away, changed the subject awkwardly. "Are you in town for business?"
The moment I said it, I regretted it. I shouldn't have asked.
These five years, Sebastian kept showing up like this. Every month or two, he'd "pass through" this little town, "drop by" to see us. Sometimes he brought gifts, sometimes just came empty-handed to sit awhile. He'd fixed Leo's toys, fixed my leaking pipes, blocked a drunk customer who wouldn't leave me alone on the street.
He never asked too many questions. Never asked why I lived in France alone with a child, never asked who the father was, never asked about my past.
He just appeared, helped, then left.
I knew how he felt.
But all I could do was politely keep my distance.
Sebastian turned, looked at me, those brown eyes so gentle.
"No, just passing through," he said. "Going to Nice for business. Made a detour."
