Hollywood Heir (Westerly Billionaire #4)(63)

Axton considered his question seriously. “Could I install two secret doors? I could disappear and reappear as if by magic.”

Eric threw back his head and laughed, then ruffled the boy’s hair. “You know what? That sounds like exactly what this dinner will need. Make it so.” He met Reggie’s eyes over his son’s head. “I hate when you’re right.”

Reggie hugged Alice to his side. “Then you must hate me all the time, right, Alice?”

Alice elbowed him for the smugness. “Seriously, could one of you please tell me what’s going on?”

The kids lost interest halfway through Eric’s explanation and ran off to play. “So, that’s it. One dinner and we’re back on track.”

Looking less sure than Reggie had, Alice chewed her bottom lip. “Are you sure you want us there? The kids—”

Eric looked back and forth between his two best friends and said, “Might be the only saving grace to the evening. If everything goes south, at least we’ll have an ice sculpture and two new hidden passages.”

“You should probably invite King Tadeas. Your grandmother is on her best behavior around him,” Alice added.

“Bam,” Reggie said. “And that’s why I married her. My woman is brilliant.”

Eric nodded. “It is an undeniable fact that she’s your better half.”

One of the children yelled, and Alice excused herself to confirm that they were both still alive.

“What’s the likelihood that this will turn out well?” Eric asked seriously as he watched Alice wagging a finger at the children, who paused, then took off again.

“I’d say 50 percent.” One of the children yelled for Alice again, and Reggie cleared his throat. “Maybe 40.”





Chapter Sixteen

During the ride back to her apartment, Sage was reminded why she treasured Bella’s friendship. It had been a wild day full of emotional ups and downs. Bella had probably formed a strong opinion of Eric and his friends, but instead of forcing them upon Sage, she asked, “How did your talk go?”

Sage shared everything she’d learned. Despite the number of times she’d told Bella that they had different ways of seeing things, she valued Bella’s opinion. She knew Bella felt the same. Without each other they might have become the extreme versions of themselves. It was why Bella shared her jaded views of the cases she worked on; Sage could sway her to a more optimistic place. Sharing gave them both the opportunity to pull each other back from the brink. “Out of everything, what bothered me the most was the way he spoke of his grandmother—how he just wrote her off.”

Bella shot her a quick glance. “Because your family did that to you?”

Ouch. “Yes. I like him, Bella. I mean, when I’m with him, I feel like we were meant to be, but I don’t want to set myself up for being left behind again. Maybe it’s not realistic, but I always imagined marrying a man with a big family that I would become a part of.”

“Oh, hon. No man, not even a great one, should be your answer to fixing what you hate about your life. You were dealt a crappy hand when it came to parents. He might have been, too. Would you want to be held accountable for yours?”

“I thought you didn’t like Eric.”

“I didn’t, but he’s different than I thought. His friends are loyal to him. His staff adores him. Those kids idolize him. You can’t fake that. I’m not saying he doesn’t have issues, but I’m glad I went with you today, because now I see what you like about him—he has heart.”

“Yes,” Sage said. “Well, now I’m afraid to tell you what I asked him to do.”

“Spill it, Sage.”

“I told him that the only way I’d consider giving us a second chance is if he gathered his family, even the ones in the States, for a dinner and invited me to it. I need to see him with them. Do you think that’s an unfair request?”

Bella took a minute or so before answering. “I think it’s genius, very intuitive. Regardless of how the dinner goes, the simple fact that he would gather his family because you asked him to will say volumes about how he feels about you. If he doesn’t want to be bothered enough to do it . . . then that will say something as well.”

Sage brought steepled fingers to her mouth. “He’ll do it.”

“That you believe he will tells me how you feel about him. I hope this works out for you, Sage. I really hope it does.”

Turning somewhat in the car seat to face Bella, Sage asked, “How would you feel about attending that dinner with me?” Before Bella had a chance to answer, Sage added, “You’d have to be on your best behavior.”

Bella smiled. “Aren’t I always?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I’ll be good, I promise. I’ll keep all of my opinions to myself—as long as you don’t seat me next to his grandmother.”

They laughed over that. A few minutes later Bella received a message from her neighbor. She played it aloud via her car’s Bluetooth. “Hello, Miss Mars, I just received your invitation to the garden party, and I would love to attend, especially since it’s right next door. I look forward to getting to know you better as well.”

Sage’s mouth dropped open. “Aha! Look who is telling fibs now.”