The Cuddle Pact

13

Mira.

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QOTC: would you rather know when you die, or how you die?

I would want to know when I die so I can stay at home in bed all day loool.

Also, I'm very sorry for the long wait. I'm currently doing important exams and I've been so tired recently that all I do is revise and sleep. Update: I will try to make updates for this book more frequent, but I'm not on wattpad much these days x.

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"BABY, GRIND ON ME." SEBASTIAN SANG loudly, in a high pitched voice that slightly cracked at the end. I laughed against the pillows, raising my head to glance at the open door where his shirtless back came into view.

In his hands was a plate stacked with a few pancakes with melted butter and maple syrup, a beaming grin plastered on his face as he pivoted on his foot to meet my gaze, and stopped his music. Eyes that held a colour akin to coconut shells on an exotic beach radiated the warmth that strongly reminded me of the sun whilst his eyebrow rose at my facial expression.

"Dare I say it?" he began with a mirthful tone. "Mira Casey is checking me out."

Acting upon the urge to roll my eyes so far back that he laughed, I flung back on the bed and pulled the covers over my body. "I wasn't checking you out." I spluttered, blushing fiercely.

"Uh, yes you were, pumpkin." I heard the clink of the plate being placed on the table, his hands bunching the covers in his hands before he yanked them off me. "It's fine. If I was a woman, I would drool over me too."

"Conceited much?" I murmured under the mass of hair that covered my face.

He reached his hand down and swept the hair to properly meet my gaze. "Have you seen my face?" he snorted, a blush stretching across his cheeks. "In all seriousness, I'm not that bad looking."

In an attempt to not fuel his ego, I hummed. Suddenly realising that he was straddling my legs whilst shirtless, my skin tingled when his hand curled around my hip. My body warmed up before I could stop it, so awkwardly, I tilted my head to glance at the plate of food.

"You made me breakfast?"

He nodded soberly. "Step one. I was a shitty friend, and you don't deserve that." His fingers played with my hair, a small smile painted on his face when I raised my body onto my elbows to make sure I wasn't too close to him.

His words from the night before played in my head again and again like a broken record, but I pushed it back as far as I could. Climbing off me, he allowed me to grasp my plate of food and sat next to me throughout the duration of me devouring it.

"I'll get you a cup of tea." He muttered quickly, jumping off the bed.

I didn't protest since I was given a nice view of his back. Finishing the last of my pancakes, I retrieved my phone and began scrolling through my Instagram feed for the first time in weeks. However, I was shocked when I glanced at my notifications.

Ever since I met Sebastian, my attempts to ignore the limelight he had hurled me in backfired when I read a slightly hurtful comment on a photo that captured me and Ada on her birthday a couple of months ago.

'She looks like trash.'

I had no time to react when the sound of glass shattering pierced through the air. My phone was long forgotten when I raced to Sebastian, ignoring the dizziness I felt from getting up too fast and stared at him with concern.

"Sebastian, are you okay?"

He was simply staring at the puddle of milk by his feet before he snapped out of whatever trance he was in, the blush scattering across his tawny cheeks. "Fuck." He cursed when he acknowledged what he had done. "I'm good, pumpkin. The glass was wet and it slipped."

The smile he gave me was enough to make me forget everything and he placed a hand on my shoulder to steer me away from the broken glass.

"Did you eat breakfast?"

Silence followed and indicated that the answer was no. Swiftly cleaning the glass and milk up, he stepped back and leaned against the counter with a small smile. "It's heartwarming to know how much you care about me."

I glanced at him momentarily but opted to turn back around so he wouldn't see my cheesy grin. I didn't make anything extravagant, only cinnamon French toast with a berry smoothie. When I gave it to him, he leaned forward and laid a big kiss on my cheek.

"My stomach thanks you." He flashed me a grin that almost made me weak in the knees before pointing apologetically to my cup of tea. "It's probably cold now."

He slid onto the counter and began eating his breakfast when I chuckled at him. "Microwaves do exist, Sebastian."

Once breakfast was all done and dusted, Sebastian finally decided to put a shirt on, much to my disappointment as I cleaned up before meeting him in the living room. He nestled against the sofa. "My sister, Kaia is coming over today with her newborn baby." He gave me a comforting smile. "She wants to meet you."

Butterflies settled in my stomach. "She wants to?"

He nodded with a smile. "You're the first woman anyone has seen me with for a very long time, especially since my last relationship was quite some time ago."

A silence drifted upon us and I couldn't help but smile to myself. Sebastian picked up on it and laughed, his eyes twinkling.

"You're definitely something special."

Taking a seat next to him, I opted to rest my head against his shoulder and took in his usual scent that had my mouth watering. "You mean a lot to me, Sebastian. I know it's soon, but you're my favourite person right now."

He placed his head on top of mine. "Ditto, pumpkin." His fingers curled wisps of my hair as he smiled down at me. "I saw your violin in the guest room. Play me something?"

