Chapter 3 #2
“I stayed at his place in the beginning, intending to get my own apartment. His house had a beautiful yard and a view of Puget Sound, and I just … never left. It made sense to stay there, especially after I got Archer.
“Then Wolf started traveling for long stretches. He said he was having problems with his business in Sweden. I missed him, but I wasn’t worried. I had my amazing job, and he reassured me that once he got everything straightened out, he’d be around more.”
She took a slug of her drink.
“But something happened,” Gage murmured.
Sarah nodded. “Yep.” She kept her eyes averted from his. “I found out the reason he was gone so much wasn’t because he was in Sweden. It was because he had someone else. Might’ve been more than one, for all I know, but I didn’t stick around to find out.”
“Aw, shit, Sar.”
When she raised her eyes to Gage’s, she only saw concern, and it broke free the tears she’d been holding back. He placed his hand on the table between them, palm up, and she rested her hand in his.
“Guy’s a total douche,” Gage said softly. “You know this, right? He didn’t deserve you.”
“He sure as shit didn’t. But I fell for him, damn it. I’m usually smarter than that.”
He squeezed her hand. “We can’t always control who we fall for.”
She laugh-sobbed. “God, you sound just like Grandma!”
Releasing her, he grinned. “Right? I’ve been practicing.”
Sarah rolled her watery eyes. “Does Lily appreciate what a rare breed you are?”
“All the time.”
“Thought so. She’s a smart cookie.” Unlike yours truly. “So how come there aren’t more of you—unrelated to me, that is?”
He stood, passed her a box of tissues, and let Archer inside. “There are lots of us. You just have to look a little harder. We don’t all flash signs that say, ‘Your perfect man standing right here!’ In fact, steer clear of those guys.”
“I think ‘perfect’ and ‘man’ together equal an oxymoron.” She plucked a few tissues and dabbed at her eyes. Archer laid his head in her lap and wagged as if to say, “How ’bout me? I’m perfect.” She stroked his soft fur, inwardly agreeing.
Gage chuckled. “All I’m saying is don’t judge a book by its cover. You never know what’s written in those chapters until you crack the spine.”
“Omigod, listen to my little brother! You’re like Dear Abby and Yoda rolled into one.” She let out a snort.
“I thought you were Yoda.” He cocked a brow.
“I think I lost my title. Damn, you’re four years younger. How’d you get to be so much smarter? I’ll need to earn my place back and lord it over you again.” Some of the tension drained from her shoulders, and she rotated her neck.
“Ha! It’s taken me a long time to get here, and I’m not giving up my Yoda throne that easily,” he joked.
“What’s a Yoda throne?” Lily stood in the kitchen doorway, surprising them both.
“Didn’t hear you come in, Goldilocks.” Gage rose, strode to her, and swept her up in his arms, laying an embarrassingly long kiss on her. Sarah debated excusing herself.
A breathless Lily pulled away. “Well, hello to you too, Professor.”
Sarah stood. “I’ll leave now.”
“No, Sarah, sit.” Lily flapped a hand. “That’s all the kissing we’re going to do in front of you.”
Gage smirked. “For now.”
“Between the cutesy nicknames and PDAs, you two make me want to puke!” Sarah barked.
Gage and Lily turned wide eyes toward her.
She grinned. “I meant puke in a good way.”
Gage’s phone rang, and he stepped into the living room and answered.
Lily’s eyes took in their drinks. “Are you guys celebrating something?”
Sarah tugged her fingers through her hair. “No, more like burying something.”
Lily’s expression morphed into what Sarah could only describe as motherly. She reached for Sarah and pulled her into a hug. “I don’t know what happened, and it doesn’t matter. I just want you to know we’re glad you came here.”
That simple act made Sarah’s chest squeeze and wedged fresh tears in her throat. Stop it!
Lily patted her back, then held her apart. “You gonna be okay?”
Sarah nodded as the waterworks spilled over. “Eventually.”
“Well, in the meantime, you’re coming to the game with Daisy and me tomorrow night. We may not be able to take your mind off all your troubles, but it’ll be a distraction.”
“I don’t think I’d be very good comp—”
Gage poked his head into the kitchen. “That was T.J. Wyatt’s birthday is tomorrow, so we’re having a surprise dinner after the game.”
“That sounds fun.” Lily bobbed her curly head. “Doesn’t it, Sarah?”
Sarah opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Gage barreled into the quiet. “No staying at home alone, Sar. I already bought you a ticket, and I told T.J. to count you in for dinner.”
“But, Gage—”
“It’s better to sulk among friends than to sulk at home alone. Another pearl of Yoda wisdom for you.”
Sarah relented with an exaggerated eye-roll. “Oh, well, since you put it that way, Yoda … How can a girl say no? It sounds like a blast.” Not.
Gage shot her a fake glare right before he and Lily said in unison, “It’ll be good for you.”
What was good for her was to crawl under a rock and never come out.
Unfortunately, that option wasn’t available.
Sarah sighed and finished her drink. Maybe all the yelling in the arena would drown out her mother’s inner voice telling her what a moron she was for putting on rose-colored glasses and letting a man blindside her.
She hadn’t told Gage everything—she wasn’t ready to.
She might never be. Admitting her epic mistake would also mean admitting that their mother was right.