Chapter 25 #2
I’m lying half on, half off his hard body, and though we’re not intimately connecting, our legs intertwine in a way that sends tingling awareness to the center of me.
He rubs my back in a slow circle.
A thousand times over the years, I wondered what it would be like to be in his arms like this. And my dreams pale in comparison to reality. It’s not just the strength of his embrace, the deep warmth of his skin, the soft cotton of his T-shirt. It’s the feeling of rightness.
It’s as safe as it is dangerous, for entirely different reasons.
I’m not able to get my fill of his addictive scent. Not able to get my fill of him.
He stirs beneath me. “Rest.” Just one word, the barest whisper, is breathed into my hair, sending shivers reverberating through the entirety of my body.
And just like earlier, I remind myself that I’m free, no longer working for him. Free of professional expectations. Free of my sisterly responsibility. For once in my life, I’m free to make mistakes. Fun, risky mistakes.
The riskiest mistake in the world would be to fall for Sebastian again. But what if I could just enjoy myself, without worry? I don’t think I’ve ever done that. But Sebastian does, all the time. Could I be like him?
Can I have the fun without the falling?
I don’t get the answers to my questions because when I wake, Sebastian is out of my bed and it’s as if the night never happened.
I find him in the kitchen, looking even more delicious than the breakfast he’s cooking up.
At least he made me coffee. I can almost forgive the almond milk and “natural” sweetener, stevia this time.
He takes me to the doctor, where I’m given the okay to view screens, so long as they don’t give me a headache.
The first thing I do when I get my phone back is call Sadie and explain everything.
Apparently her internship has her so busy, she missed the story in the news.
Now that I’m feeling better, I know she won’t drop everything and fly home.
She scolds me for not telling her about the concussion earlier, but she’s all for the fake engagement and my new roommate situation.
Next, I help Sebastian read lines for his latest movie, which is a good reminder that in less than a week, he starts filming in London. And this time, I won’t be traveling with him to set. I know his schedule for the upcoming year. It’s one film after another, with only a few breaks in between.
It’s essential for my heart to remember that despite this brief interlude, we will no longer be in each other’s lives on a regular basis.
I must still be feeling the effects of the concussion because once again that night, I crash into a deep, drugged-like sleep, this time on the couch watching movies with Sebastian.
And again, I wake in the morning alone in bed. The only evidence that he slept beside me, and not on the now-dry couch, is that his side is rumpled. It’s as if he’s keeping me at arm’s length.
The good news is that I have more energy than I’ve felt since my fall.
So I convince him that I’m not going to expire if I start back to work.
I have a backlog of to-dos, and I don’t have unlimited time or money to take a vacation, regardless of how my brain is doing.
I’m on the couch with my laptop resting on my crossed legs when I open my email.
“No way!” I squeal.
Sebastian runs into the room. “Emma! What’s wrong?”
I look up from my laptop.
He has worry in his eyes and a dish towel draped over his shoulder.
“I’m fine. I just got an email from Caitlin Mancini.”
His eyes go wide at hearing the name of the famous director’s daughter, who is a budding rock star.
“Why?” he asks with a furrowed brow.
“I messaged her last week to pitch Dream Space services. Evie Adelade and Caitlin Mancini are close friends. At a party a while back, I met Evie. She mentioned that Caitlin is newly divorced and looking for someone to help her organize her life. I took a chance that she might still be interested,” I say with a pleased grin I can’t contain. “Caitlin just got back to me.”
“And she wants to hire you?” He sounds tense.
“Well, she didn’t say that. But she’d like to meet to discuss the project. Which is amazing.” I tilt my head. “Do you know her?” I wonder if she is as cool as she seems on social media.
He nods, his expression shuttered. “Sort of. When we were kids. She was on the set of The Family a lot. And we’ve been to the same parties here and there throughout the years. When are you meeting her?”
“I’m not sure. She wanted to know if I was attending the house party with you at her father’s Napa estate. It’s this weekend. She’s under the impression, along with the rest of the world, that we’re engaged. I guess there was some confusion about the RSVP. Matt was supposed to remind you about it.”
“She wants to meet with you at the party?” he asks.
“She’s moving into a house that’s on her father’s estate, so she said if I were going, we could talk, and I could see the place. She wants to hire someone right away.”
At his assessing look, I flush, hoping Sebastian doesn’t think I’m angling for an invite with him. “Not that I’m asking to go to Napa with you. I’ll message her and arrange a separate meeting. I’ll fly up for it.”
Sebastian runs a hand over his face. “I hadn’t actually planned on going to the party.”
