room
service. What’s the occasion tonight?”
“Oh, nothing special,” Sebastian said. “I just wanted to spend some more
time with you. Everything’s always so stuffy at work. I thought a relaxing
dinner might give us a chance to get to know each other better.”
I gulped and nodded. Suddenly, I found myself wishing I’d tried a little
harder to get dressed up for dinner. I was seeing a side of Sebastian I wasn’t
used to. But I liked it.
“Let’s order,” he suggested. “I feel like a bottle of wine. Is red okay
with you?”
“It’s my favorite,” I told him, motioning to the half-full glass I’d
brought from the bar.
We placed our order and the food arrived quickly. I felt self-conscious
eating in front of Sebastian, which was ridiculous considering all of the times
I had been around him.
“So, are you dating anyone?” The question caught me off-guard.
“No one worth mentioning,” I muttered, thinking of my on-again-off-again
boyfriend, Mitchell.
“My divorce with Lindsay was just finalized,” Sebastian offered, as
though it was public knowledge that he was getting a divorce from Lindsay.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, in what I hoped was a sympathetic
voice. Then, before I could think better of it, I threw his question back at
him. “Are you dating anyone?”
Sebastian stared at me, not answering at first. I forced myself to keep
his gaze, even though I was completely uncomfortable looking into those
piercing eyes.
“I don’t have a shortage of women, but I can’t say that I’ve found any of
them particularly intriguing.”
“Maybe you haven’t met the right woman,” I shot back. I took another swig
of wine. I shouldn’t be doing this, flirting shamelessly with my boss, but yet
I couldn’t stop, either.
“Oh, I’ve met her.” Sebastian was smiling again. I’d never seen him look at
me like this before.
“Not hungry?” Sebastian motioned to my half eaten fish.
More like I’m too damn nervous to eat with you looking at me like
that.
I shrugged.
“Not good?” He tried again. “Here, have a bite of mine.”
Before I could protest, Sebastian got a forkful of pasta and leaned
forward. Obligingly, I opened my mouth to let him feed me. We were only a few
inches apart.
This is wrong. I can’t do this. I jumped back abruptly. “I –
I need to get back to my room soon,” I stuttered.
“At least finish your wine.” Sebastian didn’t look put-off at all by my
rebuff. In fact, if anything, he was smirking even more than before.
I drained my glass in one gulp. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I told him,
standing up to leave.
“Gabriella, wait,” Sebastian was saying. But it was too late. I was
already back in the hotel lobby.
Nothing can happen with Sebastian, I chastised myself. It didn’t
matter how attracted I was to him, how I could barely listen to him talk
without thinking about his soft lips on mine, kissing down my neck, kissing
down my chest…
Besides, he’s your boss. It doesn’t matter if he’s divorced. That
changes nothing. I had to keep reminding myself of that fact, no matter
what it took. I absolutely couldn’t get romantically involved with Sebastian.
###
I was just dozing off when I heard a knock at the door. At first I
thought it was my imagination, so I ignored it. Knock, knock,
There it was again, louder, persistent. I rolled out of bed and sleepily
grabbed my robe. I still felt tipsy from dinner – I wasn’t used to having
more than a glass of wine – I tried to shake my head to clear it. Didn’t
work.
The person at the door was knocking again. I looked through the peephole.
It was Sebastian!
I pulled open the door. “Hey,” I said, in what I hoped was a nonchalant
voice.
“Hey,” he replied.
I stood there awkwardly. “Can’t sleep?” I finally asked. It must be 2
am!
He held up a bottle of chardonnay. “Can I come in? For a nightcap?”
“Um, yeah, of course.” My brain was saying no but