16. Christian #2
Tessa eyed us, a glint in her eyes. “Did I just hear what I think I heard?”
I reached across the bar, intertwining my fingers with Sage’s. Her skin was clammy and I tightened my grasp, hoping she pulled strength from it. “You haven’t shared the news yet, peach?”
Sage narrowed her gaze on me briefly before faking a smile for Clayton and Tessa. “Sorry, I’ve just been so busy.”
“My Sage has just been so busy with work and getting the studio ready, it must have slipped her mind.” I made an excuse for her.
“Oh, yes, so busy. So busy in fact we still need to get the ring sized.”
Your acting skills are so good, baby. I’m so proud of you. But Clayton was looking at us skeptically.
I cleared my throat and adjusted our hand holding to run my thumb over her ring finger where an engagement ring should be. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m getting it all taken care of. Should be ready in the next few days.”
My mind was already scrambling. I hadn’t planned this far and I needed to make this appear real. The look on Clayton’s face told me he wasn’t quite buying it.
I remembered my grandmother’s ring was sitting in a box in the underwear drawer in my old room. I’d dreamed of putting it on her finger, but who was to know if it would actually fit her or not. I hadn’t dreamed we’d get engaged like this.
“I knew it!” Tessa practically squealed. “It’s about damn time you locked this one down,” she was telling Sage.
“Wha—Oh, yeah.” I nearly blew my cover, surprised at her words. I knew my crush on Sage was obvious, but I didn’t think Sage showed any sign of affection.
“Thanks, Tessa,” Sage said, giving her a side hug, before Tessa bounced back to making another cocktail.
“You’re serious then?” Clayton questioned beside me.
I side-eyed him. He hadn’t left yet?
“As serious as a heart attack,” I told him, my eyes not leaving Sage. Stay with me, star fire.
“Well, it was nice seeing you. It appears not much has changed.” He shot back the rest of his drink, pulling out his wallet and dropping a hundred-dollar bill on the bartop.
“Keep the change.” He patted the counter before sliding off the stool and popping his collar again.
I gritted my teeth to keep myself from following him, as he headed out of the bar.
My hand tightened around Sage’s. I could feel her physically deflate.
I turned back to her.
“We’re going to need to talk,” Sage said quietly so Tessa couldn’t hear her.
I nodded. “I’m not planning on leaving.”
I followed her out of the dark bar, waiting for her to lock up. She’d barely said anything. Her hands were trembling with the keys.
“Here, give them to me.” She didn’t fight me on it, letting me take the keys to lock the door. She scanned the parking lot and wrapped her arms around herself to shield from the cold.
She looked like she was about to be sick again.
“I’m driving you to the farm. I’ll bring you back to get your car in the morning,” I told her. “Come on.”
She nodded numbly, letting me wrap an arm around her and guide her to my truck.
“We’re going to need to talk about this,” she said through chattering teeth.
I helped her up into the passenger seat, pulling the lap belt over her to click in place.
“We’ll talk,” I confirmed, closing her door, and rounding the hood to climb up into the driver’s seat.
I started the engine, cranking up the heat in hopes it would stop her trembling, but I didn’t think it was the early morning temperatures that were making her shiver, just like last night.
“You practically announced to the whole bar we’re engaged.” She turned on me then, her annoyance coming through her shaky voice. “Half the town’s going to know by tomorrow with Tessa’s big mouth.”
I smiled through a grimace as I pulled out of the parking lot and out onto the road. “But they seemed happy for us and it got him to leave.”
“For now!” She threw up her hands.
“You don’t think that’ll keep him away?”
“Who knows with him? He’s unpredictable and I’m not sure he totally bought it. But I can tell you this, you just gave him a challenge. Now that he’s found me, he’s not going to give up easily.”
“Shit, Sage. Who is this guy?”
“Someone you don’t want to cross.”
“Then if I can do anything to keep him away from you, I’m going to do it. If that means making you mine, I’m going to make you fucking mine.”
The words came out harder than I intended, but per usual, she didn’t take me seriously, rolling her eyes at me. “Wow. That’s fucking romantic.”
I huffed, turning onto the highway as we headed toward my family farm. “It is romantic! You don’t think it’s romantic?”
She crossed her arms over her chest again, releasing a deep sigh. “This is not what I planned.”
