Damn. So much for her hopeful thoughts of a pleasant evening with a reformed Sebastian. Her ex-husband hadn’t changed in the least.
Sebastian was marking his territory.
Five
S ebastian was in the doghouse and he knew it. He’d been there often enough in the past to recognize the signs of Marianna’s fast blinking and tight lips. But having been intimately acquainted with the inside of said doghouse provided the handy benefit of knowing how to get back out.
Marianna had a temper, no question, but she also usually had a forgiving heart. Yet somewhere along the line in their marriage, he’d stopped caring about making up and she’d stopped caring that he didn’t try anymore.Tonight, however, with a baby to consider, he decided it was time to capitalize on those old making-up skills with a walk along the beach. He just needed to persuade her to join in before she had time to fish out her keys and climb into her Mercedes.
She’d been ticked off with him since her hippie boss had arrived. Not that anyone else would have noticed. Sebastian had gone through the motions of a pleasant dessert meeting, pretending interest as Matthew and Ashley chose the decor for the home they were having built.
Sebastian was genuinely interested in seeing his brother and happy new fiancée, of course, but he didn’t know squat about decorating. He spent most of the evening trying to pinpoint what it was about Ward that set off his protective radar. Yet no matter how closely he watched the guy, there was never anything overt. Ward didn’t touch Marianna too much, was always deferential to her opinions and eager to hear what she had to say.
About a year ago, he’d tried to spell out his concerns about the guy to Marianna and she’d about blown a gasket explaining that just because Sebastian never wanted to have a conversation didn’t mean every man felt the same way. This proved, once again, that her boss was a topic they couldn’t discuss rationally.
Now as Ward drove down the driveway, Sebastian stood with Marianna outside her convertible prepping his strategy to divert her anger before it erupted into an argument. “Let’s let Holly run for a few minutes so we can talk away from my family.”
She was always on him about spending too much time at work and not enough time relaxing together. A walk should fit the bill.
He kept his hands in his pockets. She wouldn’t be receptive to touches yet, not until she cooled down. With stars winking overhead, the backdrop of the opaque night ocean would set the romantic mood well enough.
Hesitating, she twisted her key ring. She didn’t look quite ready to forget her anger…
Finally, she nodded an acceptance of his offer and tossed her keys on top of her portfolio on the front seat. Nobody would steal her car inside the gated confines of the Landis family compound. “A walk sounds nice. I should start getting more exercise, and there’s something I need to discuss with you.”
Yeah, he figured as much, but he would sidetrack her before she had a chance to start that “Ross Ward Fight” again.
She picked her way alongside him, heels sinking into the sandy lawn as he circled the main house toward the beach. Sea oats rustled in the distance along with the gush and roar of the waves on the shore. Holly bounded ahead and into the surf, the more playful of their pets. He’d been insistent on Marianna keeping Buddy because of the dog’s protectiveness.
Thinking of Marianna alone in the big house…
Sebastian stuffed down thoughts certain to frustrate him at a time he needed to keep his cool more than ever. It proved to be a tough enough job already with her exotic perfume scenting the breeze, reminding him of times that same scent clung to their sheets.
Marianna kicked off her shoes and jogged ahead to join their dog. Her short suit skirt left plenty of leg bare to splash through the waves, her hair tumbling down her back. The wind plastered her untucked blouse to her br**sts with an intimacy his hands ached to copy.
He scooped up her heels and watched. She’d gone from angry to laughing in the span of two minutes all because of a pup’s playfulness. Marianna’s exuberance entranced him. How long had it been since that happened? A few years into their marriage, he’d become irritated with her distractibility, no longer seeing the charm of her capricious moods.
As if she felt his eyes on her, she glanced back over her shoulder and stopped. Her arms fell to her sides again, moonlight playing with all those different shades of brown in her hair.
Tiny sand crabs scuttled past his feet as her smile faded. Once again she wore her defensive cloak of awareness from their past fights. Countless times he’d asked her to stay on topic while she demanded he quit using his lawyer logic on her and shout back, damn it. The past threatened to suck him under again with its old numbing anger at a time he needed to stay on topic. Maybe he should slip off his own shoes and—
“All right.” Marianna approached him and said, “What do you need to say now that we’re away from your family?”
He wanted the dancing Marianna back. “Is it a crime to spend time together?”
“We’re divorced, not dating.” She began walking at least, if not dancing.
He eased closer to her side as they left the house farther behind. “We have to establish neutral ground before the baby is born. Tension isn’t good for a kid.”
“I agree,” she conceded graciously—then her eyes sparked with renewed anger as bright as the starlight in the clear black sky. “I just don’t want you to think this child provides you with a magical key to resume our marriage.”
