The Broken One (Corisi Billionaires, #1)(32)

Pathetic.

My first attempt at being a seductress? Fail.

I replayed the brief phone conversation I’d had with Sebastian before he’d sent that final text. Calling him, propositioning him, attempting to sound sexy had been so far outside my comfort zone that I’d shut down as soon as I didn’t get an instant yes.

And I’d been angry.

But it wasn’t him I was really upset with—it was me.

“Hey, Heather.” A male voice broke into my reverie.

I looked up and smiled at the familiar face. “Levi. Hi. What are you doing in town?” He and I had gone out on one date a year before—set up by Erica. He owned a manufacturing company in Hartford.

“Up for the weekend to see friends.” He looked me over as I did him. Still tall, blond, good looking. Younger than Sebastian. His hazel eyes sparkled when they met mine. “We should get together while I’m here.”

I wanted to feel something, but I didn’t. “I’d love to, but my weekend is packed.”

He looked down at the contents of my basket. “Hot date?”

I almost said, “I wish,” but decided that would give him the entirely wrong impression. I defaulted to my most common excuse. “No, I have Ava. This is for crepes. We’re doing a big sleepover with some of her friends, and they love them. Parenting fills all my free time.”

“I remember.” He nodded slowly. “If you change your mind, you have my number.”

“If I don’t get going, I’ll be late to pick her up.” I gave him that awkward smile women do when they know there is nowhere a conversation can go and pushed my cart forward a foot. “It was nice to see you.”

I walked away and let out a relieved breath. An image of Sebastian came to me before I’d even rounded the corner. A smug one, because he knew if he’d asked me to find time for him that weekend I would have.

I wasn’t just craving sex—I was craving a toe-curling, wall-banging, “leave me in a glowing puddle” fuck. Levi wouldn’t give me that.

Sebastian’s intense gray eyes promised that and so much more. Just thinking about him had my stomach clenching and my sex tingling in anticipation.

I pushed my cart through the pharmacy aisle and discreetly threw a box of condoms in my carriage. I might never see Sebastian again, but the prepper in me prevailed.

In the checkout aisle, I placed my interesting assortment of purchases on the belt and didn’t look the cashier in the eye. My eyes flew to hers, though, when she said, “Don’t forget to say no to Romano.”

“I’m sorry? What did you say?”

“The Romano Superstore that is up for public vote. They already bought the property next door like it’s a done deal, but it’s not. We can stop it.”

“Romano Superstores.” I’d forgotten that connection. I’d heard of them. Did Sebastian work for them? Was it his family’s business? “Do you know a Sebastian Romano?”

“Know him? He’s the head of Romano Superstores. If you meet him, tell him we don’t want him here. I hear the first thing he’ll do is run this store into the ground—there goes my job. After it closes, he’ll swoop in and get everything for pennies without a thought of whether any of us could pay our rent. But we can stop him. Just vote no on the proposal to allow the Romano store to be built.”

“I will, thanks,” I said, because . . . well, what else could I say?

That evening, I was in the middle of a game of Twister at Erica’s home when my phone rang. I would have answered, but it was my turn to be on the mat rather than run the spinner, and I was holding my own. Ava picked up my phone. “It’s Sebastian.” Since she had a boy with that name in her class, it made sense that she could read it. Then her eyes lit up and my hand slipped, but I righted myself. “My hero.”

“Don’t you dare answer that,” I said in what I hoped was a sufficiently stern tone. Hard to pull real authority off while bent into a pretzel position with three kids. I made a move to straighten.

Charlotte’s face crumpled. “Don’t quit! I’m finally doing it right.”

“You can keep playing,” I said gently.

“Please.” Oh, she knew how to get me.

I looked back at Ava. “Put my phone down.”

“But it’s Sebastian.” She swiped to answer it. “Hi, Sebastian. We’re playing Twister. No, she’s busy. She’s playing too.”

I stood and shot an apologetic look to Charlotte. “Hold my spot. I’ll be right back.” Then I walked over to where Ava had my phone and held out my hand.

“Bye, Sebastian,” Ava said before handing my phone to me.

“Bad timing?” he asked with humor in that yummy voice of his.

“A little. I’m watching Erica’s kids for the night, and everything goes better if I tire them out.”

“With Twister? I’ve never played. You’ll have to show me how it’s done.” My face warmed, and I turned away from the children. Talking to him again was as exciting as it was embarrassing. The kind of women he dated probably would have parried with their own innuendo, but I couldn’t think of one and wasn’t willing to say much with the audience I had. He broke the awkward silence. “I don’t know what you thought I was saying when you called me the other day, but I wasn’t turning you down. I had just committed to going to Baltimore with my family to check out a school my brother has been accepted to. And my comment? I wrote it to be funny with no intention of sending—”