Hollywood Heir (Westerly Billionaire #4)(61)

“And then you met me.”

A corner of his mouth curled in a half smile. “Yes, I met you. You were not part of my plan.”

My radar didn’t fail me. “That’s why you were upset when Bella took a photo of you. You must have been afraid we recognized you.”

“I was.” He combed his hand gently through her hair. “I shouldn’t have lied to you about my name, but I wasn’t ready to return to my life, and I didn’t know you well enough to tell you any of this.”

“I can understand that.”

“I didn’t expect to fall for you.”

Sage stepped back from him as conflicting emotions swirled within her. The memory of the day before was still too vivid to simply accept what he was saying. “But you didn’t fall for me. Not really. You thought I was after your money.”

“Not until . . .”

His voice trailed away, as if he understood that the reason he’d doubted her was not what mattered. When his feelings for her had been tested, he’d assumed the worst of her.

Sage wrapped her arms around herself. “When we met, I thought I was meant to help you. You were different, but I felt your pain. As I got to know you, I wanted more. There were so many times when I believed we really connected. I thought you understood me in a way no one had before. Now I don’t know how much of that was a lie.”

“Just my name.” He looked down at the scar on the table. “And what I implied about myself.”

“And our connection? It couldn’t have been what I thought it was. It felt real. It felt solid, but it wasn’t. You didn’t come in that limo because you thought I wanted that, did you? You were testing me.” She swallowed hard. “How did I not see that?”

“I am so sorry, Sage. I wish I could go back and not doubt you, but I did. I messed up.” He waved at the wardrobes in disgust. “Every version of me did.” He slapped the side of the wardrobe with his open hand. “I am exactly as fucked-up as that sounded, but I need to know if you can love a man like me.”

“I don’t know.” Sage’s heart was breaking for him. Part of her wanted to wrap her arms around him and promise to help him make everything better, but a little voice inside her said it wouldn’t be the best choice for either of them. She looked from the superhero costume to Wayne Easton’s wardrobe to Eric Westerly’s fancy clothes and suddenly felt overwhelmed. “I need some time to absorb all of this.”

She stepped back.

He grasped both of her upper arms. “If you give me another chance, I swear on my life I will change.”

“People don’t change.” She frowned at his hands on her arms, and he instantly released her. But they can find their way to a better version of themselves. I have to believe it’s possible, because I’m on that very journey myself.

Is he? That would require knowing who he actually is, and how do I figure that out?

“Tell me what you want, Sage. How do I prove to you that I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything? Not just in my bed. I want it all. I want to be the man I am when I’m with you.”

She raised her hand in a plea for silence. She needed a moment to sort out how she was feeling. She had lost trust in herself and in him. In the past, whenever she’d felt lost, she’d told herself that she had a gift for knowing what people needed.

It takes so little for us to question ourselves, doesn’t it?

It was a lot to take in—the history with drugs, the lair, his lack of faith in her. Okay, the lair was actually cool. The rest could not be dismissed. He was saying all the right things, but words meant very little in the end.

It bothered her that he had distanced himself from his family. For someone who had spent a lifetime chasing hers, she didn’t know if she could be with a man who ran from his own. Wouldn’t such a man one day leave her as well?

It would have been easy to walk away and say he wasn’t worth the effort, but wasn’t that what her parents had decided about her? Maybe I wasn’t a child who fit into my parents’ lives, maybe I didn’t always make it easy for them, but shouldn’t love reach beyond that?

She could almost hear Bella saying, “Don’t be a doormat, Sage.”

In her eyes, I should be strong enough to tell him to go fuck himself.

But that’s not me, and I wouldn’t like myself if it were. I want him to find happiness—with or without me. “I’ll give you another chance, but on one condition.”

Their eyes met and held.

“Name it,” he said with conviction.

“I’d like to have dinner with your family.”

“Which ones?”

“All of them. I appreciate everything you told me today, but I don’t know what I believe when it comes to you. You tested me, and although I don’t believe in tit for tat, I need to see you with them.”

“Most of my family is in the United States.”

She shrugged. “That’s my condition.” If he said no, she would have her answer to her other questions as well.

“When you say all of them, that doesn’t include my grandmother, does it?”

Sage took another centering breath, during which she found her answer. “Yes, it does. I know you’re angry with her, but families fight and make up. At least, the kind of family I want to be part of does. I know it seems like a huge request, but if you really want to prove that I matter to you—invite me to that dinner.”