Tyce frowned. “There are four petals but only three of you.”
Sadness passed through Sage’s expressive eyes. “My mom was pregnant with her fourth child when she died.”
Tyce swore and rubbed a hand over his face. He then slipped his hand around the back of her neck and he rested his forehead against hers. “Now it’s my turn to say I’m sorry.”
Sage managed a small smile. “One of my clearest memories is of her looking at that stone, holding it up to the light, a soft smile on her face. She was utterly entranced by it. She would’ve loved the ring.” A small laugh left her lips. “The stone was worth millions and millions but my father was prepared to give it to my mother because she loved it so much. They were like that, you know. People before things, before money.”
And, because she was such a scaredy-cat when it came to men and relationships, she would never have what her parents experienced. She’d never know what a soul-deep connection felt like. Maybe this baby would make her better, stronger, more courageous. Maybe, in a year or two or ten, she’d manage to move past her fears, stop equating love with loss and take a chance.
It wouldn’t be with Tyce; loving him wasn’t an option. Despite their mind-blowing sexual connection, he’d never settle down, not the way that she imagined she’d need him to. Like Connor, a relationship was way down his list of priorities.
“Does the general public know about the stone or should I write a promise in blood that I will never reveal its existence?” Tyce asked, his eyes glinting with amusement.
“Get a sharp knife and a piece of paper.” Of everything she had to worry about, Tyce talking out of turn wasn’t a concern. She trusted him. He wasn’t the type to blab.
“I used another red diamond for the Ballantyne photo shoot, explaining that it was my mom’s favorite stone but not explaining why. I didn’t want to use the ring because it would’ve generated a tsunami of publicity. I just wanted to remember it—think about it—as a stone my mom loved, part of a ring my dad had made for her, a symbol of the family he adored.”
Tyce’s thumb stroked her jaw. “I can understand that. Your parents sound like they were good people, Sage.”
She nodded as he thumbed away a tear that sneaked out of the corner of her eye. “They really were, Tyce. So was Connor. I know that Connor got your mom pregnant but if he’d known about Lachlyn he would’ve...”
Tyce placed a kiss against her temple. “Ssh, sweetheart. It’s okay, Sage.”
It wasn’t, but here, half lying against Tyce’s chest, she felt like it could be. She felt like nothing could hurt her, that there was a strong wall between her and life’s next hard slap. Yeah, she definitely felt safe, Sage thought, her eyes drooping closed.
Dammit. That wasn’t good.
She should push away, should push him away, make him go, but she didn’t have the strength or the inclination. She just wanted to lie here, soaking in Tyce’s heat and strength and allow herself to drift off to sleep.
Eight
Three days later, Sage sat on the corner of her sofa, her feet on an ottoman. Tyce was still with her and he was clearing up after dinner. He was a fabulous cook, far better than she was. She glanced down at the papers on her lap and wrinkled her nose. Depending on the answers to the surveys she held in her hand, Tyce might even be a better parent than her...
When they had started to talk about the baby, they both, swiftly, realized that the real work started once the baby was born and that they had no idea what they were doing. They both knew how to change a diaper and make a bottle; Sage had looked after her nephews often enough for the mechanics to sink in and Tyce remembered changing and feeding Lachlyn when he was little more than a kid himself. They’d agreed that, because the baby would be raised in two separate homes, they needed a consensus on how the logistics would work, on what mattered and what didn’t, what lines couldn’t be crossed.
Not knowing how to start, they’d turned to the net.
Sage felt Tyce’s breath on her cheek and she looked up to see him leaning down, his mouth close to her ear. “Do you think these parenting surveys are a good idea?”