Were his plans that damn transparent? And what happened to her anger about Ross Ward? “What makes you believe I want to remarry so soon after the kick-in-the-teeth of a divorce?”
Her eyebrows pinched together, her lips pursing into a bow he burned to nip. “Sebastian, do you realize that’s the first time you’ve expressed any kind of emotional feelings regarding the divorce?”
“What kind of robot goes through something like that without being affected?”
She stayed silent, giving him his answer with a shocking clarity. He was about to explode into flames from wanting this woman and she really did see him as some kind of emotionless machine. He might not shout and pitch a fortune in crystal and dishes but he felt things. He just didn’t waste energy ruminating about them.
“Marianna, let’s get back to what you said before…” and crap, he’d just fallen into his old habit of steering things on topic. Too late now to change course, though. “Why would you assume I’ve already got a new wedding-ring set tucked and waiting in my pocket?”
“The last time I got pregnant, you insisted on doing the ‘right’ thing and I want to make sure you understand this is different.”
“We were in love then.”
She sure hadn’t labeled him a robot in those early days.
“Love?” Marianna stumbled, and he caught her elbow before she could trip to her knees in the surf. “I, uh, didn’t expect you to be this understanding of the difference between now and then.”
“Did you want me to fight for you?” Of course, this was what he was doing. She just didn’t know it. Yet.
“No, no, of course not.” She scraped her windswept hair from her face to reveal her confusion. “I only thought that with the baby…I don’t know what I thought anymore. Except that I don’t understand why you went all green-eyed monster with Ross again. He’s just a friend, but even if it was more, we’re divorced.”
A friend? Sebastian didn’t doubt for a minute the man wanted to be a helluva lot more. What did Marianna want? “Are you planning to go out with him?” He held up his hands before she could go on the defensive. “I’m honestly just curious.”
She wrapped her arms around her waist, emphasizing her lush new curves. “I’m planning to have a baby.”
“Pregnant women date, and I’m absolutely certain you will be one of the sexiest pregnant women on the planet.”
She glanced up at him through her lashes. “You’re flirting again.”
“I’m stating the obvious.” And he’d probably pushed as hard as he could for one night. It was time for a strategic step back in the interest of staying on track with his real goal—getting a ring on her finger before the pale patch of skin had time to tan over.
He didn’t have the new diamond bought yet—even he wasn’t that organized—but he didn’t intend to let grass grow under his feet while he waited around. “I realize the marriage is over,” he lied, but hey, he was a lawyer after all. “Still, I hope that we can use these next few months to rebuild our friendship. For the baby’s sake, of course.”
Stopping, she toyed with her untucked blouse grazing over her stomach. “No more nitpicking me to death about Ross?”
Any other time he would have pressed that point, but right now was about slipping into Marianna’s good graces, then back into her life. “I hear you and will do my level best to lock away all caveman tendencies.”
She laughed lightly and picked up her pace along the water’s edge again, heading toward the house. Well, damn, her temper could be diffused that easily? Either he’d missed the boat in the past or pregnancy hormones had mellowed her.
He slowed his strides to stay even with her as they walked through the ebb and flow of the tide, time passing in a semicomfortable silence. He wanted to kiss her, lower her to the sand behind a dune and celebrate their baby news the good old-fashioned way, but no doubt even a hint of that would only cut the walk short. For now, he would settle for this slice of time with Marianna that felt like a replay of their early days together.
Too soon they were nearing the house.
Marianna tipped her face into the wind. “This isn’t the way I expected things to be after we divorced. When do you think we will start fighting?”
“I hope no time soon, but I’m not counting on it.” He scooped up a piece of driftwood and tossed it ahead for Holly.
“That’s a fair assumption. Especially if you keep talking about me quitting work.”
“So warned.”
She stopped on the beach, waves lapping around her ankles. “Thank you for suggesting this. You were right. It was a nice way to unwind after work.”
“I wish I had taken the time to do it more often.” And this time he wasn’t lying.
Her eyes widened with surprise. She opened her mouth a couple of times as if searching for words before she finally said, “I should leave now.”
It was time to shift off serious footing before she resurrected the walls. “Aw, aren’t you going to walk me to my door?”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I feel so cheap.”
“Sebastian…” she warned, but a hint of laughter softened her scowl.
He passed Marianna her shoes. “Now that was flirting.”
Smiling, she snagged her heels from him. “You do it well.”
“Thanks.” He would have offered to walk her to her car, but she was safe enough on the secured property and he needed to run off the edginess from being so close to her yet being unable to touch her the way he wanted. “You go on ahead. Holly needs to exercise for a while longer.”