Indulgence >
The Irredeemable Billionaire
They fought constantly as kids and neighbors, and they certainly don't travel in the same circles now. But they've both grown up, and it seems like Fate has thrown them together again.
The Muse Series Series, Book 3
By Lexxie Couper
The rules have never applied to film director Sebastian Hart. He's always done what he wants, when he wants. But after one too many wild nights, Sebastian finds himself performing community service in the unlikely role of big brother to a ten-year-old boy in need of a father figure. It seems like fate is playing with him when the boy's mother turns out to be the girl he grew up next door to, the one person he's never been able to win over with his smile or charm.
After the death of her husband, Grace Wilder has her hands full working as a paramedic and being both mother and father to their son. The last thing she needs is for the bane of her teenage existence to show up, or for her son to contract a case of hero worship. Even worse is the fact that the boy who once made her life miserable has turned into a man who has the power to destroy her with his devastating smile and sexy eyes.
"I think Lexxie Couper has outdone herself with The Irredeemable Billionaire. It's fun and sweet but so full of depth and meaning, it will take your breath away. You will fall in love with Sebastian, scoundrel that he is!" –Deanna L., NetGalley
"Omg! I smiled the whole way through this book. Lexxie Couper has delivered another fantastic book that I just love. It really was impossible to put down and was such a pleasure to read." –Melinda S., NetGalley
"I loved this book. Sebastian, Grace and Cody were perfect. I really enjoyed all the Australian slang and the constant drinking of Earl Gray Tea since I'm a huge tea drinker. The book was sweet and silly and sexy and sometimes even a little heart breaking. Lexxie Couper kept me turning to pages to find out if these three got their happily ever after." –Carol H., Goodreads
"Lexxie Couper writes such delicious book boyfriends. Hands off, ladies, Sebastian is mine!" –Erika C., NetGalley
"I LOVED this story. Seriously LOVED. Every scene and moment is this book was terrific. The characters, the plot, the writing, everything was wonderful." –Shannon M., NetGalley
"This is part Cinderella, part Pretty Woman- but also just fun and delicious - I really think the Australian setting, with the accompanying fruity language, elevates this story above the standard billionaire romances. Add in cute-as-a-button Cody and I don't think even the grinchiest-Grinch would dislike this." –Alison R., Goodreads
other books in the series
Mila once had a promising career in journalism. When she ends up in front of the man who ruined that career, it seems she's been offered a chance for a little fun. But the past has funny way of creeping into the present, and secrets don't stay quiet foreve...
Series: The Muse Series, Book 3
Imprint: indulgence
Genre: contemporary
Tropes: redemption, second chance
By Carol [Goodreads Addict] November 03, 2017
RATING 4.5 STARS
The Irredeemable Billionaire is book three in the Muse series by Lexxie Couper. I have not read either of the previous books in this series and it didn't take away from my enjoyment of this book at all.
Sebastian Hart is a famous movie director. He is currently home in Sydney, Austral ...more
By Alison November 13, 2017
Four and a half stars.
This was just a charming romance that ticked all the boxes for me.
Grace Wilder is the widow of a firefighter, she is a paramedic and has a ten year old son. Perpetually stressed, perpetually overworked, perpetually late for work, taking her son to school etc etc.
Imagine her hor ...more
By Keep Calm November 20, 2017
NetGalley provided a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Irredeemable Billionaire by Lexxie Couper is an original contemporary romance. Grace Wilder is a widow working hard as a paramedic to raise her son Cody. She is shocked when her childhood neighbour appears at her front door to ...more
By Ayekah October 11, 2017
Fantabulous Book!!!! I really loved this book. It's another don't be deceived by the cover or the blurb.
Far more than that.
Set in Australia we meet Grace, single mom to son Cody and a hard working EMT, at times pulling doubles to keep them afloat. Grace is a widow, her husband was a firefighter kil ...more
By Lauren November 12, 2017
Entangled is becoming my go-to publisher for romance, and The Irredeemable Billionaire, Lexxie Couper's latest addition to the Muse series, only solidified this statement further.
Basically, The Irredeemable Billionaire made my heart so incredibly happy! I don't think there was a moment where I didn ...more
By Maria Rose November 22, 2017
In this entertaining enemies to lovers/second chance romance, Sebastian Hart, a cocky playboy movie director finds himself facing the woman he'd always scorned as a teenager for reasons he never examined closely. In an admittedly stupid move, he'd damaged store property on a whim and faced with comm ...more
By Isha November 07, 2017
The Irredeemable Billionaire (The Muse Series) by Lexxie Couper
The most precious gift is the one that is hard to obtain. It's been a long, winding road, but Sebastian finally got the message. Lexxie Couper continues to surprise me by expanding her range and getting in tune with the emotional side ...more
By Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews November 13, 2017
Well, what an interesting book this was. Lexxie Couper really did me in with her mix of nerdism, a love/hate relationship and the cutest little boy ever. But, it seemed to be lacking something. Something that I couldn't put my finger on.
Sebastian Hart was a pompous ass. Yes, that is the only way to ...more
By Caitlyn November 12, 2017
I first met Sebastian Hart in Lexxie Couper's earlier book The Mistaken Billionaire, where he was introduced as the Australian film director who books into hotel rooms as "Mick Dundee" (aka Crocodile Dundee) to maintain anonymity. Which gave me the impression that he was most likely an irrepressible ...more
By Ofelia November 13, 2017
A fun read. Sebastian Hart and Grace Wilder might have been next door neighbors when they were kids and been at each other's throats all throughout their childhood but the instant attraction they feel towards each other after meeting so many years later is off the charts. Hart might have been at Gra ...more
By Dayang February 22, 2020
It's a light, feel-good story... it's a second-chance romance between old neighbors Sebastian and Grace... they were enemies when they were younger... lost touch through out the years and one day fate delivers Sebastian to Grace's doorstep...
