Chapter One #2
“I know. I’ll be fine. Go.” Chandra was a social worker, and her office was consistently understaffed.
“You’ve done enough.” Chandra had taken the morning off work to pick Sage up from the hospital.
After a stop at the pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions, Chandra had driven them to her house where they’d found Preston awaiting their arrival.
Sage been hoping that his surprise visit at the hospital would be the last she’d hear from him for a while.
“Nothing you wouldn’t do for me,” her friend assured her as she jogged down the porch steps. “I’ll call you later to see if you need anything.”
Sage returned Chandra’s wave as she climbed into her Prius.
In her cozy little den with the comfy couch and cushy chairs and floral throw pillows, Preston and Matt were still silently sizing each other up.
It was laughable really. At 5’8”, she was tall for a woman and Preston was only a few inches taller than her.
She’d never been able to wear heels with him.
Matt towered over them both by more than half a foot.
In college, he’d been on the lanky side, but he’d bulked up in the intervening years.
Without the aid of martial arts, a skillset that eluded Preston, he didn’t stand a chance against Matt if a physical altercation were to occur.
“Anyone want some lunch?” she asked brightly, hoping to break the tension in the room “I’m starving.”
Matt hopped up. “You sit. I’ll make you something.”
“How about you help?” she countered, figuring he would need her assistance to locate items in her kitchen.
“I’ll help, too,” Preston said, despite the fact that he was almost as useless as a shovel in a kitchen. In all their years of dating, he’d only made sandwiches. Not even toasted ones like grilled cheese. His repertoire began with peanut butter and jelly and ended with ham.
Sage rubbed her temples, suddenly feeling the entirety of the headache resulting from her concussion.
She couldn’t deal with this pissing match.
“Preston…we need to talk.” She turned to Matt.
“Why don’t you wait for me in the kitchen?
” She could tell he wanted to argue. His full lips compressed, but he nodded and headed for the kitchen.
Preston expelled a relieved sigh as he stood. He took her hands. “Do you want me to help you get rid of that guy?”
She rolled her eyes. “Why are you still here? Your work….” Preston’s family owned a trucking business.
After high school, she’d gone off to college while Preston had earned his CDL.
The plan had been that he would drive trucks until she returned home and then he’d take an office job.
He’d sat at a desk for all of two weeks before declaring that he didn’t like working in an office.
He enjoyed being on the road. She’d gathered from a few of his father’s offhand comments that Preston lacked the social skills to deal with coworkers.
Because he was the owner’s son, he was condescending toward the other employees.
“Your welfare comes first.”
Who the hell did he think he was fooling? Her thoughts and feelings hadn’t been a priority for him since he’d pursued her high school. “Preston, you should go. Matt will take—”
His eyes narrowed. “Matt,” he said flatly. “You sure left out a lot of details about him.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Really?” he asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “What is he? A model?”
She wasn’t blind. Matt was gorgeous. Make you drool, turn your head, cause you to trip over your own feet gorgeous. He’d even walked the runway as a favor for Estrella. But Matt was so much more than just his good looks. He was smart and kind and a good friend. “He was working in marketing.”
“Was? So, he’s unemployed, probably here looking for a free place to stay—”
She snatched her hands away from Preston’s. “This isn’t about Matt.”
“Sage, I’m concerned about you. This guy might be taking advantage of your accident.”
“Would you stop it?” She squeezed her eyes closed and rubbed her temples. “You can stay for lunch but after that, you need to leave.”
“But Sage—”
“Preston, we are not getting back together!” They’d been locked in their dead-end relationship long enough.
She wasn’t going back. His kicked puppy expression made her sigh.
“I don’t mean to be harsh, but we both agreed that we’d grown apart and we didn’t share the same goals.
We need to move on with our lives. In order to do that, we need space from each other. ”
“Are you moving on with that guy?” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward the kitchen.
“I’m about to rescind your lunch invitation,” she said, shortly. “You’re concerned about me, right? Well, this roundabout conversation is doing nothing for my headache. I just want to eat, take my meds, and then have a nap. If you can’t behave like a mature, civilized adult, you can leave.”
He held his hands up in surrender. “Okay. I’m sorry. I’m…struggling to accept this. I want you back, Sage.”
“Preston—”
“Sage, I found some romaine in your fridge. Is it okay if I start chopping it?”
She could have kissed Matt for rescuing her from this conversation. Preston had the worst timing. If anyone was trying to take advantage of her accident, it was him. She nodded at Matt. “Let me help you find the salad bowls.”
***
Matt shifted his lettuce around searching for more of the grilled chicken while ignoring Preston glaring at him across the table. The table was circular so that they each sat next to Sage, but opposite to each other.
He drank in the sight of his friend and breathed in her sweet scent.
Though he’d avoided her for her protection, it had been too damned long a separation.
“I never got any details about your accident. What happened?” Matt finally found a piece of chicken and felt like he’d found gold.
Adding a sliver of lettuce, he popped it into his mouth triumphantly.
Salads had never been his favorite, but since the assault, he liked them even less.
