The Broken One (Corisi Billionaires, #1)(13)

His jacket was expensive and expertly tailored. He was tall with broad shoulders. Strong. Powerful. He filled my doorway like a linebacker. My guess was his shirt concealed a delicious set of muscled abs. Whatever he was selling, I’d take one—maybe two.

I slowly made my way upward. Nice jaw. Clean cut. Square with just the beginning of dark stubble. I indulged in a quick fantasy of how that stubble would scrape a tantalizing path as he kissed his way from my jaw down to my . . .

The stern line of his lips brought me back to reality. His mind didn’t appear to be going where mine was.

My eyes flew to his. Striking, dark, but not black. Gray? Long lashes I’d kill for. Too bad he was glaring at me. Whatever had brought him to my door, he was not happy about it. He oozed power and authority. Not a politician. Too well dressed to be a police investigator. Government official? Was one of my clients involved in something I didn’t know about?

I instantly pictured being handcuffed . . . then being handcuffed naked . . . then how he’d look handcuffed to my bed. Hey, I was a woman in my prime who hadn’t had sex since I’d brought Ava home. Four years is a long time. Still, I gave myself a mental shake. “Can I help you?”

He looked me over, and my body warmed everywhere his eyes wandered. Sadly, he didn’t look any happier when his gaze met mine again. “Miss Ellis?”

“That’s me.” I smiled. He didn’t smile back.

“I found something—”

When he brought his hand around, I saw the most glorious thing. Everything else fell away as relief swept through me. “Wolfie.” I couldn’t help myself; I launched myself at the man and hugged him so tightly I’m pretty sure the sound I heard him emit was the air I’d crushed out of him.

The sheer joy of the moment consumed me. I didn’t realize how uncomfortable I was making the man until he set me firmly back from him. I couldn’t even be offended; I was that grateful.

We stood there for a moment, me smiling ear to ear, him looking as happy as someone having a tooth extracted. He held Wolfie up. “Well, here it is.”

I was about to take him when Ava squealed from behind me. “Wolfie!” She snatched him from the man and hugged the stuffed animal to her chest, closing her eyes to savor the feel of him. She breathed him in. Spun with him. Laughed. Cried a little.

I nearly burst into tears watching her, even though I was still smiling.

“Everybody,” Ava called out, “Wolfie is home.”

Charlotte came running, along with her two brothers. She and Ava danced in a circle while Kevin and Tyler hooted and cheered. Above the mayhem, I said, “Ava, you didn’t even say thank you. This nice man found him and brought him home to us.”

Ava walked over and looked up at the towering man. I was about to prompt her a second time when she tugged on the sleeve of his jacket.

He frowned down at her.

She tugged again.

The boys raced back into the other room. Erica appeared and stood beside her daughter. She looked from my unsmiling visitor to me and wiggled her eyebrows, mouthing the word “Yummy.”

The man bent a little, and at Ava’s insistence bent further. She studied his face. “Thank you.”

A real sadness glimmered in his eyes as he answered. “You’re welcome. I’m glad he’s back where he belongs.”

“Can I hug you?” Ava asked, cocking her head to one side.

See, a better version of me. She at least asked.

Now that I’d had more time with him, I regretted my earlier impulsiveness. Nothing about him looked the least bit huggable. Fuckable, yes. Fantasy fuckable, but not more than that. Life was hard enough without looking across the breakfast table every morning at a man who didn’t know how to smile. I’m pretty sure that was why my mother left my father. It was why I had distanced myself from him. He always focused on what he didn’t have rather than what he had. There was no pleasing him, because in his core, he was not a happy person.

I swore I would never be like that.

Happiness doesn’t just happen. It’s a decision. Like anything else, it needs to be tended and protected. Negative people had no place in the new life I’d built for myself.

“Ava—” I hadn’t gone on more than first dates since bringing Ava home; they didn’t meet her. Normally she was shy around men, but not this one.

Of course, no one else had ever returned Wolfie to her.

His nod was all she needed. Still holding Wolfie, she wrapped her arms around the man’s neck in a way that mussed his hair. I half expected him to set her back from him as he’d done with me, but he just stood there, hands on his knees until she released him.

“My name is Ava.”

“Hello, Ava. My name is Sebastian,” he said in a decadently deep voice.

“Sebastian.” She said his name slowly. “My hero.”

He straightened, looking strangled in a way that pulled at my heart. He wasn’t angry. He was hurting. I put a hand on Ava’s shoulder and moved her back from him.

“Thank you,” I said, giving him the out he wanted.

Erica stepped forward. “What a nice thing—to deliver Wolfie yourself. You don’t look like someone who would want the reward, though.”

“The reward,” I said in a rush. “Of course. Oh my God. I don’t have cash on me, but I could write you a check. Hang on.”