It's a fast-paced romance... I'm not really a fan of thos ...more
By Tami October 21, 2017
Australian English. He's a billionaire film director. She's an EMT that grew up next door. They grew up disliking one another. Now he's her son's "Big Brother". Nice contemporary romance.
This review is based on the ARC provided by the author and/or the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my h ...more
By Irene November 25, 2017
4 stars ...more
By Tracie February 29, 2020
The Irredeemable Billionaire is book 3 in the Muse series. Sometimes you may come face to face with your past so make sure it is not one you could regret. Sebastian is the arrogant billionaire who get what he wants, when he wants, Grace is a woman trying to put the pieces back together and raise her ...more
By ANNE but not Hathaway October 20, 2017
4.5 Tinsel Teeth stars"
The Irredeemable Billionaire by Lexxie Couper ticks off my checklist in a book.
First off, we're drawn to 'bullies'. When it comes to romance novels, we love those guys who seemed place in this world to give as hell a hard time most of the time, if not all the time. And ye ...more
By Bec November 22, 2017
Sebastian Hart has never been one to follow the rules, but now his rebellious ways have come back to bite him when he finds himself having to perform community service. However, being assigned as part of the Big Brother program to Grace Wilder's little boy, is a huge problem. Because they used to be ...more
By Slick October 09, 2017
Sometimes a character can be really hard to like and Lexxie Couper did a great job of writing an anti-hero in The Irredeemable Billionaire, but she tempered him with a struggling, smart, proud heroine and a quirky, intelligent young boy who stole my heart from the moment he walked on the page. I act ...more
By Angel November 30, 2017
Grace is a widow whose job is being a paramedic and she has a son named Cody. Grace had been married to a firefighter who got killed in the line of duty during a fire. It has been two years. Grace promised she would never replace her deceased husband. Then Grace's childhood neighbor Sebastian and ar ...more
By Teresa October 24, 2017
**I received a copy of Irredeemable Billionaire from Net Galley and Entangled Publishing in exchange for a voluntary and honest review**
Irredeemable Billionaire is the third book in Lexxie Couper's Muse series. I haven't read the previous two and didn't have any issues diving into this story and in ...more
By Valeen February 06, 2018
The Irredeemable Billionaire is the third in the Muse series, and like its predecessors, it's sexy with a cast of great characters.
Sebastian and Grace have a not so sweet history. When they were younger, and neighbors, he was the boy who tormented her in a case of he likes her and doesn't know it, d ...more
Childhood enemies to lovers
Life hasn't been good to Grace. She's survived an unexpected pregnancy to become a paramedic, but the death of her husband has left her completely off-kilter and beaten down.
Sebastian is a successful movie director who doesn't expect his community service to put him back i ...more
By Linda October 07, 2017
This is an enjoyable novel that gives Grace a chance to face the man who was the boy that made her childhood hell. Sebastian is all grown up and stunned when Grace answers the door when he shows up for his court ordered community service as a Big Brother. He'd always liked Grace, but dealt with it b ...more
By Phuong November 25, 2017
I enjoyed this second chance story by Lexxie Couper. Sebastian and Grace had a tense relationship when they were teenagers and now unexpectedly back in each other's lives once again when Sebastian is assigned to be her son's "big brother." I loved Sebastian and Cody's interactions together and Sebas ...more
By J.S. November 16, 2017
The Irredeemable Billionaire – 4.75 Stars – Lexxie Couper
Loved this final book in the muse series and it made me smile throughout. The chemistry between Sebastian and Grace is spot on and how wonderful is her ten-year-old Cody? The quick and easy dialogue between the two primary characters was witty ...more
By Lori November 12, 2017
Such a great story of a strong woman given a second chance at happiness with the one she never thought she liked much less could love. It was good to see Grace still stand up to Sebastian and he still admired her for it. I loved how he couldn't stay away from her or her son, even though his original ...more
Lexxie Couper
Lexxie Couper started writing when she was six and hasn't stopped since. She's not a deviant, but she does have a deviant's imagination and a desire to entertain readers with her words. Add the two together and you get erotic romances that can make you laugh, cry, shake with fear or tremble with desire. Sometimes all at once. When she's not submerged in the worlds she creates, Lexxie's life revolves around her family, a husband who thinks she's insane, a indoor cat who likes to stalk shadows, and her daughters, who both utterly captured her heart and changed her life forever. Having no idea how old she really is, Lexxie decided to go with 27 and has been that age for quite some time now. It's the best of both worlds – old enough to act mature, young enough to be silly. Lexxie lives by two simple rules – measure your success not by how much money you have, but by how often you laugh, and always try everything at least once. As a consequence, she's laughed her way through many an eyebrow raising adventure.
I'll stop at nothing to get what I want. Ruthless? Maybe. But it's what's going to help me get revenge on the woman who put my family through hell. I'm going to ruin Sienna Roberts. She has no idea I'm the mysterious benefactor commissioning...
No one would guess kindergarten teacher Lauren was once involved with a rock star. It took her fifteen years to get over Nick. When he turns up at her door, the heartbreak and years fall away, but not everything can be erased by searing passion. ...
Nothing prepared Rowan for the mountain of muscle who makes her knees go uncharacteristically weak. She doesn't believe she needs the bodyguard's help, but keeping her close is his top priority. And there's nowhere closer than in his arms....
Chris has never been attracted to a man before, but his new bodyguard, Liev, is not a regular guy. Liev can't act on an attraction to a client, but being up close and personal makes things difficult. This happy ever after is going to be hard-won....
If only Peppa didn't have pesky stage fright and the distracting off-the-charts chemistry with the drummer of the band she's auditioning for. With Peppa in his arms, Noah finds serenity, until his wild past catches up....
