Page 79 of The Final Rose

“I’m going to ask again, Callie,” Ben explains calmly, “and I need you to think well about what answer you’re going to give me.”

Before he has a chance to ask, I whip my head toward him, fury in my eyes. “Why does that even matter?”

“It matters because we are going to kill Sebastian Riggs, aren’t we?” Dario replies, searching Ben for confirmation like murder is a current discussion topic in the Sosa household.

“You’re not killing Sebastian,” I say before I can stop myself.

“HA!” Dario jumps, his finger pointed at me. “So, it is you!”

“I think you both should go. I have things to do.”

“Can we be serious for a second?” Ben starts again. “How much trouble are you in? Were you fired?”

And there’s so much concern in his voice that I can’t fight anymore. I’m embarrassed, but some things are more important than that.

I shake my head. “Anya just asked me to step away until they finish shooting this season. Do Mom and Dad know?”

Ben shakes his head quickly. “She’s dying to call to see if you can blab the name.”

I let out an angst breath. “God bless her.”

“Can you tell us what happened now?” Dario asks, finally getting a chair too and sitting on my other side.

I wish the TV was still on so I could fix my eyes there. It’s not, so I just let my eyes wander as they gather tears.

“I thought you heard the news.”

“We heard the shit version of it.”

“That Sebastian is so handsome not even the hussy field producer could resist?” I can’t stop the pathetic sniffle.

“Yes, those were the exact words,” Ben says dryly. “What happened?”

I turn and give him a watery smile. “I liked him, and he liked me. We lied to ourselves that there was a way out of the mess and then… there wasn’t.”

“Did he do anything he shouldn’t?” Ben needs to know.

I shake my head. “Sebastian Riggs never does things he shouldn’t do. Until me, I guess.”

Dario gags theatrically. “Let’s try not to talk about him doing you, please.”

“That wasn’t what I meant!”

“Sure.” He grimaces. “But he likes you, too? So, why are you dressed like a homeless woman with a lifetime supply of Doritos?” He points at me up and down.

“I’m not–” I can’t even defend my attire. “It’s hopeless, alright? Sebastian has a contract with the network, which means he’ll need to choose one of the girls. Until the season is over, he can’t announce or be seen with anyone. And after…”

“It will look like you sabotaged your own show.” Ben gets it, nodding and gazing at me with pity.

“Well, that’s bullshit!” Of course, Dario rages. “He went to the damn show, and he fell in love, didn’t he? That’sliterallythe premise!”

I ignore the word love floating above us. I can’t think about it right now and I know it doesn’t matter. If I sit here and accept that I love Sebastian Riggs, it will make things much worse.

And just because I can’t, and because it makes everything harder, this is the moment when I realize how much I love Sebastian Riggs.

Colorful cursing streams from my mouth, making Dario hoot and Ben watch me with wariness.

“He needs to choose between the twelve,” I finally say.

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