MVP (VIP Book 3) (7 page)

She smiled and sat up on the counter. “You can snowboard?” she asked, taking a sip of her shake.

“Of course, I can snowboard; I’ve been going since I was a kid. I’m actually pretty good. I’d have to go to my parents’ and get my board, though.”

“Oh…” The sadness in her tone was evident.

She bowed her head and I stepped in between her legs. “I was thinking another idea, too.”

She looked up at me. “You’re just full of them today, huh?” She narrowed her eyes as I placed my hand on her inner thigh. “Be nice,” she cautioned.

“I’m always nice, especially when I’m in between in your legs,” I teased. “What I was thinking, was that you would come back to Miami with me. I haven’t been back in almost three four, Ysa. I miss Christian like crazy, and Skype just isn’t cutting it anymore.”

She nodded. “No, I understand.”

“I also want to talk to Julia. She’s been extremely understanding of me being here, and I’d like to let her know what’s going to happen from here on out. I need to take a meeting with Yachting Enterprise’s as well.”

Her eyes followed my every word. “Yeah…definitely…that makes sense.” She played it off well, but I could see her confusion and intrigue to what I was going to say next.

“I’d love for you to meet my parents.”

“Whoa…”

I chuckled at her response. “Not only that, But I’d love for you to officially meet Christian and Julia, Ysa. I want my two worlds to unite so we can all come up with some sort of game plan for everyone involved.”

She sucked in air. “Sebastian, that has nothing to do with me.”

“It has everything to do with you. My mom would love to meet you. I talk about you all the time; they know where I am. They know everything.”

“Everything?” she asked with apprehension.

“They know the important parts. Not so much the specifics. Julia knows I’m here with you. I want to go back together and then come home together.”

“Okay…” she replied with obvious confusion.

“Okay?”

Her head was spinning with questions.

Her eyes darted all around the room, trying to process everything I was saying at a rapid speed. I could see the overwhelming perplexity of what I was requesting on her face. She wasn’t doing a good job at hiding it. Her emotions were running wild, trying to catch up with her ability to understand how serious I was about us.

“I don’t need to come home with you,” she blurted. “I live here. I don’t want to decide for you what is going to happen. I don’t want to be involved in deciding what happens with everyone else. But this is where I am, so if you want to be here, just go, figure out your shit and then come back,” she argued. 

“I’m not asking you to. I’ve already made my decision. I’m moving here. I want to sell off my equity and partnership of Yachting Enterprises; I’ve already spoken to them. They have my final offer and we need to sit down and work out all the paperwork. I don’t need to worry about money, ever. I’ve done very well for myself; Christian will have everything he needs. We will have everything we need. I want to invest in a charter business, here, with you.” I paused to let her take in my words. “I want to trade in my yacht that’s at the marina in Miami for a fishing boat and sail it back, here, with you. I’d like to talk to Julia and my parents about all of this in person, with you by my side. It’s no longer just me, Ysa; it’s us, and I want a life with you. Not just today, but tomorrow and every day after that. We’re a team now, a partnership, and I want you to be a part of the decision-making process, for me, for us, and everyone else included. It will affect you, me,
us
, as much as them.”

I stood there waiting for her to say something, but she didn’t make a sound. She stared at me like I had grown three heads or something in the last few minutes. I waited for a response, anything to let me know that we were on the same page. Still nothing. I laid my heart out to her, and she hadn’t said one thing. But if the expression on her face and the silence she’s displaying were supposed to mean something, then I was royally fucked.

Just when I think we take two steps forward, we take three back.

The silence was terrifying and it was eating away at all my insecurities.

Be patient…

I was about to say something, anything, when her phone rang, taking her out of her coma-induced daze. “I’m going to get that,” she announced, shaking her head.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah…it could be important.”

“More important than this?” I demanded, wanting an answer.

She put her hands up in the air in a frustrated gesture. “Just…chill…give me a second.” She pushed me backward, away from her, and jumped off the counter, quickly grabbing her cell phone off the dining table and sprinting out the front door.

What the fuck just happened?

I walked outside and closed the door behind me, and just started walking with nowhere in particular to go.

Please don’t follow me…I need a minute, or thirty…maybe a lifetime…

My phone kept ringing and I placed it to my ear, not caring to check who was calling. “Hello,” I answered.

“Hey, Kid, how’s my favorite troublemaker?”

I couldn’t get my mouth to move. I could barely form thoughts and sentences, which seemed to be a problem, too.