Sam's not bothered by his rep for being broody and arrogant until he meets prickly Lily, who has no love for the music scene or anyone in it. Lily's attraction to Sam is unwanted until she starts to wonder if there's more to him....
Witnessing the chemistry between Levi and Sonja makes Corbin believe he's found something to jolt Levi out of the grief he's locked in. This threesome is explosively perfect, but what's holding Levi back from sealing their emotional connection?...
Jaxon is sure Natalie can help his band find a perfect new lead singer. Trouble is, the last time he saw her, he broke her heart. If he's going to ask something from her, well, she wants something from him. Orgasms. But who's playing who? ...
Josh never planned to follow in his father's footsteps. But music is in his genes. Finding someone who isn't fazed by his fame is unique, but the novelty of being liked by Caitlin quickly turns to something more, no matter how much Caitlin wants to resist....
Island heat burns away all the inhibitions of an infamous rock star, a journalist hoping to break a story, and her hunky BFF firefighter, but this threesome is rocked when secrets come out and hearts and truths are exposed....
Kennedy's equally turned on by the hot Australian firefighter she had a mind-blowing one-night stand with and his hunky British cousin. The sinfully exotic island resort just got a lot hotter, because these men seem to want to share....
For years Grace Owens harbored a secret crush on her boss, Jack Macintyre. But after tragedy upends his life, Jack relocates to a remote tropical island, cutting off all contact with his past. Now Grace's new boss issues an ultimatum: return Jack to the family...
When Maddie realizes the millionaire responsible for her family's downfall is the bad boy from her past, she comes up with a plan. In exchange for his help, she'll become his mistress....
For just one night, Georgia Taylor wants to forget about her demanding job and the everyday struggles of being a single mom. The new online dating site is perfect for what she's after. But Georgia's plans fly out the window when Brent Turner, aka Sexy Dad and...
Survivalist Russ Donovan has been strong-armed into filming a new show with dainty lifestyle expert Susannah Stone, and he plans to put Little Susie Homemaker to the test...in the Adirondack Mountains. But Susannah is tougher than she looks. She's had to fight...
When commitment-phobic playboy Carter Richardson learns his aunt is terminally ill, he rushes to her bedside. Desperate to ease her mind, Carter panics and blurts out that he's engaged to his aunt's enticing protegée. Against her better judgment, Lauren Olsen...
Years ago, Deacon West took the virginity of fiery mechanic Alexandra Franco and broke her heart—or rather, doused it with gasoline, lit a match, and then walked away. Now she wants nothing to do with the wealthy, ruthless man he's become. But Deacon knows Alex...
Dr. Calla Roberts doesn't believe in fairy tales or men who are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. Which is why LA Lawyer Alex Hardy irritates the crap out of her. He's a lawyer who practices radical honesty in a city famous for make-believe....
The Take a Risk bundle by USA Today best selling author Robin Bielman includes three of her popular Take a Risk Novellas plus an additional, never-before-published Novella, One Night of Risk....
CEO Steve Nolan is wealthy, successful, and in danger. Now he has a bodyguard—a rigid, controlled woman with a smoky voice that invites steamy thoughts of rumpled sheets and oh-so-satisfying sleepless nights. So if Steve has to play the game, he's going to make...
Foster Boyd wants control of the family business before his brother's escapades ruin their reputation. Since he can't force his brother out, he needs to distract him--or reform him. Where can he find a woman willing to do anything to save his business? But...
When professional ballet dancer Victor is denied asylum, Isaiah proposes something that'll keep him in the US and safe. . .marriage. He just doesn't expect his new husband to dance away with his heart....
Lilly used to dream about her crush Derek proposing to her—just not like this. He needs a fiancé, and playing pretend with him might be the perfect distraction from her life. The engagement is supposed to be easy and light, until family and love get involve...
Rules of NegotiationIn a no-strings attached fling, NYC's most eligible bachelor, Brit Bencher, vows to make a high-powered corporate attorney, Tori Anderson, feel like a woman. But what will she do when he decides he won't take "one night stand" for an...
Hollywood surgeon Colt Travers needs a new receptionist ASAP. When the adorable—and completely broke—Selena Harris comes in needing stitches, he takes a risk and hires her on the spot. They're opposites in every way, and she's exactly what he doesn't...
Eve hoped to make one last play for the groom-who-got-away...but instead the down-on-her-romantic-luck actress instead found herself in dark corners with his successful, seductive cousin....
Logan Martin can't believe his luck when the woman who smashed his heart to smithereens walks into his bank asking for his help to save her family's brewery. What Miranda Sweet doesn't know is that Logan needs her land...
Jill Adgate wants three thingsfrom life: a successful cateringbusiness, a family, and the love of an exceptional man. What she hasis no job, a mounting pile of bills, and her outspoken best friend—who sets her up on a blind date with the man who inadvertentlyruined...
Lacey Durrant can't believe opening night of her South Beach café includes the country singer she crushed on in college. And her customers agree...he's dreamy. But Lacey can't afford Billy's playboy reputation threatening her café's image. She insists...
Social worker Allison Barrington's home went up in smoke, literally, a month before Christmas. Now the guardian of her teenage sister, she runs to the only man in the city she can trust—and the man she's determined to resist. Ethan Dane has wanted Allie since...
Luca Vasilakis needs to prove he's capable of taking over his father's billion-dollar corporation. The perfect opportunity falls in his arms in the form of Constance McMurty. What better way to improve his reputation than to get engaged to a do-gooder?Constance...
Newly widowed with a new baby, Ren Jamieson is putting her life back together after her husband's death. But when she's called to show a high-end property to a prospective client, she meets a man who makes her pulse pound like nothing she's ever known......
If Stephanie Miller doesn't find a fiancé, she's out of a job--but she never thought the man she needed would be herbrother's uptight best friend. Derek Rory may have the businesssavvy to close the deal she wants...but can Stephanie endure thismaddening...