“I don’t remember the actual accident. My car is in the shop, so I was taking an Uber to work. I remember getting picked up.” Sage shrugged. “The next thing I know, I’m waking up in the hospital.”
“It’s probably a good thing,” Preston said.
Getting that text from Chandra informing him about Sage’s accident had been the most terrifying experience of Matt’s life.
Even more frightening than the days that Meredith had held him captive.
When he received the news, he’d grabbed his shit and shoved it into a bag.
Only after he’d been sitting in the airport, his leg bouncing to the point that his thigh muscles twitched when he stopped, did he remember to text his newly found sister to tell her that he’d left her house.
“Yes, fortunate,” Matt agreed. “How is the driver?”
“I asked. She’s fine. She was checked out at the scene and released.”
He nodded. “Do your parents know?”
“I called them. I told them that I was fine. I didn’t want them to cut their trip short.”
“Where are they now?” Her parents were retired and spent much of the year travelling.
“They’re in Holland.”
“Wow. That sounds—”
“We discussed going there for our honeymoon, didn’t we, babe?” Preston aimed a sappy grin at Sage.
“Yeah,” Sage mumbled.
“Maybe we could still go some day.”
Motherfucker…. Matt’s stainless-steel fork bent at a ninety-degree angle under the pressure of his grip. Covertly, he dropped it into his lap and flattened it into its former shape.
Sage made a noncommittal noise and filled her mouth with a forkful of lettuce.
“You might have Sage snowed with this friendship bullshit, but I see right through you,” Preston whispered the moment Sage stepped out of the kitchen to retrieve her prescription. “I see the way you stare at her.”
Matt paused midway in the act of loading a bowl in the dishwasher.
He straightened so that he towered over the other man.
“I’ve never made a secret of how I feel.
” He flirted with Sage relentlessly. He couldn’t resist. She’d never flirted back.
Never took him seriously. It hurt, but he’d finally accepted that either she didn’t want him or that she was truly in love with Preston.
“Then you know she’s in love with me. This break between us is temporary. We don’t need you inserting yourself in our business, causing complications.”
Matt wanted to wrap his hands around this little fucker’s neck, lift him off the ground, and shout into his face that Sage was his.
But Sage didn’t return his feelings. With a herculean effort, he resisted the urge to bare his fangs at Preston.
His gums tingled with the need to release them.
This shit here was why he’d avoided people for so long.
Just when he thought he had his more primal instincts under control, this asshole came along pushing his buttons.
“I’m here to help Sage. If she asks me to leave, then I will.
” He gave Preston a pointed look before he resumed loading the dishwasher.
Because of his enhanced werewolf senses, he’d heard every word of Sage and Preston’s private conversation.
Lunch was over yet Preston continued to linger.
Would Sage throw him out? As much as Matt would like to see that, he’d rather have the honor himself.
“Sage and I are going to be married one day. And—”
A menacing growl filled the room. Matt cut it off once he realized the vicious rumbling emanated from him.
Uncurling his fists revealed slashes on his palms from his claws.
The cuts stitched themselves closed as he watched, leaving behind healthy skin marred by his blood.
He turned to see Preston rushing over to peer out the kitchen window.
“Did you hear that? It sounded like a…a bear or I don’t know.”
Matt released a relieved breath. For a moment there, he thought he’d blown it. He wasn’t sure if he should share his secret with Sage. Thus far, the only people who knew about his condition were other werewolves and their mates.
“What the fuck was that?” Preston held the curtain aside, leaning left and then right as the early afternoon sun spilled into the room. “I don’t see anything. That’s weird. It sounded so close.”
He cleared his throat. “Maybe it was passing through.” His voice was deeper than normal, but hopefully Preston didn’t notice. “Nothing to worry about.” He casually rinsed and washed his hands in the sink.
“Maybe.” Preston turned around, a frown furrowing his forehead. “As I was saying—”
“You were wasting your breath. I’m here to support Sage. That’s all I want—unlike you trying to worm your way back into her life when she’s in need of healing.”
Preston pulled a face. “Oh, yeah? Am I supposed to believe that? You’re trying to take advantage of her. You think that because we’re broken up that you can weasel your way into her bed.”
Sighing, Matt dropped their forks into the dishwasher tray and shut the door.
“I’m done with this conversation. Clearly, there’s no convincing you of the truth.
If Sage is as in love with you as you say, then you have nothing to worry about.
” He pressed the button to start the dishwasher. “It’s time for you to leave.”
Preston’s fists curled and his lips thinned. “Don’t think this is over, pretty boy. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
Matt’s eyebrows rose. “The word is ‘handsome’ and I’m not a boy.” Extending a hand toward the door, he asked, “Shall I walk you out?”
“Thanks, but I’ll say goodbye to Sage first.”
He bit back his growl as Preston walked away. Fortunately, the other man didn’t look back. Matt felt his claws extend. Fur sprouted on his arms. He stayed in the kitchen until he regained control of himself. By that time, Preston had said his goodbyes and left.