Sebastian Ashford's POV
There's a phrase my men like to use when something bad's about to happen.
"The boss smiled. Someone's funeral's next."
I smiled today.
It started when Kai—my most trusted, cold-blooded, emotionally constipated right-hand man—sent me a message.
> She's got a crush. We need a sniper.
I was in a boardroom meeting with three corrupt politicians, a prince from some oil-rich country, and a man who once tried to assassinate me in Prague. None of them scared me half as much as that text.
I excused myself calmly.
Now I'm standing in the hallway of my estate, watching Sky skip toward me like she hasn't just destroyed my will to live.
"Sebby!" she chirps, launching herself onto me like a koala. "Guess what?!"
"No."
She blinks, caught off guard. "No what?"
"No, you can't marry him."
Her mouth drops open. "You don't even know who I'm talking about!"
"I don't need to."
She huffs, puffing her cheeks out like a cartoon character. "Fine! His name is Day, he's in my literature class, and he's tall, smart, mysterious, athletic, has perfect eyebrows and smells like good decisions. He gave me his pen and I think I saw God."
"…His name is Day?"
She nods dreamily.
I exhale slowly, already mentally filing a background check, military records, DNA test, and satellite surveillance on this "Day."
"He gave you his pen," I repeat, deadpan.
She grabs my face between her soft hands. "Sebastian. Listen to me. His pen. It had blue ink and no bite marks. He's perfect."
I raise a brow. "I have blue pens with no bite marks. You don't look at me like that."
"Seb, I live with you. You left a grenade in the kitchen once."
"That was one time."
"And you tried to bribe my science teacher with a private jet."
"He gave you a B."
"Because I missed a lab!"
I look her in the eye, serious now. "Sky. I need his full name, address, blood type, and dental records."
She groans and flops dramatically onto the nearest couch, dragging her Rapunzel-length hair behind her like a velvet train.
"You're so overprotective," she whines.
"I raised you. I earned the right."
She pauses.
Then quietly: "Do you think Day would like my braid with the daisies in it?"
"I think Day won't be able to appreciate flowers if I remove his eyeballs."
"Seb!"
I smirk. She hates when I threaten people, but never enough to stop hugging me.
She climbs back into my lap like she's six years old again, hair covering both of us like a weighted blanket from hell.
I press a kiss to her forehead. "You're sixteen. You can have crushes. But you let me handle the background checks."
She snuggles in. "Fine. But only if you promise not to 'accidentally' erase him from existence."
"No promises."
I text Kai again:
> Schedule recon on Day. Track his classes. No contact—yet.
And then:
> Also bring flowers. Sky liked the daisies.
Because even if she grows up and falls in love with boys who use blue pens, she'll still be mine first.
And God help the boy who forgets that.