Page 17 of Come As You Are
“I wish I had,” I said. “But, listen, there’s something Idoneed to tell you.”
My heart started pounding as Sebastian focused on me. “If this is about your pageant idea, Olivia’s totally on board with that.”
“I know she is. Maria and Andrew think it’s a good idea, too. But this is something else. Something I should have told you, should have told Olivia.”
Sebastian narrowed his eyes at me. “Start talking.”
“Yeah.” My mouth went completely dry, and I reached for my coffee, wishing I was wearing more than boxer briefs so I could stand up and pace instead of sitting so close to Sebastian I could feel the heat radiating off his body. With fear making my hands shake, I met his gaze. “I’ll totally understand if you want me to leave,” I said. “Both here and Illyria. I mean, I love being at Illyria, and you and Olivia and everyone have been so great to me—”
“Are you going to tell me you’re the one stealing liquor?”
“No. Not at all. But…kind of…maybe.”
“Vee…”
“Okay. So, um, Illyria wasn’t the first place I went looking for a job. I got told the Grotto was hiring, so I went there thinking I could be a busboy or something. But Orsino said they weren’t hiring, and I wasn’t their type anyway.”
Sebastian snorted, which helped me breathe a little easier since he was letting me say what I needed to without gettingangry. “Yeah, so, I was leaving when Stormy pulled me aside and asked if I wanted to make a hundred bucks by helping them get information from Illyria.”
“So, basically spying.” Sebastian stood up and ran his hands through his hair as he started to pace in the small kitchen. “But how…”
“I don’t know. Stormy said they had someone at Illyria who would make sure I got hired. I figured I was going to wind up either washing dishes or serving, so the dancing thing was a surprise to me. But the weird thing is, she wanted me to see if I could figure out who was spying on the Grotto.”
“Olivia wouldn’t…” Sebastian shook his head. “I can’t imagine she’d do something like that. Mal might, but not Olivia.”
I shrugged. “Honestly, I think it was just a story. I haven’t seen or heard about anyone being over there. Stormy also told me Antonio and Orsino used to be friends.”
“Hardly.” Sebastian snorted. “They were rivals, like oil and water. Orsino offered to buy Illyria after Antonio died, but Olivia refused. He was pretty pissed off about it.” Fixing me with an unwavering stare, Sebastian pursed his lips. “How many times did you report back to Stormy?”
“Only twice. And right at the beginning. If it’s any comfort, my roommates stole everything I made from her when they took off with my stuff.”
“Karma,” Sebastian said, but he smiled and sat back down. “Okay. I’m not happy about what you did, but I don’t see that it caused any problems. Plus, you’ve been an asset for the club, and that pageant idea is the best anyone’s come up with. While I might be an idiot for trusting you, I don’t think it’s in you to lie about something like this. But we’re going to head into the club and you’re going to tell Olivia everything, got it?”
“Absolutely. It’s been eating away at me, to be honest, but after last night, I knew I had to say something.”
“Last night?”
“Your phone butt-dialed me. It was kind of funny, but then Festus said something that reminded me of Orsino, and it was like my conscience was telling me I couldn’t stay here unless I told you.”
“What did Fest say?”
“You asked him about something that had happened at the door, and he said it was just some bozos trying to get a free show. And that’s what Orsino accused me of when I tried to get a job at the Grotto. It was such an unlikely coincidence, I figured it was the universe telling me to come clean. So, I am.”
Sebastian looked thoughtful but didn’t say anything for a bit. I sipped my coffee, unsure if I should stay quiet or ask what he was thinking, but in the end it didn’t matter. Sebastian told me to eat some toast, he was going to make us eggs, and then we’d head over to Illyria to talk to Olivia. I was grateful that he still seemed okay with me staying in his place and a bit hopeful that I’d get to keep my job as well.
Telling Olivia about my“job” with Stormy wasn’t any easier than telling Sebastian. I saw the disappointment in her eyes as I explained what I’d been hired to do. Even though I also told her I hadn’t seen anything worth reporting and had stopped visiting the Grotto, her expression remained sad and that hit me in the gut. When Sebastian told her about finding me in the storeroom and offering me a place to stay, my face flamed in embarrassment, but at least it replaced regret with anger.
“You’re sure we can trust Vee?” she asked Sebastian.
We were seated around the coffee table by the window that overlooked the club, Olivia on the couch, Sebastian and me in office chairs: a perfect triangle, except I felt anything but balanced or stable at the moment.
Sebastian shrugged and turned toward me. “I do. I mean, look at those baby blues. Do you think he can hide anything from anyone?”
More than my face grew warm as they both turned their assessing gazes on me. I sat up straighter, staring back at Olivia as she scrutinized me, trying not to flinch or look guilty, trying to meet her eyes.
For a long moment, no one spoke. The tension in the room thickened, and I noticed my own breathing deepening in time with Olivia’s. In my peripheral vision, Sebastian shifted in his seat and licked his lips letting his tongue linger on the top one as he shifted his focus from me to Olivia and back.
“I want to trust you,” Olivia said. There was a softness to her voice I hadn’t heard before, a vulnerability, and it made me tear up to think I’d hurt her.