A business arrangement. No strings, no sex, and absolutely, no love....
Copyright © 2017 by Lexxie Couper. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Where the hell is my uniform?
Grace Wilder dragged her hands through her hair. It was here somewhere.
Damn it, she was going to be late.
Where the hell—
Okay. Calm. She needed to calm. Stop. Breathe.
Closing her eyes, she forced herself to be still. One breath. Two breaths. Three.
Now, where was her uniform?
The pile of overdue ironing sat on the chair in her bedroom. Hid the chair. An accusation of multicolored fabrics and broken promises. Her uniform did not magically make itself visible.
"Stupid bloody breathing." This was bad. She had an in-service meeting with the rest of her team in less than forty minutes. It would take her more than an hour to get there—even longer if she couldn't get her fickle car to start and hit all the red traffic lights—and she was currently having a breakdown in her bedroom wearing nothing but her least frayed bra and a pair of ridiculously skimpy black undies she must have bought once upon a time, but who the hell knew when. Plus, she had to drop Cody off at Shelli's before she got to work.
Overdue ironing. Overdue laundry. Overwrought mind. Grace Wilder, this is your life.
"Cody?"
Silence greeted her desperate shout.
Of course, Cody was next door washing Justin's Great Dane. "It'll help pay the bills," he'd said.
Grace scrunched up her face. What ten-year-old was meant to worry about paying bills? Ten-year-olds were meant to be worried about what Pokémon cards they didn't have yet, or if they were going to be running onto the field at the beginning of the match. Although in Cody's case, it was more like if he would get to see the new Marvel movie or would Mum be working…again.
She let out a sigh. She was doing a bang-up job of failing at being a good mum lately, with all the double shifts and missed school events and…and…
She let out another sigh. Okay, getting worked up wasn't going to find her uniform, and Cody was not likely to have done anything with it. She hoped.
"So I go to work in my underwear," she grumbled, searching through the pile of ironing. "My little effort to making paramedics sexier."
A wry snort tore at the back of her throat. God, imagine how her fellow paramedics would react? Not to mention those patients they were called out to. How would a suspected heart-attack victim deal with their paramedic arriving in just a bra and undies?
"Well, it is summer, after all." She strode for her wardrobe and threw the doors open for what felt like the twentieth time. "At least I'd be—"
Her uniform. Hanging on its hanger. In the wardrobe.
Heat prickled her cheeks. "How the bloody hell did I miss… Argh!"
She yanked out the navy-blue pants and shirt and slid a glare at the photo of the smiling man pinned to the back of the wardrobe door. "This is all your fault."
Gary smiled back at her.
He had always been the one to keep things on track in their lives, the organized one. What with her usually on night shifts, and Gary home most of the time when not on call at the station house, the ironing and laundry and groceries were always done.
He'd found ironing relaxing. A stark contrast, he'd said, to fighting fires. He'd set up the ironing board, press play on one of a number of footy games recorded over the week, and got to it, zoning out as he kept their small family in uncrumpled clothes.
Now…now, she was doing all the ironing and laundry, or rather not doing them. And when was the last time she'd watched a game of football? Two years ago? Maybe?
She looked at the photo, a lump in her throat. "Still haven't forgiven you for getting killed." Her whisper scraped against the room's silence. "Even after all these—"
Tugging her uniform's shirt over her head, she hurried for the door. One of these days Cody would remember his key.
The doorbell rang again. "Coming, coming." Hell, her buttons weren't lined up. "We're running late, so you need to get shoes on and brush your hair straight…"
The word "away" died in her throat.
A man stood on her doorstep. Tall, lean, broad-shouldered, staggeringly good looking, with shaggy dark blond hair, golden stubble on his jaw and blacker-than-black Wayfarers covering his eyes.
A man. Sebastian Hart.
Her stomach dropped.
"Grace?" Confusion filled his voice. The voice of her most frustrating, irritating, annoying dreams. "Grace Ford?"
Grace gripped the doorknob. Was fate playing a joke on her?
A gust of hot wind from outside blasted through the open door, flaying at her legs. Her bare legs. Bare.
Yep, it seemed fate was. Crap.
Lifting her chin, she smiled at Hart. Screw him. So she answered the door in her underpants. He'd seen her in less.
Yeah. When you were three.
"Sebastian." Damn it, even the feel of his name in her mouth unsettled her, just as it had all those years ago. "It's been a long time. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Hollywood?"
Mistake Number One: letting him know you've followed his career.
Sliding his sunglasses up onto the top of his head, he ran a slow gaze over her, as if still trying to process what he was seeing.
"Grace Ford?"
Did he have to sound so stunned? And did his eyes still have to be so damn blue?
"The braces are gone. Can't call me Tinsel Teeth anymore."
Mistake Number Two: letting him know his name-calling got to you.
He shook his head, dragging a hand over his mouth as he took her all in.
"Do you want me to turn around? Do a little pirouette?"
His eyebrows shot up, and he met her direct stare. He dropped his hand and shook his head again. "Sorry. I just wasn't expecting a blast from my past when I rang the doorbell. Wow. You look good."
"And I didn't before?" She shoved her hands onto her hips. "Of course I didn't. You told me that often."
"Okay, okay, I know I was a wanker back then."
She narrowed her eyes. That was a wholly startling confession from the bane of her childhood existence.
He offered her a lopsided grin. "Peace?"
She did look good now. Her teeth were straight, she'd started wearing contacts in her midtwenties, and working double shifts had affected her time to eat. Sometimes, after collapsing into bed in the early hours of the morning, she'd remember she hadn't had a chance to eat dinner. Or lunch. Hello less curves.
Damned if she was going to fidget under his gaze. "Sure. Peace. But I'm running late, so whatever this unexpected reunion is about, can we rain check it?"
For, perhaps, never?
