by Ashley Blake
“I can see that my questions may have caught you off guard so let’s just start with the first one, what is your favorite color?”
I was totally embarrassed and I looked down at my hands and then slowly looked up at him. "Sebastian, we probably should just stick to talking about work.”
He held my gaze as his eyes smoldered. “No, I want to talk about you, we are going to talk about you.”
"Do you always get what you want?" I wanted to take the words back the second they rolled off of my tongue. I had to learn how to control my thoughts better!
He seemed amused by my question and I definitely saw a sparkle in his eye as a tiny smirk turned up the corner of his mouth. "I always try.” He sat there, holding my gaze, looking at me as if he wanted to devour me and I felt a dull ache in my core as my body responded to him.
I hesitated for just a couple of seconds and then decided to play along. “My favorite color is rose pink. People being kind to one another makes me happy, people being mean to one another makes me sad, I have always wanted to go to Paris, Canada is the most exciting place I’ve been to so far, and in five years I want to own my own boutique hotel.” I looked at him, and caught and held his gaze as I answered the last two questions. “Yes, I want to get married and yes I want a family.”
I could see his brain registering what I was saying as I answered his questions, almost as if he was saving the information for a later time and then a grin spread across his face making him look more gorgeous than ever.
"Thank you for answering my questions. From what I know of you so far, I have no doubt that you will get everything that you want.”
“And you?”
He looked at me and then down at my breasts and back up to my eyes. “Oh, I know that I will get everything that I want.”
“That is not what I meant, what are your answers to those same questions?”
“You want to know my favorite color?” He seemed completely amused.
I looked at him and smiled, my eyes sparkling as I cocked my head to the side. “Yes, I do.”
“Okay, I’ll play. My favorite color is blue.”
“That’s a big shocker, your last name is Blu, so of course that is your favorite color.”
“Oh, is that sarcasm I detect in your voice?” He was now thoroughly amused.
“Me? Never.” I smiled at him and I couldn’t believe that I was flirting with him so openly but I couldn’t help myself. He was hot and it was fun. “Next answer please.”
He held my gaze and had a serious look on his face. “Being with you makes me happy, being away from you makes me sad.”
“You hardly know me.”
“It doesn’t matter, I like being around you.”
I felt really uncomfortable and didn’t know what to say so I tried to joke with him a bit. “I’m sure you say that to all of the women you meet.”
His face was even more serious now. “No, I don’t Elena.”
I hesitated before I said anything because I didn’t know if I should tell him that I liked being around him too, but I decided against it because I didn’t want him to know that I was already hooked. I couldn’t help it. I had never felt so attracted to someone so quickly. He had to think that he was still chasing me, right?
“I’m not sure I believe that. Anyway, next answer please.” I tried to keep it light and he played along and dropped the serious talk, which was a relief.
“Yes ma’am! Let’s see, I have not been to Dubai yet and I have been just about everywhere else. Oh, and I do want to get married one day, I have no desire to be an eternal bachelor.”
Everything he was saying to me made me like him even more even though I knew it was probably a bad idea. I could see myself falling hard for him and getting my heart broken into a million pieces but he was like a drug. Here I was with him for just a few minutes and I wanted more time with him.
“And kids, are those in your future?”
A pained expression fell over his face and I could see that I had touched a nerve, but I didn’t understand why. Just then the waiter brought our food and interrupted the conversation. He took what seemed like forever to put all of our food on the table and when he finally walked away, Sebastian’s phone rang.
He glanced at it and then looked at me with apologetic eyes. “I’m sorry, but I have to take this. I’ll be right back, please go ahead and start eating.”
He got up and I sat there a little bit confused wondering what that was all about. Why did he look like that when I asked him about having kids? I wanted to ask him more about it but I didn’t want to push the issue so I decided that I would wait for him to go back to the question when he came back to the table. If he didn’t bring it up, I definitely wasn’t going to. I was sure that whatever it was, it would come out eventually.
He came back a few minutes later and looked upset but I could see that he was trying to hide it.
“Is everything okay?”
“It will be. I have to fly to Paris tomorrow so I’ll have to have my assistant make changes to my schedule for the next week.”
“How long will you be in Paris?”
“I’m not quite sure yet, I have to go take care of something and I don’t know how long it will take, probably a few days.”
“Oh, well I hope everything will be okay.”
He looked at me and smiled. “Thank you, everything will be fine.”
We made small talk during dinner and Sebastian didn’t bring up the kids issue anymore and neither did I. When we were done eating he sat there looking at me while we waited for the check.
“Would you like to go to dinner with me when I get back from Paris?”
