Chapter 10

"Can I ask you something?"

Sebastian looked up to Jane across the table staring at him. After hanging around the beach till late evening, they'd decided to go back to the diner. Most of the tourists had gone back to their various rooms. Because most of them had decided to rent houses on the beach, there were no more rooms available. The townspeople had taken to renting out rooms in their homes to the latecomers to make a little extra cash. Personally, Sebastian wished he'd known about the houses on the beach when he'd arrived. He liked the view and he liked working there too.

But that also meant he probably wouldn't have crossed paths with Jane, and he was enjoying her company way too much.

"What?" He answered.

The steak on her plate was almost finished. She dropped her fork on the table, wiped her mouth with a tablecloth and leaned back on her chair.

"You seemed really pissed earlier today at the beach."

"When?" He was surprised she was asking him anything given how fast she ran from him yesterday like the gates of hell were after her and he was their commander.

"After Harry found his sister."

The man was a buffoon. On one hand, Sebastian had been angry a grown man had left his teenage sister unattended thereby enabling her wander around on her own in a place where she knew nobody. Anything could have happened. On the other hand, he'd been sneaking glances at Jane when she wasn't looking. Sebastian was at a loss as to why it vexed him as much as it did but perhaps it was because there had been other pressing issues at hand and that Harry guy had been focused on the wrong thing.

Now, just how was he going to explain all that to Jane without looking stupid?

"It just seemed like a really stupid thing to do, constantly losing one's little sister." He shrugged.

Her eyes narrowed. "That's all?"

"Mm hmm." He hummed. "What else?"

She watched him closely for a few moments and he felt like he might eviscerate from the intensity of it. Then, she nodded. "If you say so. It just seemed like there was more."

He didn't say a word. There was so much on his mind. His wedding was in two days. Sebastian wondered how his parents were taking his disappearance. He couldn't help but feel bad about the situation they were in, but in reality, they'd done it to themselves. Who arranged marriages anymore?

The press would have a field day. Staying out of the public eye since he was a child had been his choice. He doubted there were any pictures of him in the media. The Price's heir was a complete mystery to the rest of the world. He'd been homeschooled until college and even then, he made sure to keep his roots a secret. No one had known who he was or what family he came from. There'd been no girlfriends, no best friends. The only friend he had was his cousin, Mitch, who'd been with him in Paris.

Together, they'd gone through college together, graduated, and even started if not the biggest wine production company in America. Sebastian didn't regret being away from the rest of the world for so long. He never wanted the attention that came with being who he was but he couldn't deny that he was a slave to it. He didn't have the freedom to be who he wanted to be or what he wanted to do because his parents were scared it would reflect badly on them. He didn't have the pleasure of owning up to his position of co-founder of Hershey Breweries, instead working behind the scenes while Mitch fronted their company. Even his employees had no idea who he was. He didn't have the pleasure of walking down the street without cameras flashing because of the fear of someone he knew recognizing him and alerting the rest of the world that Sebastian Price was walking down the street.

It was sickening.

Most of the choices that had influenced his life hadn't been his. His parents had insisted they knew what was best for him from a young age and he'd mindlessly gone along with it. Now they wanted to dictate who he should be with for the rest of his life?

"I'm tired. Big day tomorrow," Jane said, getting up. The sound of her chair dragging against the hard floor drew him out of his reverie.

Jane.

Jane that he somehow couldn't stop thinking about. Ever since he touched her skin at the beach yesterday, images of her were imprinted in his memory. The way her eyes had closed, the way her breath quickened. He wanted to feel it again.

"I think I've had enough of dinner. I'll walk you to your room."

She didn't reject his offer and he took it as a good sign. Maybe she was beginning to warm up to him. He couldn't be sure. Women had a way of making everything complicated.

They walked the narrow hallway in silence. It was a comfortable one. There wasn't any need to speak. Sebastian couldn't help the thought that Jane somehow managed to calm him from passing through this mind. He didn't understand it. She was stubborn and as fierce as a lioness, but there was a calmness to her he relished, one that always seemed to attract him.

"This is me."