"Shit. I'm sorry." His expression grew apologetic. Apologetic? When had Sebastian Hart ever been apologetic? "I'm actually… Y'know, I think I'm at the wrong house." He bent backward, flicking a look over the outside wall next to the door. A frown knotted his eyebrows. "Hmm, right number." Fresh confusion filled his face, and he removed his sunglasses from the top of his head and dragged a hand through the artful mess of his hair.
It wasn't right, a guy having such incredible hair. It wasn't fair. Especially an arrogant prat of a guy who used to tease her about her hair.
Releasing a long sigh, she fought the urge to drag her fingers through the crazy mop of uncontrollable strawberry-blonde curls.
Frizz, you mean. You haven't conditioned it in ages, remember.
"I really have to go, Hart."
He nodded but didn't move.
Typical Sebastian Hart, only doing what he wanted to do. Nothing had changed since they lived next door to each other, it seemed. Back when his mother treated him and his brother like overindulged emperors who always got their way, and her parents were busy struggling to cope with her dad's MS.
Another sigh escaped her. She was tired, and late, and she didn't have time for him. She tapped her foot. "Sebastian?"
"Do you know a Cody Wilder?"
A cold prickle crept over her. She frowned. "Why?"
For a split second, he looked sheepish. In all her years of knowing him, he'd never looked such a way before. Sebastian Hart had two emotional states—smugly happy and arrogantly self-absorbed. Sheepish didn't fit his psyche, the one fostered by his doting mother, and further groomed by his phenomenal talent and success.
"I'm meant to be meeting a Cody Wilder here." He let out a chuckle, one that said it couldn't be him that had made the mistake. It had to be the world who'd stuffed up. "Do you know him?"
Gripping the doorknob again, she swallowed. "I can't help you. I'm late for work, and I have to go. Unlike you, I need to follow a clock."
The sound of the back door slamming shut shot through her. She jumped.
Of course, this would be when Cody decides to come home.
Footsteps sounded behind her. Way back in the house but heading this way.
"Bye, Hart." She closed the door. In his face. Just as the glimpse of someone lurking on her footpath with a camera in his hand caught her eye.
Who was that? Paparazzi? Reality show photographer? What was Hart's game?
Didn't matter. She had to get to work, and she had to drop Cody off at Shelli's before she did.
"Nice legs, by the way."
She jumped—again—at Sebastian's muffled laugh from the other side of the door, and then ground her teeth. "Leopard doesn't change his freaking—"
"Mum!" Cody barreled up to her, his young face etched in panic. "Mum."
"What's up?" A quick inspection confirmed the lack of gushing blood or broken bones…or both. "Can you go brush your hair?"
"Mum, you're going to be late."
Warmth swept through her. Damn, he was a good kid. Too quirky and introverted for his own good sometimes, but a good kid, despite all the missed movies and school events and—
"And you're not wearing pants."
Laughing, she turned to face him, continuing to her room in a backward jog. "True. But I am wearing my undies. And I'm wearing a smile, isn't that enough?"
She gave him her best I'm-an-adorable-idiot smile, the one that always made him crack up.
Without fail, there were the giggles. Followed by a curious frown. "Probably not."
She rolled. "Where's your sense of fun?"
He shrugged.
Reversing her backward jog, she closed the small distance between them and attacked him with tickling fingers. "Where is it? Is it here? Here?"
He giggled, squirming and trying to tickle her back.
Heart swelling, guilt lashing through her—how many other times had she needed to cut short their fun together because of work—she snatched him into a rough hug. "C'mon, bug. We are late. Go brush your hair while I put my pants and shoes on, okay?"
Disappointment shone in his eyes for a heartbeat, and then he nodded and bolted for the bathroom.
She would make it up to him. On the weekend. There was a superhero movie exhibition on at the Museum of Contemporary Art, a collection of posters and storyboards and whatnot. He'd mentioned it to her more than once after seeing it advertised in the paper last month. She'd take him to that, and if she could swap out her night shift, they could catch the Manly Ferry and have ice cream for afternoon tea. An overdue mother-son outing.
Yeah, that's what she'd do.
Once back in her bedroom, she finished getting dressed. And then the thought she'd been trying to ignore hit her. "Cody?"
Cody hurried in, brush in hand, as she was putting on her sensible black shoes.
Heart thumping faster than it should, she tugged on her laces. "Do you know who Sebastian Hart is?"
"The movie director? Sure. Why?"
Of course Cody would know who Hart was. The kid was a walking, talking movie-trivia machine.
Throat thick, she straightened and brushed out the creases in her work pants. "Do you know him?"
Cody laughed. "Like, in person? No. How could I know him? He's a famous celebrity."
How indeed. So why the hell was he turning up at their door asking for Cody?
She shook her head. "No reason. I just wondered if you knew who he was."
"Yep." A smile filled Cody's face. "He's the most famous Australian director in the world. I like his movies."
"Excuse me? He makes horror movies, disturbing dramas, and action films, doesn't he? When have you watched those kinds of movies, young man?"
The smile turned to an impish grin. "Shelli likes them. She says Sebastian Hart is a film genius."
Traitor, Shelli.
Rounding the end of the bed, Grace snagged the back of his neck in a playful grip and started hustling him from the room. "In that case, I think I will be having words with my best friend. It's the mum's job to screw you up at a young age, not the honorary aunt."
Cody laughed, shrugged her off, and ran from her room. "Race you to the car."
Warmth flooded through her as she followed him. Yeah, she really did need to see if she could swap her night shift. She owed Cody some serious mum time. But first, she needed to deal with Shelli.
Scooping up her handbag from the kitchen table, she dug out her mobile.
Hey. We need to talk. About what you're doing with Cody, she typed, adding a smiley face at the end. Shelli was amazing, her best friend since they were eight. It would take a lot to really make her angry with Shelli. Although praising Sebastian Hart's talent was getting close. Ish.
