Stroke of Love (35 page)

He cleared his throat to loosen the lump and find his voice. “Give…give me a minute. Please.”

She nodded and stepped away.

Sage searched for the right words to say to his father.
I’ve waited my whole life...You finally see me for me. What the fuck took you so long?
When nothing felt right, he opened his arms and embraced him. Feeling his father’s broad chest, the safety of his strong arms, the way, when he patted his back, it felt different. Prideful.
No. It doesn’t feel different. It’s felt that way all along. I was just too stubborn to see it
. The right words came to him then, and he drew back from his father’s arms to look into his dark eyes.

He was the same man he’d always been, and now his father somehow looked different. Softer. Kinder. “Thank you, Dad.”

His father nodded. A simple movement of his head, nothing more. He didn’t offer a word. He didn’t have to. He’d already given Sage the gift he’d waited for his whole life.

“You okay?”

He turned at Siena’s voice. “Thank God. Gimme my phone.” The curt tone was out before he could check it.

“Jeez.” She dug it out of her purse.

Jack put a hand on Sage’s shoulder. “That’s some painting, Sage.”

When he said, “Thanks, Jack,” he was saying it for all Jack had done for him, and when Jack squeezed his shoulder, he knew he understood.

“That’s what family’s for,” Jack said with a nod.

Sage checked his phone. No text from Kate. “I gotta get outta here.” He didn’t have a plan. He had Kate’s parents’ address and Kate’s phone number, and that was enough. All Sage knew was that he’d waited long enough. This show was important—but not as important as Kate.

“You can’t leave,” Siena said in a fast whisper. “They’re waiting to interview you. My friend Jordan is right there waiting for you.” She pointed to the blond reporter.

Sage shot a glance at his father, whose arm rested across his mother’s shoulder in a rare display of public affection. Was it that rare, or had he just paid more attention to the harsher side of him? The blond reporter approached his mother, and Sage pushed the thought aside. He saw Rush and Kurt come into the room and waved to them.

“I gotta call Kate. Have her interview Mom or Rush. Everyone loves Rush. Hell, have her interview Kurt. They’re all newsworthy. Kate’s plane should have landed almost two hours ago. I can’t stay. I need to catch a train.”
A train? Yes. A train
. What was he doing standing around in a gallery when he could be with Kate and her parents?

“There he is. I told you we’d find him.” Dex and Ellie came into the room holding hands.

“Hi, Dex, Ellie. I’m sorry to run, but…” Sage looked around the room at his family, there to support him and his mother, and all he could do was think about seeing Kate. “I’m taking off.”

“What? Why?” Dex looked handsome in his jeans and button-down shirt. He held tightly to Ellie’s hand, which made Sage miss Kate even more.

“I can’t wait another two or three days. I want to see—”

Dex and Ellie stepped to the side of the entrance. It took a second for Sage to realize that he wasn’t dreaming. Kate stood in the doorway in a long-sleeved navy blue dress that stopped midthigh, her eyebrows knitted together, blinking repeatedly.

Tears stung Sage’s eyes as the breath left his lungs. “Kate.”

Jack reached for Kate’s suitcases, which Sage hadn’t noticed her holding. Kate nibbled on her lower lip, her cheeks flushed, her eyes damp. In two steps she was in his arms.

“Oh my God, I’ve missed you,” he whispered against her cheek. In the next breath, his mouth was on hers in a deep, loving kiss. All of the emotion of the last week constricted his chest. He could barely breathe. She was there. Finally right there with him. He had to look into her eyes.

“You’re here.”

“I couldn’t wait.” Her body shook as she clung to him.

“You feel so good.” He kissed her again, mildly aware of the people gathering around them, the flashes of the cameras, the murmurs of wonder. He didn’t care how much of a spectacle they made. His world was finally righting itself again—maybe for the first time ever.

When they drew apart again, they were both breathing heavily, smiling like they’d just won the lottery. Sage wrapped his arm around her waist and held on tight.

“You’re so damn beautiful. What about your parents?”

“They’re coming for the weekend. I didn’t want to wait to see you, so…” She shrugged, looking so damn adorable that Sage had to kiss her again.

Kate glanced around the room and quickly dropped her eyes. Sage realized that a crowd had formed around them: His family members stood close, strangers behind them, reporters taking pictures, scribbling on notepads.

