Happily Letter After(29)

I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep unless I responded to that damn email. So, without overthinking it, I pulled up her message and hit “Reply.”

Dear Sadie,

I appreciate you taking the time to explain everything to me. To say that I was shocked to hear the extent to which you had been interacting with my daughter—albeit from afar—is an understatement.

And while I don’t fully understand the reasoning behind your decision to let me assume you were the dog trainer, I no longer believe that you intended any malice. So let’s just forget about the latter.

The fact of the matter is, your unexplained absence has put my daughter in some kind of funk. I don’t even care whether or not the damn dog can jump over your back or whether he sits or humps a turtle. I just want to see my daughter happy. And it’s apparent that your being here, even for that brief time, made her happy, as she’d found someone she could relate to. I can’t believe I’m about to say this. In fact, I may need to get my head checked . . . but would you consider coming back a few more times to “train” Marmaduke? That way you could plan your eventual exit more gently than the one I forced upon you. We could tell Birdie that you just had to take some time off and that you’ve returned to finish the job.

I realize that perhaps the crazy has rubbed off on me a bit with this suggestion. I will certainly understand if you don’t wish to return, especially after the way I kicked you out. But hopefully, you understand why I did it, given what I was led to believe at the time. In any case, I’m sorry for being so harsh and for not allowing you a moment to explain.

Let me know if you’d be willing to take me up on my offer. I’d pay you double or triple for your time. You’d basically have to do nothing more than keep Marmaduke alive. Given that you’ve saved his life once already, I trust you can handle that. (That was my best attempt at making light of things and moving forward.)

Sincerely,

Sebastian Maxwell





CHAPTER 12

SADIE

I might’ve been more nervous than the first time that I climbed these stairs. Though today I didn’t really have a reason to be. Everything was out in the open now. Sebastian and I had exchanged a few emails, and he’d invited me back to the house. Yet for some reason, I had a really bad case of the jitters.

I took a few deep, cleansing breaths and knocked. A minute later, Birdie opened the door. Her entire face lit up, and she practically knocked me over wrapping her arms around my waist in a hug.

“Sadie! You’re back!”

Though we hadn’t discussed it, I had just assumed that Sebastian would tell his daughter I was coming today.

“Hey! Yes, I’m back. Didn’t you know I was coming?”

The voice that answered wasn’t Birdie’s. “I thought it would be a nice surprise for her, so I didn’t mention it.”

Well, I guess we were both surprised, then. Because I thought for sure Sebastian wouldn’t be home today. I bent to hug Birdie and looked up at him. He smiled, though I could see the hesitancy in his face.

“Hi. I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“Disappointed?”

Just the opposite. Although I wasn’t sure I could go through with impersonating a dog trainer in front of him now that he knew I wasn’t one.

I shook my head. “No, not at all.”

Marmaduke squeezed his way between Sebastian and Birdie and jumped up on me. He licked my face with his giant, wet tongue, which made Birdie giggle. The sound felt like a salve for a wound that I’d been nursing the past few weeks.

I scratched Marmaduke’s ears. “Hey, buddy. It’s good to see you, too. I think you grew two feet in a few weeks. You’re getting so big so fast.”

Sebastian tugged at the dog’s collar. “Down, Marmaduke. Platz!”

Shockingly, he listened.

“Uhh. Sorry about that.” His eyes dropped to my chest. “His new hobby is digging in the plants. I guess that’s what he was doing right before he came to the door.”

I looked down to find two giant dirt paw prints, one right over each of my boobs. I attempted to brush them from my white T-shirt. “It’s fine. It will come out in the wash.”

Sebastian’s eyes stared at the mess again. He shook his head and mumbled something under his breath before opening the door wide. “Come in.”

Once we were in the living room, he spoke to Birdie. “Sweetheart, why don’t you go get yourself dressed?”

“Okay!” She literally skipped to her room.

Sebastian caught my gaze. “She’s excited to see you.”

I smiled. “The feeling is mutual.”

His eyes roamed my face, and I got the feeling he was gauging my sincerity. Seeming like he found what he saw acceptable, he nodded. “Thank you for agreeing to come back.”

“I know I’ve said it in emails. But I really am sorry for everything that happened. One little lie just spiraled into another and before I knew it, I didn’t know how to get myself out of it. But I promise you. My intentions were never anything but good when it comes to your daughter.”

Sebastian arched a brow. “Just my daughter? Does that mean you have bad intentions with me?”

Uh, yeah. I have very bad intentions when it comes to you. I felt my cheeks start to heat. Luckily, Birdie ran back out and gave me an excuse to hide my face.