Her phone burst into life in her hand as she was shoving it back into her bag.
Shelli. Calling her.
She connected the call and pressed her phone to her ear, hurrying for the garage. "Wow, woman, that was quick." She put her hand over the receiver and shouted, "Cody? Where are you?"
"Just grabbing something to eat," came the call from the vicinity of the kitchen.
Because of course they had time for him to have a snack. "Cody. Car!"
"I meant to tell you ages ago." Worry filled Shelli's voice. "When we first did it."
"Hmmm." She pulled open the door leading to the garage, lips twisting. How long did she let Shelli stew?
Well, she did call Hart a genius, so…ten minutes at the least?
"But then you had that shit run-in with that drunk woman who tried to stab her boyfriend in Kings Cross, and I thought it would be better to tell you when you weren't so angry."
Oh man, that night, that woman… Grace had needed stitches just above her right eyebrow thanks to that woman.
"Okay, I'll forgive you." She smiled. "Just tell me there wasn't too much gore or sex or violence."
"Shelli?" Surely Shelli wouldn't have let Cody watch something like that? She wasn't a mum herself, but she was intelligent. And responsible. She'd never let Grace down in all the years she'd been caring for Cody while Grace was at work during nonschool hours.
"Errr." Was that guilt in Shelli's voice? Or confusion? "What are you talking about, Grace?"
Grace's pulse thumped. "What are you talking about, Shelli?"
Silence. Again.
"Mum?" Cody called from the kitchen. "There's a man in our front yard taking photos of our house."
Heat prickled over her.
"Shelli? What are you talking about?"
"Okay, okay, don't be mad." Yeah, definitely guilt in Shelli's voice. "Four weeks ago, when you were on the double night shift and Cody stayed over, he asked me about what I do at work. About the Big Brothers Big Sisters program."
"Why would I be mad?"
Why? Why indeed? And while we are asking the whys, why did Sebastian Hart suddenly turn up at your door asking about Cody?
The heat racing over her turned to a clammy chill.
Shelli cleared her throat. "Umm…because he asked if I could get him a big brother."
"A big…" Oh no. No.
"He didn't want you to feel bad or upset, but he sounded so excited about the idea," Shelli went on quickly. So quickly the words almost tripped over one another. "He begged me to put him in the program." She paused. Cleared her throat again. "I meant to tell you before now, but I…I forgot."
"Forgot." Holy hell, why did her chest feel like an elephant had sat on it?
"But then yesterday the organization got a call from Judge Yvonne Myers—she's a huge supporter of the program, really nice woman—with a new big brother she wanted paired with Cody ASAP, and I remembered how much he likes movies, and how he keeps saying he wants to make movies when he…"
Shelli's voice petered away, replaced by a thumping in her ears. Her pulse? Whatever it was, it was louder than a freaking cannon.
Oh no.
The heat rushed back over her. Searing away the chill.
"Mum?" Cody appeared in the hallway, a frown on his face, an apple in his hand. "The man is taking lots of photos of our house. I think there's someone—"
"Grace?" Shelli's voice scraped at her ear. "I didn't mean…"
"Mum?"
"Shelli." Hell, was that her voice? That croaky, scratchy rasp? "I think I'm going to kill you."
Cody burst out laughing.
"Grace," Shelli said. "I was only thinking about—"
Grace ended the call and slowly walked to the front door. Opened it.
Sebastian—sitting on the top step, sunglasses back in place—grinned up at her. "About bloody time. I could really do with a cuppa right about now."
"Big brother," she said. Or maybe she croaked it?
"Big brother." His grin turned sheepish, and yet at the same time it was somehow Sebastian Hartish—the grin of a man who thought he was awesome. The patented Sebastian Hart grin that had infuriated her as a teenager.
He straightened to his feet, brushed his hands over his arse, and then tossed a nod over his shoulder at the man with a camera lurking on her footpath. "Now, Cody Wilder's mother…" She couldn't miss the playful emphasis. "Do you mind if I come in? I'm kinda getting sick of having my photo taken by the bastard paparazzo over there."
Oh God, she'd kill for a cupcake right now.
Grace had changed since the last time Sebastian had seen her. Gone were the braces and the extra weight his mother used to refer to as "persistent baby fat." Gone were crooked teeth and the bookish glasses that used to always slide down her upturned, freckle-smattered nose.
Is she wearing contacts now?
The urge to lean closer to her, to study eyes he didn't remember being quite so green for the telltale signs of lenses almost made him bend at the waist.
She was still short. And even though the persistent baby fat was gone, she was still curvy. The male part of him recognized and remembered the very full breasts she'd had as a teenager. She'd always tried to hide her size in loose clothes. His mother had called her slomecky. To this day, he'd never been able to find a definition for the word, but even as a kid he'd understood the context. It had made him uncomfortable every time she used it. He once even told her not to. She hadn't listened, of course. When his mother decided on something, nothing could change her mind or ways.
In the navy-blue paramedic uniform Grace currently wore, he could just make out shapely hips as well. He'd teased her relentlessly about her hips once.
The memory traced a cold line up his spine. Why had he done that?
Oh, that's right. Harrison had mentioned how nice she looked in the dress she'd worn to the middle school dance. Sebastian—who'd long suspected his brother had the hots for Grace—didn't stop teasing her about her wobbly hips, and foofy hair, and girly pink lip gloss until she'd kicked him in the shins and shoved him on his arse. Christ, he really had been a wanker back then. There really wasn't any excuse for it.
And foofy? Had he really used the word foofy?
Her hair wasn't foofy now. The crazy copper-blonde curls were still there but more subdued than they used to be, hanging around her face, in her eyes as if just waiting for the right time to run amuck again.
