If the chances of me winning the lottery were as high as the chances of me losing my designated babysitter on the night I really needed one, I would be rich by now.

My brother, Lucas, had called and he and his wife, Nicole, and their kids fell ill. Their guess was it was some bug the kids must have caught at their school, and judging by the backdrop sounds of Nicole retching and the kids coughing like cats that had a furball stuck in their throat, I could agree. That meant that I had no one to watch Lexi and babysit while I went out on what would be my first night out in a very long time, which (and this goes without saying), I was really looking forward to.

When I called the birthday girl and told her that I would most likely not be able to come tonight, I knew I would be letting Olivia down, especially because her birthday celebration was going to be just us two. If I didn't show up, she'd have no one to go out and celebrate her birthday with.

However, what I did not predict was for her to come up with a solution so crazy, I swear my eyes jumped out of its sockets.

And she went ahead and suggested it nonchalantly. "Just call Sebástien and ask him to watch Lexi for a few hours."

"Are you out of your crazy mind?!" I asked, sounding as outraged at her suggestion as if she had just told me that pigs were flying.

"What would be the problem?"

"Besides leaving my child with a stranger?"

My obvious tone didn't go by unnoticed, and Olivia made no efforts to contain her snort, before retorting,"Please, Mel. Sébastien is way past the phase of being a stranger."

"Okay." I took a breath. "But that doesn't mean that I should ask him to babysit."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to!"

"Or..." She dragged the two letter word. "Is it because you're afraid that asking him for a favour might bring you two even closer and then you'll have to date him and kiss him and marry him and have his kids?"

"Oh my God, Olivia." On the other end of the line, I could hear Olivia laughing as if teasing me about Sébastien was as funny as a late 90s rom-com scene. She knew me well enough to know which buttons to press to get a reaction out of me. And today, she got the reaction she was expecting. "I am begging you to please shut up about it now."

"I was joking." A beat. "Kind of." She added the last two words in a low voice tone, before going back to her normal one as she spoke again, not giving me time to protest. "Seriously Mel, just ask him. He won't mind. And it's not like we're gonna be out all night, it's just dinner and a few celebratory drinks."

Olivia dia have a point. But I didn't want to settle for that decision just yet.

Sensing my hesitation, she kept making her convincing case. "Plus, Lexi is such an easy kid, he won't have to lift a finger. It's literally just watching her until she falls asleep and then waiting for you to get home and that's it."

If Olivia was a superhero, her power would be to make everything sound so easy.

"Liv... Seb and I are just not," I had to take a long pause to try and figure out what was the end of that sentence, but I didn't come up with anything too great. "In that place. We talk and discuss food and all that, but he's not the type of person I would just call and ask if he'd mind watching Lexi."

"It's not like he was your first choice, but you're out of resources here!" I exhaled loudly, knowing all too well that she was right. "And I really, really don't want to cancel tonight."

I didn't either.

* * *

When I picked up the phone to call Sébastien, I wasn't thinking about seductive Seb.

I've come to the conclusion that there' two ways for me to think about him - the seductive French man that took me on a non-date date, and the professional French baker that came to London to take over his late father's bakery and offered me the job of my dreams.

And out of the two, when I dialled his number on my phone with sticky fingers covered in buttercream that I was making, I thought of him as the latter, considering him a pseudo-boss.

Not that it would be appropriate to call your boss and ask him to watch your eight-year old daughter on a Friday night, while you let your hair down and paint the town red for the first time in years. But it was certainly better to think of him as a boss than a love interest - or interested lover, for that matter -, since the second option would only make room for complications and awkward moments and whatnot.

At least that train of thought helped me make the decision to call him and that was enough for me.

He answered on the third ring.

"Melanie." I could hear some background noise while he said my name, and I immediately regretted my decision. "I wasn't expecting your call. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Seb." I said his name, short and neat, like a whiskey that needed no extras to be drunk in and appreciated in its whole. If I was doing this I had to be direct and cut to the chase. "Are you busy?"

"Just working on some more recipes to add to the menu once I re-open."

"Sounds fun!" I said, trying my very best to conceal the fact that I was nervous (so nervous!) to call him and to ask him for a favour.

Before dialling his number, I tricked myself into thinking this wouldn't be a big deal.

Why do my ideas always sound better in my head than in reality?

"Listen, I was calling you because-"

"Because you thought about my offer and you wanted to say oui."

"Non." I giggled as I spelled him a no in French. "I... just haven't made a decision yet."

"Oh, forgive me then." Somehow, probably by the way he said those words, I could tell that he was smiling as he held the phone against his ear.

"I was calling you because I need someone to babysit tonight, and I wanted to know if you were up for it."

Good job, Mel.

"Babysit?"

I closed my eyes in defeat instantly. The way he one worded me with that question led me to think straight away that he could not be any more disinterested in spending his Friday night babysitting. Which is only fair, because Sebástien had absolutely no obligation whatsoever to watch Lexi while I'm away.

"Yeah." I found myself saying, for the lack of a better response. "I know it's very last minute, but my brother and his wife got sick, the kids are sick as well, and tonight's Olivia's birthday dinner and..." I exhaled loudly. "You know what? Just forget I asked. I'll find some-"

"I'll be there in ten minutes." He said, before hanging up the phone and ending the call.

And just like he had promised, ten minutes later, he showed up at my house with a smile on his face, and carrying a box underneath each armpit, containing deserts. 

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Can't you just tell that Seb is written by a woman? (pun intended!) 🙈

Who can't wait to see what's happening next?! I know I can't!

Don't forget to vote and leave a comment if you're enjoying this story or just like this chapter. Also, add this story to your reading list so you don't miss out on any updates!

Xoxo, Mars