“What? Why?”
I tell her the whole sorry mess. Her eyes get wider and wider as I relate all the events of the crazy day - the plagiarism accusation, the photo in the tabloid, Daniel’s phone call, the ‘I love you’ declaration.
“Wow,” she says when I’m done. “That’s a pretty eventful day. All I had to do was listen to Wyatt Lawless and Owen Lamb tell me that my menu was disorganized and scattered.”
“Ouch,” I say sympathetically. “I hope you told them where to stick it.”
She dismisses her partners with a wave. “Forget them,” she says. “I’m certainly planning to. So, your guys said ‘I love you.’ What happens now?”
“Only Daniel said it,” I clarify. “I still don’t know what Sebastian is thinking.”
She snorts inelegantly. “Sebastian Ardalan is a chef, Bailey. He’s been cooking meals for you? Packing your lunch? Making breakfast? The man loves you.” Her eyes soften. “We cooks tend to show our love with food.”
I think I’m going to cry. If that’s true, that’s probably the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. “You think?” Jasper stretches and lurches toward me, deciding that my lap resembles his next bed. I scratch him behind his ears.
“I do,” she says. “Are you stressed about your job?”
“Yeah,” I confess. “I love them, Piper. I really do. And I think that Daniel should fight back.” I sigh. “Still, I’m not looking forward to having my naked pictures all over the Internet.”
Piper gets up. “Where are you going?” I ask her.
“To put the kettle on,” she tells me. “Unless you want hot chocolate instead?”
That sounds amazing. Not as good as being snuggled between Daniel and Sebastian, but it’s a pretty close second. Jasper’s warm body in my lap helps as well. I feel slightly better. “Yes please,” I tell her.
We start spiking our hot chocolate with tequila and peppermint schnapps when Gabby comes over. She’s the only one of our gang who can make it tonight. Wendy’s working and Miki’s been scarce lately. I think her marriage is falling apart, but she won’t talk about it.
The three of us are a sad bunch. I keep glancing at my phone to see if I’ve heard from Sebastian or Daniel. Gabby’s distracted by something as well, though she insists she’s fine. And Piper’s still steaming about the criticism of her menu.
Then, Piper flips on the local news, and we discover that a fire has destroyed most of Sebastian’s restaurant. When I see that, I’ve had enough. I don’t care about the tabloids. I don’t care about Cyrus’ threats or Juliette’s conspiracies. All I care about is being with the men I love.
I rise to my feet, displacing Jasper, who jumps to the ground with an indignant yowl. “Fuck this shit,” I announce. “I’m tired of being miserable here. I’m going to find them.”
I text Daniel and Sebastian. ‘I’m coming over. Don’t try to stop me.’
Daniel replies back within seconds with instructions, because that’s the kind of thing he does. ‘The Plaza, room 221. Want me to send a car?’
‘Subway’s quicker,’ I type, a smile breaking out on my face. ‘See you soon.’
“You have to go see about a boy, Bailey?” Piper giggles, wildly misquoting Good Will Hunting.
I wink at Gabby and Piper. Now that I know I’m going to be seeing Daniel and Sebastian soon, I feel so much better. “Not one boy, ladies. I have to go see about two of them.”
41
The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Sebastian:
“I’m so sorry,” she says as soon as I open the hotel room door. “I just saw the news about your restaurant on TV.”
I draw her into my arms and hold her, taking comfort in the feel of her softness, the smell of her hair, the sweet and trusting way her head rests on my shoulder. “I missed you,” I whisper. “What a fucking day.”
We stand there for what feels like hours. Finally, I disentangle us gently, and lead her in. “You hungry?” I ask her automatically.