Chapter 56: Chapter 56

The next day and the day after that one was a breeze of activities for Carol. Mr. James and his wife did not give her a chance to get bored but kept her fully entertained with different activities. They went swimming, and also went to visit one of Mr. James’s old friends. Carol noticed that they did not do any strenuous activities, and knew that it was because of Mr. James’s health.

“I’m sorry that you’re stuck doing granny stuff. When Sebastian comes, you both can do all the young people's stuff. Our old bones just can’t.” Mr. James had said, laughing but Carol hasted to assure him that she did not mind at all.

Sebastian was due to arrive that afternoon, and the whole of Carol’s body was tingling in anticipation of his arrival. She did not even bother to hide how excited she was about it, and she was sure that the older couple knew exactly how she was feeling.

“You’re really excited, huh? You must have missed him so much.” Mrs. James stated as she and Carol sat sunning on the beach, something that was one of their favorite activities. Mr. James was resting in his suite. He rarely got up when they did.

Carol blushed at being so readable and was about to deny it when she remembered that she and Sebastian were supposed to be playing the perfect couple.

“Oh yes.” She gushed. “It feels like ages since I last saw him.”

“That’s what love is like. I remember when I newly fell in love with my husband. Every second away from him was pure torture, and I always could not wait to see him.”

Carol nodded in agreement, even though she was not in love with Sebastian. She just liked him a lot, but Mrs. James did not need to know that.

“Are you going to go with Tom to go and pick him up?” Mrs. James asked, referring to Sebastian’s bodyguard.

“No, I’ll just wait for him here,” Carol replied. The last thing she wanted was to seem too eager to see Sebastian as he might not like that. After all, he had told her emphatically that this was just role-playing to make his uncle happy, and he was even paying her for it for crying out loud. Besides, she was not in the mood to go anywhere right now.

He arrived at the hotel at a few minutes past three in the afternoon. By this time Mr. James had woken up and was sitting with his wife and Carol, just sipping their favorite drinks and making small talk while they waited for Sebastian to arrive. It was always a marvel to Carol how comfortable she was with this couple, considering that she was the shy type. With them, however, her shyness disappears and she discovered that she could chat with them for hours without running out of things to say.

As soon as she saw Sebastian enter the hotel, her heart began pounding of its own accord. He looked stressed and tired, but as soon as he saw them, his face lit up in a smile that transformed it into the most handsome one that she had ever seen. Carol did not know if the smile was meant for her or not, or if he would smile that way if she was the only one there, but she decided to pretend that it was for her anyway. Remembering that they were supposed to be in love or at least, falling in love, Carol decided to take her role one step forward. She got up from where she was sitting with Mr. James and his wife, and walked towards Sebastian, meeting him halfway. He looked surprised but smiled again, and this time, she knew that this smile was all hers. It caused her insides to melt into mush and she found herself returning it automatically.

“Hey.” He began. “You look…”

Carol did not let him finish, but moved into his personal space and planted her lips against his, something that she had been longing to do for some time now. She could feel his surprise as he tensed at first, and she immediately regretted her impulsiveness, but the tenseness lasted for only a millisecond, and then he was dropping the bag in his hand, holding her and kissing her back.

Pleasure coursed through Carol at the expert way in which he kissed her, and it was all she could do not to melt into a puddle at his feet. She wished that they could remain here this way forever, but she had to remind herself that this was a public place, and people were no doubt, watching. Reluctantly, she pulled back at the same time that Sebastian did, her face flushed and her lips tingling. He licked his lips slowly, his gaze fixed on hers for a second or two after the kiss, and then Mr. James’s voice interrupted them, causing him to turn to face the man, who was coming toward them, his face flushed with pleasure and happiness. Looking at him now, one would never guess that he was only some months away from dying. The man seemed very tough and hell-bent on defying his sickness until the very last minute.

“Sebastian, my boy. Are you not a sight for sore eyes?” The man asked, laughing uproariously as he embraced Sebastian and pounded him on the back happily.

“How are you, uncle? You played a fast one on us, huh?” Sebastian replied, not seeming offended in the least.

“Yes, yes. We’ll never get to see you otherwise. Your wife has been waiting eagerly for your arrival. Oh, you love birds. You make me wish I was younger.” Mr. James said as they got back to where his wife was sitting. Sebastian reached down to plant kisses on the cheeks that she proffered.

“That’s true, you know. At a point, I began to feel very sorry for her, being alone, even though we are here with her. Only one's husband can fill that kind of void. I should know. Anyway, I’m glad you’re here now.” His aunt put in, smiling fondly at Carol, who wished that the ground would open up and swallow her. She could not believe that she had been that obvious without even trying. She risked a glance at Sebastian and caught him looking at her speculatively, causing her to blush fiercely and hoped that he was not beginning to wonder if she was indeed falling in love with him. That would be too embarrassing for words.