Sage nodded. No wonder Gabe had brought her bags in. “Yes, I’m in a safe place. I’m at Gabe’s. I came straight here from the airport.”
“Good. He called the office a few times today for you. He seemed kind of anxious to see you.”
He could have fooled me, she thought, recalling Gabe’s reaction when he’d first seen her earlier. “Well, I’m here, and this is where I’ll be if you need to reach me.”
“All right and you stay put.”
She smiled. “Oh, I will unless Gabe kicks me out.”
Malcolm’s laugh came in loud over the phone. “Don’t hold your breath for that to happen. He likes you a lot. That was obvious when he went up against Langley Mayhew that day. Blackwell was territorial at its best.”
Not wanting to discuss what Malcolm assumed was Gabe’s feelings toward her, she said, “Look, I need to call home and check my messages. You can reach me on my cell phone if you need me.”
“Okay and you take care.”
“You, too, Malcolm.”
Sage then called her home number to retrieve her messages. Not surprisingly, her mother had called to see how things had gone with her meeting with Erol. Rose had called wanting to know that very same thing.
The sound of Gabe’s deep, husky voice gave her a start. Her pulse quickened as she listened to his message:
“Sage, this is Gabe. Call me as soon as you get in. I need to know what it’s going to be, or should I say who it’s going to be. I’m staying up late to hear from you.”
Sage lifted a dark brow, pondering the contents of his message. After a few moments, understanding dawned on her, and she shook her head. Did he actually think that after seeing Erol she would decide the two of them should get back together? She sighed deeply, knowing that was exactly what Gabe thought … or at least what he couldn’t rule out as a possibility.
A part of her suddenly became angry that he had no more faith in her than that. His assumptions only proved that he still didn’t trust her emotions. He still wasn’t sure of her.
But then, how sure was she of him?
After what her father and Erol had done, she had wondered if she would ever put her faith and trust in another man again. And although Gabe had never done anything for her to question his integrity, a part of her had held back, though she wanted to believe otherwise. But things had been no different for Gabe. Because of what his former girlfriend had done, he was leery of the same thing happening. Yet, he had set himself up for that possibility, willing to take a chance that this time things would work in his favor.
And they had.
She had no intentions of getting back with Erol, and seeing him again only confirmed that. But Gabe had no way of knowing that until she told him.
And she intended to do just that.
Gabe walked over to the kitchen cabinets and took down a bowl for the soup he’d made. At times he found it hard to believe that he was running two households. Although he spent most of his time in Anchorage, his house in Detroit was just as equipped as this one, even more so because he still considered it his primary residence. His time in Anchorage was temporary, and once Eden was well under way, he would spend less and less time here, returning only when needed. He was beginning to like the town, even with all the snow.
He turned when he heard the sound behind him. Sage was standing in the doorway. He hadn’t expected her to be up so soon. The last time she had slept for over an hour.
He stared at her a few moments before saying, “You fell asleep.”
She looked chagrined. “I know. Sorry.”
Gabe shrugged. “You don’t have to be. It’s understandable that you’d be tired.” After dinner and a rodeo, he thought, then despised himself for the bout of jealousy he felt. He cleared his throat and focused on the window and what was going on outside of it. “A blizzard is headed our way, and they suggested that everyone stay inside. I took the liberty of bringing your bags in since it wouldn’t be safe for you to drive home tonight in this weather.”
Sage nodded. “No sweat, as long as you don’t mind company.”
Gabe returned his attention to her. “I don’t mind. In fact, I was about to have a bowl of soup and eat a sandwich. Would you like to join me?”
She smiled. “I’d like that. And we need to talk.”
A lump formed in Gabe’s throat, and his heart slammed against his chest. “Can we wait until after we eat?”
Sage lifted a brow. “If that’s what you prefer.”
“It is.”
“All right. I don’t see a problem to wait until then.” She glanced around. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Yes, you can set the table, please.”
Set the table for soup and sandwiches? … Instead of asking why such formality, Sage merely nodded and crossed the room to do as he’d requested.
Sage looked across the table at Gabe. He’d been extremely quiet, thoughtful, as if his mind was on something that was important to him.
After taking a bite of her sandwich, she decided to start off the conversation by asking him something that had her curious.
“Do you set the table for every meal, no matter what it is?”
He glanced up from studying his soup. He smiled, and it appeared that his features lit up from fond memories. “Yes, and it’s Christopher’s fault. Since he didn’t have a background that had taught him the proper way to do certain things, he decided to teach himself. He didn’t know anything about proper etiquette, so he bought a book and put everything he read into practice. Since we lived together, I thought it would help in his learning process if I participated, and after a while it became a habit.”
Sage nodded, remembering reading an article in Ebony magazine how, considering his less than desirable childhood, Christopher was now a successful businessman who participated in numerous charities involving children. Her respect for the man went up another full notch.
She met Gabe’s gaze. “He was lucky to have you for a friend.”
