Page 12 of His Obsession
There are moments with him when I can see the older brother so clearly it overrides every other role he plays. He goes watchful, deliberate. Like there’s an entire side of him assessing every risk she could possibly face.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him.
“Youarea nightmare client,” he reminds me. “The last event planner you hired shut down her firm and left LA.”
“That wasn’t my fault.” I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose.
He smiles despite himself, then the smile fades just as fast. “I’m serious, Sebastian,” he says. “It never is your fault, and hell, I don’t really care about our past event planners. But you will be nice to my sister, and you will not make her quit. You’ll be careful with her.”
“Would you like a blood oath that I’m not going to make her cry at any point during the planning?”
“I’m serious, Seb,” he says firmly.
“So am I,” I say, pulling out a pocketknife.
He rolls his eyes. “Val is special. She’s built this life for herself without any help from me, and she’s really good at what she does. After what she’s been through, she deserves the win.”
I lean back in my chair and say nothing. He’s already said more than he meant to, and we both know it. If it were anyone else, he’d probably shut down, but we’ve been close friends for over a decade. Whatever he’s been hiding about his sister, he’s finally ready to share with me. If only because he doesn’t trust me around her.
He rubs a hand over his jaw. “She left New York because of a bad breakup. Really bad.”
I wait for him to continue.
He looks at the window instead of me. “That’s the short version.” He sighs. “It was a lot worse than you’re probably thinking, and I never want to watch her go through something like that again.”
I keep my face neutral, because anything else would shut him down, and because pity is usually the wrong reaction to pain.
“How bad was it?” I ask.
His expression hardens. “Think of the worst thing you can imagine. It was worse than that.”
That’s all I’m getting.
I nod once.
“I’m sorry she went through that,” I say. “But this is professional. I’ll treat her with the respect she deserves.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “You’ll treat her with more respect than you’ve ever given anyone.”
I nearly laugh.
“And you won’t sleep with her.”
“Nico—” I start, but he cuts me off.
“I’m serious, Sebastian. Let’s not pretend that’s not the reason those women get so frazzled. They’re so eager to please you after you’ve fucked them, then you go all cold and professional and they freak out.”
I sigh and have the good grace to look humbled. He’s not wrong. I’ve been known to have a dalliance with a few of my event planners. It always happens naturally, mutually. We’re working late nights, spending long hours together, and one thing leads to another. I resent the idea that I’m the reason those women flake out on me when the event rolls around, but he’s not wrong to worry.
Except I would never cross that line with Valentina. Even if she is gorgeous. Even if she has curves I can’t stop thinking about. Even if?—
“I swear to you, I would never sleep with your sister,” I say. “The thought hasn’t even crossed my mind.”
“It better not have,” he says, eyes narrowing. “Because if you’ve had even one inappropriate thought about her, I will kick your ass right now.”
“And you wonder why I’m always irritated,” I joke.
He lets out a breath, some of the tightness in his shoulders easing now that the words are out.
