Chapter 1
January 2017
Sebastian’s POV
I woke up in a cold sweat, gasping for air as I sat up and shakily ran my hands through my long brown hair. I turned on the lamp and glanced over, only to see that the bed beside me was empty.
It wasn’t supposed to be empty; where the hell was Sadie?
Suddenly unsure if that had been a dream or a memory - because it had felt so damn real - one hand reached out of its own accord, fingers scrabbling at my nightstand in search of my phone. Before I was even aware of what I was doing, I desperately scrolled through my recent calls, my anxiety spiking when I couldn’t find it; it had to be there - I talked to her all the time...didn’t I?
But when I checked my contacts for her number, I couldn’t find a single Sadie anywhere in my phone. Damn it! This couldn’t be happening - I needed to talk to her right now!
Starting to panic, I opened my photos app, only to see a bunch of selfies and scenery - and not one single picture of Sadie...or us. Nothing. I was beyond devastated, the crushing pain in my chest making it hard to breathe as I processed what that meant. I flopped back onto my pillows, wondering what the hell was wrong with me; I was missing a woman I’d never even met and probably wasn’t even real.
Knowing I’d never be able to sleep now, I fought my way free of the tangled covers; I needed a drink but accepted that water would have to do for now because the kitchen of my Manhattan apartment was pitifully bare in preparation for my journey.
I rarely remembered my dreams upon waking but this one...this dream, if that’s what it was...was different...and something inside me was telling me it was important that I didn’t forget about it. I used every memory trick I’d ever learned in an attempt to hold onto important details, knowing that otherwise they’d start fading quickly; parts of it had already started losing the hyper-realistic clarity that had originally led me to believe it was a memory.
A glance at the glowing microwave display confirmed it was almost time to get up for the day and I still hadn’t packed, having opted to get a little more sleep instead because of how late it had been when I’d finally stumbled in last night.
With a sigh, I began packing, hurriedly shoving everything I probably needed in my suitcase. I only double checked to be sure that my script, ticket and passport were in my messenger bag. If I forgot anything else, I’d buy it when I got to Munich.
I was out the door in record time and even though I absolutely hated sitting in airports for any longer than I needed to, I just couldn’t stand being alone in my apartment any longer. Traffic was light, so I arrived at La Guardia plenty early for my international flight; sighing, I checked in and went to get myself some snacks before settling into the comfy VIP lounge seats until it was time to board.
* *
The stewardess smiled flirtatiously as she directed me to first class but I didn’t even give her a second glance, feeling myself being drawn forward after catching a glimpse of brunette locks in a familiar shade just ahead.
Luck was with me for once and the last open seat was beside the brunette - which should be mine - but when I reached it, I saw that someone had already set their bag in the seat. I glanced at my ticket again to be sure, but yes, this was my seat.
I shifted my gaze to the woman, who was so utterly absorbed in her book that she hadn’t even noticed me standing there yet. Taking advantage of her distraction to openly peruse her profile at my leisure, I had the feeling that something about her seemed so familiar - even though I knew I’d never met her before; I knew I’d remember meeting someone this beautiful.
The woman was absolutely gorgeous in a naturally beautiful kind of way, her curly, dark brown hair falling loosely around her shoulders to the middle of her back. From here, it was obvious that she only wore a touch of makeup, accentuating rather than hiding her features.
I was also pleased to see that she was also practically dressed for the long flight ahead, wearing skinny jeans, boots, and a sage green long-sleeved shirt with a jacket rolled up between her and the wall.
I caught myself wondering if her eyes were the same golden brown as the woman from my dream this morning; if this was her, she didn’t know it yet, but she was about to become the most important person in my life and I’d be damned if I was going to let her slip through my fingers.
* * *
Sadie’s POV
“Is this seat taken?” a deep voice close to me said as someone touched my shoulder, startling me out of my book.
“Ah!” One hand flew to my neck as I looked up with wide eyes to see an extremely attractive man with a five o’clock shadow, messy chin-length chestnut brown hair and beautiful blueish-gray eyes gesturing at the seat beside me.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, smiling slightly and showing perfect white teeth. “My apologies.”
“No, I’m sorry; I was a little too into my book,” I replied, taking a couple deep breaths to calm myself; he’d given me quite the scare. “I wasn’t expecting anyone and no one else has said anything to me, so it’s all yours.” I removed my backpack from the seat beside me and set it on the floor before glancing at my watch. “I wasn’t sure it was going to be taken, actually.”
“Why’s that?” he asked as he stowed his carry on in the overhead compartment, his t-shirt riding up to reveal incredibly drool worthy eight-pack abs.
“The rest of the seats up here have been taken for a while already. Don’t we take off really soon?” I put my finger in my book to mark my place. “I must’ve been more absorbed than I thought if I missed the announcements.”
“You didn’t miss them yet; I just don’t like to have to sit on the plane any longer than I absolutely have to,” he grinned, his New York accent quite distinct.
“I don’t blame you. We had a large group that needed to board together for head count, so we’ve been on here for almost an hour already; thankfully, our connection came in ahead of schedule.”
“Lucky you,” he smirked, holding out his hand. “I’m Sebastian, by the way.”
“I’m Sadie.”
Sebastian’s blueish-gray eyes instantly flew to mine, holding them with an intensity that made it hard to catch my breath. A slow smile spread across his handsome face as he gently took my hand in his own much larger one, the way his long fingers deliberately wrapped all the way around my significantly smaller hand, sending a shiver down my spine.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sadie.”
“Thank you; it’s nice to meet you as well, Sebastian,” I murmured.
His eyes crinkled as his smile deepened and I finally remembered the name for that particular shade of blue - cerulean. I loved the way the corners of his mouth curled up when he grinned and I had a nagging feeling that I knew that smile from somewhere - which was impossible. But while everything about Sebastian seemed really familiar, I knew there was no way I’d ever met him before; I’d have remembered meeting someone as handsome as him.
He was still staring at me, those cerulean eyes searching my face so intently that my brain was having trouble functioning normally. I suddenly remembered another Sebastian I’d known a very long time ago - who had nothing in common with the man before me.
“Random fact: Sebastian was also the name of my Junior prom date; he was our schools foreign exchange student from Munich, of all places.”
He raised a quizzical eyebrow and the feeling that I knew him from somewhere only intensified. “Junior prom?”
I licked my lips, considering how best to explain as I attempted to gently tug my hand from his grasp. Sebastian resisted, squeezing my hand lightly before finally releasing it. “We could go during both junior and senior year at my high school - perks of living in a small town, I guess. Did your high school have prom or was Homecoming your dress-up kind of formal dance you asked a date to?”
“Oh...umm...homecoming was a suit and tie kind of thing – date optional. I don’t remember if we had prom or not, though.”
“Oh, I promise you would remember a real 90′s prom experience – who could forget those cheap paper-maché and cardboard decorations that were supposed to look expensive? Ironically enough that prom theme was ‘Under the Sea’ - which I thought was quite fitting for a Sebastian.” I grinned at the memory. “It of course included teal and pink balloons in the arch we walked under for grand march.”
The Sebastian beside me only laughed. “Can’t say I ever had that particular experience,” he finally said, rubbing his hand over his stubbled cheeks as he regained his composure and focused those beautiful eyes on me again.
“Oh, then you’ve definitely missed out!”
I felt my cheeks heating under the intensity of his gaze and lowered my eyes. The sight of my finger holding my place in my book reminded me that I was just getting to the good part, so I tucked one foot under me and opened it, determined to get back into the story...and ignore the too-handsome man beside me for the rest of the flight.
