She put her head in her hands, crushing those big eyes against her palms, and exhaled a shaky breath. “It took a year for me to settle into that job. For the kids to trust me and know I’m doing it for them. Do you know what I mean? And now. What are they going to think?” she asked, anxiety filling the room. “All of this is connected to me through the Freedom Community Center. It’s one thing for me to be embarrassed—for you to be embarrassed—but those kids deserve better than this…this distraction.”
She took another shaky breath and squeezed her eyes. “What the fuck am I going to do?” she repeated the refrain softly as if she was talking to herself.
Sebastian cleared his throat. “I’m not embarrassed.”
Ever so slowly, she opened her eyes till they were impossibly wide. But withholding any emotion she might have felt, Jaya instead droned derisively, “Is that so? Well, that’s good. Great actually. We might have completely compromised the integrity of the fundraiser but hey, at least it didn’t affect you one bit. So glad. So very, very glad.”
“I mean,” he said before the tsunami of sarcasm drowned them both, “there’s obviously nothing to hide here. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. And…” he paused in order to assess her willingness to hear more. She pinched her lips and narrowed her eyes but gave the slightest of nods. “And there’s no threat to the fundraising at all. If anything, have you seen the traffic on the site?”
She didn’t commit an answer, but merely shrugged and bit her lower lip. He pulled out his phone to show her the Instagram account for the Freedom Community Center, which now had thousands of followers. “It isn’t ideal, but I won’t be the first to tell you there’s no such thing as bad publicity.”
Jaya’s face looked heated when she said, “Even if you’re right, about the publicity being good, my friends and family recognized me. I know it doesn’t matter to you since you’re out there all the time, but this shit matters to me. I haven’t even called my mother back.”
He couldn’t help but huff at her choice of words. “Exactly what do you mean by out there?”
“You know, like, out there. Hooking up and stuff. I’m not judging you, Sebastian, but everyone knows your reputation.”
“Well, actually, about that…” he started to say, but Jaya wasn’t done.
“Whereas for me,” she interjected though seemed uncomfortable. Thinking better of it, she shrugged and continued, “whereas, for me, people won’t believe that was just another Saturday night, you know? Honestly, zero judgment. I’m super happy to party and all that. But PDA’s? That’s not something I would do casually,” she explained carefully. “So yeah, just because it isn’t, you know, real, it doesn’t mean I’m not embarrassed that people think it’s serious. For me, even if it isn’t serious for you. Does that make sense?”
“It does,” he answered solemnly. “And I’m sorry.”
She looked surprised. “Wow, thank you. Thank you for saying that.”
“What did you think I was going to say?”
“That it isn’t a big deal. That I should get over it,” she commented.
If she was surprised by Sebastian’s words, he was taken aback as well. He thought she would be livid. Instead, she was humiliated about being associated with him. He tried not to think about which reaction bothered him more.
“About that, about getting over it,” he went on. “I wanted to run something by you.”
“Before you do, can you give me a minute?” she asked while rubbing her temples. “I’ve been scrolling for hours and haven’t had a cup of coffee. Which reminds me, can I get you anything?”
“How about you tell me where everything is and I’ll make your coffee,” he offered.
“No need. I’m not an invalid.”
He raised a brow because she almost dropped the kettle when trying to fill it with water. “I’m already here so I’m happy to help,” he assured her.
She put the kettle on the stove and faced him. “Actually, you know what, I’d appreciate that. You’ll give me a chance to get dressed and then we can figure this out together.” She showed him the coffee canister and French press before offering a faint smile. “And thank you for bringing breakfast. It looks amazing. You’ll join me?”
“Of course.”
“Good. We can have coffee, eat quiche, and do damage control. How’s that?”
“At your service,” he said, grinning. Jaya not grumpy or stressed or pissed was awesome.
“You’re not so bad, Beaumont. Thanks for coming over. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
She patted his forearm amicably as she hobbled past. He got a whiff of her hair’s fruity aroma. It mixed with the smell of something else altogether.