Yeah, she'd definitely changed. The whip-smart, bitingly sarcastic, fearless Grace Ford—who'd challenged him every time they clashed—seemed as subdued as her hair.
Because she was a mum?
Where was the dad? Her husband? Boyfriend? Why wasn't he doing something to help her out? And come to think of it, if Cody Wilder was her kid, and Cody Wilder was almost eleven, then that meant she'd been eighteen when—
"If you're going to stare at me constantly like I'm an insect, this is going to get weird."
He blinked. "I was staring?"
She let out a sigh.
A young boy appeared at her side, curiosity shining in his big green eyes.
Cody. Had to be. Apart from the straight blond hair and preadolescent skinniness, he could be a mini-male version of her. Even the wire-framed glasses on his face reminded Sebastian of the ones Grace used to wear.
Cody, the little boy he was going to play big brother to as part of his community service.
Hell, he still couldn't believe he'd been given community service by Judge Myers. Of course, he deserved it. He had thrown a shopping trolley through the window of Sydney's main Hugo Boss store just so he could try on a hat.
That was the last time he went to a bachelor party with James Dyson, Thomas St. Clair, and Harrison. The three of them were bad influences—his younger brother the worst of them.
Bad influences, enablers, and fellow billionaires. A dangerous combination, to be sure.
And now here he was, on his old next-door neighbor's front step, unsettled by his reaction to seeing her after all these years.
Life really knew how to grab a bloke by the short and curlies sometimes.
"Hi, Cody." He stuck out his hand. "I'm Sebastian, your new big brother. Reckon you could convince your mum to let me inside?"
Cody's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "I don't know. She doesn't seem happy to see you. Are you nice?"
Sebastian laughed. Yep, definitely Grace's kid. "I am."
Grace barked out a laugh and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Like a root canal."
There was the Grace he remembered. The one that always rubbed him the wrong way.
Wrong way? Never let you have your way, you mean?
"Who's the chick, Hart?"
The coarse shout from the footpath made Sebastian grit his teeth.
Grace raised her eyebrows. "Friend of yours?"
"Theo Olsen. Scum of the earth. Makes his living in Australia by invading the privacy of celebrities." He dropped a wink at Cody. "Which I am."
Cody laughed. Shy, a little uncertain, but a laugh all the same.
Grace huffed out a sigh. "This is a lovely reunion, Seb, but I'm late for work. So if you'll just go away, that would be—"
"Go away?" Cody grabbed her hand. "But, Mum, he's my big brother. Can't he stay here with me while you go to work?"
"Who's the kid?" Theo Olsen called. "Yours?"
Without turning away from Grace and Cody, Sebastian flipped the bird at the paparazzo.
"Prick," Olsen shouted.
"Okay. We're done." Grace glared at the pap. "Sir, if you don't walk away now, I'll make sure you can't."
"Mum." Cody gasped.
Grace rolled her eyes again. "I'm late, and I don't have time for this kind of nonsense. Seb, I don't think this whole situation is going to work, so if you could just go find a different cause to throw your fame behind, that would be great. Ta."
She began to close the door.
"Mum," Cody protested.
"Yeah, Mum." Sebastian pressed his hand to the door, halting its progress. Why did his chest tighten every time she called him Seb? He'd never let anyone call him that in his entire life, but Grace had done so when they were teenagers to piss him off. Which it had. So where was his anger now? What was different?
She is.
"Please, Grace." He hadn't expected to have the door closed on him twice. He wasn't a fan of it. Olsen was going to make a fortune with the photos. Shit. "Let me come in. Not as Cody's big brother, but as me, Sebastian. You know me." He gave her his most cajoling smile. "I'm nice."
The statement had the required effect. Grace rolled her eyes, shook her head, and threw up her hands. "Fine. Come in."
Yes. Chalk one up for me.
"But not for the whole damn day. I have to go to work, and I'm now incredibly late. Instead of dropping Cody off at my friend's place, I'll call her on the way. When she gets here, you can leave. Got it?"
He grinned. "Got it."
"Does he have to?" Cody frowned. "He's funny. We can play Mario Kart and Minecraft, and all the other games you don't like playing."
Grace let out a sigh and scrubbed a hand over her face. "He does. When Shelli gets here, Seb leaves."
Cody pouted. "Okay."
She pointed a finger at Sebastian. "Cody is not allowed to leave the house, he has homework to do, and he's not allowed on any iDevice until it's done." She shot her son a quick mock scowl. "And don't believe him if he says he's allowed to eat chocolate and ice cream for lunch."
"Lunch?" Sebastian paused midstride over the threshold. "How long are you going to work for?"
"Why?" A challenging light flickered in her direct stare, and she arched an eyebrow. "Not up to making lunch for you both?"
He opened his mouth. Hell, when was the last time he'd made his own lunch? Or food for anyone else, come to think of it? When working on set, he always ate with the cast and crew from the catering truck, and when between films, he just ate out or ordered takeout.
Cody looked up at him. "Can you cook?"
No. He couldn't. Not to save himself. At least, he didn't think he could.
Cody snagged his wrist and pulled him into the house. "Yay. You can go now, Mum. Love you."
Grace hesitated. Worry swam in her eyes as she swung her gaze from Sebastian to Cody and back to Sebastian again. "Please…"
Please what? Jesus, she looked beat. Defeated somehow. It didn't sit well on her. He remembered her feisty bite when he'd teased her all those years ago. Remembered how often she'd shut him down with sharp words—and sometimes a swift kick—when he'd pushed her too far. Where had that Grace gone?
Rubbing at her eyes, she shook her head. "I can't believe I'm doing this, but I've got to go. I'll tell Shelli to get here ASAP."
"It'll be okay." He placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Trust—"
She shook him off, glared at him, and then turned to Cody. "Homework. No leaving the house, regardless of what Hart says. And no Macca's. Got it?"
