Chapter 41

Evelyn

Spinning around the ball, dancing with Sebastian, and the beautiful sentiment it all brings is making my heart race faster than his F1 car.

“So, am I as bad a dancer as during the wedding?” He asks cheekily.

I shake my head but can’t stop the smile from forming. “You’re just fishing for compliments at this point, aren’t you?”

“So what if I am?”

“You’re absolutely the worst,” I tease him, still so stunned by this man and his audacity.

“Oh, please, you know you can’t resist me and my jokes.”

“If that helps you sleep at night.”

He chuckles, spinning me around, to my surprise. I burst out laughing at the move, before being dipped!

“What the hell?” I snicker. “Who are you, and what have you done with Sebastian Cain?”

He pulls me a little closer, though still keeping a respectable distance to ward off any suspicion.

However, quick as anything, he moves some hair from my face.

“You really are not the man I met on our birthday,” I recollect.

“Am I?”

“You just seem so different now. Like the world isn’t as small as you once believed it to be.”

“Is that so?” His tone still comes off as amused as he continues to guide me across the floor.

“Yes.”

“Well, why do you think I’m different?”

Why? Because here we are, dancing in a room full of people as we pretend not to have feelings for one another. Because our parents got married and we’re not supposed to be together.

Because in order for everyone to be happy, we have to remain unhappy.

It’s the balance of the universe. We just so happened to be split up.

“Do you remember the morning after?” Sebastian asks, which I don’t expect to hear.

“After we met?”

“Yeah,” he nods.

“What about it?”

“You said I’d never find you. That we were just doing what we were doing one time and that was the end of it.”

I don’t remember the exact words, but that sounds about right.

“And yet, here we are.”

“Here we are,” I echo.

“Guess neither of us ever thought hooking up with a random stranger would lead us down this path, huh?”

“Guess not.”

“So, does that mean I’m different than most people you meet? Or fuck?”

I snort without meaning to, shaking my head as I try not to laugh too loud. “You’re very different than then. You’re young and already an incredibly talented F1 racer. You’re smart, ambitious, compassionate, funny, and believe it or, you know how to be nice.”

“I think you have me confused with another man you slept with.”

I push him. “Why do you never want to admit that there’s a side of you I see more often than not? You’re a good person, Sebastian.”

“I think you’re the only person in this entire world that would say such things.”

“Because of your dad? Because of racing? Or because you don’t stick around long enough to know?”

“All of the above, Princess,” he chortles.

“I might not know Gregory well, but I do know that he wants what’s best for you, even if you don’t believe it or see it yet.”

“The only thing he wants is me to take my place on the cooperate ladder and continue the legacy of the family name. But I’m not even blood. It doesn’t feel right, and it certainly doesn’t seem like something I’d ever be caught doing.”

I glance up, making strong eye contact with him as he slows our swaying down.

“He’s never seen you race, has he?”

That was the button I didn’t mean to push, but it’s too late. He seems to deflate a little in my arms, so I hold tight.

“I’m sorry he doesn’t see the good in you that I and many others in your life do. I know my mom adores you and loves finally having a son. I bet Gregory is glad he’s giving you a full family after all these years.”

“You can’t know that,” he mumbles.

“And you can’t know he dislikes or dismisses you. When have you fully opened your eyes?”

“I glued them tight a long time ago, Princess. I’m sorry, but that’s never going to change between him and me. Even if I begged him, he’d still force me into this job.”

He stops, looking around as if his father will overhear the conversation before looking back at me.

“F1 is my passion. I have a few races this break, and he hasn’t asked me a damn thing about them.”

“When are they?”

“Between now and the New Year, before we leave for Hawaii.”

“So then, who cares? I know that is so much easier said than done. But I think rekindling a relationship with Gregory is essential.”

“So he can manipulate me into taking that job?”

“So you can finally see eye-to-eye on anything at all.”

I can’t help it, and I let out a long sigh. I wish there was something I could possibly do to help him.

“You’ll come to my races?” He asks, almost too quiet for me to hear. I bring my eyes up to his.

“What?”

“I get free tickets. And since you keep gushing over F1 racer Sebastian, I figured it’d be a good time to meet him.”

I give him a half-smile but don’t say anything.

When the song stops, Sebastian and I break apart, having already danced for nearly ten minutes.

We put some distance between us as Sebastian goes off to find himself something to eat. I decide to move out of the way due to others dancing, but it’s at that very moment that Madelyn comes in.

“Come with me,” she says excitedly.

We get to the front of the hall, and Madelyn plops me between her and Gregory, who starts taping on his glass for people’s attention.

The room is filled with noises of dishes and cutlery, but the echo brings everyone back in as Gregory is given a microphone.

“Hello, all, welcome to our new tradition we’ll be starting in the Cain house. Every winter, we shall hold a ball, all welcome, and in an effort to raise more money for any charity or organization of our choosing.”

I find Sebastian and give him just a tiny smile.

“I just want to thank you all for being here, and take a moment to introduce to you Madelyn and Evelyn!”

The room is a chorus of “here, here!” as we all sip our drinks, before Sebastian winks across the entire room. He then raises his glass ever-so-gently, and I smile wider.

Goddammit. Am I really, actually falling for Sebastian Cain of all the people in the world? Do his words stick to my memory like glue? Or am I just craving the attention that I never had?

He takes a long sip of whatever he’s drinking, and I politely drink the champagne my mother insisted on letting me try. Maybe I shouldn’t tell her I’ve gotten very drunk already in the past several months?

Nah, don’t need that to become a problem.

“What are you thinking about?” Madelyn asks, sidling up to me.

“Nothing,” I admit. “Just enjoying the evening.”

Mom squeezes my arm gently. “You deserve to enjoy it. It’s all coming together, and we’re becoming everything I always wanted for you as a child.”

“A place by the ocean?”

“A real family, Evelyn.”

Lucky shot in the dark, I guess.

“So, you want me to sit with you a bit more?” Madelyn asks.

“No. Go, mix, and mingle. I’m going to continue taking it all in.”

I’m glad she’s not pushing me to solve things now.

But I don’t know how long that’s going to last, especially if the feelings I’m harboring right now are starting to grow.