Page 44 of In the Net (Sin Bin Stories #5)

HARPER

S ophia’s wedding reception is every bit as beautiful as I expected.

The space is immaculate with gorgeous tiled floors, ornate carved wood chairs with luxurious cushions placed in front of tables with crisp cream-colored tablecloths, hanging chandeliers giving off golden light, and a wall of French doors leading to a stone balcony with a breathtaking river view.

But Sebastian wearing a suit? Somehow, that’s even more beautiful than I expected.

If I ever thought I was prepared to see Sebastian in a perfectly fitting charcoal suit, white dress shirt, and purple tie, and his normally unruly hair tamed, without my brain turning into mush at the first sight of him and sparks crackling through my veins all day long—I was wrong.

And I’m definitely not the only one at this wedding who’s appreciating the sight. Every one of my female relatives—the bride included—had stars in their eyes as I introduced him.

On more than one occasion, the stars in those eyes turned into shards of envy when Sebastian wrapped his arm around my shoulders or looped it around my waist, pulling me close to him and making it very clear whose date he is.

It’s exactly what I wanted.

Every family member who ever lectured me about how I’m failing to find a man has a foot firmly planted in their mouths tonight. Many of my cousins who’ve always looked down on me are looking at me with admiration or envy.

You don’t need to be a genius to guess which of those looks Mackenzie’s been wearing. She’s greener than my dress.

Speaking of this dress, and speaking of looks, Sebastian’s been eyeing me all night long with so much hunger that I think he’d literally eat this dress off my body just to get to what’s underneath it.

It’s probably just because he hasn’t been able to be with any girl other than me for almost two months now.

That explanation feels like a splash of cold water down my back.

A couple of my guy cousins have commandeered Sebastian to talk sports with him. A lot of them are current or former college athletes themselves, though at a much lower level, and they’re champing at the bit to talk sports with a guy who’s going to be in the NHL before long.

“Honey,” my mom’s voice makes me pull my eyes away from Sebastian. Probably a good thing, because they were starting to glaze over. The black rims of his glasses go scandalously well with the tone of his suit.

My mother’s voice is full of more warmth than usual, and when I turn to face her, her eyes are brimming with excitement.

“Dear, Sebastian is amazing. I’m so happy for you,” she practically gushes. There’s nothing phony or begrudging about either her words or the smile stretching across her face.

When my cousins told me how lucky I was to be with Sebastian, I felt satisfied. Petty, maybe, but with how petty so many of them have been to me over the years, I figure I can excuse myself just this once.

But when my mom tells me she’s happy for me … I don’t feel that satisfaction. What I do feel is a small shiver of guilt.

I force a smile, though. “Thanks, Mom.”

She wraps me up in a hug. “I hope we’ll be seeing a lot more of him,” she says next to my ear, her eagerness and happiness for me totally undisguised.

I flash her a smile that doesn’t reach my eyes. Luckily, one of her sisters she doesn’t see too often passes by, pulling her attention away before she can notice how strained it is.

Of all the people in my family who criticized me over how I live my life prioritizing my academics above dating, my mom was, naturally, the loudest and most constant.

Not the most vindictive, not by a long shot, but, being my mother, she was the one who made sure I never really had an escape from it.

A big part of why I wanted a date for this wedding was to score a kind of win over her.

But unlike so many of my cousins and aunts, she isn’t reacting with envy or resentment at being proven wrong by me showing up with the hottest and most successful date among the whole family.

Instead, she’s happy. Genuinely happy. Unselfishly happy.

A conflicted feeling winds through me.

My mom is wrong about believing that the only thing of any real value a woman can do is have a family. She’s wrong about how she’s often spoken to me about living my life with different priorities.

But she grew up being raised to believe that getting married and having children was the be-all, end-all of a woman’s life. Her family means everything to her. It’s what makes her happy.

She just wants me to be happy, too.

She’s wrong about what she thinks is best for me, and she’s been wrong about how she expresses it—but she does want what she thinks is best for me.

My heart grows heavy in my chest. She’ll be sad when we “break up.”

That thought has my stomach dropping. A nervous feeling, almost like dread, spills through my chest.