Cody's mouth fell open. "So you are Sebastian Hart? Wow. I thought you were but didn't want to ask in case I was wrong. Is that why you were asking me about him earlier, Mum?"
She'd been talking about him? A wave of delight rolled through him.
"No need for the smug preening, Seb." She glared at him again. "We'll talk about this situation when I get home."
And, after giving Cody a hug, she pulled the front door closed, shook her head again, and hurried deeper into the house. Away. From him.
Squatting down beside Cody, he nudged the boy with his elbow. "She always like that?"
Cody studied him.
"You weighing me up?"
Cody nodded. "You're famous. Are you being a big brother because you want to help people or because you were told you had to?"
Whoa. Insightful little sod. His publicist had made sure his community service was kept from public knowledge. "Why do you say that?"
Cody pushed his glasses up on his face with one finger. "My mum's best friend works at Big Brother. She said two types of men become big brothers. Those that volunteer because they are really nice guys, and those that don't." He ran a speculative gaze over Sebastian, eyes narrow. "I think you're the don't kind."
"Cody, you are so like your mum."
Cody's face split into a wide grin. "Thank you. Now, want to play Mario Kart with me before Shelli gets here? Or can we make a movie? I've got an old iMac that's got iMovie on it."
Without waiting for an answer, he headed deeper into the house.
Chuckling, Sebastian straightened and scanned his surroundings. What had Grace been doing since he last saw her? How long had it been? Twelve years.
Adding his shoes to the collection of little boy shoes and the one pair of bright purple slip-ons at the front door, he studied the framed photo on the console table.
Grace and Cody at a table, a Spiderman birthday cake with nine burning candles in front of them. They were both smiling, Cody's wide and full of excitement. Grace's smile…
Tired. Almost sad. But she hugged Cody with a fierceness Sebastian couldn't miss.
"So," he murmured, a tight pressure wrapping his chest. "Where's Mr. Grace?"
He probably should have listened to Judge Myers when she was outlining Cody Wilder's family situation. Instead, he'd been scrolling through Rotten Tomatoes, waiting for early reviews to start hitting from the press screening of his latest movie, Samantha and Dave. It wasn't every day a director released a contemporary, gender-swapped film retelling the Samson and Delilah myth, after all.
"Cody?" He made his way in the direction Cody had disappeared, checking out everything around him. Whoever Mr. Grace was, there didn't seem to be any photos of him on the walls. What was the story there? "What's your dad do for a living?"
Arriving in the living room—an area half the size of his bedroom in his Point Piper home—he came to a halt at the edge of a sofa.
Cody was sitting in the middle of it, staring at the television, a Nintendo game controller in his hands, another one on the cushion beside him. Not interacting with what was on the screen. Just…staring.
He frowned. "Cody?"
"Daddy's dead."
The statement fell through the silence, husky and somehow broken.
Oh Jesus. Sebastian wiped at his mouth. His heart thumped fast. Jesus, what did he say? What did he do? He didn't do emotional shit like this. He cut stuff like this from his life. Had done since the second he realized people—his mother, his brother, his friends—would let him get away with it. He didn't waste time with other people's problems.
Mouth dry, he swallowed. This big brother deal was…was…challenging.
Cody's shoulders slumped and the game controller slipped from his hand, thudding softly onto the carpet between his feet.
Talk to him. Grow a pair and talk to him.
Lowering himself onto the spot beside the young boy, he cleared his throat. "That sucks."
Cody nodded. "Yeah."
Long silence. On the screen, Mario grinned his digitally feverish grin, waiting for someone to press A.
"My dad died when I was five," he said softly. He hadn't died. Not as such. Good old high school science teacher Oliver Hart had decided one day he'd had enough of his wife and two young sons and left. Just left. Started a new life in Brisbane with one of his ex-students. Six months later, he'd been arrested for supplying speed to one of his current students. A speed-dealing science teacher. So very Walter White-ish.
That had been twenty-six years ago. Sebastian hadn't wasted any time thinking about his father since.
Cody stopped staring at the screen and looked up at him. That was good. The screen staring had spooked him. It wasn't right for a little kid to look so…disconnected. "Were you sad?"
He frowned, the question surprising him. How did he answer? He really couldn't tell Cody what he thought of his father, that as far as he was concerned, the bastard didn't exist. For starters, Grace would probably kill him. He'd only known Grace the mother for a few moments, but there was no doubt she wouldn't want her son exposed to that kind of brutal adult thinking.
Scrubbing at the back of his neck with his hand, he shifted on the sofa. Cody waited, gaze unwavering.
"I was…changed." Changed. Talk about an ambiguous answer.
Cody narrowed his eyes and then slumped back into the sofa, stare returning to the screen. "Yeah. I got changed, too, when Daddy got killed in the fire."
A hot knot clenched in Sebastian's stomach. This was not the conversation he'd thought he'd be having with his assigned little brother when Judge Myers gave him Cody's name and address and ordered him to start ASAP. He'd thought he'd swoop in, wow the unknown kid with his fame, drop as many names he could that a ten-year-old boy would be impressed by, and swoop out again a few minutes later. Easy. Simple. Short.
Superficial. The way he kept everything in his life except his work.
Instead, he was talking parental death with the son of the girl he used to clash with all through his childhood and teenage years. A girl who was now a woman missing the very feistiness of her youth that had irritated him so much. Strangely, that fact pissed him off. A lot.
What the hell was he doing? What the hell did he say next? How the hell did he stop Cody from staring at the television with such desolation? And why the bloody hell was the fact Grace once had a husband filling him with an emotion he couldn't fathom at all?
"I bet…" Jesus, his throat was dry. "I bet your dad was awesome."
A small smile pulled at Cody's lips, sending a flood of warmth through Sebastian. "He was. Mum said he was the best dad ever."
Sebastian's stomach knotted more. "Tell me about him."