Chapter Eleven
“We should really get up. I’ve got so much to do,” Sage said, stretching but ultimately settling into back into his embrace, wiggling her bottom in his lap.
Matt snuggled close and buried his face in her neck. Delicious.
“I don’t think I’ve slept that well since…. I can’t even recall.” She caressed his arm where it rested around her waist.
“Me either,” he sighed. Too many of his nights included nightmares featuring Meredith.
Or of himself doing irreparable damage as a werewolf.
But not last night. He couldn’t recall any of his dreams, but whatever they contained, they must have been peaceful.
He felt well rested and content. Maybe talking about the attack with Sage had helped him banish some of his demons.
Sage rolled over to face him. Her eyebrows raised. “So, more than a year?”
He huffed out a laugh. “Really?”
“That’s what I should be saying. Why have you been living like a monk?”
He sighed. “After the attack, I had no choice. It wouldn’t have mattered if I did because I didn’t trust myself. I was afraid of what would happen.”
“And before?”
“I’ve never been into casual sex. I dated because I thought I should, but I didn’t meet anyone that….”
“That?” She gestured with her hand for him to continue.
“Anyone that made me forget you. Anyone that I didn’t wish was you.”
“Oh, Matt,” she whispered, clasping his cheeks she brought her full lips to his. “I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner.”
“No. No regrets. Remember what you said. This is our time.” He ran his hand down her spine and kissed her forehead. Matt didn’t want her to feel guilty for a past that she couldn’t change.
“Our time,” she repeated with a nod. She hugged him and then slid out of bed. “I’ve got phone calls to make and packing to do.”
Groaning, he rolled out of bed as well. “I’ll make breakfast. Then, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go for a quick run?” He needed the energy outlet before sitting cramped in a car for hours.
She nodded. “I wish I could come with you.”
“Maybe one day.”
***
Sage folded her shirt and tossed it into her suitcase.
“I gave you permission to date him, not to leave town with him. What is going on?” Chandra asked, her voice muffled. Sage pulled her cell phone out from beneath a pile of rejected tops and placed it on the nightstand where it would remain out of the radius of her tornadic packing style.
“I told you. We’re going to visit Matt’s sister. He cut his visit short to help me and he needs this.”
“Why?”
“She’s his only close family member.”
Chandra grumbled. “All right. How long will you be gone?”
“I don’t know. Until after her wedding, I guess.” Sage planted her hands on her hips and studied the destruction around her. She hated packing. She could never decide what to take.
“A wedding? How romantic. So, what is happening between you and Matt?”
How did she define it? Everything was happening so quickly.
Essentially, she was forever for him. Part of her was eager to jump on that and say yes to everything.
But she’d said yes to Preston and then she’d felt trapped.
The wedding looming in front of her had been a tightening noose about her neck.
She needed to spend time with Matt as a couple first to ease her worries.
After all, Preston had once been her friend as well.
“We’re together,” she answered at last.
“And?”
“And what?”
“Does he live up to his reputation?”
“Chandra, I am not going to gossip about Matt.”
“There’s nothing wrong with saying good things about your man,” Chandra cajoled.
“Hmm. Matt is kind and unselfish—”
“In bed?”
“Chandra!”
When she stopped laughing, she asked, “Where is Matt anyway?”
“Off running.” She attacked the pile of clothes, separating them into those still on a hanger and those that needed one.
“Really into fitness, huh? All right, well, I’ve got work to do. Keep in touch so that I know that you’re safe.”
“Will do,” she said, swiveling the hooks on the hangers in the same direction. Though the task appeared daunting, within fifteen minutes she had everything sorted and her room no longer looked like a disaster after photo.
“How’s it going?”
Sage yelped. She whipped around to find Matt leaning against the bedroom doorframe. “You startled me!”
“Sorry.” He shrugged. “Almost finished?”
She closed the lid on her suitcase. “Yes.” She reviewed her mental checklist. “I’ve called Mrs. Lemon.
As I thought, she’s fine with me taking the extra days off.
I told Chandra that we were going out of town.
Janie is at work, but I’ll call her tonight and ask her to keep an eye on the house.
I’m sure Mrs. Lewis will keep an eye out as well as she’s a bit of a snoop. Well-meaning and kind, but you know….”
“And your parents?”
“I sent them an email. They usually only check in online because calling can be so expensive.”
He nodded and ran his hand through his curls. “Thank you for coming with me, Sage.”
“Of course.”
“I don’t know why I feel anxious, but I do.”
She crossed to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. For someone who had just come from a jog, he smelled delicious.
Wolf form or not, shouldn’t he be sweating?
“I’ll be there with you every step of the way.
” She kissed his chin. “This should be nothing for you. Estrella says you walked the runway like you owned the place.”
He gave a sharp laugh. “I’m never doing that again.
They had me in these shiny slacks in…. What was the color…
? What did they call it…? Oh! Champagne pink.
And they didn’t want me to wear underwear because it would ruin the line of the suit.
Seconds before I’m supposed to hit the runway, an assistant comes running up to me, gawking at my crotch.
Then she’s grabbing at my trunk and pinecones, saying it’s obscene and accusing me of stuffing my pants with a sock.