He spoke to no one in particular. “This is my girlfriend, Kate.”

Jordan, the blond reporter, spoke above the din of the crowd. “She’s the focus of
Emergence
?”

“She
is
emergence,” Sage replied.

Kate shifted her eyes to the painting and gasped. She shot a look at Sage. “When…?”

“In Belize, and I finished it here. It’s going right in our living room.”
Our living room
.

“Mr. Remington, can you answer a few questions now?” Jordan approached him.

Sage took Kate’s hand and nodded proudly. “Now there’s nothing I can’t do.”

“COME WITH US.” Siena put her arm around Kate and guided her away from the crowd that had enveloped Sage after he was interviewed by Jordan and two other reporters.

Savannah held Kate’s other arm, and Ellie flanked Savannah’s other side. Both Siena and Savannah were several inches taller than Kate, and she felt vulnerable between them. She didn’t want to leave Sage, but as they dragged her away, she looked over her shoulder and realized that it would be forever before he was free again.
Oh God. Will they give me hell for crashing Sage’s opening
? She couldn’t help it. After Sage had called the evening before, she had to see him. She just couldn’t wait a few more days. She’d phoned her parents, who apparently held love in as high regard as helping others, which she’d never realized, and then she’d changed her flight arrangements. One look at the warm, excited smiles on the women’s faces told her there was no way in hell they would give her a hard time about anything. They kept glancing at one another like they couldn’t wait to hear juicy gossip. Kate didn’t even know how to gossip.
Do I? Oh my God. I’m the gossip. They want the details about me and Sage.
For some reason that made her feel better, included. Now, as they brought her into a room in the back of the gallery and sat her on a couch between Savannah and Ellie, with Siena standing before them, arms crossed, her hand on her chin, Kate’s stomach sank.
Oh, God, she’s looking at me like she hates me already. I totally misjudged the situation.

“So, Sage had no clue that you were coming?” Siena asked.

“No.”
Shit
.

“And you came straight from Belize?” Siena narrowed her eyes at Kate.

She nodded.

“Did you see his face?” Ellie put her hand over Kate’s and squeezed. “I’ve never seen Sage that happy.”

“You’ve got big ones,” Siena said as she crouched before Kate and put her hand on her knee. “I mean, that’s a long way, and what if…? I don’t know. Anything could have gone wrong.”

“Oh my God, Siena! Buzzkill much?” Savannah glared at her. She tossed her long auburn hair over her shoulder and draped her arm over Kate’s shoulder. “Don’t listen to her. It was incredibly romantic.”

Siena hates me. She really hates me.

“Buzzkill? Oh my God. No, I’m so sorry, Kate.” Siena’s eyes softened, and the similarities between her and Sage came to life. The sincere smile, the light when it reached her eyes. “I love what you did, but I don’t know if I’d ever have the guts to do it. I mean. Wow. When he kissed you, it took
my
breath away.”

Kate breathed a sigh of relief. “I had to come here.” Her eyes shifted to each of them, and she realized that her worries were unfounded. She might not have many female friends, but she knew the hungry-for-details look women got in their eyes, and she recognized it in theirs. “I know this is fast, and I know that you don’t know me, but…”

Savannah pulled her close. “But we will. You’re part of the family now. Sage said you’re moving in.”

Kate felt her cheeks flush. “That’s the plan. I’m a little nervous. I mean, I’ve never spent time in the city, and I don’t want to mess up his life, and I’m not a freeloader. I’m really not.”

“Kate, would you stop? We’re not judging you. If you weren’t a good person, Sage wouldn’t have fallen in love with you.” Siena looked at Savannah and Ellie. “Right?”

“No way. Sage sees right through people,” Savannah added.

“X-ray vision.” Ellie laughed. “And don’t worry about messing up his life. Remington men are about the strongest men on earth.”

“Hey, Braden men are pretty damn strong, too,” Savannah said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“Yeah, so I’ve heard,” Ellie said. “But I have yet to meet them.”

“Who are the Braden men?” Kate asked.

The others exchanged a glance. “Sorry, you have a lot to catch up on,” Siena explained. “Savannah’s last name is Braden, and she’s got five amazingly handsome, incredibly sweet brothers. And there’s no doubt that the Bradens are strong. But they’re a different type of strong, having grown up on a ranch. Hell, Rex is about the manliest cowboy I’ve ever met.” Siena sighed.

