Hollywood Heir (Westerly Billionaire #4)(68)

There wasn’t, but she couldn’t imagine an appointment she wouldn’t cancel to see him that day. “Don’t worry about me. I love this area. I can definitely find something to do for an hour.”

“Why don’t we meet at the bathrooms of the fast-food place at the corner instead?”

“The bathrooms? That sounds deliciously clandestine,” she joked.

He laughed. “Sage, if that sounds exciting, you’ll love what I have planned for the rest of the day.”

“Do we have plans for later?” Sage asked with coyness.

“We do now,” he purred.

Bella would have needed to know why he wanted to meet by the bathrooms. She would have asked for an itinerary for the rest of the day. Sage preferred to trust in the magic of what was budding between them. “Then I’ll see you in an hour.”

“Sage?”

“Yes?”

He seemed to want to say more but finished with, “See you soon.”



Eric rushed from store to store until he found the perfect gifts for Sage. Seated in his Ford, he put them all into a gift bag and sped to meet her. Barring any unforeseen traffic snafus, he’d be right on time.

A short while later, he scored an amazing parking spot, grabbed his gift bag, and sprinted into the fast-food place. He didn’t trust easily, but he knew she would be there . . . based solely on the fact that she’d said she would be.

And there she was—standing near the bathroom doors. He had the luxury of watching her expression light up when she saw him. Never, no matter how long he lived, would he forget how her smiled rocked through him. She was his as surely as he was hers. He could picture everything in that moment—waking up beside her, holding their first child, growing old with her. It was all right there in her smile.

He kissed her lips lightly in greeting, not wanting to call attention to either of them yet. Then he slid the gift back into her hand. “Open it in the bathroom. I’ll grab two sodas and meet you at a table.”

She had a wonderfully dazed look after their kiss, but nodded and disappeared into the ladies’ room. He was just about to sit at a table nearby when she emerged.

Her brown eyes were now green, hidden partially by nerdy black-rimmed glasses. Her beautiful chestnut curls were covered by shoulder-length straight blonde hair. She was still attractive, but just different enough so that anyone who had seen her on social media wouldn’t recognize her.

The huge grin on her face said everything he needed to know. He waved her to the table, and they sat across from each other, sipping their sodas as if it were the most normal day for both of them.

“Hello,” he said. “My name is Wayne Easton.”

She bit her bottom lip. “Hi. I’m—I’m—Lorna St. Cloud.”

“Perfect!” he said, reaching across the table to take her hand in his. “Depending on how much you enjoy this date, we could make it official and get you identification.” Her eyes rounded and he quickly added, “For your new name. Reggie can arrange credit cards, driver’s license, an online presence, everything.”

“Oh, of course.” She smiled in relief, but there was a funny look in her eyes as if for a second she’d thought he was asking a much larger question. “I’d like that. Although I’ll write my own bio.”

Eric laughed. “That’s probably for the best.” Part of him wanted to announce that although he wasn’t prepared to propose that day, he could see it happening soon. He’d already attempted to say it, though, and had expressed himself poorly. He decided to take it slower with her. He would have loved to drag her out of there and into the nearest hotel room, but there would be time for that later. When dealing with forever, there was no need to rush. “You’ll be meeting my whole family tomorrow. Tell me more about yours.”

She described being brought up by nannies as a young child before being sent off to boarding school full-time when her parents divorced. Although she was kind in her descriptions of both of her parents, he already knew how deeply they had disappointed her. What he hadn’t known until that conversation, though, was how she had taken that pain and grown it into a philosophy of finding happiness through helping others. He fell a little more in love with her with each new thing he learned about her.

They broke down and ordered fast food, then decided to walk it off. Time flew when he was with her. They talked about her life, his life, everything they had in common, and everything they didn’t. She had endless questions about the people she’d meet the next day, and as he described his family, he realized there was something he admired about each of them. With her, he could finally admit that the rift between them had been his fault as much as theirs. He hadn’t known how to fit into either family.

“Delinda, my father, and Brett were nearly identical in beliefs and work ethic. None of them understood my desire to be an actor. My mother and younger siblings had gone off and created an entirely new family. She didn’t want my father’s money or anything to do with his lifestyle. I would visit and see Rachelle, Spencer, and Nicolette doing chores to earn a minuscule allowance. It didn’t matter as much when we were young, but things got tense when I drove up in an expensive car while they were working part-time jobs. Their animosity toward my father spilled over into what they thought of me. I have never been good when it comes to talking about how I feel—but I want to be. I see the change in Brett, and I know there’s a better way.” He hugged her to his side as they walked. “I didn’t know how my family would respond when I invited them to London. I was half-afraid they wouldn’t care enough to come. They’re here, though. Staying at my house, and it’s so much better than I had ever dared think it could be. I have you to thank for that.”