Chapter 11

Willow.

Ivy and I moved between the kitchen and the dining room, setting the table up. She’d left the kids at home with Chad and had insisted on joining me at home for dinner when she heard I was inviting Sebastian to my place for the first time.

My mom didn’t know about this, but I was pretty sure Ivy planned on taking that position, and it left me exasperated, but I wasn’t going to push her away, either.

“Why hasn’t he arrived yet?” she asked critically, narrowing her eyes at the front door. “You let him know dinner starts at seven, yes?”

I sighed at my friend’s antics. “I did let him know. He’s probably busy making arrangements for Andy before he even comes here. Cut him some slack, would you? Besides, it’s only five minutes past seven. He should be here soon.”

“Men need to know how to be punctual,” she said defensively. “If he can't even keep the time, how can he keep you happy?”

I stopped whatever I was doing to give her a look. She wasn't difficult on purpose, I knew she was truly worried for me, but ever since she started having way too much free time, Ivy had been doing a lot of reading, not to mention watching a bunch of TV dramas that gave her wild ideas.

Before I could open my mouth to say a thing, though, the doorbell rang.

“That’s probably him,” I said, quickly adding the finishing touches. “Pregnant women should sit down and not cause too much trouble,” I said warningly, then went to open the door.

Sure enough, it was Sebastian on the other side, and he grinned down at me as he held up a bottle of wine with a ribbon tied around the neck.

“I didn’t know what gift to bring, and I wasn’t sure what you liked, but I had this lying around, and I thought we could have it for dinner.”

I blinked at him, then chuckled. “If you were nervous, well, it’s probably warranted. My friend is joining us…and she can be a bit…much.”

He arched his eyebrows curiously, but followed me inside and to the dining room.

“Hi,” Ivy said, standing up to shake his hand, her expression serious like she was accepting a recruit for an interview. “I’m Ivy, Willow’s closest friend.”

“Hello,” he said, shooting a glance at me, but smiling politely at her. “I’m Sebastian. Willow’s…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, turning to me with a frown, and I realized we never gave a label to our relationship. It felt too awkward to call this man, who was both older than me and a father, my boyfriend.

“You don’t even know what you two are?” Ivy asked incredulously.

Sebastian looked at her in surprise, mouth open but no words coming out.

“We’re seeing each other, Ivy,” I said, cutting in. “I thought I told you already. Both of you, please sit down already, let’s not let the food go cold, okay?”

Sebastian still looked confused as he took his seat, and Ivy had her eyes on him the entire time. Everyone served their plates, and we settled down to dinner.

“So, Sebastian,” Ivy asked before either of them had even taken their first bite. “What’s your family like? How were they about your previous marriage, and do they know that you’re currently seeing someone?”

“Uh…” He looked at me.

I just shrugged at him, not eating myself because it would be too awkward to eat alone, then I glared at my friend for giving him the third degree as if he was a criminal or something.

Sebastian, good champ that he was, though, answered her question. He had both his parents and one sibling, all living in a different city. They had their opinions about his getting married, having a son and divorced within a few years. He hadn't told them about us yet, but when they next visited, he would introduce us.

That was enough to pacify her for a bit before she found some other questions to ask. I just sighed and ate as I listened to them, feeling excluded in the conversation even though I was the whole reason both of them were there. Heck, we were in my place! Then, Ivy asked a question that made my interest perk up.

“Your wife must have left you for a reason. Women don’t leave without a good reason,” she said challengingly. “I don’t suppose you’ll tell us what?”

Sebastian just hummed. “Yes, she did have her reasons,” he said. “As you said, there must be a good reason for it. She couldn’t stop fucking other men.”

His reply left both me and Ivy shell-shocked. I had the fork halfway in my mouth, and I froze like that, staring at him. Then I cleared my throat and set the fork back down on the plate. Ivy and I exchanged glances, and I could tell with just one look that she was feeling embarrassed for interrogating him now.

“Oh,” she murmured, and part of me was scared that she was going to say that he must be shit in bed. I could tell her that it was far from the case, so why did his ex-cheat and how could Sebastian say it out loud without even blinking?

The only good thing that came out of that talk, as she didn’t ask him more questions, but it was awkward at the table until she thought up a topic and started it. It was about the latest opera he’d taken me to. I surprised myself by being totally into it after he’d introduced me to it, and Ivy got dragged into the conversation as well. After dinner, he and I had wine while Ivy drank juice. He tactfully didn’t ask why, but from the glance he shot between the two of us, I had a feeling he knew already.

At the end of the evening, Ivy sat in the living room and waited for me to say goodbye to Sebastian at the door. He pulled me in for a few quick, short kisses; then he was gone.

I ended up back on the couch, where Ivy was waiting for me with a pensive expression.

“Well?” I asked, mostly for amusement, but partly serious. “Do you have your verdict?”

She nodded slowly, then turned to look at me. “He’s really into you,” she said.

Her blunt reply surprised me, and I couldn’t even laugh it off. “Um…”

“To be honest with you,” she went on before I could figure out what to say. “I never met Sebastian. I only ever saw him from a distance, but he is good looking. I didn’t really know him, but I don’t think I have to, to be able to tell that man not only has the hots for you, but he’s also probably in love with you.”

I opened and closed my mouth as I sputtered for a moment. “T-there’s no way you can tell that! Dinner wasn’t that long, and all we did was talk about opera music. Where did you see this love you’re talking about!”

Though my heart skipped a beat in hope at her words, I knew better than to accept it just like that. She might think so, but even though our relationship was more official now than before, neither of us had brought up the subject of love.

“Of course you wouldn’t notice,” Ivy scoffed at me. “How could you? You’re just as in love with him and not even hiding it; you’re just both blind to it. As an experienced outsider, I can see it perfectly, so take my word for it. He might not have come out and said it to you yet, but that man is in love with you.”