Namely, the rather fishy proposition he was about to make.
***
Three hours prior, around an hour before Jaya’s notifications woke her like a swarm of bees, Sebastian was already making breakfast. He had a restless night. So as soon as he could bang some pots without pissing off his three other housemates, he banged those pots.
He was cooking down the vegetables for a quiche when a ring pierced the kitchen air. He looked at his phone. Sunday morning that began with Chris Hoffer telling him what to do did not bode well. Sebastian let the call go to voicemail.
Then the pings started. Not just voicemail, but of numerous texts that offered links to Twitter and Instagram. A few notifications linked to his account as well. Threads he had never heard of before that apparently tagged…him? #hotbeau was a play on his last name, Beaumont, which was clever. But #cinciromance seemed ridiculous.
When he saw the pictures, he didn’t immediately register that it was him and Jaya. But then his heart stopped. The thread made it very clear what this was about. No wonder Chris was calling him. Didn’t he say all the playboy stuff needed to be put to rest? Yeah, this was the opposite of that.
The next text was inevitable. Christ Hoffer: CALL ME NOW OR I’M TAKING THE NEXT FLIGHT OUT. ON YOUR DIME.
Sebastian did the only thing one can do in response to a text completely written in caps lock. He called back.
“Finally,” Chris answered.
“Finally,” Sebastian said in as cool a voice as he could muster.
“Do you remember what I said about the gala, Sebastian?”
“I believe your exact instructions were to be fucking wholesome,” Sebastian answered.
Chris was about to say something, but Sebastian felt the urge to explain. “But in all fairness, Chris, this is not what it seems. I know it looks like another hookup, but I promise you, it wasn’t. Jaya’s the youth coordinator for the community center. She twisted her ankle and I brought her to urgent care for crutches and a splint. We did not hook up at all. She got hurt, I brought her to the doctor, then I dropped her at home. Fucking wholesome, just like you ordered.”
Chris was quiet but Sebastian swore he could hear the wheels turning in that cunning brain. “The youth coordinator. For the charity community center thingy,” the agent said, not asking, really, but talking out loud.
“Yes.”
“Is she pretty? I couldn’t tell.”
“She’s fucking gorgeous,” Sebastian said without hesitation.
“So, why aren’t you hooking up?” Chris Hoffer blurted out and something in Sebastian roiled. He wasn’t a prude, everyone knew that, but Chris talking about Jaya that way seemed unnecessary. Unpleasant, even.
“That’s none of your business,” Sebastian’s voice was grittier than he expected. But there it was. Jaya wasn’t anyone’s business.
“Have you read the comments?” Chris asked.
“Not really, but honestly anything people say today won’t matter tomorrow. You know that.”
“Yeah, but have you read the comments?”
“No.”
“I’ll have my assistant send you the screenshots. Read them then call me immediately. You’ve got thirty minutes.”
Sebastian didn’t enjoy the heavy-handedness, but he was a
lready warned about Chris’s bossiness, especially early in a player’s career. Besides, he was kind of curious to see the comments though had no patience to sift through a bunch of stupid emojis and trite remarks.
He read the screenshots curated by the agent’s assistant.
@PuckbunnyDM: #cinciromance #ThrasherHockey
That’s hot. Where do I get a hockey player to sweep me off my feet? Anyone? Anyone?
@LanaLlama: #hotbeau
Did Sebastian Beaumont get married?
@JeremyIronsWasHere: #hotbeau #ThrasherHockey
I heard he was a slut
@LanaLlama: #hotbeau #ThrasherHockey #cinciromance
Not anymore. That’s hot though, right? @SebastianBeau do you have any brothers?
@winstonlosesome: #cinciromance #FCCcampaign
I knew they were giving each other eyes in the Freedom CC. Didn’t know they were dating.
@zeldaforever: #cinciromance
What’s Freedom CC
@winstonlosesome: #cinciromance #FCCcampaign
It’s a community center. @FCCCinci They’re both part of the fundraiser and fell in love. Swoon.
