Her Christmas Wish (The Cottages on Ocean Breeze #1)

Chapter Three

G ray stayed in his room until after Scott left for work that next morning. The only way he knew to deal with life was to take what he had and make good come out of it. What he didn’t do, ever, was cry on others’ shoulders.

Seeing Sage with that little girl, living the life she’d been certain she’d been meant to live...had been one of the tough moments. And he hadn’t yet found the good that would come out of it.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, just before he’d dozed off, he’d figured out that the good had already come. For her. He’d freed her to be happy.

And for him, too. If he’d married her, he’d have given his all to make the marriage work, to keep her happy. Even, perhaps, fathering a child with her. Giving up the life he knew he’d be good at for one that he didn’t see himself living.

Trapping himself beneath a weight he knew would suffocate him, one breath at a time. He was dedicated to contributing to society. To giving to others.

Even to sharing life with someone. As an equal.

The idea of being responsible for another human being...of having someone dependent upon him , of being the direct overseer, even partly, of the shaping of a young life...gave him the cold sweats every single time.

And yet...there was that buried part of him that had figured that if neither he nor Sage were married when they were in their forties, maybe they could be each other’s back-up plan.

It had been his way of coping. He’d realized that as he’d driven around the night before, revisiting spots where he’d made memories with Sage. Spots he’d avoided ever since.

Like the hidden alcove formed by cliff rock on the San Diego beach where he’d kissed her for the first time.

He’d needed some time to say goodbye. To accept the closure he’d thought he’d gained years before. And he needed to be certain he was done grieving a pipe dream he hadn’t fully recognized he’d held on to before he faced Scott Martin again.

He didn’t have much time since he was staying in Martin’s home. He couldn’t avoid the prosecutor’s scrutiny for long. No way he wanted the freakishly astute man to conclude that Gray still had feelings for Sage.

He didn’t.

Not in the light of day.

And if the previous night’s sojourn had been as successful as he was thinking it was, he’d just let go of any veiled yearnings attached to the past as well.

With his path more clearly in front of him, Gray was finalizing his decision of which of the Realtors he’d interviewed to hire when he got a text from Scott. Asking if he could give Sage Gray’s cell number.

And while Gray was tense all over again, thinking about why she’d need it, he texted back granting permission. With him moving in four doors down from her, albeit very temporarily, on a shared private beach, he’d look ridiculous withholding the number.

As though he couldn’t bear to be personally contacted by his ex-fiancée.

He could bear it. But wasn’t at all fond of the idea.

Why did Sage need his number? What could she possibly want from him?

And then—when Scott replied with Sage’s number so Gray would recognize it when he saw it—it hit him. He was dealing with two extremely bright lawyers. Twins on the same wavelength.

Taking care of business.

If anything, Sage would want to lay out the terms by which the two of them would coexist on the beach without actually spending time in each other’s company. He opened the text that came through from the number Scott had just texted to him.

Business to discuss. If interested, please respond accordingly.

He hadn’t talked to her in more than ten years. But he was staying with her twin brother, with whom she was obviously still close since she lived just doors away from him. And she’d given him please respond accordingly ?

Yep. She must be setting up guidelines that would keep them both at peace under the potentially uncomfortable situation.

Open to discuss.

His response was sent in seconds.

As was her return message.

I have an opening this morning at ten. Can you be at my office then?

A second text immediately after gave him her address. That made sense. How could he know if he could make it unless she let him know how far he’d have to travel? He glanced at his watch.

Ten. It was already a little past nine.

Less than an hour? She was setting up a business appointment with such little warning to the other party? He hadn’t even showered yet. He headed that way as he typed.

And then stopped typing when another message from her popped up.

I rescheduled another matter.

Which made him not an I’ll-squeeze-you-in-if-you-can-make-it-but-otherwise-forget-it proposition but a priority?

Looking back at his screen, he read what he’d already typed, added the period at the end and hit Send.

I’ll be there.

He’ll be here.

Oh, God.

Pacing her office, worrying that her navy skirt was too slimline, the tailored cream blouse too...she didn’t know what, her thick fourteen-karat-gold hoop earrings too bold. Sage stopped at the small mirror over the small table at one end of her maroon leather couch. Up close, she got half of her head at once. Moved around to check the whole thing.

Blond hair could be a bit less...thick and wavy. Should have cut it short.

Lipstick needed to be reapplied.

Or not.

Why would she want to draw attention to her lips? She marched back over to her desk, grabbed a tissue and wiped the color off.

And chewed her lower lip as she went back over to check the damage.

She had use of the private bath just outside her office door. Shared it with just two other partners who were both out of their offices at the moment.

The mirror she was using wasn’t meant for assessing looks. It was a piece of art, surrounded by stones and jewels, all natural. Something she’d picked up years before at an outdoor fair because she’d liked the colors. And the idea that if she could see into the center of anything, she could figure out a way to understand it.

Thinking of law issues, of course.

Not past mistakes.

Her lips looked...naked. Kissed.

