LOGINSomething flickered behind Sebastian's eyes. He wanted every detail he could get about Naomi.Years of training had taught him to keep his reactions locked down and knowing Miles, playing indifferent usually got better results anyway."Doesn't matter if you tell me or not."His voice came out unbothered, eyes fixed on the tablet in his hands like whatever Miles had was barely worth his attention.That worked exactly as intended Miles's stubborn streak flared instantly.He surged forward, snatched the tablet clean out of Sebastian's hands, and forced eye contact. "Sometimes I genuinely question whether you actually care about Naomi, or if this is all some passing whim!"Sebastian's expression stayed level.Underneath the blanket, his knuckles curled tight, his heartbeat pounding loud enough to feel in his ears.If Miles had actually looked at the tablet, he'd have noticed there was nothing open on it at all just an empty desktop.The whole "indifferent" act had been staged from the sta
Naomi wanted to pull back, but reminded herself Sebastian had saved her earlier that day and forced herself to sit with the discomfort.She genuinely couldn't figure out why he kept looking at her like that.Does he already know who I really am? Is this some kind of test?Right as the tension started to feel unbearable, a knock sounded at the door.Knock knock.Naomi paused. Sebastian pulled his gaze away and spoke, unhurried. "Come in."The door opened, and Miles stepped in with Leo.Owen followed close behind."Owen's business is more urgent." Miles found a chair and settled in easily, nodding at Owen. "Go ahead."Owen stepped forward. "Mr. Cole, Mr. Sinclair toured the bid venue he's satisfied with the setup. Bidding's officially scheduled for this Friday."He handed over the paperwork with practiced respect.Sebastian sat up, skimming through it fast. "Anything else from Marcus?"Owen hesitated, glanced briefly at Naomi standing beside the bed, then answered honestly. "He wants yo
Without much friction at all, Miles found Leo exactly where he expected to.Once he'd caught her up on his own situation, the two of them fell into an easy "madly in love" performance and walked straight out of the Reyes estate together, unbothered."Your turn to return the favor," Miles said, expression flipping instantly, laying it on thick with a pitiful look.Watching him go from commanding to helpless in under a second, Leo bit back a laugh. "What do you need?""Come with me to the Foster estate. Help me talk my grandfather down."Leo nodded and climbed back into the car with him."How long have you known Naomi?" Miles asked, casual.Leo's guard shot up instantly at the question.Still he'd just bailed her out, and the question seemed harmless enough. "Six, seven years now."Something flickered behind Miles's eyes. He kept probing, gently.Meanwhile, once Naomi got Lily settled and asleep, she headed back toward Sebastian's room.She stepped out into the hallway and found two fig
By the time he'd processed what happened, he'd already thrown himself over Naomi."No, this happened because of me." Naomi lowered her eyes, her voice going soft. "I owe you something for this."She half-expected Sebastian to wave it off politely. Instead: "How exactly do you plan to thank me?"Naomi blinked, caught off guard, then recovered. "What did you have in mind, Mr. Cole?"Sebastian's eyes settled on her. Watching her pick through her words this carefully, something in his chest tightened unpleasantly.Is she scared of me? Or is this her being upset that I still haven't recognized her?No she lost that memory in the accident. She has no idea we've already met.Take this slow."Ms. Hart. I'd say we're friends at this point, wouldn't you?" Sebastian answered a question with a non-answer.Naomi wasn't quite sure where he was going with it, but nodded anyway. "I'd say so.""Then drop the 'Mr. Cole.' Just use my name." His tone stayed even, deliberate.Something about the request m
The two of them stepped out of the bid venue.Sebastian trailed a step behind Naomi. The instant she couldn't see his face, something soft and unguarded crept into his expression. "Did you drive here?""No," Naomi said, honest.She slowed, waiting for him to catch up so they could walk side by side.Above them, a length of exposed pipe worked loose from its bracket and dropped, headed straight for Naomi.Sebastian's pupils contracted. His body moved before his brain caught up, pulling her into his chest.Clang.The pipe struck him across the back instead. His white shirt bloomed red almost instantly.Naomi found herself pressed against him, safely shielded, staring up with something conflicted and confused written across her face."Mr. Cole, you"Why would he throw himself into that for me?Wasn't Sebastian Cole supposed to be the cold, detached type, the man who never let anything touch him?Naomi's confusion deepened, but this wasn't the moment for it. "How are you feeling?"A hit l
Maybe saving Lily's life had genuinely been nothing to him no expectation of thanks, no interest in payback.Whatever agreement they'd made was probably just a professional courtesy, nothing more.Naomi settled into that explanation easily enough.She kept her guard up around strangers as a rule, more so with men.Still, something about him nagged at her that persistent, mysterious quality pulling at her curiosity despite herself. She filed away a plan to ask the director more about him next time she had a free moment.She returned to Lily's room. Lily blinked at her, confused she'd come back so fast, but read the room and didn't push."Mom, you're back!""Yeah. Came back to sit with you."Meanwhile, at the Blackwood estate.Ethan and Julian both simmered with fury, taking turns slamming things down harder than necessary just to burn off the anger.Grandma Blackwood's patience had run thin. "Well? What did Naomi say?"The second the question left her mouth, Julian broke, flooding into