A huge grin spread across my face, I couldn’t help it. “I would love to.”
He smiled back at me. "Great, as soon as I know when I will be back I will let you know. I hate that I can’t give you a firm date but I promise as soon as I know something I will let you know. Please don’t think that when I ask you out in the future that it will be like this, because it won’t. I’m not the type to string someone along and be vague about when I would like to see them. Normally I like to have everything planned down to the minute, but this is just a rare circumstance. I really want to see you again and I did not want to have to wait until I got back to ask you out.”
I smiled at him, feeling like a giddy teenager. I really wasn't used to a man being so open and forthcoming with me about their intentions. Guys I had dated liked to play games and Sebastian definitely did not, and it was a really nice change.
“I’m looking forward to it. I want you to know that I had a really nice time chatting with you tonight and I’m happy that I took a break and decided to have dinner with you. Thank you for asking me.”
He winked at me. “Thank you for joining me.”
Sebastian took care of the check and we left the restaurant knowing that we would see each other again very soon.
Chapter Six – Getting to Know You
The next week Sebastian returned on Monday and we made plans for Tuesday evening. Work was super busy, working in the corporate office was a completely different world for me, I had more meetings than I had ever had when I was at the hotel, and I loved every single minute of it. Monday night I tried on what I was going to wear to dinner at least five times like a crazy person. I wanted to look perfect for him and I was excited and nervous at the same time. It was so weird to me that we had fallen into this kind of easy relationship so quickly, one that I never saw coming. He told me that we had to remain discreet about us and I agreed, but I knew that I wouldn’t put up with being a secret for too long.
I rushed home after work, quickly got ready and ran downstairs to meet the car that was waiting for me. He had a car pick me up at 6:30 that evening and I met him at a restaurant that was, once again, across town. This time it was a seafood restaurant. I stepped out of the car and my black strappy sandals clicked on the pavement as my blue strapless dress flowed in the wind around my knees as I walked int
o the restaurant. My long waves caressed my arms as the breeze in the doorway blew through my hair. Sebastian was already seated and was waiting for me when I got there. He looked gorgeous in his casual white shirt and black slacks and my belly did a little flip as he smiled at me. Is it possible that he gets even more gorgeous every single time I see him?
He stood up when I walked over to him and kissed me on the cheek. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Oh my gosh, I feel like a teenager!
“Were you swamped today?”
“Nothing more than normal, we are doing our best to be over prepared for Brazil in a couple of weeks.”
“I have no doubt you’ll be ready, I have heard very good things about your ideas Elena, people are impressed.”
That made me feel good. “I appreciate the confidence you have in me Sebastian, it means a lot.”
“Well, you’re proving yourself and I expect perfection so you deserve my confidence.”
We ordered our food and the conversation continued to flow.
“Are your brothers perfectionists like you?”
“My brother Shane is the mirror image of me, he works hard, he wants his hotel to be flawless and he knows how to ask for help when he needs it. He is taking over Blu Sierra Chicago in a couple of months and I just know that he will be incredible and take that hotel to a different level.”
“You really believe in him, huh?”
“Yeah, he’s a great guy, hard worker and just like my mom. I trust him with my life. If he’s not sure about something he always asks to make sure that he will be making the right decision. He doesn’t just wing it and hope for the best like my brother Spencer.”
I could see that he was irritated when he said Spencer’s name and I was curious to find out why.
“It seems kind of obvious that you are closest to Shane, so what’s the deal with you and Spencer? Do you guys not get along?”
“Spencer is family and I love him and will be there if he really needs something but I do not like him as a person. We don’t have any kind of relationship outside of work and I prefer it that way.”
“Why?”
“Four years ago I was engaged to someone and a month before we were supposed to get married I found Spencer in bed with her. All our lives he has been competing with me and that was the final straw. He wanted what I had and he basically took it, so I can’t trust him. He has always been like that since we were kids.”
“Why do you think he’s like that?”
“I’m not sure, he’s been a screw-up all of his life, from getting kicked out of prep schools to countless run-ins with the cops. My dad was always calling in favors for him because he always got in trouble. Honestly, I think he has been looking for our father’s approval and he just hasn’t been able to get it. Dad is pretty vocal about how he feels about each one of us, Spencer is at the bottom of the list and I am at the top. I think it’s because I am the first born, I always succeeded and did what I was supposed to do, I didn’t challenge authority and I have been so successful with the hotel that that makes my dad proud. Spencer has always been the black sheep, irresponsible and lazy. Blu Sierra New York would have failed if dad and I hadn’t stepped in to save it. We gave Spencer an ultimatum that he would lose his job and every cent of his trust fund if he didn’t get his act together. That was two years ago and he has been doing well with the hotel ever since.”
