Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Darcy
I had no idea what had gotten into Sebastian, but this new guy I’d been around since dinner last night was much more tolerable. I wasn’t going all in and saying that I completely trusted this change , but he’d come out of the shell he’d been hiding in, and that interested me.
Regardless, just because Sebastian was tolerable didn’t mean I wanted to hightail it out of here and go on a vacation with the man. I’d just been on Jake Mitchell’s luxurious yacht, so I didn’t really want to leave for another extravagant vacation, mainly because it appeared he’d invited everyone along. That meant it wouldn’t be a vacation at all; it would be a trip of constantly lying to my friends by faking a relationship with Sebastian. It was exhausting to even think about.
“Hey,” I said, following him and his smiles—yes, smiles. And yes, he looked impossibly handsome while wearing them, too.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a hint of arrogance rather than his usual dickish tone that I’d grown accustomed to.
“The only person around here who goes by ma’am is my mother when the cleaners are here, so please don’t call me that.”
“I see the vacation is getting off to a lovely start,” he teased, then turned and slid his hands into his pockets. “So, no calling you ma’am.”
I nodded. “It’s just as foreign to me as being called my full name,” I smiled at him, seeing his eyes brighten, recalling my name’s origin story. “Shit,” I shook my head and couldn’t resist smiling at him in return. “I won’t lie; this softer, happier side of you, which emerged last night, is quite handsome.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said. “So, what’s up? I need to make a few calls before we leave for the airport.”
“Well, speaking of me not lying , I don’t think it’s a good idea that we take this trip with my friends. Granted, I’m not super close with all of them, but I’m close enough not to want to lie to them about us. It makes me feel shitty.”
“You know the drill,” he said with an arched eyebrow. “We must make this believable.”
“Why not just make it believable to your parents and call it done?”
“I’m in no mood to be in their presence,” he answered with an unreadable expression. “And I know you will not be able to tolerate them either. You could barely tolerate my presence, and I was merely insulting you by requesting a change of décor. I wasn’t insulting you in the worst ways imaginable, as both my parents will undoubtedly do after they arrive.”
“I can handle myself. We’re not really a couple, anyway. I can deal with any insults your parents throw my way.”
“Well, allow me to put it to you this way. I prefer you not to be subjected to it. I don’t want to hear it or see it.”
“Let’s call it what it is,” I challenged him. “You’re running away from them.”
“Fine,” he shrugged. “I’ll call it that, no problem. We leave in about ten minutes. Pack for a very warm climate.”
I sighed and bit my bottom lip. “You’re not budging on this, are you?”
“Nope, and welcome to our fake relationship,” he smirked, then spun on his heel and went through the breezeway to his renovated corner of the villa.
I stood there, watching him walk away, really trying to appreciate that I was getting a free vacation out of this.
I decided to call Avery. She’d understand how badly this was going to suck for me, and she’d probably laugh?—
Shit. You can’t call Avery. You’re lying to her about loving this guy.
Knowing I couldn’t vent this out to anyone, I simply just walked up to my room to pack pretty much all the same clothes I’d just worn on Jake’s yacht in order to be hauled off to some vacation destination.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Avery said with a laugh. “Shit, I’m so sad I can’t be there.”
“Right?” I answered with an eye roll.
I was torn about not having Avery and Ash come along on Sebastian’s last-minute excursion to the tropics or wherever he was taking me. Part of me was relieved not to have to lie to them, but I also needed their support.
“Well, don’t count all of us out just yet. Jim and I are working on a few things. Spencer and Nat are a great time, though. You just need to be warned since you haven’t met Natalia yet.”
“Warned?” I questioned with a laugh. “I’ve met her, I just don’t know her.”
“That’s what I meant. Meeting Nat is one thing and knowing her is quite another. She’s a blast, but she’ll pull your ass right out of your comfort zone. The next thing you know, you’ll be talking about orgasms and waxing, possibly in that order. Or, since it’s Nat we’re talking about, it might even be orgasms while waxing.”
“Now I know how Spencer got pulled off the billionaire playboy market,” I teased. “I wanted to write an article about that guy after I heard stories about what a huge prick he was.”
“Nat snatched his ass off the market without even trying. In fact, he was the last guy she ever wanted to date. She only hooked up with him again after—” she paused.
“What?”
“Never mind. It’s her story to tell, so if you and Sebastian get bored—or drunk—ask Nat and Spence to give you the wild details of their love story when you’re in Mexico. From the way it sounds, we still might be able to go. We’ll just be a little bit behind you guys. Jim’s working on it because it’s been too long since the gang’s been together on a Mexican vacation.”
“Mexico?” I said, somewhat surprised.
“Oh, shit. Sebastian was making these plans to surprise you. Oh, for fuck’s sake. I’m sorry I blew it.”
“It’s okay,” I said with a laugh. “Mexico, huh? That’s cute. I wonder why he thought of Mexico.”
My family loved visiting Mexico, and we took trips often. We’d venture up and down the Mexican Riviera whenever we could.
Sebastian wasn’t doing this for me, was he? It couldn’t be.
“He said your mom told him how much you loved it down there, so he wanted to take you.”
“I’m so glad you told me this,” I said truthfully. “You might feel bad about letting a surprise slip, but I hate getting surprised, so you did me a favor.”
“Well, the man is smitten with you, kiddo,” she laughed. “Okay, I got to go. I’ll keep you updated on our side, but Spence and Nat are good to go along, and I know you are gonna dig them.”
“Okay, Av,” I said with a smile. “Hopefully, you guys can work something out, but if you can’t, I get it. I was shocked by this news about an hour ago, and if I weren’t a journalist who worked mostly from home, I wouldn’t be going either.”
“Before I let you go,” she started, “aren’t his parents coming to visit?”
“Yeah, in two days or so.”
“Dear God, he’s adorable,” she said, and this time, I rolled my eyes at her being caught up in Sebastian’s charming side. “He’s keeping them away from you.”
“Even though I’m the one who invited them?” I laughed. “I did that back when I hated him, by the way.”
“I thought the whole hating him thing was a front to cover that you guys were in a relationship?”
Shit! Way to slip on the lying game.
“It was actually how we fell in love. We hated each other and somehow fell in love,” I cringed, knowing how stupid that sounded.
“Enemies to lovers,” she said with a laugh. “My favorite kind of books. Okay, this is getting cheesy. I’ve seriously got to jam and pick up the kids.”
“Okay, see ya.”
Now, it was time to pack…for Mexico. I had mixed feelings about this because I felt my walls coming down a little, knowing Sebastian did something nice for once. He had to have done some research before making this decision, and the fact that he did—all so I would like the destination—put a hesitant smile on my face.
At least now, knowing we were Mexico-bound, I had no problem getting excited about the trip. If anything could get me over my trepidation about a vacation with a man I’d loathed up until last night, it was beaches, endless sunshine, delicious food, and bottomless margaritas.