Hollywood Heir (Westerly Billionaire #4)(66)

“Grandmother,” he said softly. She didn’t hear him, so he said it again, louder.

She turned, and when she realized it was him, such joy shone in her eyes that he was temporarily overcome with shame for the way he had treated her. She struggled to rise, but he rushed to her side and pulled up a chair beside her.

“Eric, what are you doing here?”

He wanted to ask her how she felt, but that would reveal that he knew she’d seen a doctor. Delinda was too proud to want that. Eric remembered the day Sage had brought him along as she’d looked for a new client. The answers came to her when she opened herself to hearing them. He took a breath, quieted his thoughts, then smiled as one came to him. “I need your help with something.”

Delinda leaned forward, touching his hand. “Anything. You know that.”

He took a leap of faith—for Sage as well as himself. “I’d like to host a dinner so everyone can meet Sage, but I’d like it to happen here in London. I’m talking about everyone: Mom, Dad, Brett, Rachelle, Spencer, Nicolette . . . spouses and children. Everyone. I’d like to do it this weekend. I know it’s short notice, but could you help me make it happen?”

Tears misted Delinda’s eyes, but she blinked them back and raised her chin. “I can have everyone here by tomorrow morning if you’d like.”

No doubt she could.

He gripped her hand in his. If she started crying, he’d lose it right along with her, and neither of them wanted that. “By Saturday would be perfect. I’ll understand if any of them are too busy to come. It’s definitely short notice.”

“They’ll come,” his grandmother said softly. “Nothing is more important than family.”

After a few awkward moments, they began planning the menu as well as the guest list. Delinda said, “I’m assuming you’ll want Reggie and his family in attendance?”

He was surprised that she thought their presence would be proper, but maybe there was another side to her. “I also think we should invite Michael.”

Delinda cleared her throat. “Yes, I think I’ll require his assistance that day.”

“And your suitor is welcome as well,” Eric said to lighten the mood.

“My suitor?” Delinda sniffed and her eyebrows rose. “I am too old to have a such a thing.”

“Clandestine paramour?”

His grandmother shook her head, but the hint of a smile tugged at her lips. “You’re incorrigible. Tadeas is a friend, that’s all.”

“It’s not your fault, Grandmother, that even kings bow before your charm.”

“My charm.” Delinda rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure many would say that’s a trait of mine.”

“We all have our crosses to bear,” Eric joked. “Mine is how outrageously good I look in spandex. Not everyone can pull off the look. Imagine Brett trying to.”

Delinda laughed at that. “Oh, he would be too mortified to leave the dressing room.”

“It sure would make his board meetings interesting.”

They shared a laugh over that image, and for a moment Eric felt as close to her as he had as a child. “Grandmother . . .”

“Yes, Eric?”

Leap of faith. “I love you.”

This time a tear did spill down her cheek. She wiped it away impatiently. “I am so sorry, Eric. I didn’t know how much Sage meant to you. I thought you were lost and I needed to—”

He took her hand in his again and gave it a squeeze. “I was before I met Sage. She lives by her own rules. She sees the best in everyone, even those who disappoint her—and I’ve done my fair share of that. I understand how her career looks on paper, but when you see her in action, it’s nothing less than inspirational. When I’m with her, I start to believe there might be a reason we’re all here. I don’t know how to explain it better than that—except that she gives me hope.”

“Oliver always brought out the best in me. I miss him as much today as the day I lost him. Tadeas is the same. Maybe that’s why I’m so afraid to say yes to him—I don’t know if I could bear to lose another man I love.”

“Sage would say he’s worth the risk. I think you’d really like her, Grandmother. She’s strong like you—in a much less abrasive way.”

“Well, isn’t that sweet,” Delinda said, though she was smiling.

He wagged a finger at her. “So stop threatening to have her arrested.”

Delinda sighed dramatically. “If I must. I’ll even make an effort to be nice to her family.”

“Nah, they sound like assholes.”

Delinda let out a surprised laugh, then a thoroughly amused cackle. “You’re awful.”

“I learned from the best,” Eric said with a grin.

The door of the library closed, bringing Eric’s attention to the fact that Michael might have been listening the whole time. Rather than offending Eric, though, it was a testament to Michael’s protectiveness of Delinda.

Eric decided to invite him to the dinner personally.





Chapter Seventeen

The next few days crawled by for Sage. Eric texted her each morning to say he hoped she had a good day. She responded each time that she hoped he had the same. He texted her again each evening to ask how her day had gone. She gave him a brief recap, then asked him about his day. The strained texts highlighted how much both of them were holding back. She desperately wanted to ask him if he was organizing a dinner with his family, but she didn’t. He claimed to miss her, but he didn’t ask to see her again. It was a test of Sage’s ability to remain positive, but she did. Not for him, but, as Bella had said, because Sage wasn’t happy when she expected to be disappointed.