@zeldaforever: #hotbeau #FCCcampaign
Swoon. That’s a hockey player?
@PuckbunnyDM: #hotbeau #cinciromance #FCCcampaign
Wedding goals Couple goals Community goals
@LanaLlama: #hotbeau #FCCcampaign
I love @FCCCinci. Here’s the fundraising page.
The fundraising page was shared a few hundred times and garnered an astonishing number of likes and comments. When Sebastian called his agent, Chris answered with no preamble. “You couldn’t pay for this kind of publicity.”
“I thought you wanted me to keep a low profile on the dating stuff.”
“I said a low profile on the man whore stuff. As you can see, that’s not what’s trending.”
“Except it’s all a lie. I’m not dating Jaya Patel and I’m not sure she would even have dinner with me if I asked her out.”
Chris snorted. “But she let you carry her? Beaumont, give me a break. From twenty feet away and in a blurry picture I could feel the chemistry. So could, what, almost twenty thousand other people who viewed it. I’m pretty sure she would have dinner with you.”
Sebastian started shaking his head. “What’s your point, Chris? I’m making breakfast and heading out for a training session. I don’t have time for this.”
“You should date her.”
“What?!”
“For real. Date her. You’re hot, she’s hot. You’ve got the whole charity thing going. Chemistry’s there. The best solution to a fuckboy reputation isn’t being single, buddy, it’s being monogamous.”
Speechless. Sebastian was speechless.
“Do I need to define that for you, big guy?” Chris said with a snort.
When Sebastian found his voice, he barked, “No.”
Chris didn’t answer right away. Sebastian let the “no” linger between them.
“Do you care about the charity, Sebastian? Do you want it to succeed?” Two seemingly innocent questions were sure to precede something sinister.
“What the fuck are you getting at? Of course, I do.”
“This was linked to the campaign, you know that, right? Out there, the whole romantic thing is part of the campaign and if it turns out to be, well, not anything at all—a simple misunderstanding, a picture taken without consent, just friends on their way to the doctor—how do you think that’s going to play out for all those new followers of the community center?”
His throat was tight, but he managed to say, “You tell me, Chris.”
“Badly. It will play out bad-ly. I know you don’t want to hear this but you’re paying me to read the room, Sebastian. And I’m telling you, if you kill this cute story about the hockey player and the youth coordinator finding love through the charity thing, you fucking kill the charity thing, too. You get that, right?”
“No.”
“No, what?”
“Just…just no. I’m not going to ask her to go out with me because of Twitter. That’s disgusting.”
An impatient sigh from an impatient agent sounded a lot like a growl, it turned out. “For fuck’s sake,” Chris exclaimed. “How about you just ask her out because she’s gorgeous. How about that?”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“Fine. I get it. This is weird. How about this. Instead of asking her out on a date, you make a proposition. You never know. If she’s savvy, she’ll see how much this benefits the campaign. It won’t hurt your reputation either. Win-win, right? You’re both adults. Talk it out.”
“The answer is still no, but that’s a good idea. I should talk to her,” he mumbled resignedly. “There’s no getting around it.”
“Exactly. Hey, how about the three of us get together on a conference call. I can be convincing, you know.”
Sebastian snorted. “You didn’t manage to convince me, Chris. And trust me, she’s a tougher cookie than either of us. Besides, I don’t even have her number. I’ll have to see her at work tomorrow, after hockey practice.”
“You sure it’s a good idea to wait that long? I can’t believe you don’t have another way to reach her.”
“I know where she lives.”
“There he is,” Chris said smugly. “There’s the guy I signed on.”
“Just give it a rest, Chris.”
“Not till you tell me how that talk goes. I’ll call you later.”
CHAPTER 5
By the time Jaya washed her face, tightened her braid, and slipped into a shirt and leggings, Sebastian had coffee and quiche on the table.
“I think we still need to adjust those,” he said, motioning to her crutches. “They could be lowered.”
