Page 38 of The Final Rose

He says nothing, so I boldly look up at his face. I’m in for a fight. I want to punish him for something. He doesn’t reply,though. He reaches for his microphone and turns it off while smiling at me.

I frown at it, and he steps closer again, but this time I keep my ground.

“We’re meeting Bea tonight.” He tells me.

“Your sister?”

Sebastian slowly nods. I’m already shaking my head, but he stops me. “She can escape for a couple of hours.”

My throat feels dry, and I still say nothing. But Sebastian keeps talking. “Come on, Callie. You said you’d meet her. I rather think you’ll love Bea.”

“I’m sure she’s great.” I blurt it out.

“So come out for a pint. Just one, even though coming out for one is simply not done.”

I chuckle a little, rubbing my forehead and dislodging my beanie. I want to say no and end this conversation, but instead, I see myself asking; “Why are you so different on camera?”

He frowns.

“Why are you… I don’t know…” I touch my earpiece, as it can make me remember. “You’re so--”

“That’s a lot of tiptoeing around something you’re dying to say.”

“I can’t say it's fake.” I blink. “It’s just something else. I can’t see you when I hear him.”

“Him being the Sebastian in front of the cameras?”

I nod, and he looks at me carefully. “You told me to tone it down.”

I opened my mouth, but he kept going. “You said I needed media training. Remember that?”

“I know I said that,” I reply, smoothing my jacket unnecessarily. “But now I think the opposite.”

“Oh, I see,” he replies wryly.

I turn my chin up, not stopped by his mocking tone. “If you really want to connect and really find a wife--”

Sebastian smiles, stepping closer to me again. “That’s definitely why I’m here.”

“So, you must be yourself. Then Vera can fall in love.”

He clicks his tongue. “But I’m being the Prince Charming. You know better than me that the image sells.”

I swallow the lump down my throat, and I feel bad for ever having said that. The image is nothing compared to the real deal.

It isn’t fair to put Sebastian in a box. He can’t fit in there. Not a man who is larger than life, with a presence that can take all the air out of a room.

“I thought you wanted this for real,” I say to him finally.

“And I do.”

“So, be yourself.”

We look at each other for a beat. The wind doesn’t annoy me anymore. The whispers from the rest of the crew don’t even register.

“Meet me at eight down the atrium.”

After Vera’s date, Sebastianbrings Abby to a famous vegan restaurant, but I don’t have it in me to follow them. I murmur to Anya I’m feeling sick, and since I never get sick, she lets me go, even though I know she doesn’t trust a word I say.

---