Licking them, she went for her lipstick. Saw the clock on her computer screen. 9:45. She had another fifteen minutes to wait.

Glanced at the files she’d amassed the night before.

The plethora of notes she’d jotted.

She should use the quarter hour to go over it all again. Allow the possibility that other things might yet occur to her.

Instead, with her stomach knotting, she grabbed the keys to her office door, locked it behind her, pushed the elevator button and waited for the door to open.

Leigh’s private day care, hosted by the elite high-rise building that rented the top floor to Sage’s firm, was on the third floor.

And had parent viewing windows, so she could see her daughter in class but wouldn’t be seen.

The elevator dinged.

The door opened.

And Grayson Bartholomew stepped out.

Fully suited, including red power tie.

Fifteen minutes early.

Forcing Sage to take a step back to give him room to exit.

Not at all how she’d planned their first meeting in over ten years to play out.

Of course she looked gorgeous. Gray had expected that.

But the instant and fully inappropriate physical reaction he had to that petite, perfectly shaped, womanly frame was a surprise.

Highly unwelcome.

And thankfully unnoticed. He’d buttoned the jacket of the suit coat he generally only wore to weddings and funerals as soon as he’d exited his car.

Not for privacy, but for an equally pathetic reason.

He’d wanted to appear successful, wealthy and untouchable.

Commanding respect.

Or, at least, appearing more important than he’d ever been back when she’d known him.

She’d taken a step back the second the door had opened and she’d seen him there. Had turned as though to head down the hall. “You’re early,” she said, leaving him a view of a backside he knew almost better than his own. If you considered the number of times his gaze had feasted on hers naked and compared it to the times he’d actually seen his own butt in the nude.

“There was less traffic than I expected—I hit every green light and I didn’t want to leave you waiting.” He gave her far more than a minimal “yes” response, which would have been all that was necessary under the circumstances.

As though they were still the couple who told each other more than they ever relayed to anyone else. In more detail, at any rate.

Good to note. Something he’d pay attention to in any future dealings. Make sure it didn’t happen again.

He could have taken an extra step, walked beside her, but Gray chose to follow wherever she led down the hall. Giving himself a chance to regroup before another chance to be face-to-face presented itself.

He hadn’t been prepared. Hadn’t thought for one second that she’d be at the elevator to meet him. He’d thought he’d get a lay of the land, the firm’s layout. Hadn’t known he’d be shown to a private elevator that accessed the executive suite portion of the top floor. But as he walked through a quiet hall, and passed a corridor, he could see the glass wall that separated them from the rest of the thriving firm.

A flash of Sage’s face as he’d first seen it when the elevator door opened hit him. And he realized what he’d been too shocked to take in the first time around.

She hadn’t been expecting to see him, either.

As evidenced by her you’re early . She hadn’t been there to meet him. She’d been on her way somewhere else.

And hadn’t been pleased by the interruption to her plan.

The thought gave him a hint of a jaunt to his step.

They were on equal, uneven footing.

He could work with that.

She couldn’t work with him. Shouldn’t have reached out.

She’d made a huge mistake.

It seemed to be a habit with her, an unhealthy pattern, where Grayson Bartholomew was concerned.

And the lipstick, dammit. She still had it in her hand with her keys. Had thought, maybe, if Leigh was just coming in from the playroom, she could slip in a quick hug and kiss...

She was going to have to move the lipstick to her left hand to use the keys in her right to unlock the door.

Or risk dropping the tube at Grayson’s feet.

She’d been planning to show him, with complete professionalism, how far she’d come without him. By having him in her new partner office, yes.

But also by being able to offer him some expertise in an area where he had great need. All without any sign at all that seeing him again was having any effect on her.

Instead, she was going to fumble with lipstick? While she wasn’t wearing any? With a meeting between them just minutes away, as though she’d been on her way to put some on for him?

He had to go.

Before she made more of a fool of herself.

She’d look like a complete idiot if she told him she’d changed her mind. He was there, on less than an hour’s notice, at her behest.

And she hadn’t arranged any kind of escape call.

Hadn’t even thought of the prearranged plan to have a friend call in case she needed an excuse to leave an uncomfortable date. Not since college.

Really?

She was a grown, very successful woman. A respected partner in a well-known law firm. A responsible, dedicated mother.

She was going to let one lone man unnerve her?

Honesty was her policy. In both her business and personal life.

She couldn’t tell the man she’d changed her mind because he was setting her back a decade.

Likewise, if she suddenly remembered some other commitment, he’d know she was chickening out.

They’d been walking for many seconds without any conversation at all. Her door was just ahead.

Think! Do something!

“This is it,” she said, shocked at how normal her voice sounded. Stared at her door for a split second, frozen, made immobile by indecision. What was she going to do?

Her gaze focused. Saw the gilded sign on her door bearing her name.

Brought her hands together at the doorknob. Slid her lipstick into her left hand as her key slid into the lock.

Turned the key, reached for the knob.

And dropped the tube of lipstick on Grayson Bartholomew’s expensive, shiny black leather shoe.