Just how soon will that breakup happen? Immediately when we get back to Cedar Shade later tomorrow?

There’s no reason for it to happen any later than that, I guess. This wedding is the finish line, after all …

I grab a champagne flute from a tray and take a big sip, letting the fizzy alcohol unknot the tension that the thought of breaking up with Sebastian just pulled tight all through me.

Today isn’t the time to try to make sense of my tangled web of feelings for my fake boyfriend.

If I’m worried about how I’m going to feel when Sebastian and I are no longer spending so much time together, I might as well enjoy today as much as I can.

I approach the conversation circle where Sebastian is clearly animated, talking excitedly and proudly about something.

I assume he’s regaling my cousins with stories of his most impressive goals, or maybe the dollar figure of his NHL contract. But as I get closer, I notice that my cousins, who would be hanging on every word of those topics, seem strangely bored.

“I mean, her presentation was just amazing ,” I hear Sebastian say once I’m just a couple steps behind him.

“Like, I went to presentations by professors from some of the best schools in the world when we were at the conference, and none of them were as good as hers. Honestly, I don’t know how she does it.

Her class schedule is insane, and she still manages to read and study enough to put together a research presentation like that . ”

My stomach flips and twirls behind my ribs, like it’s writing a sentence in cursive. Instead of talking sports with my cousins, he’s talking about me?

He’s not just talking about me—he’s bragging about me.

Sebastian laughs to himself. “She had me read over this essay she’s working on for her Russian Literature class, and, man, impressed doesn’t even cover it.

I was intimidated!” He chuckles again. “It’s a good thing I’m pretty decent at hockey, because if that’s my competition to get into a good graduate program, I wouldn’t have a shot. ”

A light, happy feeling bubbles in my chest, spreading warmth through me. Being recognized, being appreciated, being admired for the parts of my personality that I value, that I’m proud of myself … it feels good. Really good.

I can’t bring myself to interrupt Sebastian as he’s gushing over me in a way I never thought I’d hear anyone do. With a big smile plastered on my face, I walk back to our table to get off my feet for a minute, a thrum of happiness still vibrating through me.

When I’m seated, another one of my cousins, Jessica, who’s always been one of the nicer ones, takes a seat next to me.

“Girl, you have to tell us how you found a guy like Sebastian,” she says. He’s turned his charm setting up so high for this event that I’m surprised the knob hasn’t broken. “You need to write an instruction manual for the rest of us or something.”

I just laugh and roll my eyes. “I don’t know how it happened,” is all I can think to say.

Jessica sighs, almost swoons. “He’s gorgeous, smart, nice … you’re just so lucky.”

“No, I’m lucky.” Sebastian’s voice sends a shiver dancing over my skin, only intensified when a big hand falls onto my bare shoulder.

He pulls out the chair next to me and drops himself into it. Our knees touch, and neither of us makes any move to pull away. Muscles pull tight at the peak of my thighs.

Our eyes catch, and it feels like his bright blue gaze reaches right into mine, deep enough to wrap around my heart.

The words Sebastian just said were clearly for show, but something about the way he’s looking at me feels so real that it’s a little scary. But it’s a kind of fear that I want to lean into, like the flutter of nerves before a first kiss.

I’m pulled back to reality when Sophia and Toby—the newly-married couple—stop at our table while making the rounds greeting all their guests.

“Thank you for gracing our wedding with a future NHL star,” Sophia jokes to Sebastian.

He just chuckles, shaking his head while his lips tilt. “No, thank you for letting attend the wedding with the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”

Sophia’s cheeks fill with a rosy blush. She giggles. “Oh, you.”

Toby’s jaw ticks a fraction.

Then Sebastian turns to me, warmth beaming in his eyes. “At least, the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen, until …”

My chest clenches while Sophia and Jessica swoon around me at Sebastian’s clear insinuation.

I try to avoid it, but the scenario of Sebastian and me in the place of Sophia and Toby rushes into my head. Somehow, it doesn’t seem as utterly ridiculous as it would have just weeks ago.

That scary feeling I just had returns, ratcheting up.

I finally have to admit it to myself: I’m not ready for reality to crash down on me when Sebastian and I get back home.