The Wedding Plan

Chapter 27

Eleanor tried gown after gown, and Sebastian almost fell asleep on the couch. She felt as tired as in a day of work, however Margaret seemed extremely happy and excited, with energy to spare.

'Last one,' Margaret announced, and Sebastian woke up immediately. 'And I think this might be the one.'

'Let's hope so,' he grumbled.

'Shush. Don't be like that boy,' reprimanded Margaret and then, smiling from ear to ear, she focused her attention on the door, waiting for Eleanor to come out.

The dress was dark red and corseted. It was just a few inches above the knee, with wide straps, a 'V' open back and a soft neckline, in a satin-like fabric that fitted her perfectly.

'So, what do you think?' his aunt asked, as Eleanor could not speak, waiting for his reaction.

'Perfect.'

Sebastian was left speechless. And that was saying a lot, for a man that had always something to say. In his eyes, she was simply breath-taking. No words could describe the way she looked.

Eleanor looked at herself in the mirror.

'Don't you think it's a bit much?'

'No,' — his voice cracked, and his brain seemed to have stopped working properly, unable to form proper sentences, — 'you look beautiful.'

Eleanor looked away, hiding her flustered face, and went back to the dressing room to change back into her clothes. She knew things could not go any further with Sebastian. There was no way that it would not work out. Sebastian was her boss, and all of it started as a lie. And yet, when he looked at her liked at, her heart skipped a beat. How is that not real? It has to be, right? She wondered.

'Now you are just missing a pair of shoes,' said Margaret with enthusiasm.

'Nothing too high, please,' Eleanor begged, as she recalled her bad luck with heels.

After buying the dress and the shoes, Sebastian dragged Eleanor to a restaurant nearby. It was almost lunchtime, and he was starving. And it also worked as an excuse to spend some more time with her.

On the table beside theirs, there was a family of four, a couple, and their twin girls. The girls were probably around six years old, and Eleanor thought they were extremely adorable. The girls had red curly hair and freckled rosy faces; they were wearing the same dress but in different colors, one had a celeste blue dress and the other one was wearing a soft yellow one.

'I've always wanted a brother or a sister,' she mumbled as she looked at the twins that were playing with their dolls as they waited for their food.

'You are an only child?'

She nodded.

'Sadly, yes. And a miracle, actually.' She tried to make it sound like a joke, so that it would not turn into a sad subject, but she could not hide her sad smile. 'My parents tried for a really long time, a lot of miscarriages and tears until I finally came along.'

'Were you a lonely child, then?'

'A little. I'm not going to lie. Even though my parents were caring and loving, I've always wondered what is like the bond between siblings.'

'I could not imagine my life without Lina. And Larissa, for that matter. They can be so annoying but, they have been there for everything I have gone through. But don't you dare tell them I said that. If they knew, they would taunt me for the rest of my life.'

'I won't.' She chuckled. 'And I can see that in the way you look when you talk about Lina and in the way you act around Larissa. And, I mean, you asked a total stranger to go to Lina's wedding just because she asked you to take someone. So, I guess that shows how much you care.'

'We are only three years apart, but she was more like a mother to me than our actual mother. I guess that might be why I feel like I have to do everything she says.'

Eleanor looked at Sebastian with a tender look. He seemed so genuine and raw as he talked about himself, with no masks, outside the walls of the company, a completely different Sebastian than the one on the magazine covers.

Every time they met, she had come to know him better and better. She got to see a side of him people were not aware of, and that could have not been more dangerous as she fell deeply for him without even noticing it.

'Did you accept your dad's place because Lina didn't want to?'

He sighed with a sad smile on his lips.

'How did you guess? I don't remember being any mention of it on the press release.'

'It's just that you don't really seem that happy when you talk about your career.'

'Crain has been a family company since it was founded. It started with my grandfather, then he retired, and it passed on to my father,' — he took a bite of his food — 'my father could not conceive the idea that someone other than one of his own kids could take his place. So, when Lina said that she didn't want his place, I started to feel the pressure of keeping his legacy. I felt like I did not have a choice.'

'What about your dreaming of becoming a doctor?' she asked with a smirk.

Sebastian frowned until it finally hit him. He chuckled.

'You still remember that?'

She nodded and smiled.

'I guess that it left an impression on me hearing the CEO of Crain saying that he once wanted to be something else.'

'I wanted to be a doctor when I was a kid. I don't remember wanting to be anything else, but then business and economics took over, I guess. What about you? Did you always wanted to work at the financial department of a company like Crain?'

'I think so. I used to spend time at my dad's office and watch him work, and he would teach me some things about what he was doing. My mom is a corporate lawyer. And I'm definitively not good at speaking with other people or at dealing with conflict, so I turned to my dad's side and saw it as an example to follow.'

'I'm glad that you are doing something that you enjoy and that makes you happy.'

'Are you happy?' Eleanor asked, without realizing how she was looking at Sebastian.

Sebastian gulped.

'Come on Eleanor, don't look at me like that.'

'Like what?'

'With sad puppy eyes. I appreciate your concern, but I'm not that unhappy about my career.'

'I,' — she looked down at her plate — 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to look at you like that.'

'Besides, since I now know that your desk is so close to my office, I have a reason to go to work every day.'

On his lips danced dangerous smile that made Eleanor turn red from head to toe in a matter of seconds. Sebastian chuckled at Eleanor's embarrassment and decided that he should probably say something else and end her suffering.

'Do you like your dress?'

'Yes. A lot. But are you sure that it isn't a bit much? Red is such a powerful color.'

'I'm sure that you will be the most beautiful woman on the dance floor.'

Sebastian's dangerous smile returned. He could not help himself.

Eleanor stuttered a bit; she didn't know what to say, and Sebastian was extremely amused by the effect that he had on her.

'Well,' she said, 'that won't be the case, because I have two left feet. I can't dance.'

'Is that so? What a shame.'

'Yes. So, I guess you will have to dance alone at the wedding.'

'I'm not so sure about that.'

'Why?'

'Because now that I know that I'll teach how to dance before we leave for the wedding.'