Page 24 of Bared Betrayal
Can I hold on to this feeling? But, more importantly, will it be enough to give me what I need to grab hold of a future with Sebastian? That’s, after all, why I did it. To see if it’ll fix me enough to be the kind of wife my fiancé deserves.
Sebastian might have been acting like an asshole the past few weeks, but it’s probably the wedding, the engagement, his movie. His entire life has changed. He hasn’t changed. He’s the same Sebastian I’ve clung to, my best friend. My safe haven. My comfort zone. But while I’ve been secretly walking on air the last few days, I’ve been consciously avoiding him, pretending to be buried in wedding arrangements. Luckily, he’s been swamped, too, hopping from one meeting to the next, making it virtually impossible to be in each other’s company for more than ten minutes.
He walks up, wrapping an arm around my waist and kissing my cheek. I involuntarily lean away. “I’ll get paint all over you,” I say, and he grins.
“Won’t be the first time. You going to be okay without me?”
I glance at his bag, stuffed and packed for his trip. “Won’t be the first time,” I chirp back at him, and he chuckles, hugging me close.
“I’ll be back in time for the party this weekend. I promise.”
Oh, God. The party. My throat closes just thinking about it. “Maybe we should reschedule,” I say, placing the paintbrush down. “Just in case you’re held up longer than planned. The last thing I want is to show up at our engagement party alone.”
“Wouldn’t that be fun?” he teases, reaching for my waist and pulling me close.
“Sebastian, I’m serious.” I maneuver out of his hold. “If you’re not back by the time I’m dressed for the party, I’m not going. And I don’t care how many fits your grandmother has.”
It’s already bad enough that I’ll be in the public eye at this party, surrounded by strangers and Sebastian’s grandmother. To be at the party without Sebastian, now, that would be a fucking tragedy.
God, I feel nauseated. Anxiety begins to nip at the edges of my mind. It’s slowly invading the space that just a few sweet moments ago was home to the most amazing, unself-conscious freedom I’ve ever experienced.
“Babe. Relax.”
Relax…you’re safe.
“I’ll be back. I swear. Gram worked hard on this party. I would never disappoint her by missing it.”
Of course, it’s about her. It’s always about her. He wouldn’t disappoint his grandmother. Disappointing his fiancée, now, that’s probably something he’d be able to live with.
Fuck. I have to stop, but I can’t help thinking that maybe this isn’t about us anymore. About me. About how he can keep his grandmother happy with buckets full of fame. Perhaps a few days apart is what we need.
“I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Thank you,” I mutter, kissing him softly as he wraps his arms around me.
“I love you, Kallie.” He leans his forehead against mine. “And I know you’re having a hard time with this, but thank you for trying.”
There’s a sharp pang in my chest. A longing. “Sometimes I wish we never said yes to that stupid movie scene being taken at the gallery.”
“Then I would never have been discovered by the director, and Hollywood would have been robbed of my awesomeness.” He shoots me a cocky but cute grin.
“That’s the point.” I lift a brow, and he gently nudges me for a tender, lingering kiss that reminds me of the time when we were uncomplicated, which wasn’t that long ago. It’s like the universe snapped its fingers and changed the trajectory of our life together in an instant.
I hate it.
Sebastian steps back and grabs his bag. “Oh, babe, before I forget. You should let the machine take our calls until I’m back. My agent doesn’t want you speaking to anyone before an official statement is released about our wedding plans.” He shrugs. “It’s good PR to keep them all guessing.”
Yeah, because our wedding is ultimately a PR stunt.
“Sure,” I agree, crossing my arms. He’s starting to look less and less like the person I fell in love with. His career, his goals, his future have now taken the front seat while I seem lost in the background, looking on. I’m watching my life move around me like a tornado, yet it doesn’t include me even though I’m caught in the eye of its storm.
He pulls me closer and brushes his lips across mine one last time. I fight the urge to compare his touch to the masked man at Myth. I try to push crystal blue eyes out of my mind to respond to Sebastian’s kiss. I try to feel it. But my masked stranger is all I can think of.
Sebastian’s lips move over mine, and I make every effort to kiss him back. But I feel nothing, like something is missing.
Blue eyes. Deep voice. Wicked touch.
Immediately, the guilt claws at my insides, and I want to scream in agony. It’s tearing me open, shredding me to pieces. I can’t get Myth off my mind. That place, that experience, him—it all opened a door, and I have no idea how to shut it. But I have to try. I have to.