Biting my bottom lip, I nodded with a fond look painted on my face before getting up and proceeding to walk to the guest room. I had brought it to his apartment since I spent most of my time there anyway, and wanted to practice whenever I had free time.

Taking hold of my case, I felt the familiar rush whenever I was about to play the violin. There was something exhilarating about how elegant the instrument was and how beautiful the sound was.

My hands slightly shook as I held my bow and placed my violin under my chin. Closing my eyes, I began to play My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. It was a tune I knew by heart but it was also my mother's favourite song.

Due to my eyes being closed, Sebastian couldn't see them watering. Casting my gaze downwards, I blinked rapidly and bit my lip. Once I had finished, I opened my eyes to see him staring at me.

He stood up without a sound and took my violin from me, placing everything back into the case. Without saying anything, he brought me to his chest and hugged me tightly.

"You're amazing." He murmured against my hair. "Never stop playing."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The moment I saw Kaia, I had immediately concluded for definite that Sebastian's family must have had very good genes. Her hair, however, was a pastel blonde that framed her face in waves. A smile glossed her lips and she reminded me so strongly of Sebastian.

"You must be Mira," she cradled her baby on her chest, but Sebastian was quick to ease his nephew into his arms. "It's lovely to meet you." Grinning, she brought me into a hug before moving to ruffle Sebastian's hair, much to his annoyance. "I'm going to let it slide that Flynn got to meet her first."

Sebastian smiled lazily. "Technically, Dad met her first." Meeting my gaze, he steadied his nephew on his chest and supported his head as he peered down at him. "Mira, this is James Montgomery. Kaia and her husband named him after James."

My eyebrows raised in curiosity, and Kaia took it upon herself to explain. "My husband and James are in the army together. He's always looked up to him and after James saved his life on a mission, he wanted to honour him."

The fond smile that made its way onto my face was replicated on Sebastian as he cooed down at James, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead as his large hand enveloped his tiny fist. Simply watching him, I saw that he adored kids.

Kaia gave me a knowing look. "We all think that Sebastian would make a terrific father."

A blush scattered across his cheeks and he smiled a small smile, which slowly widened into a grin. "I think so too." He gently brushed down the length of James' nose with his index finger. "4 kids would be the dream."

Kaia caressed her brother's cheek, her eyes watering before she blinked it away. "Sometimes, I forget that we're all grown up." She laughed and directed a smile in my direction before turning back to Sebastian. "Did you take Mum up on her offer?"

He shook his head. "I haven't asked her yet."

"Well, no time like the present." Kaia grinned before taking James in her arms. "He needs a change."

After Kaia had left to go to the bathroom, Sebastian's eyes met my gaze. "I don't really want to overwhelm you, but my parents are having a barbecue today, and I've never gone alone, so my mum asked to bring someone who means something to me."

The smile broke out on my face before I could stop it as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, bringing him into a hug. He laughed and his arms linked around my waist.

"I'm taking that as you agreeing to be my plus one, pumpkin."

Nodding, I pulled back and shot him a grin. "Whenever I need a plus one to an event, I'm coming to you."

After getting to know Kaia a little bit, it was time to go. Sebastian had said that the drive to his parents' house wasn't long, and it was slowly dawning on me. I had only known him for close to a month, yet I was already meeting his family.

It made me realise that I knew a lot more about Sebastian than he did me. Making a mental note to open up more, I smiled when I slid his red flannel on over my white shirt. Folding the sleeves up, I stood in front of the mirror and proceeded to braid my hair into two Dutch braids.

From what I had on hand in my bag, I applied light makeup to my face but nearly screamed when Sebastian appeared behind me.

"I've got to say," a small smile made its way into his face. "You wear my clothes better than I do."

"Impossible." I scoffed, closing my mascara. "As you said, you're not that bad looking."

He raised his eyebrows and leaned against the sink with mirth shining in his dark eyes. "I'm your dream man, don't fool yourself, Mira."

You're right. But dreams are rarely a reality.

"Get over yourself." I chuckled, exiting the bathroom with him in my pursuit.

"Only when you admit that I'm your man crush every day."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

From the first glance at the Harrington's home, it was easy to tell that Sebastian definitely gave back to the people that raised him. It wasn't anything flashy, yet it was beautiful and practically screamed family.

Kaia pushed the pushchair along as Sebastian finished off a business call and turned off his phone. He rendered me with a calm, soft smile and pulled at the collar of his black shirt.

"My family will like you." He reassured me. "Kaia is the toughest person to get through, and you did it easily."

Glancing at Kaia, she nodded to agree. "It may be biased, but they're all wonderful people."

Blowing out a soft breath, my walking came to a halt when we had reached the door and Sebastian pulled back the door knocker before drumming a short, rhythmic beat.

