by Sophia Gray
My eyes felt ready to bulge out of their sockets. “Come again? You talked about what?”
“We didn’t, so…” And Sage laughed.
I started to laugh, too, and then the laughter turned into tears for both of us, but I liked to think it was more therapeutic than anything.
Grant halted in the doorway, holding up takeout menus. He raised his eyebrows.
Sage’s tears slowed, and so did her breathing. She had fallen asleep. I shook my head at Grant, and he laid the menus down on the coffee table. He sat beside me and draped an arm across my shoulder, as if protecting both me and Sage.
It felt good. It felt right. It felt amazing.
And I fell asleep feeling content.
***
The next morning, I woke to the sound of sizzling bacon and smelled pancake batter heating up. Neither Grant nor Sage were on the couch with me. I stretched, rubbed my eyes, stood, and leisurely made my way to the kitchen.
Grant was manning the griddle on the counter and cooking bacon on the stovetop at the same time. Sage was sitting on a bar stool at the island, grilling him.
“So what makes you so sure that my mom is the one for you considering how many other women you’ve dated?”
I hung back, listening. Grant currently had his back to me, and so did Sage, so neither of them saw me yet. I couldn’t help smiling at how possessive Sage was being.
“What’s the saying? Sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince? Well, I had to kiss a lot of toads to find my queen.”
I covered my mouth to suppress my giggle.
But Sage wasn’t as impressed. “Queen is right. She’s not a princess, but you didn’t just kiss the toads.”
“Okay, I really don’t think this is appropriate—”
“I’m not a minor, and I’m not a virgin, so…” Even though she wasn’t facing me, I could still see her crossing her arms. “But, fine, we’ll get back to that. How do you know that you really want to be with her? Maybe it was just the whole crazy rush and excitement of having to look for me and then the thrill of the rescue. What if, in a few days or weeks, when the craziness settles and it’s back to everyday life, you decide you have nothing in common, that you don’t really fit together? That it was all just heat and fire and nothing is keeping the spark going?”
Grant laughed. “The spark is still burning.”
“For now,” she said hotly, “but in a few months? In a year? Five years? Are you sure you’ll still want to be with her?” Before he had a chance to respond, she added, “Trenton told me about you. He’s a lot of things, but he never once lied to me. Might’ve omitted a few, but…You fucked a lot of women. What makes you think you won’t wake up one day and regret that you’re tied down to one woman for the rest of your life? Because I know my mom. If you two are serious, she’s gonna want a ring one day, and she’s gonna marry you, and there’s no way she’ll get a divorce. If you cheat on her, she’ll kill you and go to jail for it. So…”
Grant half turned toward her, and I stepped back slightly so there was no way he could see me. Maybe I should just let them know I was here, but I really did want to hear his answer. Sage had a good point. Being in love was one thing, but I had to assume it would take work to make it last. What if he did get bored of me one day?
“I understand where you’re coming from,” he said quietly. “You want to protect your mom. So do I. I would never do anything to hurt her. And, yeah, I’m not denying that I went from woman to woman.” He turned back to the bacon and started to remove the strips one at a time, placing them onto a plate covered in paper towels to soak up the grease. “But I learned what I wanted and what I didn’t want from a woman. I don’t want someone fickle. I don’t want someone who will say anything she thinks I want to hear. I don’t want someone who is clingy or someone who won’t understand my commitment to the club.” He faced her completely. “You mom is an incredible woman. She loves you very much, and if she loves me half as much as she loves you, I’d be set for the rest of my life.”
That was it. I couldn’t stand here hiding any longer.
I entered the room, and Grant’s face just lit up. A huge cocky grin. Wide eyes. He was wearing a wife beater, and his arms looked especially huge today.
Sage sighed dreamily. “If only I could get a guy to look at me like that. I guess I approve, Mom.”
I walked over to her and ruffle her hair. “Thanks, kiddo.” I walked around the island and kissed Grant. Just a peck, really, since we were in front of Sage, but the look I gave him told him to just wait until we were alone.
“Breakfast. How sweet.” I grabbed the spatula and flipped some of the pancakes. I sniffed. “Do I smell cinnamon?”
“And apples,” Sage said.
“Her idea to add them. I hope they turn out.” Grant removed the last of the bacon and patted some of the grease off.
In no time, breakfast was ready, and we were sitting at the breakfast nook, eating and laughing. While I agreed that getting some counseling was probably a good idea, this was therapeutic in its own right.
We almost felt, well, like a family.
Chapter 24
Victoria
A few months had passed, and honestly, life was better than ever. Grant and I were still going strong. Sage’s fear that we didn’t know each other well enough, that the novelty would wear off once we settled back to our daily lives—a fear I shared, too, to be honest—proved unfounded. We made a great team, we made each other happy both in the bedroom and outside of it, and we were more in love with each other with every passing day.
