I drained the rest of my glass, so thrown by Sebastian’s appearance that I couldn’t appreciate the objectively exquisite wine. It was yet another thing he’d ruined for me in a long list of items dating back to our childhood.
How could I have forgotten this was one of his family’s restaurants? But even if I’d remembered, the last thing I would’ve expected was to run into him.
Sebastian was a C-suite executive. His job didn’t include working the dining room or handing out business cards to customers.
He was up to something. I just didn’t know what.
“Now that’s good service.” Nikhil examined his business card. It only stated Sebastian’s name and email, not his title or phone number. “Sebastian Laurent… Wait, you don’t think he’s one ofthoseLaurents, do you? The ones who own the entire restaurant group?”
“I don’t know. Maybe,” I muttered. I picked up my card and was about to toss it to the side when I spotted a scrawl of black ink on the back.
Best wishes on your date. Any man who can talk that much without taking a breath is clearly a keeper.
That sneaky little bastard. He must’ve been spying on me throughout dinner, which was so fucked up. But if that were the case, why did I feel like laughing?
It’s the wine talking.It had to be.
I tucked his business card into my purse and schooled myexpression into something that hopefully resembled interest as Nikhil resumed his detailed accounting of his med-school years.
Now that I knew Sebastian was watching, I couldn’t look bored. Irefusedto let him see me suffer or, worse, smile at something he’d given me, even if it was the most interesting part of my evening so far.
Our server brought out our entrees, and I redoubled my efforts to pay attention as Nikhil abandoned his med-school stories in favor of waxing poetic about his upcoming camping trip with “the boys.”
What was up with men and camping? I had a strong aversion to bugs and peeing in the woods, so the appeal was lost on me.
Still, I scrounged up a laugh at his joke about bears. A pleased expression crossed his face, and he rambled on about how he could totally take on a black bear by himself.
Someone kill me.
At least the food was good. It was the only redeemable part of the night.
I took another bite of bourguignon and snuck a peek around the dining room. I hadn’t seen Sebastian since our appetizer course. He’d probably left, which made sense because why would he stay when…
My eyes snagged on a familiar figure near the hostess station.
He’s still here.My heart skipped a tiny little beat, which was obviously my sign to stop drinking. I’d had so much wine it was wreaking havoc on my internal organs.
Sebastian stood facing me. He was talking to the maître d’, but he glanced over right as I was about to look away.
Our gazes collided, and the intensity of his stare hit me like a shot of pure whiskey in my bloodstream. My ears buzzed as I fought not to turn away first.
God, I hated the way he looked at me, like he knew exactly what I was thinking. How I felt, what I wanted—everything he had no business knowing but did anyway.
Sebastian’s eyes glittered with mocking amusement as he held my gaze for one long, deliberate moment. A small smirk tugged at his mouth.
My fingers curled tightly around the edge of my seat, my pulse thudding with painful awareness. Just when I was about to cave and blink, he broke eye contact to resume speaking to the maître d’.
My muscles instantly loosened, and I inhaled a shaky breath before I returned to my conversation with Nikhil. He hadn’t noticed my lapse in attention at all. He carried on with his monologue until our server cleared away our dishes and brought out a decadent slice of chocolate cake. It was topped with glistening strawberries arranged in an elaborate flower shape.
“I think you have the wrong table. We didn’t order this,” I said, even though my mouth watered just looking at it. Strawberries were my favorite comfort food after chocolate.
“This is on the house.” The server set the dessert on the table with a wink. “Compliments of the owner.”
I didn’t pay attention to Nikhil’s questioning frown; I was too busy staring at the minuscule note tucked halfway beneath the cake.
Better luck next time. -xo, Seb
Sebastian