Finished with his soup and sandwich, Gabe leaned back in his chair. “I think we’re lucky to have each other, and my mother would be quick to tell you that luck had nothing to do with it. She sees our relationship as Divine intervention and says we are blessed to have each other. And I have to agree with her.”
While his response had been simply stated, Sage knew that a large degree of emotions had gone into it. After seeing him and Christopher together, it was easy to see that they not only considered themselves business partners and best friends, but also brothers. The fact that they didn’t share the same blood had nothing to do with it.
She was also astonished by the type of person Gabe was. His loyalty to Christopher, even to the point of being willing to share his parents, was astonishing. She recalled as a younger child wanting another sibling, and when she saw that wasn’t going to happen, she had resolved that she would be the only one. And as such, her parents became hers, exclusively and without any competition from another child.
She placed her spoon down after finishing her soup. “That was delicious, Gabe. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
His response of only two words was stated in a low, deep voice and sent every nerve ending in her body tingling with sexual awareness, and it didn’t help matters that he was looking at her through those gorgeous dark eyes of his, or the fact that his gaze had suddenly dropped to her mouth.
There it was again, that none-too-subtle change in the air surrounding them, the emergence of that strong sexual chemistry. She had felt it since the moment she’d stepped into the kitchen, but now it was getting stronger.
She cleared her throat. “Do you need help cleaning up the kitchen?”
He blinked, and his gaze moved from her mouth and refocused on her eyes. “No, in fact, I plan to load up the dishwasher. You can go and get comfortable by the fire, and I’ll be in shortly.”
“All right. I think it’s time we talk.”
He pushed his chair back and st
ood. “Yes, I think it’s time that we talk, too.”
Moments later while standing in front of the fire, Sage couldn’t help the wry smile that touched her lips. She and Gabe did a lot of talking. She’d never had this many talk sessions with Erol. But she felt the open communication between her and Gabe was good. There was nothing wrong with getting their feelings out in the open.
She wondered what had been going on in his mind the entire time they’d been eating. Did he actually think there was any way for her to walk away from him? But then, he probably didn’t know what he had come to mean to her. She hadn’t known herself until she’d seen Erol face-to-face.
Everything she’d done in the past had been to please her parents and make them happy, including bringing home the type of man she knew they would approve of. But what she hadn’t accepted until yesterday was that although Erol had been her parents’ choice, he might not particularly have been hers. She had remained in a relationship with him for five long years after having convinced herself he was the one she wanted. Yet, she had dragged her feet each and every time he’d mentioned marriage. Her inner self knew what her mind had refused to accept. Erol had not been the man for her. But like she’d told him, she didn’t regret any of it. Being with him had given her a chance to get to know herself and to be herself. And just like it had been meant for them to spend those five years together, it had been meant for it to come to an end.
Then into her life walked a man by the name of Gabriel Blackwell. He hadn’t come in like a whirlwind, or with the force of a locomotive. As smooth and calm as the waters on his lake, he had entered her life as first a business associate, then as someone she wanted to become friends with, and now a man she wanted as a lover.
She still didn’t know where she wanted their relationship to go, but she did know she wanted it to go somewhere. From the time they had acknowledged this thing between them, this strong sexual chemistry, he had tried doing the right thing, whatever she’d asked, fighting beyond unreasonable temptation to stay in control and keep his word, to prove that he was a man she could trust.
She quickly pushed aside her emotional fears of putting her trust in another man and knew that she did trust Gabe, and it was time for him to know it.
“Sage?”
Gabe’s deep voice startled her. She’d been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn’t heard him enter the room. She met his gaze and knew without a doubt that he was the man she wanted. “Yes?”
“Do you want anything to drink before we get started?”
She smiled at him. “No, I don’t need anything. I’m fine.” And for the first time in seven months, she truly felt that way.
She walked over to the sofa and sat down, ready to let Gabe know just what he meant to her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
For all of her outward display of confidence, Sage felt nervous and sensed the need for a drink after all. “I’ve changed my mind, Gabe, and would like something to drink.”
He nodded, then walked away toward the bar.
Suddenly, the whole idea of telling Gabe how she felt was causing a certain amount of uneasiness to coil up inside of her. Did she really want to get right back into a committed relationship after having recently gotten out of one? And if she wasn’t ready for a committed relationship, would a non-committed one work just as well for them? And what would happen after Eden was completed and they went their separate ways?
She sighed. She could never settle for an uncommitted relationship with Gabe. The thought of him with someone else didn’t sit too well with her.
“Here’s your drink.”
Sage glanced up when Gabe’s low, sexy voice intruded on her reverie. He was handing her a glass of brandy.
“You fell asleep before you could drink it,” he said as he sat down on the sofa beside her. “I kept it warm for you.”
She accepted the glass. “Thanks. I’m not as cold as I was before, but I could still use this.” She didn’t add that it could possibly calm her nerves. It didn’t help the situation when Gabe stretched his arm across the back of the sofa, making her heart skip a beat and making her want to slide closer to him.
But they needed to talk. And then …
“So, how was your trip?”
