Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
He held a finger up to tell her to hold on while he answered. “Yeah?”
She frowned as Sebastian’s shoulders stiffened, realizing that whoever was on the other line wasn’t saying anything he wanted to hear.
“She’s? what?” he said after listening for a moment. “Are you serious? What time? …Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there soon. Tell Mom to set an extra place, I’m bringing Taliana with me. …Don’t even try it, asshole.” He hung up a few seconds later.
“That was dear William, I’m assuming,” Michael said. “Haven’t heard from him in a while. Is he still at Yale?”
Sebastian scowled. “Not at the moment. He randomly showed up at home yesterday, just in time for some dinner party Mom’s throwing tonight.” His gaze flicked to Taliana, losing some of his animosity. “Before you even ask, no, you have no choice in this. You’re coming with me.”
Damn it. “Why?” she groaned. “I’m really not up for it.”
“Too bad. Blair is going to be there because my mother still loves her, and possibly Zak since Marcus and his family always come to these stupid things.”
Taliana glanced to Marcus, who was standing to Jude’s left. “I resent you for being related to that bastard.”
“You and me both,” he muttered, ruffling his hair. “He gives our entire family a bad name.”
“Can’t let one bad sheep ruin the herd,” Jude piped up. “You don’t see me complaining about Sebastian all the time. It’s pointless.”
“Well, I certainly complain about you,” Sebastian mumbled as he pulled out his car keys. “Come on, Talia, we need to go.”
She gave Jude a quick hug and nodded to the others. “Guess I’ll see you guys at dinner.”
Sebastian pulled up in front of her house fifteen minutes later and idled at the curb as he waited for her to get out. “I’ll be back here to get you at six. That should give you enough time to get ready.”
“Like I really need two hours to throw some clothes on,” she scoffed. “Why don’t you just come in? It won’t take me long to change and then we’ll both go to your place.”
He hesitated for a moment before shrugging and turning off the engine. “All right. Less effort on my part.”
Shaking her head, Taliana climbed out of the car and made her way to the front door, glad she’d remembered her key for once. Both her father and Katherine were at work, Marissa had cheerleading practice, and Vanessa was probably doing something with the debate team. Sebastian followed Taliana inside and upstairs, but he stepped into her room first and immediately began taking in the childhood d?cor she’d yet to remove.
“Your room is something I have nightmares about,” he said, grinning as he looked around. “Think you have enough boy band posters?”
Taliana put a hand on her hip, prepared to defend her beloved posters. “You got a problem with them?”
Sebastian shook his head but continued to grin as he took a seat on the edge of her bed. “No problem at all.”
“You better not,” Taliana muttered as she slipped past him and headed to the closet, flinging open the door. “What should I wear?”
She glanced over just in time to see him roll his eyes. “You’re asking the wrong person, Stick Girl. Just throw on a dress.”
Groaning, Taliana leaned her forehead against the cool wall. “I feel so stupid in dresses.”
“I can’t see why.” He shrugged. “You look great in them.”
Taliana didn’t miss the compliment. It was eerily reminiscent to the one he’d said just a week ago about her pictures not comparing to the real thing. She hadn’t been sure how to take that one.
“They’re just not for me,” Taliana explained, deciding to ignore his comment. “Besides, I always worry about bending over and flashing the entire world.”
Sebastian laughed and leaned back onto his forearms. “I thought you’d be worried more about that in the skirt you’re currently wearing.”
She gave him the finger before looking back into her closet. She grabbed a pair of jeans, a nice top, and flats, since there was no way in hell she was going in heels.
Without bothering to get Sebastian’s approval, Taliana she breezed into the bathroom, changed quickly, and emerged a couple minutes later to find him sprawled across her bed.
“What do you think?” Taliana asked.
He scanned her quickly before his eyes came to rest on her cleavage-well, lack thereof-which was a good enough answer for her.
“Perfect,” Taliana said, grabbing a brush off her dresser and running it through her hair a few times before tossing it back. “Let’s go.”
They arrived at his house a little later, and when they stepped into the foyer, the smell of food immediately washed over them. Servers decked out in black-and-white rushed in and out of the hallways, carrying the various items for the dinner party. Arabella Phillips was clearly going all out for this thing.
Taliana didn’t miss the look of disdain that passed over Sebastian’s face as they paused to take it all in, but it disappeared quickly when one of his sisters came around the corner.
The ten-year-old was practically the spitting image of her brother, just with a finer bone structure and longer hair. Her mouth had settled into a sneer that matched Sebastian’s, and her dark blue eyes were cool with annoyance, but the look of distaste lifted when she caught sight of her brother. She immediately launched herself at him, arms wrapping tightly around his waist.
“Hey, Lacey,” he chuckled. “Where’s Mom?”
The little girl shook her head. “No idea, but last time I saw her, she was outside screaming at the waiters and making phone calls.” Lacey shrugged as she disentangled herself from her brother, her face lighting up once again. “Did you hear Blair’s coming for dinner? I’ve missed having her around all the time.” Her eyes were wide, filled with innocence as she gazed up at Sebastian, and it occurred to Taliana that Lacey was completely unaware of what had transpired between Sebastian and his ex-girlfriend. “Haven’t you missed her, too?”
His expression was pained, but he somehow managed to pull a halfway convincing smile. “Of course I missed her,” he answered. “We were together for a long time.”
“I still don’t get why you guys broke up.” Her eyes swung to Taliana, the joy on her face fading into a look of slight confusion. “But I guess that doesn’t matter anymore.” Taliana appreciated that Lacey tried to give her a smile, but it ended up looking more like a grimace. “Hi, Talia. Anyway, I’m gonna go help Mom get everything together.”
She ran off down the hall, leaving Taliana with the sense that she wasn’t exactly welcome. Taliana shifted uncomfortably and glanced up at Sebastian, who’d just turned back to her. “She doesn’t like me,” Taliana mumbled, grimacing as she twisted the bottom of her shirt.
He shrugged. “She just doesn’t know you yet. Plus, she was really attached to Blair.”
That definitely put Taliana at a disadvantage. “I’m assuming you didn’t tell her what happened between you two?”
“She didn’t need to know,” he said quietly, as if he were afraid someone would overhear. “She’s too young. Plus, I didn’t want her to think any differently about William. I didn’t want her taking sides in a battle that wasn’t hers.”
Surprising as it was that he actually cared about someone other than himself, Taliana was glad to see what she’d always assumed about him wasn’t true.
“You really care about her, don’t you?” she asked, staring up at him with almost new eyes.