Chapter 3Who Are You Dating?

I smoothed down my dress in the restroom mirror, reapplied my lipstick, and took a final, deep breath before walking back out.

Sebastian was waiting for me.

To be honest, Sebastian didn't seem as prim and proper as his name suggested. He had an air of effortless confidence, like someone who existed outside the rules. That constant, gentle smile made him look like a fox.

Why would someone with his kind of money and power bother with online dating?

I took the initiative and linked my arm through his. He stiffened for a fraction of a second, then his smile widened.

"Anything you want to buy? Or should we eat first?" he asked.

"Either is fine," I said.

He then led me from one boutique to another. Unlike Julian, he would patiently comment on how each bag or dress looked on me before buying everything. Julian would just find a chair, play on his phone, and pay when I was done.

It was strange. It felt like a perfect boyfriend had just fallen from the sky.

But I knew Sebastian wasn't as easygoing as he appeared. The more perfect they seem, the more dangerous they are.

For now, though…

He even had two bodyguards following us, their arms laden with shopping bags.

"Thea, I made a reservation at that restaurant you said you wanted to try," Sebastian said, his lips curling into a soft smile.

"Let's go!" I agreed cheerfully.

"Do you remember which one it was?" he asked, his gaze dropping to me, deceptively casual.

He looked like a cat watching a mouse in its paws.

Which one.

I had no idea.

And I couldn't exactly pull out my phone and ask my male-client-who-is-now-my-fake-boyfriend's-brother.

The silence stretched.

My heart hammered against my ribs. I bit my lip, a sudden chill creeping over my skin.

I finally understood what the kid meant when he said Sebastian was scarier than Julian. Julian wore all his emotions on his sleeve. If you pissed him off, you knew it immediately.

But Sebastian… I couldn't read him at all. I had no idea what he meant by asking that question.

I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything, he chuckled, his voice a warm, deep timber. "It's okay. You're busy, it's normal to be forgetful. You'll know it when we get there."

I nodded frantically.

Sebastian was actually a nice guy! If Julian had known I'd forgotten something about him, he would have spent the next five hours delivering a non-stop monologue of creative insults.