The thought of going out there and seeing Marin . . .
“Get it together, Barnes,” he muttered.
Sebastien should have been able to put Marin out of his head once and for all after what had happened that day in the hospital, but he’d never been able to. She’d been there every day, often until the nursing staff kicked her out late at night, and she’d been the one who persisted in seeing him even when everybody else got tired of his foul temper.
Granted, he’d never really used it on her as much as the others. Even his family had tried to plan their visits around hers. He’d be an idiot not to notice that, and he’d felt like a piece of shit knowing he was pushing everybody away, but at the same time, he hadn’t cared.
He didn’t want anybody to be his cheerleader or his therapist. He was tired of his mom trying to clean up after him, and he was tired of his dad telling him that there was a reason for the things that happened.
Sebastien knew the reason this had happened—it had happened because he was an asshole and this was his punishment. Further proof of that fact was the long list of people who no longer wanted to be around him.
Trey hadn’t been out to see him ever since Sebastien had told his brother’s cute fiancée Ressa that if he wanted her opinion on something, he’d ask her advice on self-help books. Until that time? She could keep her advice for her patrons.
Trey e-mailed off and on, but Sebastien deleted them unread. Not because he was mad at his brother. Sebastien was mad at himself and he didn’t want to make things worse.
Zach still came out from time to time, but the last visit had been a month ago and Sebastien suspected he was about to give up, too. Abby already had. He’d let them both know that he’d be joining them on all those excellent VH-1 has-been shows sooner rather than later.
Abby had rolled her eyes but Zach had been pissed.
Zane and Keelie didn’t rub him the wrong way, but he had a feeling Keelie might knock his teeth down his throat if he pushed her too hard. And Zane would applaud. Travis might, too.
His father had called him a few days before Mother’s Day, and although Sebastien hadn’t answered the phone, he’d listened to the message. I know you’re going through a rough time, son. We’re trying to be here for you, but it’s hard when you don’t want us. It’s . . . It’s getting hard on your mom, her seeing you like this. If you don’t come see her on Mother’s Day, we won’t be back up there for a while. You decide when you’re ready for us to be a family again, son. We’re here for you, as soon as you decide you’re ready.
That had been three months ago.
Just two days ago, Zane had texted him and told him that he and Keelie had decided to tie the knot—in Vegas—before heading out to Virginia for Ressa and Trey’s wedding.
From there, they’d leave for their honeymoon in Italy, while Trey and Ressa were headed to Australia.
Zane expected him to be at both weddings. Zane’s unexpected one in two days, and Trey’s planned one in four.
He had little doubt as to why Marin was there.
***
“I’ve already booked two tickets. First class. We leave for Vegas in the morning and then after that, we head out to Virginia.” Marin tried to pretend she wasn’t nervous as she poured sweet tea from a thermos into a glass for Sebastien, then poured some for herself.
It was damn hard not to be nervous, though.
She’d told Zane she’d get Sebastien there.
Come hell or high water, she was going to do just that.
This breach he had put between himself and his family was eating away at him and it wasn’t like he didn’t have enough shit doing that already.
Sebastien squinted at the glass and then at her. “What’s this?”
“Sweet tea.” She smiled as she pushed the plate she’d prepared over to him. She was in between projects—actually, she had absolutely nothing planned for the rest of the year. The other movie she’d thought she’d be doing this summer folded after the director was found in bed with a teenager—and her mom. Marin honestly didn’t even want to touch the project now, and it didn’t sound like anybody else did, either. The fact that it had been a kid’s movie was probably part of the reason she was so squicked out. The son of a bitch had been sleeping with the teenager who was the star of the movie.
Marin would have been playing her mother on the show, and part of her wanted to spank the girl and beat her mom.
The fall project had been pushed to the following year. Things were always getting shifted and rearranged in Hollywood, but she rarely had several months free at once and she planned to enjoy them to the absolute fullest. Come winter, she had to hit the ground running.
But while she was enjoying her downtime, she was being lazy and enjoying some good old-fashioned comfort food—and so was Sebastien. Even if she had to force it down his throat.