When the door opened, it revealed a woman who appeared to be in her mid-fifties and held a striking resemblance to Kaia in particular. Her eyes, however, weren't the signature brown that nearly all the Harringtons seem to possess, but a deep blue.

"Ash!" she squealed, the grin brightening up her face as she bounded towards Sebastian and enveloped in a hug so tight that even I felt like I couldn't breathe.

With a laugh that sounded more like a gasp, Sebastian wrapped an arm around his mother and kissed her forehead. "Hi, Mum."

"I need some loving too, Mum."

Mrs Harrington appeared to cherish the last moments of her hug with Sebastian before turning to Kaia and hugging her with the same enthusiasm. When she had turned to me, I gulped quietly.

"It's wonderful to finally meet the woman who's captured my son's attention. I'm Athena."

Albeit it being a platonic sort of attention.

"Thank you for letting me be here today."

Sebastian held out the wine bottle to his mother and tipped his head in my direction. "Mira picked it out for you. She has quite an eye for good wine."

Athena grinned. "Thank you, darling." Pivoting on her heel, she spoke again. "Well, follow me."

In the Harringtons' spacious garden, many of Sebastian's family members were conversing with each other, and the children were engrossed in their games. Before I could process it, Avery was running towards me.

"Mira!" she cooed, laughing when I gathered her in my arms and gave her a hug. "We have the same hair today." Her small fingers brushed over my dark hair, a cute grin plastered on her face. "You look really pretty, right, Uncle Sebastian?"

It was only then that I realised that Kaia had gone to her husband.

Red tinted his cheeks and he exhaled harder through his nose and nodded. "Right, Avery."

Avery gave me a side, smug look and within seconds, her attention, along with mine had been captured by a deep voice who spoke. "How come I didn't get a hug like that, Aves?"

Turning around to meet the gaze of Wyatt Harrington, he smiled charmingly in our direction and grasped Avery's hand when she had made her way to him.

"Hi, Dad." Sebastian approached his dad and gave him a tight hug.

"It's good to see you, Ash." Mr Harrington clapped a hand down on Sebastian's shoulder after their hug. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

A few beats of silence passed before Mr Harrington's attention flitted to me. The smirk on his face widened when he took in my attire and saw Sebastian's shirt. "It's nice to see you again, Mira."

"Likewise, Mr Harrington."

He made a face and laughed. "That makes me sound like your boss, there's no need for formalities if Sebastian has brought you here."

When he had walked away, Sebastian draped an arm across my shoulder. He simply stared down at me with a soft smile as his eyes held mine. "You did good, pumpkin." Before silence could settle between us, he stepped back. "Let's get some food."

On the table was an array of food that would be expected at a barbecue. Chefs were cooking in front of everyone and Sebastian greeted them all before he took it upon himself to make me a plate.

Our fingers brushed when he passed me my plate, his bottom lip trapped in between his teeth. "I'll show you my room after we eat."

Throughout our meal, Athena and some other members of Sebastian's family joined us. It was slightly intimidating, but I held Kaia to her word and was glad when they welcomed me with warm smiles.

Something about the way Sebastian didn't leave my side made me feel like we were more than just friends, but a reality check soon came when I remembered his words.

What are friends for?

Tilting my head in his direction, I smiled at his side profile and glanced down at our close hands. Within seconds, I folded my hands in my lap and focused on what Flynn was saying.

"Let's take a group picture for the books."

Athena agreed with a grin and went to set up the camera. "Adults at the back, children at the front."

Placing my plate down on the table, I stood beside Sebastian as Flynn and Isla were to my left with Kaia and her husband next to them. As instructed, Avery and other kids were standing in front of the adults.

Avery tugged on my hand as Wyatt called out to say cheese and Athena rushed to join the group. "Smile, princess."

It was hard to control the grin on my face at her words and before I knew it everyone was saying cheese. And in the midst of it all, Sebastian had intertwined our fingers with his thumb rubbing smooth circles on the back of my hand.

Once the photos were done and dusted, Sebastian tugged on my hand. "Come on." Leading me through the house, we stopped at a dark blue door. "This is where my success started. I came up with my idea to start my first company in this very room."

Opening the door, the room was simply decorated and the first thing I noticed was the pictures of Sebastian when he was younger. Not by that much, he seemed to be in his early twenties and I concluded that he was a teenager in a picture with a teenage James.

"You're amazing." My fingertips brushed the mahogany wood of his table when I felt his breath on the back of my neck.

Goosebumps rose on my arm and I felt my heart speed up when his hand laid on top of mine. "I'm mad at myself." He murmured quietly. "I tell myself to keep in check when I'm around you, but damn, Mira."

Remaining silent, I closed my eyes and exhaled a shaky breath.

"If I want to be with you, I've got to do it right or not at all."

And there we stood in perfect silence with his hand linked with mine and his lips pressed to the back of my head.

At least we were getting somewhere.