Then again, if I was going to make the attempt, that was probably the best time. The ship was still docked, and Sebastian would be with me. Wayne would be proud that I was even considering it. I took a deep breath and let my eyes flicker to his.
“Okay. But you first.” I righted my shoulders. “Tell me your secret, and then I’ll go out there.”
Sebastian tilted his head and let out a breath. “Damn, fine. You win. How about I give you the short version first, and then you can ask me questions from there?”
I shrugged. “Fine. Fess up.”
A few beats passed as he assessed me one last time. “Okay. The story you heard was all about how I ruined Dirk’s marriage, right?”
I nodded.
“It’s not entirely true. All I did was break up what should have never started to begin with.”
A sick feeling churned in my gut. I didn’t want to hear the story about how Sebastian loved Dirk’s wife and thought he should end a marriage. I wanted to hear that none of the rumors were true. Clearly, that wasn’t the confession I was about to get.
“The rumors are halfway true. I did sleep with Dirk’s wife, but that was only after he fucked my fiancée.”
My jaw dropped as the wind left my body. “W-what?”
He nodded. “All of this happened during the Broadway run of Angst and Grace. The show was soaring, but the behind-the-scenes drama destroyed us. After he married Claudette, she came onto me one night in my dressing room. So I settled the score the only way I knew how at the time.”
“You slept with Claudette and broke up their marriage.”
I don’t know why I felt the need to confirm what he was telling me. The rumors were all true, but why didn’t anyone talk about what Dirk had done to Sebastian? Unless Dirk had sparked the rumor mill as a way to control what information was shared.
He nodded. “I did. And now Dirk wants full control of Angst and Grace.”
“But he can’t take full control. It’s your show. You created the entire production.”
“Right. Tell that to the man with the dollar signs in his eyes. He’s not one to be reasoned with, Kai. You think I’m the scum of the earth? Well, thank God you don’t know Dirk.”
I shook my head with a swallow. “I don’t think you’re scum, Sebastian.” My eyes waved over him with a new understanding. “Not at all.”
Chapter 22
Sebastian
We stood at the door that led to the start of the track. As I was about to push it open, Kai was practically shaking beside me.
I faced her with bent brows. “You okay?”
She threw me a look that told me I was an idiot for even asking.
“What?” I laughed the word, suddenly feeling defensive. “It’s just a little run. I’ll stay on the outside, closest to the balcony. And there are doors to the ship everywhere if you need to run inside. It will be fine.”
She shook her head and took a step back. “Maybe this is a bad idea.”
“No way. You’re just a little tense. Shake it out.” I hopped in place and shook my wrists. “Once you get going, you’ll feel great.”
She watched me with a laugh. “I think I’d rather play naked Twister.”
I froze on my last hop, and my cheeks rose in a smile. Now she’s talking. “Not a bad suggestion, love. Like yoga, but less predictable.”
“Oh yeah?” She was playing along, which I loved. “But who would spin the wheel thingy and call the shots?”
I leaned down and grazed her ear with my mouth, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. “Me.” I felt her shiver, even with too many inches of distance separating us. “I always call the shots. And right now, I’m telling you to get your ass on that track and start running.”
She half groaned, half cried like I was the pain in her ass she knew she needed. “Fine,” she growled. Then she straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Let’s go.”
Without wasting a single second, I pushed open the door to lead her to the start of the track and gave her a wink. “See,” I pointed to the side of the ship with the yellow tender boats blocking the view of the water. “It’s pretty hard to see the ocean with those boats in the way.”
She averted her eyes and let out another deep breath. “Let’s just get this over with.”
I chuckled, not because I was taking her fear lightly but because she was kind of cute when she wasn’t acting like a tough arse. Something about her vulnerability was endearing. “Want me to follow you?”
She shook her head as a look of terror passed over her features. “No, you go ahead.”
I took off, glad to see she didn’t stray too far behind. I could almost keep my eyes on her in my periphery.
“How long is the track?” she asked from behind me.
“Almost half a mile,” I said over my shoulder. “I usually do five miles, eleven laps. We can do less today if you’re not feeling up for it.”
After only a beat of silence, she opened her mouth again. “I’m sorry for dropping in on your improv in the theater yesterday. I really was just coming to practice. The idea of having that stage to myself just seemed so—”
“Inspiring.”
She nodded. “I was going to say ‘freeing,’ but ‘inspiring’ works too. Do you have more songs like that one?”
I sneaked a look at her, getting a rise out of her nerves. “No, they’re all different.”
She smacked me on the arm and laughed. “Jerk. So there are more?”
I nodded. “Yeah, there are.” I hesitated for a second then decided, What the fuck. “There are about a dozen of them so far, and I’m still working on more.”
Her eyes snapped to mine, and I knew she’d picked up on what I was getting at. “That’s more than an album.”
“Not all songs make it onto a final album, but that’s not what I’m writing these for.”
“So, they’re like an entire Broadway show’s worth?”
I shrugged. “We’ll see if it all comes together, but that was the idea.” I held up a finger in warning. “No one knows, and I’d like to keep it that way. Angst and Grace is my priority right now.”
Something about her expression softened, and determination poured from her eyes. “You can trust me, Sebastian.”
I knew that. It was why I felt okay telling her.
“So can I help?”
I let out a laugh, and my eyes met hers. “Help? How would you help?”
Her face flushed, and I knew it wasn’t from the jog. We’d barely gone a quarter mile.
“I don’t know,” she said. “You play the songs, and I can dance. We could inspire each other. Or maybe that’s dumb.” She faced forward, her smile completely gone, now replaced with embarrassment.
I looked at Kai to respond, but just as I was about to open my mouth, her expression changed into complete and utter horror.
My head snapped in the direction she was looking. “Oh, fuck,” I said, realizing far too late where we were.
We had rounded the next turn toward the bow of the ship, where the jogging trail wrapped the aqua theater to our left, and to the right was a full view of the ocean. No yellow tender boats were there to shield Kai from the sight of the water, no city streets. If I didn’t know better, even I would think we were somewhere in the middle of the Pacific.