Chapter 51

Evelyn

“You ready, Princess?” Sebastian asks as we walk closer to the front door.

“Honestly no,” I admit.

He stops us in our tracks, turning himself toward me as others walk past us on the sidewalk. “What’s wrong?” His piercing blue eyes are wide as he looks me over. “What happened?”

I shake my head. “Sebastian, it’s fine! I’m just nervous.”

“What’s to be nervous about? It’s a New Year’s party.”

“That’s why I’m nervous. Me and parties don’t go well together.”

“You are such a bad liar, Princess.” His head lifts up, shaking it back and forth as his gelled hair remains unmoving. “You do great at parties.”

“The last party we had was Christmas, though?” I ask, though it’s true.

“And our birthday, and the college parties, and—”

I push him a little, getting Sebastian to stay quiet. “You are going to have to stop taunting me all the time!” I exclaim to him.

“Never,” he promises.

Rolling my eyes, I leave Sebastian and head for the door.

“Come on, Cain, you have a party to get to!”

We get through the entrance, and my first thought is that this isn’t like the last party. Gone are the twinkling lights and soft music with people casually walking and talking. Replaced is a dark room, the DJ’s bass so loud I feel the music in my throat, and Sebastian and I aren’t here with anyone who could ruin our secret.

For better or worse, the blue dress I ended up picking reflects off the different disco and spotlights.

“Well, this is different,” I murmur under my breath. Sebastian, on the other hand, must have the ears of a hawk, because he looks back down at me again.

“Oh, come on, Princess! Let loose! Grab a drink! Dance under the disco ball!”

I feel like shoving him again. “You’ve got too much energy for me right now, Seb!”

Pulling away from my arm and doing a little dance with his arms moving up and down and shoulders side to side, he lets his face grow wider with excitement.

“I’m not gonna waste our dance time chatting. See you on the dance floor!”

He leaves me at the entrance, immediately walking into the sea of people and expensive clothing.

Son of a bitch.

As I walk around the perimeter, I check out all the tables set up. There’s a raffle tonight for charity donations, places you can send donations to, like animal shelters, and then, the last one is what I stop on, confused.

“King and Queen of the New Year?” I say aloud, not really even meaning to. “What good is that?”

I looked through the paperwork, but there was nowhere to vote for someone. I call out, looking for some help, but receive no response.

Sebastian has a lot of questions to answer, and I’ve been here for three minutes.

It’s odd that Sebastian is so chipper. We’ve barely talked since his car broke down. Our opposite schedules have kept us apart for almost a week.

I look around the room to try to find Sebastian’s tall figure. Expecting to see his black hair reflect off the lights and guide me across the floor, I start squinting against the spinning room.

I wonder how many of these parties Sebastian and Gregory have attended through the years. Everything around me looks so expensive and bright, and I look back down at my dark blue dress.

An uncomfortable shiver goes through my back, and I cross my arms as I feel, once again, like I don’t belong.

I pull out my phone to text Ava, who knows a thing or two about these parties from being friends with Sebastian, but someone holds a drink out to me, blocking my view of my phone.

“Thought you might want something,” Sebastian says, smirking.

“Where did you run off to?” I question without even taking the drink.

He laughs, pushing the drink into my hands and rolling his eyes. “Can’t you just enjoy your night?”

“I’m so confused. You’re so upbeat and positive tonight. Why?” I take the drink but don’t take my focus off Sebastian.

“You worry too much, Princess,” he winks. “It’s a party!”

“Sebastian, I’m serious.” I give more emphasis to my voice. “We’ve never talked about…all of it.”

“And we can talk about it when we’re not in the middle of a party, Evelyn.”

The usage of my real name shocks me, pulling my head back. He doesn’t sound any less enthusiastic as he continues to dance literal circles around me.

“We’re going to be separated from everyone who knows us for long enough. Have fun, alright?”

I open my mouth to respond, but he calls out to someone and makes his way back into the crowd of people.

Completely taken aback by his attitude, I decide to just watch the dancers and other people having fun.

This isn’t my world.

My world is the ocean waves and sand sticking to every surface of skin. I’ve learned to find my place in New York, but there are still parts in which I don’t feel I belong.

At least at the last party we went to, my mom was there to lean on when I felt out-of-place. Now Sebastian won’t even stick by my side in a room full of strangers.

I can’t help but feel jealous of that.

“Alright everyone, make sure you’re casting your ballot for the Queen and King of the New Year!” A voice announces over the speaker. “We’re quickly approaching midnight, and we’ll be crowning our winners ten minutes before the countdown!”

King and Queen of the New Year? Huh. Not what I expected.

Sebastian finally comes back around to find me, and clearly intoxicated, he pulls me and my anxious butt into the throngs of people having a good time.

“Loosen up!” He teases.

“I’m trying!” I admit, pushing hair from my eyes.

“Try harder!” Sebastian replies, grabbing my right hand and spinning me in several circles on the dance floor.

When was the last time I danced like this with him? The last party? Our parents wedding?

I don’t know, but it makes me crave time alone with him. We’re going to have so much time alone in Hawaii together—I’m starting to genuinely worry about what we might get ourselves into.

The song switches to one of my favorite pop songs from childhood. I cheer with excitement, jumping up and down while I start singing along with the lyrics.

