Hollywood Heir (Westerly Billionaire #4)(62)

“And then?”

Deep breath. “Then we’ll go for coffee.”

With a pained expression, he said, “I have no idea if they’ll all come.”

“Then let me meet the ones who will.”

He nodded. “Okay.” He let out a slow breath. “Okay.”

They stood in tense silence for several minutes. Finally, Sage said, “So, I should probably go find Bella.”

“Wait,” Eric said. He gave her a brief kiss so tender her toes curled. “I needed that.”

Me too.

He cocked his head to one side. “Since it’s a family gathering, would you like to invite yours?”

“That’s not necessary.” One family at a time.

Am I asking him for more than I’d be willing to do? “I don’t think they would come.”

A touch of wry humor entered his eyes. “They would if I told my grandmother we wanted them there.”

Sage choked on a laugh. “That would get my mother there, anyway, but not for the right reasons.”

“Think about it,” Eric said, then offered her his hand. She accepted it. His touch filled her with warmth and desire, but also more—so much more. They walked out of the lair and into the sunshine together. Sage knew they still had a long way to go, but he wanted to work things out, and so did she.

She could worry and dissect every step they took together, or she could trust that things worked out the way they were meant to. “Eric?”

“Yes?” He bent to hear her better.

“That is one kick-ass secret lair.”

He chuckled and nodded. “I hoped you’d like it.”



A short time later, Eric stood beside the barn watching Sage drive off with Bella. His fantasy of her tossing her arms around his neck and begging him to carry her off to his bed because she completely forgave him hadn’t quite been realized, but he didn’t hate how it had turned out.

She was willing to try again, and that was the important part. Love was still a word he was trying to wrap his head around, but her happiness mattered more to him than any reservations he had about her request.

She could have asked him to walk over hot coals and he would have done it. She hadn’t, of course, because it wasn’t in her nature to cause pain to anyone else. She believed in light and hope and that there was good in everyone. It was his fault that her faith in him had been shaken, so it was up to him to do what he could to repair it.

And if that meant gathering the Westerlys—so be it.

From beside him, Reggie said, “It looks like things went well.”

“Yes and no. She asked for more than an explanation and an apology.”

Reggie pocketed his hands in the front of his jeans. “More what? Deodorant?”

Eric shot a glare at his friend. “Fuck you.”

He snapped his fingers. “She’s one of those women who wants to have twelve kids.”

“We didn’t discuss that, but no, I don’t think so.”

He brought a hand up to his heart as if experiencing real pain. “She wants you to get rid of the lair.”

Eric rolled his eyes skyward. “No. She loved it. If things work out, hell, I bet she wants one of her own.”

Reggie rubbed his chin. “Interesting.”

“None of what she saw in there seemed to concern her.”

“That’s a hurdle not every woman would clear.”

“Yeah. And I told her about rehab. That didn’t send her running, either.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“She wants to meet my family. She asked me to invite her to a dinner with all of them in attendance—at least as many as will come.”

Reggie whistled. “Holy shit.”

“Even Delinda. The dinner is Sage’s one condition for giving us another chance.”

“I’m gaining a whole new respect for your little plant psychologist. Damn. So, are you going to do it?”

“If I want to be with her, I have to.”

Reggie frowned. “It sounds too easy. No woman says she wants to meet your family because she gives a shit about them.”

“She said it’s a test.”

“Oh, that’s bad. She threw down the gauntlet. All in or all out—based on one dinner. Don’t take it the wrong way, Eric, but we’re pulling Alice in on this one. I’ve met your family. They are going to need some serious prepping.”

Reggie called Alice and his children over. “Okay, listen up, everyone. Eric needs our help.”

Eric looked at the children and said, “Reggie, maybe we should talk about this another time.”

Reggie shrugged. “If you want this to work out, we all need to be on the same page.” Then he frowned. “Unless you weren’t going to include us in that dinner party . . .”

Alice smoothly inserted herself into the conversation. “What dinner are you referring to?”

“We’re going to a party!” Liana asked. “Will you have an ice sculpture? Can it be of a penguin? I love penguins.”

Eric rubbed a hand over his face. Not a single Westerly had been invited yet, and already he’d lost control of the dinner. He looked down at smiling Liana and up at Reggie, who was still waiting for his answer. They were his family by choice. If Sage agreed to be part of his life, they would be part of hers as well. He winked at Axton. “One penguin ice sculpture—check. Do you have a special request?”