Hollywood Heir (Westerly Billionaire #4)(56)

“I love you more for it,” Alice said, going up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. “You would be a kind and loyal husband, Eric, because that’s the kind of friend you have been to us. You’d be a caring father, because you take care of those you love. Our children adore you, and that says a lot. They don’t care how many mistakes you made before they knew you. They only know how many times you’ve listened to them, remembered what was important to them. You can’t fool children—they see your heart.”

A spark of hope relit inside Eric. “How much of this should I tell Sage?” He gestured to the wardrobes. “If I get another chance with her . . . Is this something any woman wouldn’t run from?”

Alice looked up at Reggie with love in her eyes. “With the right person, you don’t have to hide who you are.”

Reggie’s cheeks flushed beneath her attention. “How much longer until the kids get back from school?”

Alice shot Eric a concerned glance. “Are you okay if we run?”

Eric chuckled and waved them away. “Get out of here. I’m fine.”

He smiled as they hurried away, grateful to have them in his life and happy that they had each other. When he looked at himself through their eyes, a kinder view of himself shone back. What had Alice suggested? Embracing even the negative in him because it made him stronger?

He met his eyes in the mirror and thought about how beautiful Alice hated what she saw in her own reflection. He wondered what Reggie hid but now understood why he never spoke of his life before meeting Eric. If two of the most incredible people he knew shared the same struggles he did, then maybe, just maybe, it was time to be kinder to the man in the mirror.

I can be a real bastard.

But I’m a natural entertainer, and I’m determined to be a better person.

That’s who I am.

Could that be enough for Sage?

It was time to tell Sage everything and let her make that decision. He took out his two cell phones and laid them side by side on the makeup table. He needed to call her—but as Eric or as Wayne?

Which one would she pick up for?

Something this important couldn’t be rushed.

He would probably only have one chance to get it right.





Chapter Fourteen

The next morning Sage was woken by a loud pounding on her apartment door. She rolled over and pulled a pillow over her head. She had every intention of getting up and having a productive day, but not before the sun came up. The banging continued, followed by her neighbor yelling a profanity-sprinkled request for the noise to stop.

Sage hauled herself out of bed and threw the door open angrily.

Dressed in a business suit and pumps, Bella strode past her, then gave her a long once-over. “Never do that to me again. Tell me you’re angry. Tell me you don’t want to talk. But don’t just ignore my calls. I was afraid you were dead.”

Sage closed the door behind her. “I’m sorry.”

“You should be. You scared the crap out of me.” Bella took a deep breath and began to calm down. “Are you okay? What happened?” She checked her watch. “I have about thirty minutes before I’m due across town, so start spilling.”

Sage sat on the couch and pulled a blanket up around her. “I’m not ready to hear ‘I told you so.’”

Bella joined her on the couch. “Fine. I’ll save all lectures for later. Just tell me if there’s anything I should presently be worried about.”

“No. It’s over. You were right. Wayne Easton was hiding something.”

“I know. It’s kind of all over the internet that he came here yesterday.”

Sage made a pained face. “So you already know.”

Bella leaned over and touched Sage’s arm. “I don’t care about him. I care about you. What happened?”

There wasn’t another soul on the planet Sage would have told the truth to, but she didn’t have secrets from Bella. She backtracked to their day at Stonehenge and how he’d left without an explanation. Then how she’d recognized him from a news clip. It was impossible to look her friend in the eye as she confessed how the visit the day before had gone.

“You slept with him? Oh, Sage.”

Sage shrugged. “I thought—I hoped it would get him to open up to me. It did. He told me exactly what he thought of me.” She blinked back tears. “Of course he thinks I’m after his money.”

“He said that?”

“Not even as nicely as I’m saying it.”

“What a dick.”

“Yeah.” Sage hugged the blanket closer. “I didn’t tell you about his grandmother yet. That’s the icing on this cake.”

Bella’s jaw dropped open as Sage told her about what Delinda had said to her the day she’d gone to apologize.

“She can’t threaten you,” Bella ground out. “I’ll—”

“Relax, Bella, we’re past that.” Sage updated her on Delinda’s visit yesterday. “She says she’s sorry about everything.”

“She should be. What a bitch.”

“She was trying to protect her grandson. He was once engaged to a woman who really was after his money.”

“According to her. You don’t know if any of that is true.”