Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
“She’s my little sister,” he scoffed, as if that explained everything. “What did you expect?”
“I didn’t really expect you to be this tender with her, actually.”
He chuckled softly as he loosened his tie. “I do have a heart you know, as hard as that may be for you to comprehend.”
“I’m having a difficult time wrapping my mind around it, that’s for sure.”
Sebastian rolled his eyes, but it was obvious he was still amused. “Come on, we can hang out in my room until dinner.”
Taliana followed him upstairs, down a seemingly endless hallway, and into his bedroom. Sebastian collapsed onto his bed while Taliana took to studying the rest of his room just like he’d done to hers, or more specifically the photos in it. His desk and the wall behind it were adorned with a fair few, most of which were of him, Michael, Marcus, and Jacob.
One of the pictures, however, stood out more than the rest. Like all the others it was of Sebastian and the boys, but it had been taken at some kind of formal event. All four were dressed similarly in black suits, crisp white shirts, and black bow ties-except for Michael, whose tie was more of the hot pink variety. But it wasn’t their appearance that drew Taliana to the picture. No, it was how the photo itself seemed a little too small for its frame, and upon closer examination, she saw someone had been cut out of it.
Taliana finally managed to drag her eyes from the picture, turning back to Sebastian, who was lounging on the bed with his hands behind his head and his ankles crossed. Taliana perched on the corner of his desk.
“So,” she began slowly. “Do your parents know about everything that happened with you and your brother?”
He shook his head, his dark hair spilling into his eyes. “No, I never told them. They think everything between us is fine.”
“But you guys fight whenever you’re in the same room.”
“They think it’s just normal sibling rivalry.” A short, humorless laugh escaped his lips. “They don’t even know the beginning of it.”
His bitter tone made Taliana look away, but it didn’t stop her from asking another question. “Have you ever considered telling them?”
“And blacken the name of their firstborn son?
Never .” From her peripheral, Taliana saw him roll his eyes. “Of course I’ve considered doing it, but I probably never will.”
“Why not?”
Sebastian stayed silent for a long moment, but when he spoke again the bitterness had disappeared from his voice. “Obviously I hate what he did…” He trailed off and let out a heavy sigh as he rubbed his cheek. “But he’s still my brother and that’s never going to change. Blair was just a girl. Yeah, I loved her, but relationships come and go. Family doesn’t.”
“I think that’s the deepest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Taliana said, almost tempted to clap.
He grinned. “What can I say? I’m a deep guy.”
Taliana laughed as she moved from the desk and instead sat on the edge of his bed. She was impressed by his words, which for once didn’t make him seem like an immature brat.
“I think I like this side of you,” she mused, curling her legs underneath her.
“Oh yeah?” He laughed. “Maybe I should show my sensitive side more often.”
He lifted his hands above his head and stretched, causing his wrinkled white shirt to rise high enough to expose a swathe of skin between it and the low waistband of his pants. Taliana couldn’t help but let her eyes drift further down, something Sebastian certainly didn’t miss.
“Like what you see?” he asked, sounding like he was on the brink of laughter.
Taliana’s eyes snapped up to meet his, and she mentally scolded herself for looking. “Don’t bother fishing for compliments, Phillips,” she said tartly. “You’re not going to get any from me.”
“Oh, just admit it,” he teased, eyes glinting. “You think I’m hot.”
Try as she might, there was no way Taliana could deny it; everything about him physically was nearly perfect. She’d admired his lean, lacrosse-toned body the handful of times she’d seen him shirtless, not to mention on that one fateful night they’d spent together. It had been a while since she’d even thought about that night, but the mental images were still as vivid as ever, and she found herself getting a little lost in them.
“You’re blushing.”
Sebastian’s murmured words brought Taliana back to the present, and much to her dismay, she discovered he was right. Her eyes met his again momentarily, but she was quick to glance away, embarrassed by the memory that had surfaced.
His smile was sly as he sat up, leaning closer to her. “What were you just thinking about?”
“Nothing,” she answered quickly.
“Tell me,” he said, voice soft and persuasive.
Taliana shook her head and pressed her lips together. She was”t about to give him the satisfaction of knowing what she was thinking about. “I’m not telling you.”
He leaned in closer, that stupid grin lingering on his lips. “You were thinking about me, weren’t you?”
“No.”
“Were they dirty thoughts?”
“No!”
“So they? were dirty thoughts!” Sebastian looked absolutely gleeful. “Were you thinking of that day in the courtyard? Or better yet, were you thinking of? that night?”
“Neither!”
“Liar, liar.”
“Leave me alone,” Taliana groaned, burying her head in her hands in a futile attempt to hide her blush.
“Not until you tell me what you were thinking about.”
Taliana lifted her head enough to shoot him a defiant look. “Never.”
He laughed. “I’ll get it out of you somehow.”