“I didn’t realize you were such a worrywart, Dad,” she teased. But when she took a sip of perfectly brewed black coffee, Jaya’s eyes sparkled. “I take that back. My dad never made coffee this good.”
He absentmindedly lifted his shoulders as if the compliment was his due.
“So, what’s in your vegetarian quiche?” she asked while scooping a forkful into her mouth. Before he could name the ingredients, Jaya released a deep moan. She couldn’t help closing her eyes and making that ridiculous sound. The explosion of flavors and textures—smooth egg and cheese, tart tomatoes, earthy mushrooms, the subtle bitterness of greens, and just a hint of sweet butter in the crumbling crust—took over all her senses.
She opened her eyes and found Sebastian staring at her with a placid face. “Do you really want to know?” he asked hoarsely.
Jaya shook her head and said solemnly, “Crack. This is crack cocaine.”
He chuckled. “Do you cook?”
“You’re right. No point giving me a recipe. Just make it for me anytime you want to come over,” she winked. She knew she was moving towards the flirt zone but was it flirting if she was serious? Dead serious. She could eat this every day.
Sebastian cleared his throat and replied, “Sure.”
They ate companionably for a few minutes. Settling into her second slice of quiche, Jaya decided it would be up to her to broach the subject. Sebastian wasn’t in a hurry to get down to the business of hashtags and pictures and consequences.
“So…” she started, “do you think this will blow over on its own?” He didn’t answer right away. She looked closer at the man whom she never expected to spend this much time with in her life, never mind a weekend.
Maybe because her stomach was full and her head cleared, Jaya found it hard not to notice all the things that made Sebastian Beaumont feel larger than life in her tiny space. She watched as he wiped his mouth and took a sip of coffee. He had a strong neck. An athlete’s thick and muscular neck. And an Adam’s apple that bobbed firmly as he seemed to have trouble swallowing. He hadn’t shaved from the night prior, so a dark stubble cast a shadow over that razor-sharp jaw. When he looked down to pick up the crust on his plate, the thick darkness of his lashes sat on his skin like
tiny, ruffled wings.
“Maybe…” he started but didn’t continue.
She noticed the subtle frown lines around his mouth. “Sebastian, are you OK?” she ventured to ask. She knew she was upset earlier. Confused and overwhelmed. But he seemed worse than when he first arrived.
“I’m going to ask you something,” he declared before lifting his eyes.
Jaya waited but since he didn’t follow up immediately, she bobbed her head in a gesture of yes, go on.
“You read the comments about us as a couple.”
She could feel her blush but powered through with a deep breath. “You know I did.”
“And you know the whole…romance thing is linked to the campaign.” Jaya noticed that his eyes sharpened when he looked at her.
“I know this, Sebastian. What’s your point?”
“Well,” he retorted, more confidently as he pushed the plate away and leaned on his forearms, emphasizing the large knots of his biceps, “it’s not a bad thing. We’re both invested in the campaign. This is the first big community service thing I’m attaching my name to. If it benefits from this publicity, I’m OK with it. Not sure if there’s a benefit to making any kind of announcement on the contrary. That might even make the whole, um, the whole scenario stay in the limelight for longer.”
“So what’s your point? Just say nothing? Let people think…” Jaya couldn’t even finish the sentence. What were people thinking? That they were a couple that walked off into the night in each other’s arms. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Except that wasn’t true either. He did carry her in his arms.
“That’s crazy,” she stated, but without much conviction. “I’m not comfortable lying. This is personal. I mean, what if I had a boyfriend?”
Something dark flickered across his light eyes and he leaned back before asking, “Well? Do you?”
“No. But that’s not the point,” she insisted.
“Just being the devils’ advocate. What if we let it play out. Ignore the whole thing and it will either die down with no effects, or it will die down after it boosts the campaign’s profile. I don’t see a downside,” he reasoned.
The Love Campaign (Romantic Revelations Series Book 1) Page 5
