“No. You heard Brenda. What impression will everyone get if I go to a club with Nadine and not you?”
Helen eyed him curiously. “I bet you’d dance all night if it got preciousNads and Ashto say yes to Weston-super-Mare.”
“Damn right I would. This is my job and don’t ever forget it.”
She groaned.
“Fire in the hole, Hobbs.”
“Wha—?”
Seb cut her off with a kiss on the lips. No one of note was watching, but he couldn’t risk Helen pulling another face of disagreement in front of him. He then raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. Her mouth gaped open. He’d taken her by surprise.Good. At least now he knew how to shut her up. “And don’t forget the flowery bullshit. We need to make people believe we’re in love.”
“Of course.” She pulled her hand away. “Even if it kills us.”
Seb bit back a smile. “Aw, c’mon, Hobbs. I’m sure there’s a man out there who will fall in love with you for real someday.”
“Wow. Sebastian Clarke makes a joke. Things must be looking up.”
Well, he certainly hoped so.
They couldn’t get much lower.
Chapter 12
Helenstifledanotheryawnas Sebastian concluded his speech. The dinner plates had been cleared away and all heads were nodding intently.
“Success isn’t random. It comes from hard work and preparation. Day after day. It comes from a positive mindset, constantly asking ourselves how can we achieve our goals? What doIneed in order to achieve that goal? What obstacles are in my way?”
Sebastian Clarke was a very confident speaker. Exactly what Helen expected from a politician’s son. But as the twilight sky turned dark, Helen ached for her bed. This morning felt like days ago and her body yearned to curl up and sleep.
She’d enjoyed her meal, a creamy salmon dish with green beans and the fluffiest potatoes she’d ever eaten followed by strawberry cheesecake, her absolute favorite. The yummy food had provided Helen with enough distraction to get through the meal. She participated in the conversations that had gone on around her between Sebastian and the two local council members and their partners, whose names she couldn’t remember.
Another yawn took hold, Helen swallowed it down. There was still the poxy nightclub to go before she could clock off as Sebastian Clarke’s girlfriend.
“And therefore,” he was saying, “I am honored to lead the Get Living Campaign this summer and I look forward to getting to know you all better over the coming weeks.”
Sebastian accepted the applause graciously, thanking the guests for their support. He worked his way slowly between tables until he was stopped by Nadine Charming. She placed her hand on his arm and said something that made him laugh.
Nope. Helen wouldn’t blame Sebastian at all if he terminated their agreement to date Nadine Charming instead.
The journalists at the back of the room, including Grice, stood and tucked their notepads and phones away as they said their goodbyes. Helen turned her attention to Sebastian again and waited for her cue to join him. It came in the form of a smile and eyebrow raise, but when Nadine whispered something in his ear, Helen hesitated, the pang of jealousy taking her by surprise.
Should she hang back? Leave them to it? Sebastian would rather keep talking to Nadine, wouldn’t he? But then he gave Helen another cue, this time in the form of his hand, outstretched and waiting for her to take it.
Helen walked up to him and slipped her fingers into his warm palm. “That was a fantastic speech, Sebastian. Shame I slept through half of it.”
Sebastian’s smile stalled, then widened.
Helen grinned back.Yeah, dingbat. It was a joke.
But Nadine didn’t look like she’d got it.
“Anyway, Sebastian,” she said ignoring Helen. “It’s great that you’re coming to the club with us.”
“We’ll look forward to it.” Sebastian then moved along to the next table.
“You’re better off without me at this club tonight,” Helen whispered. “I’ll wait for you at your hotel.”
