Chapter 15 THE INTERVIEW
Harper stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, trying to calm her nerves. A journalist from Seattle Magazine was arriving in twenty minutes to interview her and Sebastian about their whirlwind romance and sudden marriage. This was different from the gala. This was sitting down and answering detailed questions about their relationship with someone whose job was to find inconsistencies.
"Are you okay in there?" Sebastian called through the door.
"Fine. Just giving myself a pep talk."
"Need backup?"
Harper opened the door to find Sebastian leaning against the wall, looking annoyingly calm in jeans and a casual button down. They had agreed to do the interview at home to make it feel more intimate and authentic. Now Harper was second guessing that decision.
"How are you so relaxed?" she asked.
"Years of practice dealing with the media. Plus, we know our story. We have been over it a hundred times. We have got this."
"What if she asks something we did not prepare for?"
"Then we improvise. Together." Sebastian reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The gesture was so natural now that Harper barely registered it. "Harper, we convinced everyone at the gala. We convinced Claire, your friend Jessie, my entire office. We can convince one journalist."
"Jessie is not convinced," Harper muttered. "She keeps asking if I am okay and giving me worried looks."
"That is because she is your friend and she cares about you. Not because she does not believe the marriage is real."
The doorbell rang, and Harper felt her stomach drop.
"She is here."
"Then let us do this." Sebastian took her hand and squeezed it. "Remember, we are in love. We could not wait to get married. Everything else flows from that."
They walked to the door together, and Sebastian opened it to reveal a woman in her thirties with sharp eyes and a friendly smile. She was carrying a leather bag and a digital recorder.
"Sebastian Colton?" She extended her hand. "I am Jennifer Walsh from Seattle Magazine. And you must be Harper. Congratulations on the marriage."
"Thank you," Harper said, shaking her hand. "Come in."
They settled in the living room, Jennifer taking the armchair while Harper and Sebastian sat together on the couch. Sebastian’s hand found Harper’s knee immediately, that same casual intimacy they had been practicing. Except it did not feel like practice anymore. It felt normal.
"This is a beautiful place," Jennifer said, pulling out her recorder. "How long have you lived here, Sebastian?"
"About five years. Though it feels different now with Harper here. More like a home."
Jennifer smiled and pressed record. "Mind if we get started?"
"Of course."
"So, let us start with the obvious question everyone is asking. You two got married very quickly. How long did you know each other before the wedding?"
Harper felt Sebastian’s hand squeeze her knee gently. A signal. They had practiced this.
"We met about a month ago at a charity auction," Harper said. "But we knew pretty quickly that we wanted to get married. It was only about two weeks from our first date to the wedding."
"Two weeks," Jennifer repeated, writing something down. "That is incredibly fast. What made you so certain?"
Sebastian jumped in. "When you know, you know. I have dated plenty of people over the years, took things slow, tried to be cautious. None of those relationships worked out. When I met Harper, everything felt different. Why waste time when you have found the right person?"
"And you felt the same way, Harper?"
Harper nodded, channeling every romantic movie she had ever watched. "I was skeptical at first. Sebastian has a reputation for being this cold, calculating businessman. But when we started talking, I saw a different side of him. He was funny and thoughtful and genuinely interested in what I had to say. By the end of our first date, I knew he was special."
"Tell me about that first date. Where did you go?"
This was the story they had rehearsed. Harper launched into it with as much detail as they had created. The Italian restaurant near Pike Place Market. The way Sebastian had ordered wine without being pretentious about it. The conversation lasted three hours and felt like thirty minutes. The walk afterward through the Olympic Sculpture Park.
Jennifer was taking notes, occasionally asking follow up questions. What was the weather like? What did you order? What did you talk about?
Harper answered automatically, pulling from their prepared story but adding little details that made it feel real. The way Sebastian had made her laugh when he admitted he could not tell most modern art from kindergarten paintings. The moment she realized she was having more fun than she had had in years.
"And when did you know you wanted to marry him?" Jennifer asked.
Harper looked at Sebastian, and for a moment, she forgot they were being interviewed.
"The second date. We went to the Adriatic Hotel, the property I inherited from my aunt. I was showing him around, explaining all the renovation work it needed. Most people would have seen a money pit. Sebastian saw potential. He asked questions about the history, about my aunt, about why the building mattered so much. And I realized he actually cared. Not about the property value or development potential. He cared because it mattered to me."
That part was true. Harper had not meant to say something true, but there it was. Sebastian’s expression softened, and she wondered if he realized she had just told the truth.
"That is beautiful," Jennifer said. "Sebastian, when did you know?"
