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Sebastian stopped twirling his glass. “Good?”
“Delicious,” I said. “Sure you don’t want to try a bite?”
He peered over at it, his nose slightly wrinkled. “What is it?”
“Garlic, parmesan, and chicken pasta,” I said. “Jeremy said he didn’t like to order garlic ‘just in case.’”
“Jeremy’s a dead man.” Sebastian flashed his teeth at me in something that almost resembled a smile. “Your response was to order the dish containing the most garlic?”
“And garlic bread.” I gestured at the basket by my elbow. “Really had to make sure I got the message across.”
Sebastian grunted, eyeing me with respect. “Good. I’m glad.”
My joy at pleasing Sebastian faded. “I should’ve walked out right then. Maybe then I wouldn’t have had the comment about my makeup.”
“His ignorant comment, you mean. Because that’s what it was.”
I shrugged, suddenly feeling more self-conscious than I had in years. Thank heavens Jeremy had shown his true colours before he’d discovered what lay under my clothes. If he thought my makeup was too feminine, then my underwear would’ve sent him over the edge. “Maybe he’s right though. Maybe I’d find it easier to get a man to stick around if I toned it down a bit.”
“Matty, look at me.” The bite in Sebastian’s tone had my head snapping up. “You are perfect, just the way you are. If a man doesn’t accept you exactly as you are, he’s not worthy of breathing the same air as you.”
I wanted to protest, to dismiss what he was saying, but one look at the hardness in his eyes and the way his nostrils were flared had me holding my words back.
Instead, I cleared my throat. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, Matty. I’m only speaking the truth.”
I twirled the spaghetti on my fork, trying to calm my racing heart. Sebastian was not the man I was looking for. And he’d made it pretty clear that he didn’t think he was right for me either. “Who are you here with?”
“No one.”
“What? You came to eat alone?”
Sebastian stared at me with bored eyes. “I do most things alone, Matty. Eating happens to be one of them.”
I studied him curiously. “Don’t you get lonely?”
“No.”
“What, never?”
The glass resumed its spinning. “No.”
Maybe Sebastian liked being alone. “You don’t have to sit with me, Sebastian. I can finish eating on my own.”
Sebastian took a sip of his wine. “Do you want to eat alone?”
“Well, no…but I can. I’m an adult.”
“Didn’t say you weren’t. Eat, Matty. I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapter 5
Sebastian
Ihadn’t planned on stalking Matty this evening, but having finally located his attacker—a loner called Colin Delaney—I was burning with the need to see my sunshine. To remind myself of exactly who Colin had hurt before I snuffed out his miserable existence.
I wasn’t surprised to find Matty out on a date. To be perfectly honest, I was amazed Matty didn’t have a constant stream of suitors vying for his attention.
