Chapter Fifteen

Sebastian POV

“She’s easy on the eyes, cousin”

I did not have to turn around to know it was Alex –Al as our mothers liked to call him, who had spoken. In his hand, he held a plate of food piled high.

“Whose eyes?” I asked without looking at him.

“Come on, it’s hard not to look”

“But not impossible, try”

He chuckled, recognizing my twisted sense of humor for what it was even though a part of me was serious.

I looked away from him just as he picked up another piece of chicken from his plate and took a large bite.

It was one of the greatest mysteries of Alex. How did he manage to eat that much and still remain fit. With his inconsistencies at the gym and several social disorders. But I knew how. Which was exactly why I was giving him the look I currently was.

“What?” He laughed and struck my arm with his elbow, playfully of course.

“You know what”

“Relax, I’m not going to touch her. She’s your wife. Come on, man, you’ve got to give me more credit than that”

Then I really looked at him and he finally dropped the chicken drumstick he held pinched between the pads of his thumbs and index finger. “Dude it was one time! Come on”

“One time that you’re still paying for”

My eyes slid back to the subject matter. Her arms were still safely tucked beneath my aunt as she led her around the room introducing her to some of the other business partners that had been privy to the private luncheon. Alina looked like she was still in shock. Maybe because my Aunt was my mother's identical twin, nothing could have prepared her for such surprise.

“I think my Mom likes her”

“Yeah,” I agreed with Alex. Of all my cousins, he and I were closest. It was easy to be honest with him, as disloyal as he was with women, he was a very trustworthy person otherwise. “I think so too and good for us”

I continue to watch her mingle amongst the elite, this time the shock had been perfectly contoured, she looked like a natural. How much did she even know about business? I was yet to find out but prior investigations revealed her to be sharp-witted and extremely resourceful.

What a shame Victor had been blinded by his own folly.

I did agree with Alex. Alina was quite dashing and she looked especially resplendent in her flower-patterned two piece. I sipped from my champagne glass as I remember picking it from the catalogue my sister had shown me- if only she knew it was going to be for Alina she'd have burnt down the whole thing.

I allowed myself a sip from the glass of wine I held in my hands. If there was one thing my father had taught me, it was how to be a good businessman. This marriage needed to work for so many reasons and I did not intend on doing anything to jeopardize our alliance. Instead, I was going to make…

“I see my mother isn’t the only one who likes her.”

I glanced at Alex then turned fully to look at him when I saw the look he was now passing me.

“What’s that thing you’re doing with your eyes?”

“Exposing you?”

“Yeah, that”

“Admit it cousin, you’ve gone soft.”

I scoffed. “I barely know her” I almost said but I didn't. “You need help Alex”

“And yet look at all you’ve done on such short notice. You like her and I can’t wait for when you do fall for her. It’s about time someone fell in love for real around here”

“What do you mean by fall in love? Of course she's my wife, I love her” The lies sounded strange to my ears.

“I may be a womanizer Sebastian but I am not foolish. I don't know why you left Laila to marry this woman, and I don't judge you for it, but I also know it wasn't because of love”

Maybe he was right, our family had always been about business. Every relationship was a potential partnership, every chance meeting a target for acquisition or a buy-out. We had been trained from young to seek out opportunities especially where there seemed to be none.

When I met Alina, I had offered no illusions as to what exactly was going on between us. And I did not intend on doing so either. If the partnership ever became personal to me, I would let her know that I had breached the part of the contract where it strictly forbade us to fall in love and bring complications. I was already offering her the full spectrum of a husband and maybe business partner, there was no reason to add love interest to the mix.

Alex did not know what he was talking about and for the first time, I was happy to be rid of him when he finally decided to seek someone else to torture with bare honesty.

Alina looked up from where she was meeting with my aunt’s friend who was also a stakeholder in one of our vineyards. Our eyes met and something in me zapped alive as though struck by the current it had needed to run its engine. I quickly looked away, swallowing my wine. I refused to acknowledge the feeling, the same way I refused to acknowledge that for the first time in my life, I’d had a nervous reaction toward a woman.

The room tour ended with me. Alina showed up beside my aunt just as I was about to retreat to my bedroom, stalling my exit.

“I have had quite the evening with your lovely wife, son.”

I acknowledged Alina with a nod. “Adequate,” I offered simply.

“It’s settled then. I wish you both a successful partnership.” My aunt raised her wine glass to us. She tapped Alina lightly on her lower back as she walked away. I raised my brows infinitesimally at the gesture.

“Do you want to leave already?” Too distracted by my own thoughts, I had not heard what Alina asked. “Pardon?”

“It seemed like you were leaving, just before…”she made some gestures with her hands then it dawned on me what she was talking about.

“Ah, yes. This is enough socializing for me.”

Alina seemed like she was going to say something more but when she did not, I simply bade her a goodnight and retreated to my bedroom, yes I had given her access to her own room, just for this trip. That was the least I could do to console her for dragging her down here.

I took off my suit and all the responsibilities it came with. Beneath the hot spray of the shower, I allowed my mind relax and seek out other places of comfort.

Outside the shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist and headed back into my bedroom. I remained undressed as I set about going through my schedule for the next day. Gwen, my personal assistant, had emailed it to me. Due to certain constraints I had not been able to travel with her but thankfully, the internet had solved that problem for us.

I walked out of my closet and ran into someone. My hands thrust out instinctively wrapping around a soft and slender neck. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone in the room. The lights were too dim to make out a face but when she started to cry out, I recognized Alina’s voice instantly.

My hands dropped to my sides immediately, apologetic as she coughed, nursing the area I’d pressed. Her eyes were wide with shock but it took me a minute to realize that it wasn’t from the chokehold, she was staring at something in my…my pants. I looked down as well.

I hadn’t tightened the waist of my shorts and they now hung halfway down my waist, revealing too much.