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Seb lets out a sigh before finally saying, “Fine, but only on one condition…”
I lean forward in my seat, intrigued. “Which is?”
“That you tell me what you were thinking about while dancing with Tom,” he demands, looking at me expectantly, raising an eyebrow. “If I recall correctly, we were interrupted before you could tell me.”
I feel a rush of heat to my cheeks as I recall the moment. Of course, he knows what I was thinking. How could I have been any less obvious? But I play along, trying to keep the flirtatious tone going.
“You know exactly what I was thinking about,” I say coyly, knowing he knows the truth.
Sebastian narrows his eyes now, challenging me. “No, I don’t. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be asking you.”
I bite my lower lip as I look at him, taking in his strong jawline and the way his shirt fits him perfectly. “I was thinking about the man I had just met in the library,” I confess, referring to him, of course. “I found him very handsome, and I was wondering when I’d meet him again.”
I can see a hint of a smile forming on his lips as he glances at me quickly before turning back to the road. “Well, looks like it’s your lucky day.” His words cause me to mirror his smile, feeling a sense of triumph at the thought of spending more time with him. My lucky day, indeed.
***
To my greatest delight, Sebastian takes us to a secluded lake on the edge of a sprawling forest, remote enough that he can’t recall the name of it off the top of his head, but public enough that there is a small parking lot where he slides his car into before powering it off and looking over at me.
“Alright, you’ve gotten your way. Want to take a walk?”
I smile at him softly. “Absolutely.”
I’d have worn something different to walk around the lake at the slightly overgrown park had I known this is what I’d be getting up to this afternoon, but the grass tickles my feet through my strappy sandals as we stroll, and it’s far from the worst thing in the world to suffer in trade for spending this time with Sebastian. He walks with his hands shoved in his pockets, his face slightly turned upwards towards the sunshine, making him almost impossibly too handsome. I have the urge to run my fingers over his short beard to feel the stubble there, but file that idea away for later.
I look around at the breathtaking scenery around us and I can hear the gentle rustle of leaves in the surrounding trees. The air is fresh, and the sun is shining, casting a golden glow over everything. The lake is crystal clear, and I can see the ripples caused by the gentle breeze. It’s a magical place, and I feel my heart flutter with the thought that this is pretty much areal datewith Sebastian van den Bosch, even if he doesn’t want to admit that it is. If he wanted nothing to do with me, there are plenty of uglier places he could have driven us, but instead, he chose somewhere picturesque like this.
His voice interrupts my thoughts, and I turn to face him. “You like it here? Seems like a place where no one can find us,” he says, a playful twinkle in his eyes. “Just like you suggested.”
“I do,” I admit, my expression matching my excitement. “Sometimes I forget that there are places like this so close to the city.”
I feel his hand brush against mine, not sure if he did it on purpose or not, but my heartbeat quickens in response. We sit down on the small dock that stretches out over the water, and I glance at him shyly. He looks so attractive, with his dark hair and sharp, intelligent features.
“I knew you didn’t really want to stop seeing me,” I say in a teasing voice, breaking the silence once more. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have traveled all the way to my campus just to tell me.” I can see him smirking at me, causing warmth to spread through my chest.
“Don’t be so sure of yourself,” he teases right back. “I have delivered tons of bad news in person.”
I tilt my head, my curiosity piqued. “Yes, but I’m sure none of that bad news was affecting you. Your personal life, I mean, not work.”
Sebastian searches my face for a moment, long enough that I’ve got to avert my gaze. I try to focus on the view ahead of me instead, but the impact his presence has on me makes it harder than I thought.
“I had already made up my mind to visit you this week, whether your mom had come to speak to mine or not. It only turned into a bad news delivery once our mothers had their chat, otherwise…” he stops mid-sentence, causing my eyes to look at his again. “Well, it’d have just been a visit.”
My heart swells with happiness, and I feel a rush of affection for him, knowing he had truly planned to see me again so soon. “So you were already missing me?”
He chuckles at my question, his eyes twinkling before he gives me a warm smile. “Something like that.”
“I knew it!” I clutch my hands in front of me, keeping the giddiness I’m feeling inside and resisting the urge to wrap my arms around his neck and kiss his stubbled cheek. “So that means you want us to be friends, right? Since you were missing me and all.”
His sigh is resigned. “Friends, yes. But that’s it.”
“Friends are fantastic,” I lie, knowing good and well I’m going to seek out more than just friendship with him. “We should bring a picnic next time we come here…As friends, of course,” I add hastily, not wanting to seem too eager.
The look he gives me makes me think that Sebastian is onto me, but he doesn’t press, changing the subject instead while he leans backward with his hands behind him on the dock. “How is it living with Margaret van Dieren? According to rumors, she ate her ex-husband alive.” He might be joking, but the truth isn’t too far from it. “But I suppose if your Mom had eaten your dad you’d be a little more traumatized than you appear right now.”
I don’t want to make fun of my mother too much, but a giggle does slip out. “Something like that. She isn’t fun to be around, honestly. She’s very stiff and cold, and, um, you know…overbearing.”
“Do you know why they went through a divorce?”
