“She hates Sebastian.”
“Why?”
“He told her that her vocal coach should be blindfolded and put in front of a firing squad for giving her false hope that she could sing.”She grimaced.“Well, something to that effect.”
“Ouch.”
“Yep.”Pippa stopped talking when Charise made her way to our side of the table with the food.
Charise set our plates down with a professional smile, but her eyes lingered on Sebastian for a moment longer than necessary.If looks could kill, his medium-rare steak might’ve come out well-done and laced with vengeance.
Sebastian didn’t notice.He was too busy cutting into scallops with enthusiasm.Callie chatted softly with Helena while the rest of us dug into our meals.
“Here, baby,” Callie said as she began sorting her salad then plucking green olives from the plate with her fingers and putting them on his scallop plate.“I hate them,” she explained to the table, “but Seb loves them.”
“I really do.”Unceremoniously, Sebastian practically inhaled all five olives she’d transferred over to him, one after another.
I couldn’t help but sneak glances at Charise as she moved through the dining room, gracefully balancing trays and topping off wine glasses.If she really was the woman Pippa remembered fromUltimate Singer of America, then this was getting more interesting by the second.A former reality show contestant stuck serving the judge who’d humiliated her?You couldn’t script that kind of drama.
Ezra leaned toward me, his voice low.“You’re staring again.”
I blinked and quickly looked down at my plate.“I’m not staring.I’m observing.”
His lips twitched.“That’s what cops say when they’re staring.”
“Old habits,” I murmured, poking at my scallops.
He squeezed my knee again, a silent reminder to stay present.
The conversation around the table picked up again, led mainly by Carl and Augusta, who had a natural way of making everyone feel included.Augusta was telling a story about a trip they’d taken to Greece when Jasper leaned in toward Sebastian.
“So, this reality show you’re pitching, do you think the network will bite?”
Sebastian barely looked up from his plate.“It’s not a question ofif.They will.”He sounded confidently smug.“The cruise industry is untapped reality TV gold.People are stuck together on a floating hotel.A season two pick-up is practically guaranteed.”
“Like a more glamorousSurvivor,” Pippa said, clearly intrigued.
“More likeSo You Think You Got TalentmeetsLove On The Waves,” Callie added with a smile.
Sebastian made a noise that might’ve been agreement...or indigestion.
The man was hard to read.
“Do you have talent lined up already?”Jordy asked.
“Got a few leads.Still scouting.”Sebastian lifted a shoulder in a noncommittal shrug.“Unfortunately, there are too many people who can’t sing their way out of a queue but think they are the next superstar.”He grunted a laugh.“Pitiful.”
I glanced toward Charise again.She was at the table next to ours, her posture poised but her expression unreadable.
I wondered if Sebastian had recognized her.His words seemed a little too on point with what Pippa had told me.
As I was about to ask Callie more about their reality show plans, Sebastian’s loud, startled yelp rang out.Our heads swiveled in his direction as the man jumped up from his chair, frantically brushing at his lap.A dark stain bloomed across his white dress shirt.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!”Charise apologized, her expression appropriately horrified.She held an empty wine glass in one hand, the red liquid clearly no longer inside it.“It slipped.”
Sebastian glared at her, his face red.Callie was dabbing uselessly at his shirt and pants with a napkin.“Guess not everyone’s cut out for singing or fine dining.”
Something flickered in Charise’s eyes, something dark and fast, before she turned on her heel and disappeared through the swinging doors to the kitchen.
