Chapter 28

Jane's ears rang with the words.

She caught herself and realized that she did, in fact, have a small smile on her face. Rearranging her features, she awkwardly tucked a lock of hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind one ear.

Love?

The term was ridiculous and farfetched. Maybe Harry had downed one too many vodka spritzes the night before. After all, after he'd walked her home last night, he'd said he was going to hang around the beach for a while before he went home. He probably was still drunk.

"Don't be ridiculous, Harry. I was only worried." She said jokingly though she was aware of how she sounded like she was trying to convince him. "I'm not trying to marry the guy."

He gave her a blank look, not saying a word which made things even worse. She wanted him to say something. Anything.

Sheer panic gripped her. For a while, she hadn't been able to explain the emotions that surged through her each time she was near Sebastian or even thought of him. She just knew it was urgent and burned like hot lava and she felt the desperate need to hold him, touch him, kiss him.

Today had brought out a whole new feeling she hadn't felt before. Want. She'd wanted him to be okay, had wanted him to come back to her. She'd wanted to hold him, to assure herself that he was fine.

Was Harry right? Was she falling in love with Sebastian?

No, she shook her head. She wasn't. She'd been alone for too long, that was it. Sebastian awoke sensations in her that she never knew existed.

Even now as she looked at him receiving attention from the medical crew, her heartbeat sped up. She heaved out a heavy breath, shutting her eyes and reopening them.

"I'm not falling in love with Sebastian." She said out loud.

The problem was she didn't know if she was trying to convince Harry or herself.

***

All day, she'd avoided him like the plague. It didn't help that he'd approached her severally, inquiring whether she was okay. Seeing him only resurfaced new feelings and as Harry's words rang louder, it occurred to her how true it was.

She was falling in love with him.

Jane didn't know how love worked but she'd had the impression that time mattered. One didn't just wake up one morning and fall in love with someone.

Did they?

She tried to recall how it had happened with Elijah. It had been a gradual process, nothing at all like what she was currently experiencing. There had been peace and calm and a whole lot of certainty. With Sebastian, it felt like there was a constant raging storm and a gravity-defying pull at her heart. He annoyed her and pissed her off and still managed to make her smile.

She wished there was someone she could talk to. Harry was out of the question. There was no way she was talking to him about her feelings, not when she'd blatantly denied it earlier.

As she walked home, her mind was racing. Her sister. She could call her sister. Grace had always been a wonderful listening ear any time she wanted to rant about how much she hated her life. Though she'd never spoken to her about her love life; not even Grace knew of Elijah. It was a secret she'd kept solely to herself.

A headache was beginning to pound away behind her eyes. Calling Grace was probably a bad idea. She imagined Grace was worried. If she called, there was no stopping her from coming straight down to Stormbrooke and that was the last thing Jane wanted; to be found.

She was almost at the diner now. Sooner or later, she would have to face him. She felt like a coward, hiding and sneaking around. She'd never hid from anything in her life before now. Her wedding had been the tipping point for her.

Her father was probably still reeling from rage. She wouldn't blame him if he decided to disown her and cut her off from the family. There was always Stormbrooke. She could settle down here, get married, open a small business and have kids. When she thought of it, there was only one face that cane to her mind. She shook it off furiously, cursing herself for romanticizing a mirage. She didn't even know the man. He was probably on the run from the police or whatnot. From what he'd said, he hadn't been in Stormbrooke longer than her.

She was sure there were good men around. It wouldn't be easy but it could be done. Nothing was going to make her marry a man she didn't love.

Absolutely nothing.

So lost in thought was she that she didn't notice the shadow following closely behind her.