The Wedding Plan

Chapter 19

Sebastian spent the day stuck in meetings or stuck in traffic, so he and Eleanor did not have any chance to talk to each other. Even though they did not talk all day, and despite the odd atmosphere between them, their dinner plans were still on.

Standing next to a streetlight, she waited for him as the soft spring breeze made her dress flow. The dress was black with short sleeves and a belt that tied in a small bow around her waist. As for the shoes, she chose a pair of red high heel sandals with a strap around the ankle. She still had a love-hate relationship with heels, but she now could walk slightly better on them.

Sebastian crossed the street in his usual attire. A black suit and white shirt, but without the tie and with the first two buttons unbuttoned, and his hair was a bit more disheveled than usual, giving him a more casual look, somehow making him even more handsome that he already was.

'You're late. Again. For someone who should be used to being on time, you sure as hell don't know what that means,' she teased. She tried to use humor to hide the fact that she thought that at that moment Sebastian looked even more attractive than usual; something she thought was impossible.

'I'm sorry. Next time I'll try harder.' He had a very serious and contemplative look on his face.

For some reason that he could not quite grasp yet, he was hurt. He wanted to be on time. He tried and thought that would make it. But why was he making the effort and being concerned about that was something he could not yet understand. Knowing that he let her down again made a small dent in him. Something in him had shifted.

'You look beautiful,' he complimented. As if pointing that out — something that for him was obvious — would make things better and make up for his tardiness.

'You don't look so bad yourself,' she lied. He actually looked a lot better than that, but he didn't need to know that.

'Just that? I tried really hard to look this good.'

She laughed and smiled at him. Her smile left him out of breath as he opened the door for her, not taking his eyes off her, not even for a single second.

'Did you, though?'

'No, not really. I just left the tie in my car.'

He smirked and she giggled.

The restaurant was relatively small. There were only a few round tables with white linen tablecloths, a beautiful flower arrangement with lilies and camellias, and lit cinnamon candles at the center.

It was much more intimate than the last restaurant they were at. It was more Eleanor's style. The place had a certain unique charm to it, as if they had been carried away to a distance place, far away from their usual busy lives in the city.

All the tables were occupied except for one by an enormous window, and that was where the server guided them to.

The food was delicious, and the environment could not be better, and yet Eleanor couldn't help but notice that something was not right about Sebastian.

'What's wrong?' she asked as looking at him straight in the eye.

'Nothing. Why do you ask?' he avoided her gaze, which was an unusual gesture for him.

'You seem... Gloomy. Instead of your usual confident, cocky and obnoxious self.'

'Am I really like that?'

'Sometimes. Most of the time, actually.' She chuckled.

'I'm just tired. Had a complicated day at work.'

He sighed and then took a sip of red wine.

'You should've canceled tonight, Sebastian. I didn't need you to do this, especially if you are too busy.'

'That's not it. I want to be here. I wanted to be here on time.'

'That's it? Are you really hang up on that?'

He pouted like a little kid.

'Come on. It's fine.'

'You are too nice,' he mumbled.

Her ears turned red, and she looked down at her plate.

'Why was it so important for you to be here on time?'

'Didn't want to make you wait again.'

'But why?'

Why, indeed? He wondered. He would have loved to answer that question, but he didn't know the reason, not yet at least.

'I don't know,' he confessed as he contemplated the wine glass, admiring the red color as the warm orange hue from the candles shined on it.

'Let me know when you find out.' She smiled with red cheeks. Luckily the dimmed lights hid it a bit, at least from the other people around them, though she could not deceive Sebastian. 'I'll be waiting for an answer.'