Sebastian, to his credit, starts to dance even more, making me throw my head back and laugh.

“You’re insane!”

“You’re one to talk!” He protests.

I roll my eyes at him. “I’m loosening up! You told me to!”

He smirks that perfect Sebastian smile that I crave every single day. “And you look very loose, Princess.”

I can’t help but snort into my hands at his joke, but his eyes don’t leave mine for even a second.

“Attention New Years Eve partiers!” A voice stops the music, and we follow the spotlight to a man on stage in a slick black suit.

“Looks like it’s time to crown the winners,” Sebastian whispers. I turn to him, confused. What winners?

“We’ve been keeping track of your ballots and asking all of you who should take home the crown tonight for our newest King and Queen. And with ten minutes until midnight, it’s time!”

I look around, curious at who amongst these strangers will be crowned royalty for the remainder of the year.

“First up on our list, our King!” The man calls excitedly, reaching down to grab the envelope to read off the name.

He looks down, reads the name, and his smile breaks out even wider as if possible. “Our King is…Mr. Sebastian Cain!” He cheers.

The room bursts into applause, everyone turning to face us in the middle of the dance floor. My own eyes widen at the sudden announcement.

Sebastian lets his smile take hold and nods as he makes his way up to the stage to accept his crown. Wow, that was…not what I thought would happen.

I watch him and clap, though I start to feel as if I know what’s going to happen in the pit of my stomach.

Sebastian has the crown bestowed upon him and waves once out into the crowd of faces.

“And now, the Queen of the New Year!” The man continues on.

In my head, I start chanting, “Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it!”

“And our winner is…well, folks, this is a first timer! The Queen is Evelyn Walters!”

My heart falls all the way to the floor.

The room looks around, clearly everyone unsure about their new queen. I don’t blame them. If I stand completely still, will everyone overlook me?

But Sebastian’s eyes tell me to join him on stage, and I see the mischief on his face. I know he’ll do something drastic if he has to, and reluctantly, I state, making my way to the stage.

“There she is! Evelyn Walters, everyone!” The announcer cheers, clapping his hands in my direction as the rest of the room clearly continues to be confused.

Sebastian is clapping with a known look on his face. I just hurry to the stage to get this over with, not wanting the room’s focus on the two of us.

It feels like a corny prom scene in some romantic comedy, but I’m not currently laughing.

When I reach the stage and stand next to Sebastian, he lifts the crown up and places it on my head, looking right into my eyes.

“Smile,” he mouths. “Take it all in.”

As he steps out of my way and gestures to my presence on stage, the room claps a little louder.

“Kiss!” Some guy shouts from the audience.

“Yeah, kiss her Seb!” Another person shouts.

I feel my cheeks burning. Do these people not know he’s my stepbrother? Or is this actually a prank?

“Kiss!”

“Kiss!”

More people join in on the shouting, and I feel myself shrinking in place. This is getting way out of hand. What am I supposed to do?

Before I can say or do anything, Sebastian leans over and kisses my hot cheek, the room groaning at his gesture.

“Just breathe, Princess.” His voice is barely above a whisper. “I’m running out of patience for those lips.”

Well, now my cheeks are absolutely on fire.

“Oh, it’s only two minutes to midnight!” The announcer next to us on stage calls, and the room cheers.

I look back at Sebastian, trying to take in what to do, what to say, how to be.

Sebastian

I for sure didn’t rig the election so much as I paid for the guys to throw out all the ballots and crown Evelyn and I as the rightful winners. I know she’s absolutely on edge right now.

But I’m not completely sure why.

As Darren, the announcer for the evening announces we’re down to our final minutes of the year, and as my lips leave Evelyn’s cheek, I take one good, hard look at her.

I may have been drinking tonight, but my cognitive functions are working perfectly.

I’m going to kiss Evelyn at midnight. Whether she likes it or not, I’m not starting off the new year without her lips.

As everyone is counting down the final minute, I grab her hand and pull her away with me, not waiting to hear anything she or the rest of the room has to say.

“Thirty! Twenty-nine!”

“Where are we going, Sebastian?” Evelyn asks as I pull her behind me. I don’t have time to talk. We’re almost out of time.

“Twenty! Nineteen!”

We make it backstage, out of sight of everyone else.

“What are we doing?” She asks breathlessly.

“Starting off the year exactly where we want to be,” I tell her simply.

“Ten! Nine!”

“I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Eight!”

“I want you, Evelyn. I want your lips. I want your body. I want your skin.”

“Seven! Six!”

“You do?” Her voice is shaky, but it makes the ripples of want stronger.

“Five! Four!”

“I do.”

“Three!”

“I want you, too.”

“Two! One!”

The second the clock strikes midnight, I take Evelyn’s lower back in my hands, pull her close, and press my lips to hers.

The room we’ve left behind bursts into shouts, applause, laughter, and sappy music.

But Evelyn holds her tiara to her head and kisses me back with a fierce passion and clear desire.

We don’t pull away from one another. We don’t stop kissing. We don’t even look one another in the eye again.

We drink in every tiny bit we can grab. My body feels so weak and so damn needy of her that I feel as if I may collapse.

But I don’t stop. I don’t let go.

I’m not ever letting go of Evelyn.