Page 18 of Home Again

Gianna gulped. She didn’t feel well and Jada wasn’t helping.

“Yes,” Sebastian said. “I’m going to hang up now. Gianna can call you back when she’s feeling better.”

“Whoa there. My girl is hurting. I need to know you’re not going to give her a bunch of shit for being in the office.”

“Scout’s Honor. I’m not going to give her shit.”

“Were you a Boy Scout?” Jada demanded to know.

“Fuck no. Now goodbye.”

Gianna opened her right eye to see how mad Sebastian was.

“Can you open both eyes?” he asked softly.

“Depends. On a scale of one to ten, how angry are you going to be if I’m able to open both eyes?” she asked.

“Ten for hurting yourself, one for snooping.”

Gianna opened her left eye. Sebastian didn’t look angry. His large hands lifted and reached around her head to tenderly probe her scalp. He winced when she did. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s get you to the office couch, then I’ll get some ice from the kitchen.”

Gianna had to lean against him in order to make her way over to the leather couch. When she started to lie down, she crinkled her nose when the smell of brandy and cigarette smoke hit her nostrils.

“What is it?”

“Armand must have spilled his drink on the sofa.”

Sebastian leaned down and took a deep breath. “Jesus.”

He picked her up and she squeaked. “What are you doing?”

“We’ll go out to the drawing-room. That couch is more comfortable anyway, along with the added bonus of not stinking.”

Gianna was shocked. She had never been carried in her whole life. At least not that she remembered. She’d been almost five when her grandparents came and rescued her, too old to be carried, and God knows that neither her dad nor mom had ever picked her up.

“Honey, relax. You’re stiff as a board. Put your arms around my neck.”

She looked up into Sebastian’s eyes and they were warm. As if a switch had been flipped, her entire body melted into his hold.

“That’s better, now put your arms around my neck.”

She did. Sebastian bent down a little bit to open the door to the office, then it felt like she was flying through the air as he strode down the hall to the drawing-room. Ever so gently he placed her onto the sofa, making sure that the back of her head didn’t hit the cushions.

“I’ll be right back with some ice, pillows, and a blanket. Here you go.” He reached into his back pocket and handed her her phone.

“You remembered this?” How could he have remembered her phone? She hadn’t even remembered her phone.

“Of course. Now call your girl and tell her what’s going on. She seemed freaked.”

“Okay.”

Sebastian left the room.

Gianna looked at her phone but she was too tired to hit Jada’s number.

* * *

This was not good.