Those people know nothing about personal space. ”
Sage laughed. “Trunk and pinecones, huh? Don’t think I’ve heard that one before.”
He shrugged and wrapped his arms around her. “How about my mighty oak and—”
“Are you going to say acorns?” She raised her eyebrows. “Acorns are pretty small.”
“Hmm. I’ll have to think on it.” He kissed her forehead and breathed in her scent. “I should shower and we should head out. I want you in a bed again tonight. We hang around here much longer and I’ll have you bent over the nearest surface.”
She smiled. “Doesn’t sound bad to me.”
He groaned and smacked her on the ass. “Don’t tempt me.”
Sage waited as Matt lifted her suitcase and placed it in the trunk. She plunked the bag containing her hair supplies and a minimal amount of makeup on top. Matt threw his bag and backpack in the trunk and closed it.
They rounded the car. Matt slid into the driver’s seat. “All ready?” he asked her as she buckled up on the passenger side.
“Yes.” She grinned at Matt. Even though this wasn’t exactly a vacation, she was as excited as if it were. “Andiamo!”
Smiling, Matt shook his head and put the car in reverse.
Preston’s SUV swerved into her driveway. Matt stopped her car abruptly. Her seatbelt tightened. She tugged but it wouldn’t loosen. Finally, she pushed the release and got out of the car.
Preston ran up to her. “I heard you were leaving town with this guy! What the hell is going on, Sage?”
Sage poked him in the chest. “You insensitive ass! What were you thinking? I was just in a car accident, and you pull a stunt like this! You could have called!”
Preston blinked in surprise at her outburst. “I-I’m sorry, but-but you should have told me.” He glanced over the hood of the car at Matt. “What’s going on? Where are you going and why? You owe me some answers.”
“I don’t owe you anything.”
“How can you say that after all we’ve been to each other? We were almost married! And we would be if I had any say in it.”
Sage took a deep breath and drew on her well of patience and compassion. Preston wasn’t a bad man. He just wasn’t the man for her. “Preston, I haven’t heard from you since the day I got out of the hospital. And I—”
“I had a quick job, but I’m back now. You don’t have to leave with this guy to have someone take care of you. I’ll move in with you.”
“Preston, I’m fine. I’ve been checked over by my doctor. This trip is for Matt. We’re going to see his sister.”
He frowned. “Can’t he do that on his own?”
“Yes, but he doesn’t have to. I’m going with him.”
Preston shook his head and ran his hand down his shortly cropped hair. “I don’t understand this. I don’t trust this guy. You shouldn’t leave town with him. Do your parents know you’re doing this?”
“I told my parents. Not because I need their permission but because we have that type of respect for each other. I trust Matt, and that’s all that matters. Now, move your car out of the way so we can leave.”
“Sage, please, listen to reason—”
She scoffed. “Why is someone else going to show up and make sense? Because you sure aren’t making any.”
Preston whirled around and pointed at Matt. “I was right, wasn’t I? You allowed this guy to weasel his way into your bed!”
Sage felt her face suffuse the heat of anger and embarrassment. “Preston, this is a nice neighborhood. You’re causing a scene.”
“I don’t give a damn. You’re worth it.”
Matt nodded. “On that, we agree. She’s worth causing a scene. Worth fighting for. Worth changing for. But you should have done it before she called off the wedding.”
“And you should mind your business,” Preston snapped. “This is between me and Sage.”
“You brought me into this conversation,” Matt pointed out. “And Sage doesn’t need this shit right now. Prove that you love her and put her needs first for a once.”
“What would you know about it?”
“I’ve been her friend for years. Sage didn’t have to utter a bad word about you for me to know that you were never there for her. Look how long it took us to meet. You didn’t make yourself terribly hard to avoid because you’re never around.”
“And you took advantage of that!”
Matt sighed. “Move your car.”
“Not until I talk to Sage. Alone.”
Sage glanced at the time on her phone. “Preston, how about I call you tomorrow? We can talk then. Matt and I really need to get on the road.”
“Sage,” he whined.
She clenched her jaw, detesting when he used that wheedling tone. “Preston, we’ve said all two people who are no longer involved could possibly say to each other. If you’d like to talk more, wait for my call. Now, go move your car,” she ordered firmly.
“You promise you’ll call?”
“I promise.”
He nodded. “I’ll be waiting.” After shooting a glare at Matt, he retreated to his car.
Sage rolled her eyes, and Matt pressed his lips together to hide a smile. Only once they were back in the car did he chuckle. “For a while there, I thought you were going to pop him one.”
“Believe me, the thought did occur to me. Why is that men can’t find the time of day for you when you’re with them, but when things are over, they can’t stay away?” She watched Preston reverse out of the driveway, allowing them to get on their way.
“I have no experience with that.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Why didn’t you tell him about us?”
“Because we’d still be standing there arguing until tomorrow. And it would do nothing but hurt his feelings. He’s not ready to hear it yet.”
He hummed. “Okay. Just as long as it’s not because you have doubts about us.” Matt drew the car to a halt at a stoplight and focused his gaze on her fully. “Because I’m all in.”