Sage lifted a brow. He’d already asked her that earlier, before she fell asleep, which could only mean he wanted more details than she had given him. “Erol and I had dinner and talked. I told him that things were over between us,” she said quietly.
“And?”
She met Gabe’s dark stare as she took a slow sip of her drink. “And we agreed that they were.”
Gabe shook his head as if he thought something was missing. “Just like that?”
She shrugged. “No, not exactly. He paid back the money he had taken and thought that doing so would patch up things.”
“But it didn’t?”
“No, it didn’t. I told Erol that I didn’t love him anymore.”
Warm relief spread through Gabe with Sage’s words. He began to feel relaxed, grateful, thankful and happy. “So things are really over between you?”
Sage turned around in her seat to face him, feeling both angry and frustrated that he still doubted her. Tilting her chin up, she met his gaze. “Things were over between me and Erol over seven months ago, Gabe, and I’ve known that. The only reason I met with Erol in Dallas was to make sure he knew that as well. Our families have been trying to keep his hope alive, which was unfortunate as well as unfair to the both of us, but especially to him. They meant well, but it didn’t help the situation, and he had refused to get on with his life, thinking we would one day get back together. I felt he needed to hear it directly from me … again.”
She turned her head and looked at the fire blazing in the fireplace and remembered Erol’s expression when she’d mentioned her involvement with another man.
“Sage?” Gabe reached out, and with the tip of his finger, he guided her chin back to face him. Their gazes met and held. “What aren’t you telling me? There is more, isn’t there?”
His touch felt warm, tender and gentle, and she gave him a small smile, suddenly feeling oddly self-conscious, which when added to her nervousness made her stomach flutter. “I told him about us, about you. I didn’t give him your name, but I did tell him there was another man in my life.”
Sage’s breathing deepened when Gabe’s gaze darkened. “Am I, Sage? Am I the man in your life?”
Sage exhaled a deep, unraveling breath. She’d asked herself that same question several times since last night. Deep down she wanted him to be but … There was something he hadn’t told her, something she needed to know. “That depends, Gabe.”
At his inquiring gaze, she said softly, “All this time you’ve doubted me and my true feelings for anyone after my breakup with Erol. Why shouldn’t I doubt you and your feelings after your breakup with her? The woman who caused you so much pain? How do I know you’re over her and that she’s not a threat?”
Gabe leaned forward with his arms resting on his thighs. His gaze moved away from Sage and went to the roaring flame in the fireplace. For the longest time he didn’t say anything, but sat still and concentrated on the blaze. Then he spoke, his voice filled with the pain he appeared to be feeling.
“Because Lindsey successfully destroyed all the love I had for her,” he said, his voice filled with a bitterness that Sage had never heard in it before.
“Why? Because she left you for her former lover?”
“No, I would have gotten over that eventually. It was for another reason.”
Sage wondered if he would tell her the other reason and felt her stomach constrict with disappointment that he was willing to hold something back after they had agreed to always talk things through to build up the trust factor in their relationship.
She began chewing on her bottom lip, waiting patiently to see if he would say anything else. When she thought he would not, he shifted his gaze from the fire to her.
“I was ne
ver supposed to know, and even now she doesn’t know that I do know.” He sighed deeply, and continued, “And the only other person who knows, other than the person who told me, is Christopher.”
Sage sat still, seeing a rise of fury surge through Gabe and watching his shudder of pain. “Know what?” she asked softly, wanting to share in whatever anger and pain he was enduring.
He started to speak, then hesitated, as if saying the words was a pain he couldn’t bear. Finally, he met her gaze and held it. “She aborted my child.”
A shocked look etched itself in Sage’s expression. She didn’t try to hide it. She couldn’t have even if she had wanted to. “Are you sure?”
Gabe leaned back against the sofa, his arm finding its place across the back of it again. “Yes, and I had no idea she was pregnant. I guess she and her fiancé didn’t want a reminder of the time she’d spent with another man, and my child became the sacrifice.”
Sage shook her head. “But … how did you find out?”
“Carol, a woman who used to date my cousin years before he was killed in a boating accident, but with whom I’ve remained good friends over the years, worked as a nurse at the same clinic that Lindsey went to have the procedure done. Carol remembered Lindsey, but Lindsey didn’t remember her. She said that Lindsey and a man, who I assume was her boyfriend, came to the clinic. She overheard them talking in the waiting area. He was assuring Lindsey that she’d made the right decision, and that having an abortion was the only way they could move forward and not be reminded of her time with another man. Carol became suspicious and against the clinic’s policy and also invading Lindsey’s right of confidentiality and privacy; she read Lindsey’s medical records and figured that due to the timing of everything, the child was mine.”
He inhaled deeply. “Because of the way I obtained the information, there was nothing I could say or do to Lindsey without putting Carol’s job in jeopardy.”
Sage reached out and took Gabe’s hand in hers. No wonder he had trouble dealing with women on the rebound. “Oh, Gabe, I’m so sorry.”
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