Ordinarily he would have stopped and picked up some takeaway for dinner. But tonight he didn’t. He thought he’d wait and see if Robson was hungry. If so, they could get something together.
It wasn’t a date.
It was just a courtesy. They were sharing living space for a while. So, the way he saw it, they could share a meal.
Besides, he owed her. She’d called him about the leak. She’d arranged for the repair. She had been the one who’d had to come home and let the repairman in.
So he would buy her a meal. It was the least he could do. Simple.
But when he opened the door, she wasn’t there.
“Robson?”
Silence. Except for the dog. He was there, stretching and yawning and thumping his tail madly as Seb came in and dumped his suitcase on the floor and briefcase on the table.
The kittens were there, too, purring and meowing, noticeably bigger and even friskier than they had been on Monday. They attacked his briefcase and his shoelaces with equal enthusiasm. One scaled his trouser leg, putting tiny claw holes in the fine summer wool.
“Hey, there!” Seb lifted it off and cradled it in his hands. “Robson? You here?”
The guinea pig whistled. The rabbit didn’t even look up from crunching on its dinner. No noticeable change in them and, thank God, no more of them, either.
And no Neely anywhere.
He felt oddly deflated. Of course he had no right to expect her to be there. They hadn’t discussed dinner. It would have seemed like a date if they’d discussed it.
Well, it wasn’t a date, that was certain. It wasn’t anything because she wasn’t here.
It was only seven, though. Maybe she’d worked late. God knew he did often enough. So he took a shower and changed clothes and came back downstairs hungrier than ever.
Still no Neely.
There was however a blinking light on the desk phone. It wasn’t his phone. But he wasn’t sure it was Robson’s either. If someone had left a message for Frank, he’d have to pass it on. Seb punched the message light.
“Neel’.” It was Max’s voice. “Couldn’t reach you on your mobile. Left you a message, but thought I’d try you at your place. I’m running late. Just go on in. I’ll be there.”
Go on in?
Go on in where? His brain couldn’t help asking the question even though, in his gut, he already knew the answer. But before he could follow the thought any further, his own mobile phone rang.
He answered without even glancing at the ID. “Savas.”
“Oh, good. You’re there!” Vangie’s voice trilled in his ear. “Are you home? In Seattle, I mean?”
Seb slumped on the sofa. A kitten launched itself and landed in his lap. He winced. “Yeah. Just got back.”
“Great! We thought you’d like to come have dinner with us.” She was all bubbly and bright and eager. Seb could hear lots more bubbly bright female voices in the background. “See the progress we’ve made for the wedding!” Vangie went on. “Want to?”
No, actually he didn’t. Dealing with five of his sisters was very close to the last thing Seb wanted to do tonight.
But he said, “I’ll be there.”
Because the absolute last thing he wanted to do was sit home and think about the implications of Neely Robson having a key to Max’s house.
Neely was humming “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” when she let herself in the front door at eleven the next day.
It was beautiful—sunny and bright with not much wind. Not enough to go sailing, she’d told Max when she left his place, which was fine because she had other things to do.
“Hey, there,” she said dropping her tote bag and kneeling as she threw her arms around Harm who launched himself at her. “Did you miss me?”
“He didn’t, actually,” a harsh male voice said, “because he had me to take him out last night and this morning.”
Neely’s gaze jerked up to see Sebastian standing at the entrance to the living room. He was backlit and she couldn’t really see his features, but she had no doubt he was scowling. She gave Harm one last happy cuddle and stood up warily.
After their two phone conversations during the week, she’d dared hope they had reached some sort of friendly rapport. Obviously she was wrong.
“I didn’t neglect him,” she said firmly. “I arranged for Cody to come in last night and early this morning.
“Because you knew you were going to spend the night?” Sebastian demanded.
“Yes.”
He didn’t say anything, but she could hear his teeth grinding.
“Is there a problem? I called him this morning to make sure he’d come over and he said he did. Are you saying he didn’t?”
Sebastian opened his mouth, then shut it again abruptly. He shrugged irritably and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I never saw him.” He turned away and stalked into the living room.
Neely tossed her tote bag onto the stairs to carry up later, then followed him. “Were you here?”
He turned back to face her. “I didn’t spend the night elsewhere, if that’s what you mean?”
“Unlike me?” Neely said, capable of filling in the blank.
“Yes. Unlike you.” He bit out the words. “Was it worth it?”
“Oh, yes.” She gave him a bright smile. “It was great. We had dinner and then we went upstairs and—”
“Spare me the details,” Sebastian snapped. “How old are you?”
Neely blinked at the sudden shift in topic. “Twenty-six. Not that it’s any of your business.”
“He’s fifty-two!” The words burst from his lips. He wasn’t scowling now; he was glaring furiously.
It took Neely a second to make the leap. Then she narrowed her gaze. “You’re talking about Max, I presume?”
“Damn right, I’m talking about Max! That’s not to say he isn’t well preserved. For his age, I guess he could be considered a stud—”
“A stud?” Neely’s jaw dropped. “A stud?” She stared at him for three seconds, and then a giggle escaped her. It seemed to infuriate him.
“You know what I mean! But for God’s sake, you’ve got skills, talent. You win prizes! You don’t have to sleep with the boss to get ahead!”
She hesitated only a moment. Then she twirled a long curl around her finger as if considering the question.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said. “I believe it’s a tried-and-true method in some companies.”
Sebastian’s jaw locked. She thought she could see steam coming out of his ears. Served him right, she thought.
“And as you say, Max is very attractive…for his age.” She giggled again, as if enjoying some private reflection.
“You’re more attracted to me than you are to Max.” He said the words flatly, yet there was a wealth of challenge in them, and he looked at her as if daring her to deny them.
She opened her mouth, then shut it again.