Page 2 of Sebastian

“It’s a lot all of the time. Believe me, I understand.” They walked slowly through the maze, and Sebastian felt the wind pick up. “Maybe we should get somewhere warm.”

She nodded toward the enclosed gazebo, and they jogged toward it just as the rain started to come down. Inside, Sebastian closed the door and started the fire in the small gas fire pit. He then lit the lantern that was always available, and they snuggled together to get warm.

“If I didn’t tell you tonight, you look beautiful, Em. Really beautiful.”

“You didn’t tell me but thank you. You look handsome as well.” They could hear the faint sounds of music floating across the property, seemingly directly at them.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked, standing and holding out his hand. She nodded at him, sliding her arms into his jacket to keep warm. Sebastian didn’t care. His body was on fire. He could hear Bull’s deep voice singing a soft country love song, and he closed his eyes, holding Em tighter.

For Sebastian, it was the most perfect moment of his life. When the song ended, she stared up at him, just looking into his eyes. He was so much taller than she was. He felt the need to protect her.

“Sebastian?”

“Yes.”

“Will you kiss me?” she asked.

“Are you sure, Em? You know what it means to me if we do.”

“I know,” she nodded. “Me too. I love that you feel that way about something as simple as a kiss. We’re going to be going our own way soon, and I don’t want us to forget this. Please kiss me.”

He lowered his head to hers, finding her lips in the dim light. He didn’t pressure her with a tongue or try anything strange. He just molded his lips to hers and enjoyed every breathless moment of it.

When Em pulled back, her chest heaving up and down, they just stared at one another.

“Promise we’ll come back together?” she asked.

“You have my word.”

Giving a promise at seventeen is very different than giving one as a grown man. He and Em did ‘date,’ although that was an exaggeration. They never went to the movies alone together. The others were always with them, tagging along. Dances, sporting events, it was always the group of kids from Belle Fleur.

It seemed enough for now, but when they left after high school to pursue their individual dreams, Sebastian knew that it would be difficult to see one another.

Learning that Em had taken a job with the FBI was like a gut punch. On the occasions they would speak to one another, she never spoke about work. Not her real work.

“It’s just a boring government job,” she would laugh. “Nothing exciting ever happens for me like it does for all of you.”

He never once thought she would lie to him. But when Mags was taken by the rebels in Egypt, and they learned that all of the sisters were in agency jobs, Sebastian was gutted.

“You should have told me,” he said quietly as the others were laughing and joking around.

“I wanted to, Sebastian. So many times. I was just worried that my parents would find out, and I wasn’t ready for that yet.”

“You could have come to see me,” he said, staring at her. She could see the pain in his eyes and shook her head.

“Sebastian, it’s not what you think. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep this a secret from you. I’ve never been able to keep a secret from you. I didn’t want it to be this way but look at how this turned out. Once you knew about Ellie, then you all knew about Mags, Maddie, and me. Everything we knew would happen is happening.”

“What’s happening?” he asked.

“Mom and Dad want us to quit and work here.”

“Would that be so bad?” he asked, kicking his boot toe into the dirt. “I mean, you’d be back here. I’m back here.”

Em took his hand and tugged, walking toward the maze. It wasn’t cold like their first night in the maze. It was a perfectly lovely summer evening. When she stopped, still holding his hand, she looked up at him. That impossibly tall, wide figure making her feel like a doll.

“Maybe you should sit, and I’ll stand,” she smiled. He smirked, taking his seat on the stone bench. He opened his knees, and Em stood between them.

“You’re not coming home, are you?”

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