I tilt my head, my eyes widening in surprise. “Why not? You spent three weeks on Ella Aziz’s yacht to win a role in her movie, and she’s not half the director Dario is. Why wouldn’t you be doing everything you can to land this job?”
His jaw flexes. “Are you really flying up to meet with Caitlin?”
“Of course. As soon as I can arrange it, if she’s free, which it sounds like she is.”
“You’re still recovering. You shouldn’t be working. Let alone traveling.”
“I’m all cured. Barely concussed. The old noggin is feeling brand-new.” I roll my eyes at his unbelieving look. “You may not care about your chance of a lifetime. But I’m not missing mine. Working for someone as connected as Caitlin Mancini could make my business.”
He sighs. “Fine. If you insist on going, I’m taking you. And don’t even try to tell me no. We’ll fly private. We’ll go to the party together so you can get lots of rest before and after your meeting with Caitlin.”
My mouth opens in surprise. “I thought you weren’t attending.”
“I changed my mind. Maybe you convinced me I should go.”
I bite my lip.
It’s his turn to roll his eyes. “Am I going to have to convince you to fly on a private jet rather than fly coach? I thought you were the smart one, Em.”
I’ve spent the last month trying to extricate myself from Sebastian’s employ, from Sebastian’s life. And now here he is, proposing we take a trip to wine country together. Every time I think I’m walking away from him, something pulls me back in.
Heaven help me, a long weekend in Napa with him sounds like a mistake. But it sounds like a fun mistake, just like I wanted.
“I don’t have to get your coffee, do I? Arrange for the plane or the helicopter? The car?” I say, only half teasing.
“I’m trying to get you to work less. And I know you’re not my assistant anymore. You’re invited as my fiancée.”
“No. I can’t go as your fiancée. It was one thing for you to pretend for the nurses, which was ridiculous enough.
I didn’t have the energy to stop you. But we can’t lie to the biggest director in the world.
Or to his daughter, my potential new client.
And all the people at the party. I’ll try to explain everything to Caitlin…
” Even as I say it, I wonder how exactly to explain a fake engagement.
I could tell her it was all made up by the tabloids.
Or a misunderstanding. But there was the gossip from the nurses at the hospital.
The photos of Sebastian carrying me out of the premiere.
The pics at the club. Charlotte Jones’s article. It was a lot.
“They already think we’re engaged, Em. The entire world does. I never issued a denial about the stories. So even the more legitimate news sources ran with it. At this point, it would be more awkward to show up together and say it’s all a lie.”
“So we pretend? And then break up quietly when we get back?” I ask, thinking the entire awkward situation over.
I hate to admit it, but Sebastian makes sense.
People wouldn’t believe it if we deny all the rumors and try to explain that we’re showing up as friends, as ex-boss and assistant.
Or we could lie and say we’re dating. But at that point, we might as well pretend to be engaged.
At least then, we wouldn’t have to explain anything away.
He shrugs, looking unbothered by it all.
“And you’re okay with lying to our host?”
“We’re not really lying. We’re just not correcting assumptions. Plus, actors always tell directors what they want to hear. Why, yes, I’d love to play a green lizard man. Sitting in hair and makeup for six hours a day would be a pleasure,” he mimics.
I laugh. I’ve been around enough actors to know that much is true. But there are little white lies. And then there are fake-fiancée lies.
“Come on, Em. I dare you.” His eyes sparkle in mischief and mayhem.
Sebastian has always been pure chaos, and this is one more example of it. While I’m the type to stand at the end of the pool, testing the water, deciding whether I really want to get wet, he just dives in. And encourages me to frolic next to him.
I’ve been cliff diving in the Bahamas because I can’t resist his dares. It turned out to be exhilarating, one of my top three memories in life.
But then there was the time he got me to skydive. He learned for a movie. And once again, he goaded me into it. I hated every terrifying second. Humans are not meant to fly without the aid of a large metal contraption. And we’re definitely not meant to plummet to the earth at high speeds.
I’m almost afraid to wonder what type of adventure this trip will be. Fake fiancés. I suspect we might be in the terrifying death-dive territory.
I take a deep breath. Let out a shaky exhale. And jump. “Okay. We’ll go together. If they haven’t already given away your spot at the party to someone who properly RSVPs.”
“I’ll have Matt sort it out today,” he says with a wave of the hand. His eyes linger on me. “So we’ll be engaged for a little longer…”
“And when the trip is over, your publicist can leak a story about our breakup. Then you’ll head off to your next movie. And I’ll get back to my job,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. What would pretending entail? Longing looks, brushes of skin on skin? Or more?
This is a terrible idea. A wildly thrilling terrible idea.