“You there? Ysabelle?” he added.

I shook my head. “Yeah…hey, Devon, what’s up?” I responded, shaken.

“You all right?”

“I don’t fucking know…” I honestly replied.

“Okay…do you want to talk about it?”

I shrugged as if he could see me. “I don’t even know what just happened…how can I talk about it if I don’t understand it,” I countered.

“How about you start from the beginning.” 

I nodded. “Umm…one minute we’re talking about going away, and then Colorado, which led to snowboarding…and then he’s telling me he’s going back to Miami to get his snowboard that is at his parents’ house…” I rambled, throwing my hands in the air and walking around in circles. “So then he’s asking me to go meet his parents…I don’t know his parents…I don’t know anyone’s parents…I don’t even know my own parents. I mean, I know my mom…but she’s a cunt…I never met my dad…” I continued, mindlessly babbling. “Yeah…” I nodded repeatedly.

“Then…he’s telling that he wants me by his side to talk to Julia and his parents…who I’m just going to meet for the first time…how the fuck does that even make sense. But get this, Devon…they know everything…so, let me tell you how that introduction is going to go, ‘Oh, hi, I’m Ysabelle, yes that Ysabelle, the one that broke up your son’s marriage…yeah…we had an affair for a year until Julia found out and then everything went to shit. But it’s okay because I’m no longer a VIP, I’m only your son’s whore now,’” I reasoned. “Doesn’t that sound awesome? To top it all off, he’s moving here and he wants to open a charter business with his fishing boat that he wants us to bring back together.” I nodded again. “So…that sums it up in a nutshell. How are you?”

“I’m great. You sound…” He hesitated. “…good…”

“Great, actually.” I hadn’t stopped nodding.

“Excellent. So…are you going to pick me up from the airport?”

I stopped nodding and frowned. “Huh?”

“I’m at the airport. I was coming to visit today, you remember? My divorce was finalized last month, you told me to come visit.”

“Holy shit, Devon! I completely forgot. Fuck…I-I-I—”

“Kid, take a deep breath, relax, I’ll take a cab. I’ll see you soon. We’ll continue this conversation, okay?” I nodded like he could see me. “Okay.”

I aimlessly walked into the bar and Sebastian was talking to Jamie, one of my employees.

“There she is,” she announced, making him turn and take in my disheveled appearance. I didn’t give him a chance to comment.

“Devon’s on his way here. Did you remember he was coming today?”

He cocked his head to the side in concern and confusion. “It slipped my mind.”

“Mine, too. I think I’m going to take a shower.”

“Ysa…”

I put my hands up in front of me to stop him. “Sebastian, please, I can’t do this right now.”

Before I could see how my response hurt him, I turned and walked upstairs.

I showered, dressed, and put myself together as best as I could. By the time I was done, I walked out into the living room; Devon was sitting on the couch with his son, Ethan, in his lap. Sebastian was nowhere to be found.

“Hi,” I sighed.

He laughed. “You look like you got ran over by a bus.”

“I feel like I did. How was your flight?”

“It was good. Ethan flirted with the girl next to me so it made it that much better.”

“That sounds about right.” I went into the kitchen. “Do you want anything to drink or eat?” I hollered.

“Yeah, I’ll take a water. We ate on the plane.”

“Who the fuck eats on a plane? Did you ride first class?”

“No, Princess Kid, we did not. I bought something at the airport and ate it on the plane. Ethan has his snacks. He’ll be good for a bit.”

I grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and handed him one, then sat on the opposite couch, facing him.

“He’s gotten big,” I acknowledged, nodding at his two-year-old son.

“That usually happens when you feed them.”

“He looks more like you than that Miami whore.” He was about to scold me for calling her that, but then nodded in agreement. “Can I say I told you so, now?” I smiled.

He chuckled. “I’m surprised it took you this long.”

“So how much did she take you for?”

“You know, I do know a thing about business, and marriage is very much a business deal. Two parties coming together and uniting, assets are very important to take into consideration when making such a huge commitment.”

I laughed. “Why, thank you, Mr. Hill, for clarifying in such great detail how that works.”

He smirked. “We had a prenup.”

I gasped. “You did know she was a whore!” I yelled.

He rolled his eyes. “No…but it’s life and I have to take care of myself. She got more than enough in the settlement and with child support, she won’t ever have to work again.”

“Ugh, you’re such a nice guy. I would have left her with nothing. She fucking cheated on you…with a bar-back, at your bar! Might I add. She’s a piece of work.”