“It was definitely what I’d planned … just maybe not the how …”
She cut me a glare. “Of course it was, because now I have to go on a date with you tomorrow night.”
“Well, what did you have planned?” I asked.
“I was just planning to use you as a buffer.”
“So … use me,” I told her.
I chanced a glance at her and I swear I could see her cheeks pinken in the dark.
I shifted in my seat as my cock twitched behind my zipper and cleared my throat. “In all seriousness though, Sage, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” I told her honestly.
She sighed, seemingly relaxing in her seat. “Kind of hard when you didn’t ask me if I wanted to be engaged.”
I lifted my hands off the steering wheel briefly in surrender.
“Sorry. I really have no idea what I’m up against. You haven’t given me much to go off of and when I saw you freeze up and become a shell of yourself …
I don’t know … I just acted. And fair enough.
You’re right. I didn’t ask you if you wanted to be engaged.
I’ll have to fix that. But do you think it’ll work?
He’ll need to leave you alone if you’re with me. ”
“How long are we keeping this up then?”
“Until he takes the hint and leaves.”
“You’re about to leave for Vegas,” she reminded me.
I nodded. “And there is no way in hell I’m leaving my fiancée at home when her crazy ex is sniffing the porch.”
“Christian!” She chided.
“Honestly though, Sage, if you can think of a better plan, I’m all ears. I’m not down for this if you aren’t. I just want you safe.”
She inhaled deeply before releasing another heavy exhale. “I guess we’re going to dinner tomorrow night.”
My eyes shifted from the road to glance at her. She looked beautiful with the moon shining down on her, her eyes glinting with that fire I knew she hid so well.
“We don’t have to go to dinner.”
“We’re going to dinner,” she argued.
My heart flipped in my chest. My face aching with my growing grin. “We’re finally going on a date, Sagey poo.”
“No, we’re not going on a date, because my brother is coming with us.”
My brows shot to my hat. “You’re going to tell your brother?”
“You’ll need to ask his permission.”
“You can’t be serious.” He told me once I had his blessing to pursue his sister, but I think he said it because he knew nothing would ever come of it. Now I wasn’t so sure what his reaction was going to be.
“As serious as a heart attack.” She used my own words against me.
“So we’re actually doing this?”
“We’re actually doing this, rodeo star.”
Headlights flashed in the rearview mirror causing Sage to spin in her seat to look at the vehicle behind us on the road.
“Hey,” I said, stretching my arm out to take her hand. “It’s all right.”
“It could be him.” Her attention was fixated on the headlights, her body going rigid again.
I ran my thumb back and forth over the top of her hand trying to soothe her.
This guy really freaked her out and I was starting to think it was far worse than what she’d told me.
Especially considering my parents had kept her business to themselves for so long and she had hid out on the farm for over a year.
It made me want to hit something and I wasn’t one to typically lose my cool.
“It’s not him. See.” I jerked my head back to the rearview mirror. The car was turning off the road.
But it didn’t keep her from continuously checking behind us to see if we were being followed all the way to the farm.
I didn’t release her hand as we drove, even when she started to relax as we turned off the road to the farm. By the time we were parked in front of the house, her fingers had intertwined with mine while I ran my thumb soothingly over the top of her knuckles.
I parked, reluctantly letting go so I could go around the hood of the truck and open her door.
“Christian?” she whispered in the dark as she got out of the truck.
“Yeah?”
The moon still shone on her, turning her beauty ethereal, her mass of dark hair on top of her head trying to escape the hair tie like a crooked halo.
She bit her lip, running her teeth over her bottom lip.
My cock couldn’t help hardening at the sight of those perfect white teeth pressing into her plump crimson lips.
“I don’t think there’s any way I’m going to be able to sleep again tonight. Would you — would you mind laying down with me for a little bit? At least until I fall asleep?”
I cleared my throat hoping it would tamp down the desire starting to course through my veins.
This was not the time for that, she needed comfort right now.
Not my uncontrollable erection that seemed to have a mind of its own around her.
“Su—” It came out a squeak and I had to clear my throat again to regain my composure. “Sure.”
She gave me a soft, appreciative smile, and I followed her into my quiet family home.
“Just for the record, I’m still annoyed at you for the whole fiancée thing,” she whispered as she toed off her boots. Her eyes sparkled in the one hall light my mom had left on.
I huffed a quiet laugh. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”