“Wow, I didn’t expect you to say that, Spencer sounds like a handful. What happened with him and the girl? Are they still together?”
“No, he dumped her after we broke up. I think his goal was to ruin my life but I realized that’s what he wanted and I didn’t give him the satisfaction.”
“But Sebastian, it had to hurt when you found your fiancé in bed with your brother. How did you get over it?”
“My mom was really there for me, so was Shane and my friends. I decided that she wasn’t the right person for me because someone who really loves me would not do that to me. So in the end I know that I’m better off without her and I am happy that I didn’t marry her. I also decided at the time that I didn’t want to settle down with anyone and I just wanted to go out and date around, and that’s what I did. When I met you, you changed everything for me. I can’t explain it, but the second I saw you I was intrigued, and then I learned more about you and wanted to know even more.”
“What are you saying? You’re not the playboy you were just a few weeks ago?” I was half joking, half not.
He looked at me and held my gaze. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Thankfully our food arrived at that moment because I was completely tongue-tied and didn't know what to say to him for a few seconds. Was he telling me that meeting me changed him and he only wanted to be with one woman? That was crazy, he had known me for less than one month!
“If you’re feeling this way, why can’t anyone know that we’re dating?”
“Are we dating?” An amused grin turned up his mouth.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Are we playing games?”
He became serious. “No, we’re not and yes, we are dating. Elena, you have to understand that my life is very complicated and I am under constant scrutiny by the paparazzi. If word gets out that I have a girlfriend, they will be all over you and your life will never been the same. If no one knows about us yet, you and I can still have privacy without having to worry about our every move being followed. I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but haven’t you seen the covers of all of the lifestyle and tabloid magazines?”
“Yes, you’re always on them as one of the top 10 most eligible bachelors in the country.”
“Exactly, if they see us together things will get really hectic.”
I looked at him and cocked my head slightly to the side, studying him. “There’s something else isn’t there?”
He hesitated and then answered me. “Yes, there is, but I can’t explain that part just yet.”
I open my mouth to protest and he stopped me before I could say anything. "Please, Elena, you have to trust me on this. I will tell you everything when the time is right.”
I wasn’t happy about it but I decided to trust him and wait for him to share whatever it was he still had to tell me.
“Okay.”
We finished eating and he rode with me in the car to my apartment building instead of taking his own car. The driver waited as Sebastian walked me to my front door.
He walked me inside to the small hallway that led to the elevator bank, stopped, leaned against the wall, put his hand in his pocket and looked at me. He reached out and smoothed the hair out of my eye and smiled at me.
“I had a wonderful time tonight, Elena.”
“So did I, thank you for dinner.”
“When can I see you again?”
I smiled at him. “You’ll see me in the office tomorrow.”
He chuckled as his eyes searched mine. “Okay smarty-pants, I meant when can I take you out again?”
“I am having dinner with my girlfriend Friday night but I am free Saturday.”
Hey look upset and shifted on his feet. “Unfortunately, I will be out of the country this weekend, I have to go to Paris.”
“Oh, okay well how about one night next week?”
“Okay, I will be back on Monday so how about next Wednesday?”
“Wednesday sounds great.”
“Good.” He looked down at my lips and then back up to my eyes and gave me a small smile. He leaned down to me and my heart was pounding as he laced his fingers through my hair, pulling my lips closer to his. His lips were so soft as they touched mine and he slid his other hand in my hair as he deepened our kiss. His tongue slid over mine and it was easily the best kiss I had ever had. My hands came up under his arms and lightly held onto his elbows as our tongues explored and tasted each other. He broke away slowly after a couple of minutes and his eyes were glazed over with lust as they searched mine.
“You are going to be trouble for me E
lena Sumner, and I like it. I better say goodnight to you before I won’t be able to leave.”
I was a bit out of breath and I smiled at him. “That’s probably a good idea.”
“See you tomorrow.”
I was on cloud nine as I walked to my mailbox to check my mail and I didn’t even notice the letter until I was in my apartment. I dropped my bag on the floor and plopped down on my couch with a huge silly grin on my face as I thought about the kiss with Sebastian. I absentmindedly rifled through my mail and my heart nearly stopped when my eyes landed upon the handwriting that I would recognize anywhere. I was confused because this was not a letter from the prison, this was a letter with no return address but it was definitely Brian’s handwriting. My hands were shaking as I tore open the envelope and staring back at me were three simple words: ‘See you soon’.”