Reckless In Love (The Maverick Billionaires #2)(28)
That evening, after Charlie politely turned down his request to have dinner together again, Sebastian returned to his drawing. In fact it was that politeness that told him she’d shut down on him, just put up a wall to all the heat and sparks between them.
In his workroom, he downloaded the app she’d shown him. He was up on most of the latest technologies, but this one had slipped by him. Easy to use, it took only a few tries before he had it figured out. Charlie imported photos she then manipulated, but the app simulated just about any medium for drawing. He chose charcoals with a textured background.
He started with her eyes, those beautiful, expressive eyes. They could have been her mother’s eyes—bright, laughing, with a hint of pain always lingering behind them. But Charlie had her pain too, springing from an emotional well deep inside her. On the iPad, he filled in her cheekbones, the slope of her nose.
Unfortunately, an hour of drawing still didn’t bring the insight he needed. He’d had the stupid hope that the app itself would somehow reveal her in a way his sketchbook hadn’t. He shut it down in frustration.
At least there was one thing he knew for sure he could do right. He hit Will Franconi’s number on speed dial, knowing his friend would answer if at all possible.
It took two rings. “Hey.” Will’s voice was almost drowned out by a blast of noise around him.
“Where the hell are you?”
“Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The Edgar Winter Band is doing a free concert on the beach. It’s a madhouse here. Jeremy wanted to come.”
There was a loud shout, but Sebastian couldn’t make out a thing.
“He says free fun is the best kind,” Will translated. “He gets that from Harper.”
Jeremy was Will’s soon-to-be brother-in-law. He was a great kid, though at eighteen, he wasn’t exactly a kid anymore. Jeremy’s older sister Harper was a special woman, and she fit Will even better than a finely made suit. His friend was finally happy after all these years, so happy that Sebastian had added them to his exceptions list. No toxic love between them, that was for sure.
“What do you need?” Will asked.
“That new venture you’ve got going with the British company. The signature bone china. I need three china mugs and three matching plates.”
For two beats, all he heard was the crash of music. Until Will said, “Do you need to have your testosterone levels checked?”
“No more than you for putting the deal together with them in the first place. It’s for a friend.”
“A woman friend?” He could actually see Will’s raised eyebrow.
“Her mother.”
“Her mother? Whoa, man, if you’re getting a gift for her mother, that sounds like some serious stuff.”
As Will said it, Sebastian felt the truth deep in his core. He’d never been more serious. “Can you order it for me ASAP?”
“Hold on a minute. When do we get to meet her?”
Sebastian knew that Charlie would love Harper, Jeremy, and Will. “I’ve got to convince her to spend time with me first.”
“She’s not yet convinced?” Will made a considering sound. “Now that I hear she’s not just slavering at your feet like all your other women always have, I really want to meet her.”
Sebastian laughed. “You going to help me or not?”
“You want ultrafeminine, flowery, or classic?”
Will was trying to gauge the type of woman Charlie was. “All of the above.” She was the perfect combination of tomboy meets feminine. There was Francine to consider too.
“We just received the first shipment, so I’ll courier the pieces to you tomorrow. And if the china convinces her to fall for you, you owe me big time.”
“Thanks,” Sebastian said to the dead air, but the silence was golden. Charlie wouldn’t have to drive back to her place to pick up the china she’d forgotten, and she and her mother would have a one-of-a-kind tea set.
There were so many things he could do to make Charlie’s life easier. All he had to do was convince her to take them.
Tea cups. His money. And him.
* * *
Charlie hadn’t been sure whether Sebastian would show up at her workshop this morning after the way she’d refused his offer of dinner last night. But here he was, looking sexier than any man had a right to be in his dark slacks and crisp white button-down shirt. A billionaire’s uniform, she found herself thinking, and one he wore exceptionally well, despite having been born into extreme poverty and despair.
All night and into the early hours of the morning, the incident with her mother had wedged itself somewhere between her throat and her heart. Incident wasn’t the right word. Nothing had actually happened. She’d accepted his offer to try to help with her mother’s medical condition while turning him down on Magnolia Gardens, then lain awake berating herself for not having done enough to take care of Mom in the first place. Lack of funds was a sorry excuse.
But neither of them mentioned her mother’s illness as he entered her workshop bearing warm blueberry bagels that tasted as if they might have been fresh out of the oven.
“I can’t wait to watch you work.” He sounded like he was talking about a strip tease instead of metal cutting. Boy, could he switch on the sizzle, heating her up like plasma, turning her into molten metal.