Page 49 of The Final Rose

I clear my throat and think about management control. “What do you think of the elimination?”

I start with the regular questions.

Isla smiles big. “I think Sebastian and I weren’t meant to be. I’m still looking for my Prince Charming.”

“But after the kiss, aren’t you surprised he eliminated you?”

Isla is still smiling. Maybe Nessa’s theory has something to it because she’s looking too happy for someone who just got dumped.

“Sebastian eliminated me because he knew it wasn’t meant to be.”

Great, we got into it quickly enough. “Can you just tell us about the date?”

“Or you just want to know about the kiss?” She tilts her head to the side, wiggling her eyebrows.

“That would be nice.” I can’t help but chuckle.

Isla readjusts on the chair, rolling her shoulder back and it’s story time. “I’m a romantic, and I like the idea of getting to know someone before the first kiss. But I also think a first kiss can say a lot about a couple. Compatibility, passion. I camehere because I wanted to find someone who completed me. Mind and body. Sebastian is amazing. He’s handsome, funny, a total dreamboat!” she giggles. “But I wanted to feel the ultimate spark. That punch in the gut, you know?”

I nod because what else can I do?

“Tingling sensation.” As Isla talks, her eyes lose focus. “I wanted to be surprised, and I needed to know it for sure.”

I wait a couple of seconds until I’m allowed to talk again so I don’t mess up the editing, but even when I can talk, I’m not sure what to say.

“So, you don’t think the kiss was all that?” I manage to ask.

Isla sighs. “I knew Sebastian wasn’t for me. But I really wanted him to be, you know? A handsome man who is looking for love. Why not me? Why couldn’t I be the one for him? But the thing is that we don’t choose.”

I must have made a face because she rushed to keep talking. “I couldn’t make myself be the girl he was going to notice. And he couldn’t make my heart beat faster.”

I take a breath. “So, when you asked him to kiss you?”

“I asked him to kiss me, so we’d know for sure it wasn’t it. Sebastian knew I was underwhelmed, and he knew I was ready to love. He’s a great guy like that.” She shrugs. “He released me to the wild, I guess. But I’m grateful for this opportunity. I got to travel, and I know myself better than I knew months ago. And you know, now I have a friend who is practically English royalty.”

She chuckles and a few people follow. Even when they should be quiet on the set, I understand how captivating Isla can be. She’s the best friend you never knew you needed, the nicest girl around.

“And you’re going home because you deserve to find true love?”

“I deserve to find true love.” Isla agrees. “But Sebastian deserves it, too. He needs to find someone who he can’t take his eyes off.”

And she winks at me.

13.

Sebastian

“Oh, you definitely gotmore handsome since you became the most eligible bachelor in America.”

The familiar taunting makes me open a big smile as I go down the stairs to find Maverick right in the middle of the crew’s mess.

“I've always been the most eligible bachelor,” I reply.

He laughs, throwing his head up in that way he did since we were kids. The sight calms me. I can’t stop thinking about Callie, and she’s again missing. I was sure I was going to see her again once I left London, but Callie is avoiding me and she’s good at it.

Maverick gives me a half hug, patting me on the back. His smile is ridiculously big, and it hits me how much I need this right now. Bea was great, but there were twelve years between us, and for most of my life I tried to protect her. Now that she’san adult, I’m excited to get to know her and build a relationship away from my parents, but as it is, it’s no rival to my relationship with Maverick.

He knows my family well, even though Mother didn't think it was seemly to keep him as a friend. He saw hurt, but he chose to smile every single day. He knows me so well that after only a glimpse, a frown comes to his forehead.

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