Hollywood Heir (Westerly Billionaire #4)(40)

Sage burst out laughing, then felt bad as soon as she realized Bella was serious. “There’s no way that’s how it happened.”

“That’s what my guy told me.”

“Well, your guy must be wrong. You’re a barrister. You know if something doesn’t sound right, it probably isn’t.”

Bella sighed. “I don’t like this guy. He’s hiding something. Are you seeing him again?”

“I don’t know. He hasn’t called me since our date yesterday.”

“Sage, your instincts are usually spot-on, but they’re not with this one. Could you do me a favor? The next date you go on, take me with you.”

“That won’t be too awkward.”

“Please. Promise me.”

“Fine. But I may not ever see him again, anyway.”

“I’ve got to run, Sage, but we’ll talk more about this over dinner.”

“Then it looks like a martini night for me as well,” Sage said, but she laughed.

“I just care about you.”

“I know. I know. Go. We’ll chat later.”

Dinner had been wonderful, but it had concluded without Bella or Sage in agreement over Wayne. Since Bella was so wound up, Sage glossed over how her apology to Mrs. Westerly had gone. She left off the part where the woman had threatened to have her jailed. That kind of talk made lawyers nervous.

She also didn’t mention the reason behind the threat. Sage didn’t know any of the Westerly family unless—and she almost dismissed it as impossible as the idea came to her—Wayne was more than that famous actor’s doppelg?nger.

Ridiculous.

Still—a clown bar fight?

It sounded like the punch line of a joke.

Bella was correct about one thing . . . something about Wayne wasn’t right.

Is he lying to me?

I’m getting as paranoid as Bella.

But without the scar, Wayne was a dead ringer for the movie star.

He looks so much like Eric Westerly. But if he is . . .

Everything he’d said to her, every experience they’d shared, would have been a lie. All she thought she knew about him—from his shame about his appearance to his struggle with money—wouldn’t be true.

She didn’t want to believe it.

He would be just another rich, unhappy soul she was meant to help in some way.

Not a man I could spend the rest of my life with—just another client I confused with more.

She tossed her phone down on the couch beside her. I need to stop. I’m not going to resolve this tonight—all I’m going to do is upset myself. When I see Wayne, if I see him again, I’ll ask him. Face-to-face.





Chapter Nine

Eric closed his eyes briefly as he waited for his grandmother to answer her phone. One ring. Two rings. He half hoped for the reprieve of having his call go to her voice mail.

No, I’ve got this.

“Eric, are you all right? When you didn’t call me last night . . .”

“I’m fine, De—” He stopped before calling her by her first name, because he knew how much it bothered her. “Hello, Grandmother.”

“It is so good to hear your voice, Eric.”

There was a vulnerability and emotion in her tone he hadn’t expected. Although she wasn’t English, she maintained a stiff-upper-lip coolness, even with her family. He’d once known how to break through her tough exterior but hadn’t seen the softer side of her since he was very young. “How are you?”

“I’m well. I heard you’re returning to Vandorra to visit the children’s hospital. What a wonderful way to use your celebrity status to help people. I’m proud of you.”

Whoa. I was not expecting that. “Thank you.” There was a long, awkward pause before Eric asked, “Is it true you’re dating King Tadeas?”

She tsked. “Dating? We’re not teenagers. We spend time together, that’s all. Now that Rachelle and Magnus are married, it makes sense for us to attend the same events.”

“I like him, Grandmother. My impression of him was only good.”

“He likes you, too, Eric. In fact, he’s been spending a lot of time in London, in case you—”

“I’m fine, Grandmother.”

“I know you are, but if there is anything you need—anything—I’m here.”

He waited for her signature judgmental zinger, but none came. If this were one of his movies, Water Bear Man would reveal her then and there as an impostor. A switch had certainly been made, because this was not the grandmother he knew. “I appreciate the offer, but as I’ve said, I’m fine.”

When she spoke again, her voice was thick with emotion. “I know I’m not always easy to talk to, but I do love you, Eric. You have no idea how much. I have failed you and my other grandchildren in so many ways, but if you give me another chance, I want very much to be a part of your life.”

It was a moment of choice for Eric. There was no law that said he had to agree to let her back in. Any control she’d once had over him had dissolved when he started making his own money. Saying no would keep her out of his life, out of his business. It was the safer, less frustrating of the two options. Was it what he wanted, though? Distancing himself from his family hadn’t made him a happier person.