Bait for a Gentleman novel Chapter 116

Layne gave a quick nod of acknowledgment and handed over the sleek shopping bag.

April in Kingshire was warmer than Sebastian had expected. After being away for over a month, he was finally back.

He glanced down at his phone. The screen was completely devoid of unread messages. He pressed the lock button and slipped the phone into his breast pocket.

Upon reaching the VIP parking lot, Sebastian immediately spotted Carter leaning against his car door, sunglasses pushed up onto his head, idly spinning his keys.

As Sebastian approached, Carter gave him a quick up-and-down look.

"Your dad drilled it into my head to give you a message: you absolutely have to show up to the Sutton patriarch's banquet to represent the Hawthornes. I honestly thought you weren't coming back. Cutting it a little close, aren't we?"

Sebastian pulled open the rear door and folded his tall frame into the back seat. "I was too swamped. Couldn't get away."

Carter slid into the driver's seat, started the engine, and shot him a look through the rearview mirror.

Noticing the bag in his hand, Carter craned his neck. "What's that?"

"A gift."

"Ah." Carter didn't pry further. He merged the car out of the airport and headed toward the outskirts of the city.

They made idle chatter on the road.

"I was originally supposed to pick up Willow," Carter complained, steering with one hand. "But since you decided to fly in, I had to come get you first. She's still mad at me."

Carter rambled on for a while, but the man in the back seat offered zero responses.

Glancing in the rearview mirror again, he saw Sebastian with his eyes lightly closed, seemingly resting.

The car fell silent. Carter stifled a yawn, pressing his foot on the gas to speed toward the Sutton estate.

The estate wasn't far from the airport. Half an hour later, they parked and made their way up the flagstone path into the grounds.

The sunroom sat on the east side of the main hall, awash in light from half-wall floor-to-ceiling windows. The moment Sebastian turned the corner, his footsteps halted.

In that split second, it felt as though a tiny pebble had been dropped into a deep well—silent, yet sending ripples echoing outward in endless rings.

The spring breeze finally pushed the windows all the way open, sweeping into the room. Only after taking a deep breath did she realize how suffocatingly close the air had been.

*He looks like he's lost a little weight,* she thought.

Sebastian's gaze drifted from the smile on her face down to her hand wrapped around Zachary's arm, and finally settled on the ring adorning her finger.

Then, he strode directly toward her.

A casual, almost careless smile graced his lips. He offered Waldo a brief nod, his eyes skimming right past Zachary as if he weren't even there.

Finally coming to a stop in front of Audrina, his lips parted.

"Ms. Monroe. It's been a while."