"The same moment, actually." Sebastian’s voice was quiet. "Watching Harper talk about that building, seeing how much she loved it, how passionate she was about preservation and history. I had spent years around people who only cared about profit margins and market value. Harper cared about things that mattered. I knew right then I wanted to be around that for the rest of my life."
Harper’s breath caught. Was that true? Or was he just a really good actor?
"So you proposed shortly after that?" Jennifer prompted.
"Yes. I took her back to the Adriatic ballroom a few days later. Got down on one knee and asked her to marry me." Sebastian smiled, looking at Harper. "She cried."
"I did not cry," Harper protested, playing along.
"You definitely cried."
"I got a little emotional. That is not the same as crying."
Jennifer laughed. "And you said yes obviously."
"Obviously," Harper said. "Though I made him wait a whole thirty seconds while I processed it."
"Longest thirty seconds of my life," Sebastian added.
They were good at this. Too good. Harper was starting to lose track of what was scripted and what was real. The way Sebastian was looking at her felt real. The memory of that ballroom tour felt real. The complicated feelings tangling in her chest were definitely real.
"Now, I have to ask about the elephant in the room," Jennifer said. Her tone was gentle but probing. "Sebastian, you have a reputation for being somewhat emotionally unavailable. You have been linked to several high profile relationships that ended badly. What changed with Harper?"
Sebastian did not hesitate. "I grew up. My previous relationships failed because I kept people at a distance. I was so focused on not being my father, on building the company and proving myself, that I forgot how to let people in. Harper did not give me that option. She pushed back when I was being cold. She called me out when I was calculating. She made me want to be better."
Harper felt something twist in her chest. Was any of that true? Or was it all just a good story for the magazine?
"Harper, what about you?" Jennifer turned to her. "Did you have concerns about Sebastian’s past relationships?"
"Of course," Harper said honestly. "I had heard the stories about his ex fiancée. About how he supposedly could not commit. But I also knew that people change. And the Sebastian I got to know was nothing like the person in those stories. He was committed from day one. He never made me question whether he wanted this."
Jennifer made more notes. "Speaking of the ex fiancée, Vanessa Hartley. She was at a recent gala where you two were seen together. Was that awkward?"
Harper felt Sebastian tense slightly beside her.
"A little," she admitted. "But Sebastian and I are solid. We do not let outside opinions affect us."
"Good answer," Jennifer said, smiling. "Now, tell me about the wedding itself. Why City Hall instead of a big ceremony?"
"We did not want to wait," Sebastian said. "We had already decided we wanted to spend our lives together. A big wedding would have taken months to plan. We did not see the point in waiting."
"Plus," Harper added, "it felt more intimate. Just us and Claire as our witness. It was perfect for what we wanted."
"Any regrets about not having a big celebration?"
Harper looked at Sebastian, remembering the actual ceremony. The way her hands had shaken. The way the kiss had felt too real. The strange mix of terror and rightness she had felt saying those vows.
"No regrets," she said quietly. "It was exactly what we needed."
Jennifer asked more questions about their living situation, their plans for the future, and how they were handling the adjustment of newlywed life. Harper and Sebastian answered smoothly, their story consistent and believable. They had practiced this. They knew what to say.
But somewhere in the middle of the interview, Harper realized she was not lying anymore. When she talked about enjoying breakfast with Sebastian, that was true. When she mentioned how he made her coffee exactly the way she liked it without asking, that was true. When she said she was happy, that was becoming true.
"One last question," Jennifer said, checking her notes. "There are rumors that your marriage is somehow connected to business interests. Sebastian is using this relationship to consolidate power at Colton Industries. How do you respond to that?"
Harper felt anger flash through her.
"That is ridiculous. Sebastian does not need to get married to maintain control of his company. He is the CEO and majority shareholder. Our marriage has nothing to do with business."
"And yet, the timing is interesting," Jennifer pressed gently. "Shortly after your marriage, Marcus Hyland scheduled an emergency board meeting questioning Sebastian’s judgment. Some people are saying that marriage is a strategic move."
"Some people should mind their own business," Harper said, her voice harder than she intended. "Sebastian and I got married because we love each other. Full stop. If Marcus Hyland wants to create conspiracy theories because he is threatened by Sebastian’s success, that is his problem."
Sebastian’s hand squeezed her knee again, but this time it felt like gratitude instead of warning.
"I appreciate the honesty," Jennifer said, turning off her recorder. "Off the record, I think you two are genuine. I have been doing this job for ten years. I can usually tell when people are performing. You are not performing."
Harper and Sebastian exchanged a glance. If only Jennifer knew how much of this started as performance.
After Jennifer left, Harper collapsed on the couch, exhausted.
"That was intense."
