He took the silence the wrong way.
“Fine. Okay. I get it. I . . . yeah. I’m sorry I was such a bastard, Marin. Really.” He shut the door with a little more force than needed and she groaned, covering her face with her hand. She went to say something when he climbed in, but again, he was already talking. “At least send Dash a message. Let him know so he doesn’t hear about it from somebody else.”
Irritated all over again, she snapped, “I don’t have to check in with Dash or anybody else. I’m fine.”
A taut silence hung between them, shattered only when Sebastien started the car. The powerful engine roared to life before settling into a purr as he threw it into reverse.
The entire drive was made in silence and Marin kept her face turned from his.
Mentally, she walked through what she needed to do.
This had gone on too long and she had to put an end to it.
Her heart ached every time she saw him and if she didn’t so something soon, it was only going to make it worse.
He thought he had put some giant wedge between them, but in reality, she was creating one, just by not finding a way to tell him. The longer she waited the harder it would get, too.
As the lights of the hotel came into view, she looked over at him. “Sebastien, would you—”
The music blaring from his phone interrupted her. Sebastien picked the phone up from the console, eyed it before dropping it. She thought for a moment, he wasn’t going to answer and she breathed out a sigh of relief.
But then she mentally started to swear up and down as he tapped a button on the steering wheel.
The soft, throaty voice that rolled out made Marin see red.
Evie Taylor wasn’t exactly a woman Marin didn’t like.
Generally, Marin was an easy-going woman so while. Evie might be considered a prima donna, the two women got along well. But Evie was also a determined predator in Prada and everybody knew she’d set her sights on Sebastien. She was playing the sister in the movie and she had a lot of scenes with Marin. Every so often, Evie would ask about him . . . or one of the other brothers.
Marin had gotten tired of the questions about the brothers. She was as protective of them—and their wives—as if she were part of the family. She’d told Evie she was wasting her time on Sebastien’s brothers. They were stupid in love with their wives and when she’d mentioned Travis, Marin had just laughed. You won’t ever see him.
So that had just made her that much more focused on Sebastien.
“I was wondering if you might be interested in grabbing a bite to eat.”
Say no. Marin stared at the console, thinking so loud it was a miracle Sebastien didn’t hear her.
Or maybe he did. Maybe he laughed and chuckled and chatted with Evie just to piss Marin off.
She had no idea.
But by the time the call ended, Sebastien had made plans for Evie to meet him out in front of the hotel.
So much for you taking me up to my room, staying with me. She was tempted to sulk and point out that he was supposed to be taking care of her, hello!
But she was feeling fine and she’d sound like a whiny brat if she went and did a one-eighty after telling him she was okay.
“You sure you’re feeling okay?” he asked, checking his mirror before pulling into the valet area in front of the hotel. It was crowded but he managed to work his way straight up to the front. And what a surprise . . . Evie was already out there.
Oversized glasses hiding her face and dark red hair pulled back into a loose braid. Evie started walking toward the car with a smile on her lips. Even seeing Marin didn’t make her pause, although Marin saw her brow arch up.
“I’m fine,” Marin said, gritting her teeth. Emotions raged inside her, everything from hurt to jealousy. She didn’t know if she wanted to cry or just turn to him and smack him. “You two have a nice . . . time.”
She almost said something pithy, but managed to keep it behind her teeth.
Sebastien was already out of the car by the time she had gotten her purse from the floor, but he didn’t go straight to Evie. Nope, Sebastien’s parents had raised a gentleman and he was right there, opening the door before she had a chance and offering a hand.
She ignored it, pettiness creeping in to snuggle right up to hurt and jealousy. “You go on over to Evie, Seb.” Offering a chilly smile, she said, “I’m hungry and tired. Don’t mind me.”
“You never did text Dash.”
Fuck Dash.
He must have seen something in her eyes because he went to say something but before he got it out, Evie appeared at their side. “Are you ready, Sebastien?”
A moment pulsed between them and Marin had a weak hope that he might tell Evie he’d changed his mind.
But he didn’t.
He just nodded.
“Text him,” he said again.
Kiss my ass, she thought as she cut around him.