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Sebastian
I head back to the table after picking up two bottles of beer from the bar. Matilda is sitting in the chair nearest the corner staring out the window at the traffic that’s passing by.
We were lucky to find a secluded table in this bar. It’s packed. Most of the people here are looking for the same thing; a warm and willing body to spend the night with.
I know the drill. It was how I lived my life for many years.
Have a drink, pick up a random woman, and screw her senseless. There was never an exchange of numbers, often not even names.
It served its purpose when I needed it to.
My hookups the last few years have been anchored in casual friendships, like the one I had with Wendy. She was pushing for more time tonight and I realized that seeing her again isn’t something I want.
I set one of the beers down in front of Matilda and take the seat next to her. “We should toast to finding an open table.”
She laughs as she picks up the bottle and taps it against mine. “Here’s to luck and fate.”
I take a pull of the beer and place it down. “Tonight was fun. Cooper’s a blast.”
She sips from her bottle. “It was great. Thanks for tagging along.”
I’d follow her just about anywhere at this point. I want her to know that, but I can’t read what’s running through her mind, so I keep the conversation generic. “So you work with Carolyn?”
“She’s a vet.” She cups her hand around the bottle. “I’m not always paired up with her during exams or procedures, but we hang out in the break room sometimes.”
“Do you like what you do?”
She grins. “I do. The clinic I work at is one of the best in the city. The staff is friendly. We’re like a family.”
I sense a but sitting on the tip of her tongue, so I push. “Is it your dream job?”
She sighs as she takes another swallow of beer. “Are you asking if I want to be a veterinarian?”
Her shoulders tense enough that I can tell it’s an unwelcome question that she’s been asked too many times in the past.
“I’m asking if you could have any job in the world, would this be it?”
Her eyes widen as she studies my face. “I could ask you the same after hearing you tell Coop that you wanted to be a lawyer.”
She’s deflecting, but I won’t push. “I did want to be a lawyer.”
“A prosecutor,” she says as she leans closer to look into my eyes. “Eventually the sign on your office door would read Sebastian Wolf, Manhattan District Attorney.”
“That was the dream at one time.” I pick up the beer but place it down again before taking a drink.
We’re talking about a part of me that I’ve kept close to the vest for years. I could have lied to Cooper when he asked if I always wanted to be a cop, but I didn’t see the purpose in that. He’s a child. The least he can expect from the adults he interacts with is honesty.
I knew there was a good chance Matilda would bring it up.
“Is it still the dream?” she asks quietly. “Do you still think about becoming a lawyer?”
I rake a hand through my hair. “It crosses my mind from time-to-time.”
“Do you ever think about going for it?” She glances over my shoulder toward the bar and the dozens of people gathered there.
“Going back to school?” I chuckle. “I wasn’t a model student the first time around.”
She bites the corner of her bottom lip. “Can I tell you something?”
“Anything,” I whisper as I rest my hand on the table near hers. I want to reach out and scoop it into mine before she makes her confession.
“At least once a week someone asks me if I want to be a veterinarian.” She looks down at the table. “Sometimes it’s a person who comes into the clinic with their pet. A lot of the men I’ve dated have asked me. My parents still ask me. It’s one of those questions that I’m asked so often that I can sense when it’s coming.”
I listen intently, sensing that she’s exposing a part of herself to me.
“When I was a kid my parents would take my sisters and me to this animal retreat near San Francisco. It’s called the New Springs Pet Retreat.” She fingers the zipper on her sweater. “Maya and Frannie didn’t get the appeal. They’d pet the animals and beg to go home. I begged to stay.”
“You’ve always loved animals,” I state. It’s not a question because the answer is obvious.
“My dad is allergic to almost everything.” She sighs. “So we could never have a pet of our own, but at New Springs I would spend hours caring for the animals, feeding them, and talking to them. It was my heaven. I spent every single day of my summer vacations volunteering there until I graduated from college.”
“That’s why you became a vet assistant?” I take a sip of my beer.
“It was the next best thing to my dream job.”
“Working at the retreat full-time?” I question with a cock of my brow.
She shakes her head. “Owing it. Running it.”
“You can’t do that from New York,” I point out.
“The couple who owned it when I was a kid sold it three years ago.” She runs her fingertip along the surface of the table in a circle. “That was right around the time I graduated. I decided I needed a change, so I moved to New York.”
“The point of my very long-winded story...” She huffs out a laugh. “My point is that I had a dream but it fell through, so I found a new dream to be passionate about. I don’t need to chase after the obvious brass ring to be fulfilled. I don’t want to be a vet. I’ve never wanted to be a vet. I’m happy standing next to the vets to help them do what they love.”
“That’s what’s important, isn’t it?” I ask. “Personal fulfillment?”
“I think so.” She shrugs. “Maybe you’re not meant to work with the district attorney’s office helping them put criminals away. Maybe you’re supposed to be in that office getting the job done. If being a detective isn’t your backup dream, you owe it to yourself to pursue what you really want.”
She’s what I really want right now. I look at her gorgeous face. “Do you have any other dreams, Matilda?”
“A few,” she says simply. “Do you?”
I stare at her lips. “Many.”
“Tell me one,” she whispers as she leans even closer.
“I’d rather show you.” My voice is husky and low.
Her gaze drops to my mouth as she wets her bottom lip with a swipe of her tongue. “Show me.”
I do.
I push every reservation I’ve had to the side when I wrap my hand around the back of her neck, lean forward and press my mouth to hers for a soft kiss.