"You were amazing," Sebastian said, sitting beside her. "Especially at the end when you defended us against the business conspiracy thing. You sounded genuinely angry."
"I was genuinely angry. Marcus is trying to undermine you, and it is not fair."
Sebastian looked at her with an expression she could not quite read.
"Harper, what you said about the second date. About me caring because it mattered to you. Did you mean that?"
Harper’s heart started racing.
"I... some of it was true. You did seem to actually care about the Adriatic’s history. That did surprise me."
"And the part about knowing I was special on the first date?"
"Sebastian, I do not know what was real and what was performance anymore. Do you?"
He was quiet for a long moment.
"No. I do not. But Harper, when I said you made me want to be better, I meant it. That was not for Jennifer. That was true."
Harper felt tears prick her eyes.
"This is so confusing."
"I know."
"We started this as a business arrangement. A contract with clear terms and an end date. But now we are sitting here after lying to a journalist, and I cannot figure out which parts were lies and which were true."
Sebastian reached for her hand.
"Maybe it does not have to be one or the other. Maybe it started as a business and became something else."
"But what if it did not? What if we are just really good at pretending?"
"Do you think we are pretending when I hold you at night? When do we make breakfast together? When I notice how you take your coffee and you notice when I am stressed about work?"
"I do not know. Are we?"
Sebastian cupped her face, his thumb brushing across her cheekbone.
"I am not pretending, Harper. I stopped pretending weeks ago. This might have started as an arrangement, but it is not anymore. Not for me."
Harper’s breath caught.
"Sebastian..."
"You do not have to say anything back. I just needed you to know. Whatever happens next, whatever we decide, I need you to know that this is real for me."
Harper looked into his eyes and saw the truth there. Vulnerability. Fear. Hope. All the things she was feeling reflected back at her.
"It is real for me too," she whispered. "I am terrified, but it is real."
Sebastian smiled, genuine and warm, and kissed her forehead.
"Then we will figure it out together. One day at a time."
They sat together on the couch for a long time, not talking, just holding each other. Outside, Seattle went about its business. Inside the penthouse, two people who had started as strangers were becoming something neither of them had planned for.
Harper’s phone buzzed. A text from Jessie: "How did the interview go?"
"Good. Really good actually."
"Are you okay? You sound different."
Harper looked at Sebastian, at the way he was watching her with softness in his eyes.
"I am okay. More than okay. I think maybe this is going to work out."
"Harper, what is going on? You are scaring me."
"Do not be scared. I am just... I think I am falling for him. For real."
There was a long pause before Jessie responded.
"Are you sure? Are you sure it is real and not just the situation making you feel things?"
Harper thought about the question. Was she sure? No. But did that matter?
"I am not sure about anything," she typed back. "But I know what I feel. And I know he feels it too. That is enough for now."
"Okay. But Harper, be careful. You have ten and a half months left on this contract. A lot can happen in ten and a half months."
"I know."
Harper put down her phone and turned to Sebastian.
"Jessie is worried about me."
"Is she right to be?"
"Maybe. But I would rather take this risk than spend the next ten months pretending I do not care about you."
Sebastian pulled her closer.
"That is the smartest thing either of us has said in weeks."
Later that night, as they lay in bed with no pillow wall between them, Harper thought about the interview. About all the things they had said that started as lies and became truth somewhere along the way. About how complicated and messy and real this had all become.
"Sebastian?" she said into the darkness.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for proposing this arrangement. Even though it has gotten way more complicated than either of us planned."
"Thank you for saying yes. Even though I definitely did not deserve it."
"You deserved it more than you knew."
Sebastian’s arm tightened around her waist.
"Harper?"
"Yeah?"
"I am glad it is you. If I had to accidentally fall in love with someone, I am glad it is you."
Harper’s heart stopped.
"Did you just say you are falling in love with me?"
"I might have. Is that okay?"
"Yeah," Harper whispered, feeling tears slide down her cheeks. "That is okay. Because I might be falling in love with you too."
They fell asleep like that, wrapped around each other. Two people who had made a business arrangement and found something infinitely more valuable instead.
Neither of them mentioned that they still had ten and a half months of contract left. Neither mentioned the board meeting next week or Marcus’s threats or all the complications waiting for them.
For tonight, it was enough to just be together. To be real. To admit that somewhere between the contract signing and now, they had stopped pretending and started feeling.
Tomorrow they could worry about what that meant. Tonight they co
uld just be.
And for the first time since this whole arrangement began, Harper felt like maybe everything was going to be okay. Maybe even better than okay.
Maybe this impossible, complicated, fake marriage that had become real was exactly what both of them had needed all along.