The day we learned the verdict—that Trenton was going to jail for drug trafficking, and so was the drug lord who had threatened him—was a day full of celebration. Grant took Sage and I out to dinner that night at a super fancy place.
He grinned once the waiter left to fill our drink orders. “I’m here with the two most beautiful women in the room.”
Sage rolled her eyes. She loved teasing him every chance she got. “We’re only the most beautiful women in the room? Not in the whole world?”
“Well, I haven’t seen all of the women in the whole world, so if I had said that, you would’ve pointed out that fact, and you know it.” He loved teasing her right back.
We all burst out laughing.
“I haven’t been seeing you as much lately. Haven’t found a new guy, have you?” he asked her.
Sage shook her head. “Are you kidding me?” she just about shrieked.
A woman at a nearby table glanced over.
Sage blushed and lowered her voice. “I’ve sworn off bad boys, and since I haven’t met a good one yet, I’m comfortable staying single for a long, long time.”
“Speaking of being single, how’s Corinne doing?” I asked. We hadn’t talked much since Sage resurfaced in Corinne’s life, and to be honest, I missed our talks. Maybe I should give her a call. It couldn’t hurt any.
“She hasn’t been with a guy since Jack. I think he scarred her. She started to take an art class, and there’s one guy taking it who she won’t stop talking about, but I think she’s scared to take the plunge.”
“Corinne? Scared?” Grant shook his head. “That doesn’t sound like her.”
Corinne came over for dinner a few times in the past few months, and when she met Grant, she spent the entire time throwing me winks and nudging me. She approved. We had talked about life in general, not specifics.
“I know, right?” Sage shrugged. “Normally, if a guy caught her eye, she would have no problem being the one to ask him out without waiting around for him to do it, but she hasn’t.”
“Maybe she will.”
“I think someone got it into her head that she needs to be happy with who she is by herself before she should date a guy.” Sage grinned at me. “I wonder who put that idea there?”
I grinned back. “Someone very wise.”
The two of us laughed, and Grant had to chuckle, too.
She turned back to G
rant. “On a more serious note, I haven’t been around lately because I’ve been so busy. Since I’m now a waitress, I’m trying to save up as much as I can. Any day now, I should be hearing back about whether or not I passed my GED. I’ve already done a lot of research on different schools, and I’ve narrowed down my choices. It won’t be easy, getting into a program. I know that. It won’t look good that I took a break from schooling, but I plan on being honest with my admission letters about my mom. About my moms.” She smiled brightly at me before her grin became more ironic. “Psychiatrists should eat that up, hopefully.”
“You can do anything you want,” I assured her, reaching over to pat her hand.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re my mom. You have to say that.”
“True,” I conceded, “I have to say it, but I also believe it.”
Counseling had transformed Sage. She had blossomed under it, and she had a good rapport with the counselor. By the end of the first week, they were talking more about psychology than the issues at hand, but that in and of itself was therapeutic because Sage was looking forward to the future, a future that wouldn’t involve Trenton.
Two weeks after our rescue, I hired Sage as a waitress, and she hadn’t once showed up late. She hadn’t disappointed me. Sure, there were a few minor mishaps here and there, but nothing unlike all new waitresses had to deal with. When she confided in the counselor that the kidnapping had actually been a good thing because it gave her the kick in the ass she needed, the counselor pronounced her ready to move on from counseling. I think they still talked from time to time. Sage needed all the strong female role models she could get.
“Have you asked Mrs. Franklin for help with schools?”
“Yeah. She’s been a great help. She said she would write me a letter for schools if it weren’t for it being a conflict of interest, even though I’m not her patient anymore.”
I grinned. Everything was looking up—for Sage, for Corinne, for me and Grant.
Dinner came, and we didn’t talk much because the food was that delicious. I excused myself to the restroom, and Sage came with.
“He really makes you happy, huh?” she asked.
“You have to ask?”
“I see. I do.” She washed her hands and stared at me through the mirror. “It’s good,” she said quietly.
“What is?”
“To see a healthy relationship for once. My birth mom never had one, and I don’t think any of the relationships I had been in were either. A lot of the other guys, I just used them to make Trenton selfish, and that wasn’t right to them or to me.”
I hugged her. “When did you get so insightful?”
She laughed. “I really am happy for you.”
We walked back to the table to find desserts waiting for us—a huge slice of cheesecake for Grant, an even larger slice of chocolate fudge cake for Sage, and a small dish of crème brûlée for me.
Complete with a ring on top of the burned sugar.
Tears glistened in my eyes as I looked up to Grant. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sage grinning smugly. She had been in on this.
Grant slid out of his seat and got down on one knee. A slight hush fell over the restaurant.