“But Jade, Rex’s significant other, would kick any girl’s ass if she went near him, so let’s not go down that road,” Savannah added.

Siena continued. “Anyway, Sage is so different from my other brothers. He’s always been more serious, more contemplative about life. I’m glad he found someone who believes in the same things he does. He told us all about Hydration Through Creation. He’s really excited about it, and about you, Kate. We all are. We’re happy for you.”

“You are?” Relief swept through her.

“Yes! Until Savannah and Ellie came along, it was just me and my brothers. Do you have any idea what it’s like to grow up with all those boys in the house?” Siena rolled her eyes.

“I do,” Savannah said. “I love my brothers, but there’s nothing like having sisters. I mean, I have sisters-in-law, and Siena and Ellie, who, well...” Savannah looked from one to the other. She leaned in close to Kate and whispered, “I have a secret that I’m trying really hard not to blurt out.”

The excitement in Savannah’s green eyes was contagious. “A secret?”
A secret!
It had been ages since she’d shared secrets with a friend. Hell, it had been ages since she’d had friends. The warmth of Savannah, Siena, and Ellie enveloped her, and her anxiety fell away. Kate felt like she was at a slumber party that she never wanted to leave.

“Savannah! Did you and Jack finally set a date?” Siena jumped to her feet.

“I can’t say. I promised I wouldn’t say anything until he told your mom.”

“His mom already knows.”

They all turned toward Joanie Remington’s voice. “You’re having a hen party with our newest hen and no one invited me?” Sage’s mother flashed a smile at Savannah. “Jack just told me, and I couldn’t be happier.”

Savannah rose and embraced her. “Me too. I’m so excited, and I wanted to tell you right after we set the date, but he wanted to tell you in person.”

“I’m glad he did, but now…” Joanie put her arm around Siena, and Ellie pulled Kate to her feet and draped an arm over her shoulder as Joanie and the others huddled together. “We need to plan a bridal shower!”

Kate loved the warmth that passed between Siena and Savannah with nothing more than a glance, and the way Siena reached for Ellie’s hand when her mother mentioned the bridal shower. She’d never been part of such a close group of women before, and as Joanie reached for Kate’s hand, she had to swallow past her longing to remain a part of it.

“Kate.” Her voice was tender as she patted Kate’s hand. “Sage has told me so much about you. I knew that first time we Skyped, when I saw that gleam in my son’s eyes as he pulled you close and introduced us, that his heart had opened up to you. I hope we can spend time getting to know each other.”

Don’t cry. Don’t cry
. Now she knew why Sage was such a good man. How could he not be, surrounded by this type of love? “I...I look forward to it.”
More than you could ever know.

SAGE HAD DREAMED of this moment since he’d returned from Belize. He unlocked the door to his town house and threw the door open; then he turned to Kate, and he had to take a moment to catch his breath. He couldn’t believe she was there beside him, looking up at him through her thick lashes, a nervous smile on her lips.

“Welcome home.”

“Home.”

He nodded. “Home. Our home.” With his hand on the small of her back, she walked inside. Sage carried in her bags and set them by the front door. He watched her eyes rove from the overstuffed blue sofa, covered with colorful, unmatched pillows, to the leather recliner and the stack of books beside it.
I should have put those away
.

Kate took a step forward and ran her hand along the cherrywood railing that led up to the second level, where the kitchen was tucked out of sight. A dining room table filled the balcony area that overlooked the living room. She reached for Sage’s hand and walked with him toward the fireplace, running her eyes over the plants set atop the built-in bookshelves to its left. She followed the foliage down the edges of the shelves.

“I realized after I got home that I should probably trim those back. They’re kinda jungle-ish, aren’t they?”

“I love them.” She picked up a frame from the mantel and sucked in a breath.

“It’s one of the pictures Luce took at breakfast, remember?”

She nodded and ran her fingers over their smiling faces. “You’ve already had it printed and framed.”

“All of them. There are some upstairs, blown up larger, and a few in the bedroom.”

“Oh, Sage. I love that you did that.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against him.

She felt so good against him.
God, I missed you
. “The painting of you will go right above the fireplace—that is, if you don’t mind.”