"It was the right decision. Marcus is more than capable, and I—" Sebastian paused. "I want to actually live my life instead of just managing a company."
"Your mother must have loved that."
"Catherine and I aren't speaking much these days." He dried the plate carefully. "She made it clear she doesn't approve of my choices. I made it clear I don't need her approval anymore."
"That must be hard. She's still your mother."
"It is hard, but it's also—" He searched for the right word. "Freeing. For the first time, I'm making decisions based on what I want, not what's expected of me."
Nora was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke again, her voice was small. "What do you want, Sebastian?"
"Everything. You. This. A life where I come home to Lily's laughter and your smile and the ordinary magic of being together." But he couldn't say that. Not yet. Maybe not ever. "I want to be a good father," he said instead. "I want Lily to know she can count on me. I want—" He stopped, the words catching. "I want to deserve the second chance you've given me."
Nora turned off the water, gripping the edge of the sink. Her shoulders were tense, her breathing uneven.
"Nora, what's wrong?"
"I can't do this anymore." Her voice cracked.
Sebastian's heart stopped. "Can't do what?"
"This. Pretending. Acting like we're just co-parents making schedules and discussing Lily's sleep routine when every time you walk through that door, I—" She stopped, pressing a hand to her mouth.
"When you what?" Sebastian moved closer, his pulse thundering.
Nora turned to face him, and her eyes were wet with unshed tears. "When I remember what it felt like before, when we were together and everything was simple, and I thought—" A sob escaped. "I thought we'd have forever."
"Nora, no."
"Let me finish." She sucked in a shaky breath. "You hurt me, Sebastian. When you blocked me out, when you refused to hear me, when you chose your mother's approval over what we had, it broke something in me. And I've spent two years trying to convince myself I'm over it. That I can be your co-parent and your friend and nothing more. But every time I see you with Lily, every time you show up exactly when you say you will, every time you prove you've changed—" Her voice broke completely. "It terrifies me, because I'm falling for you again, and I don't know if I can survive you leaving a second time."
Sebastian closed the distance between them, his hands framing her face, thumbs wiping away her tears. "I'm not leaving," he said fiercely. "Not this time. Not ever."
"You don't know that."
"Yes, I do." He rested his forehead against hers, breathing her in. "I know it because these last three weeks have been the happiest of my life. Not because I signed some big deal or opened a new hotel, but because I got to read bedtime stories to our daughter. Because I got to see you smile when Lily said my name. Because for the first time in years, I woke up every morning with a purpose that mattered."
"Sebastian, I love you." The words tumbled out, urgent and true. "I never stopped loving you. Even when I was too much of a coward to admit it. Even when I was engaged to someone else. Even when I convinced myself I'd moved on. I loved you. You are the best decision I ever made and the worst mistake I ever walked away from."
Nora was crying in earnest now, her hands fisting in his shirt. "You can't just say things like that."
"Why not? It's true. You want to know what I want?" Sebastian pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. "I want this. Every day, I want to come home to you and Lily. I want to help with bath time and fight about whose turn it is to do dishes. I want to wake up next to you and fall asleep knowing you're safe. I want marriage and more kids and growing old together. And every single ordinary moment in between."
"We can't just... people don't just—"
"Why not?" Sebastian's voice gentled. "We're not kids, Nora. We know what we want. We know what we lost. And I know—" his voice roughened "—I know I don't deserve another chance. I know I shattered your trust and walked away when you needed me most. But if you can find it in yourself to forgive me, to let me prove every single day that I've changed, that I choose you..." He stopped, swallowing hard. "Then I promise you, I will spend the rest of my life making sure you never doubt it again."
Nora stared at him, tears streaming down her face, her whiskey-colored eyes searching his for any hint of doubt. She must have found none, because suddenly she was kissing him. It was desperate and tender, and tasted like tears and hope.
Sebastian wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, and felt something fundamental shift into place. This... this was what home felt like. Not a place, but a person. Two people. A family.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Nora pressed her face into his neck. "If you hurt me again, I won't—if you let your mother—"
"Never." Sebastian tightened his hold. "Catherine can accept us as we are, or she can stay out of our lives, but I will never choose anyone over you and Lily again. Never."
Nora pulled back to look at him. Her face was blotchy from crying, her eyes red, her hair a mess. She'd never looked more beautiful.
"I love you, too," she whispered. "I tried not to. God, I tried so hard, but I never stopped."
Sebastian kissed her again, slower this time, savoring it. Two years of longing and regret and desperate hope poured into that single moment. When they finally separated, Nora was smiling—really smiling—for the first time since he'd walked back into her life.
"So," she said, a bit breathless, "you moved three blocks away."
"I did."
"That's very close."
"Too close." Sebastian's heart hammered nervously. "Not close enough."
Nora's smile widened. "But it's a start."
From the bedroom, Lily's voice called out: "Mama, Dada, where you go?"
They looked at each other and started laughing—that slightly hysterical laughter that comes after emotional breakthroughs.
"We're coming, baby," Nora called back.