“Victoria,” Grant said, and my name on his lips was said like a sigh.
I felt like sighing myself. I had told Corinne she deserved a fairytale. Although our story had started out more like a tragedy, Grant and I had sure turned it around to make it a proper fairytale.
“You are a rock. You’re steadfast and loyal and everything I could want in a woman.” Grant’s eyes were smoldering, and I knew he meant a lot more than what he was saying, but considering a crowd had formed, and my daughter was right beside us, he couldn’t go into every sensual and dirty detail. “You already make me the happiest man in the world, but I want to ensure I have that the rest of my life. I want to make you my wife. I want to serve you and you me. I want us to be each other’s best friends. I want us to be husband and wife, partners for life. Will you—”
“Yes!” I squealed, and I leaned forward to kiss him and tumbled out of my seat and into his waiting arms.
Sage rolled her eyes but laughed. “You should let him finish the question before answering!”
I laughed, too, and looked up into Grant’s beautiful eyes.
He grinned. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I repeated, just as firmly as before. “Yes, of course!”
A chorus of cheers sounded from all around us. We had had an audience, but the only ones I cared about where my boyfriend—correction fiancé—and my daughter.
Several people came over to congratulate us, and when Grant asked for the bill, the waiter told us someone had taken care of it. He stood, glanced around, singled out a couple with a very young baby, and offered to pay their bill for them.
Just like that, I fell in love with him all over again.
Grant drove us back to his place, and the entire drive there, Sage kept pestering us with questions from the backseat. I had my hand on his thigh, and if it weren’t for her, I would’ve been sorely tempted to release Grant’s cock from his pants and stroke it until he came…or maybe I would’ve just taken it into my mouth and given him head. Grant was a safe driver, a little reckless at times sure, but safe for the most part. He would be able to handle the distraction, or if he couldn’t, I was sure we could find a secluded spot and make our way to the backseat and have some fun…
If it weren’t for Sage.
God, I loved her, and I did think it was perfect that he had included her with the proposal, but, man, did I just want some alone time with Grant right now!
“Any idea when you’ll get married?” Sage asked.
I glanced at Grant.
He shrugged. “We’ll need to get a license.”
“I don’t want to be too rushed with planning everything,” I said, biting my lower lip.
“We can have as big or as small of a wedding as you like.” He gave me a quick smile before refocusing on the road.
“Small,” I said immediately. I didn’t want to wait long at all to be Mrs. Reardon. “You think we could be ready by next month?”
“Anything for you, babe.”
I grinned. I’d move heaven and earth to get everything ready by then.
“What colors? Sage asked. “What theme? Are you gonna do a theme? It’ll be May so indoor or outdoor wedding? Or do you wanna do a destination wedding? Get married on an island or Hawaii! I’ve always wanted to go there! Or…” Sage never once stopped talking or asking questions, and her enthusiasm was refreshing and contagious.
When we arrived at Grant’s loft, Sage hopped out of Grant’s car and ran over to mine. “Mom, can I borrow your car? I wanna run over to Corinne’s.”
I couldn’t grab my keys out of my purse fast enough. I practically ran over to her.
She took them from me with a sly grin and a wink. “I’ll stay over,” she announced. “Don’t worry. I’ll make it into work tomorrow on time.” She pulled me close for a tight hug and whispered, “Maybe forgo the condom this time. I wouldn’t mind having a brother or sister.”
I gaped at her. She waved, climbed in, and took off.
Grant walked over and draped an arm over my shoulders. “What did she say to you?”
My cheeks had to be bright red. “Oh, ah.” I cleared my throat. “We never discussed this.”
“What? Does she want to move out?”
My chest grew tight at the thought. Yes, Sage would have to move out, sooner or later. “I won’t kick her out,” I said slowly, “but maybe she should start looking at places.”
“Oh.” He shrugged. “I didn’t mean to kick her out, and I figured that she’ll be staying on campus when she gets accepted into school, anyhow. I just thought she might’ve said something about that because you look a little flustered. What’s up, Vic?”
I stared up at him. “We haven’t talked about whether or not we want kids.”
A slow grin crossed his face. “D
o you want one?”
“I love Sage,” I said slowly, “but it might be nice to have a baby. I never had to worry about diapers or teething or potty training or any of that. It would mean taking a step back from the restaurant, at least for a little while.”
“I know things were rocky at first with the whole ordeal,” he said, “but everything turned out all right.”
When the dust settled after “the whole ordeal” and I had been able to spare some moments to check out my phone, I found a ton of messages waiting for me. I listened to Heather Franklin freak out about one thing and another, her messages growing more and more frantic, until she figured out how to handle things on her own without having to rely on me, and then her last message was to let me know that everything was just fine.