After a five minute phone call, I hung up and texted Alyssa, letting her know that the problem would be taken care of first thing in the morning, but if she had any other problems, she should call my parents. They were home in the city, just a few miles away.
She agreed, thanking me for my help. I knew that I should feel good about helping her, and Iwasglad that I had one less thing to worry about with her having Sam. Alyssa got what she wanted from me.
But my anger at her remained. She was so irresponsible, and I hated to think of the ways that might affect Sam. I was tense as I stuffed my phone back into my pocket, preparing to go back inside. But before I reached the door of the theater, it opened and people started coming out. When Sage emerged, she came straight to my side.
“Are you okay?” she asked, her eyebrows knit together in concern.
I just gave her a tight smile and a stiff nod. The real answer wasno. I wasn’t okay because I didn’t trust my ex at all but had no choice about leaving my son with her. Incidents like what happened tonight always made my stress level skyrocket because they highlighted the reasons that I wanted sole custody. Alyssa made bad choices and if those choices turned her to drugs again, I was worried how that would affect Sam.
We left after that, but I was so distracted by what was going on with Alyssa that I barely said a word during the drive back to the hotel. I could feel Sage’s eyes on me from the passenger seat, but I didn’t know what to say. I was too mad about the whole thing to rehash my entire history with my ex. I needed to cool down before I had that conversion with Sage.
So, I just focused on the road.
When we got back to the hotel, I reached out and took Sage’s hand as we walked across the lobby. She might have thought it was an attempt to act for her family, but it was really a silent way of showing her some form of attention, even when my mind was crowded with dark thoughts about Alyssa.
We headed up to the eighth floor with everybody else, and when we stepped out of the elevator I gave Sage’s hand a gently squeeze and released her. Still distracted by what I needed to do with the Alyssa situation, I gave Sage a small smile and headed straight for my room.
It was kind of late in the evening but I knew that if I hurried I wouldn’t be too late to call my lawyer. It was already past office hours but I knew he wouldn’t mind if I used his cell number. Collin wasn’t just my lawyer, he was a friend. He was the one that told me to let him know anytime Alyssa pulled this kind of thing. It was all going to be a part of my argument for sole custody when we went back to court.
I had been gathering information like this for months, and I was so focused on it that I didn’t really stop to think about how Sage must have felt about me walking out of the theater with no explanation. I hoped I didn’t embarrass her. That would make me a pretty shitty fake boyfriend.
I’d have to make it up to her tomorrow, if she’d let me.
CHAPTER9
Sage
Icouldn’t stop thinking about Briggs. He was acting so strange last night after the show. I knew that my mother noticed him slipping out of the theater before the show was over. I could see the curiosity in her eyes. She didn’t get a chance to ask, but I was sure that she wanted to know if there was something wrong in my relationship.
But I wasn’t really worried about that at the moment. Instead, I was concerned about him. Sure, this all started as an attempt to trick my mom into thinking I was in a relationship, but I was quickly coming to care about the guy.
More than anything, I was curious about what made him distant when we left the theater. He’d barely even acknowledged me until we parted ways, and even that was lukewarm at best. I knew that we weren’t really a couple, but his behavior up until that point had been so different. He’d been warm and friendly and affectionate all day.
AndmaybeI had been hoping that we would explore our sexual chemistry a little more after what happened on the golf course, but instead, I spent last night alone in my room. There was no satisfaction to be had by myself, no matter how much I tried in the darkness. I couldn’t bring myself the kind of pleasure that Briggs had so easily given me.
This morning, I decided to stay in my room for a while, ordering breakfast from room service and hanging out in my nice, fluffy hotel robe. I had just finished my Belgium waffle when my phone went off with a text message notification. Picking it up off my nightstand, I saw that it was from Briggs.
Sorry I was weird last night. You want to do something together today?
He wanted to hang out with me? Without my family around to put on a show for? I typed out a quick response.
Just the two of us?
It was a long minute before he replied, and I felt my confidence wavering. Finally, his response came through, and a smile spread across my face.
Absolutely. Meet me in the lobby in ten minutes.
Ten minutes? That didn’t give me much time to get ready. But I was excited at the idea of alone time with Briggs. We were crossing the line between make believe and reality, and I wasn’t unhappy about it.
Stripping out my robe, I threw on a pair of shorts and a simple white T-shirt. I wasn’t sure what we were going to do, so I wanted to dress comfortably. Pulling on a pair of tennis shoes, I left the hotel room while securing my hair back in a ponytail.
When I reached the lobby, I spotted Briggs right away. He was standing at the reception desk, leaning against the high front as he chatted with the woman working behind it. His body was relaxed and his eyes kept sweeping around the lobby, as if he was looking for me. He didn’t even seem to notice the way the hotel worker was looking at him with blatant interest that made my stomach twist.
But I didn’t have anything to worry about. As soon as Briggs spotted me, he excused himself and stepped away from her, heading in my direction. I felt his eyes everywhere as they trailed up from my feet to my face. His eyes held mine until he stopped in front of me, and I felt like he was back to his old self as I saw the sexy glint there. I still wanted to know what happened last night, but before I could ask, he posed a question of his own.
“Will you go for a hike with me?”
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t that. I paused for a moment, considering it. I was more of a lay on the beach with a good book kind of gal.