“Sage,” I repeated, testing the name out. I liked it. I could easily imagine her moaning it in the darkness of my hotel room while she writhed beneath me. “And who is she talking to?”
Faith studied me for a moment with a piercing gaze that made me feel like she could see right through me. “Why do you ask?”
I shrugged, making an attempt to be nonchalant. “Just curious.”
Faith’s smile told me that she didn’t buy that excuse, but she answered my question anyway. “The older couple on the right are her parents, my Aunt Elise and Uncle Joe. The others are just family friends.”
“And that guy with them?” I asked, more obvious now. “Is that her boyfriend?”
“Oh, Lord, no,” Faith replied with an amused shake of her head. “Sage is single.”
With that, Faith was pulled away by her maid of honor, led to the stage for a duet. I stayed put for a moment before deciding that now wasn’t the time to introduce myself. I didn’t think it was a good idea to interrupt her when she was with her family.
But Iwouldfind a chance to talk to her soon. Maybe it was crazy, but I felt like there was an invisible force that was trying to pull me toward her. I wasn’t sure if it was just sexual attraction or something deeper, but I was going to explore it. I had a week to get to know Sage, and I was going to take full advantage of it.
CHAPTER3
Sage
Iwasn’t at all surprised when my mother brought Cole to my side during the welcoming party. I had been on my way to the bar, ready to get a second margarita, when I was cornered.
Okay, maybecorneredwas a little over-the-top, but I wasn’t thrilled about the suggestive smile on my mom’s face when she practically shoved Cole in my direction. Cole slid right up to my side, making me wish I’d worn a less clingy dress as his eyes swept over me, hungry and way too obvious in front of our parents.
“Your singing was lovely, dear,” Julie said, and I tried to smile despite how uncomfortable I was.
She was a kind woman, and I couldn’t understand why her son was such a cocky jerk. Where did he get that behavior from?
“Thanks,” I said, noticing in my peripheral vision how Cole shifted closer to me.
“Yeah,” he chimed in, trying to be smooth and charismatic. “Maybe we can sing something together later.”
“I don’t know. I’m perfectly happy as a solo act,” I replied, having to tilt my head back to look up into his face because he was standing so near.
“Don’t be silly, Sage,” Cole said with a smile that was almost a smirk. “Every woman can benefit from a good man backing her up.”
There was laughter among our parents, as if they were sharing some inside joke and I had no idea that this was an attempted set up. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Cole was good at charming people, but I wasn’t going to play along with this game they were all playing.
“Oh look, Janice is waving for us to come over,” Mom said, and I looked in the direction she’d indicated to see that she was right.
My Aunt Janice was Faith’s mom, and she was standing with our Uncle Dean, who had just arrived. He was the only one of the trio without a family of his own, and he lived in Texas, so I didn’t see him often, but I was glad that he made the trip to the island. He was delightfully weird—a magician that loved to collect Star Wars stuff.
Before I knew it, my mom and dad were off to greet him with Cole’s parents trailing along behind. I was left standing with Cole, who got handsy the second they were gone.
His fingertips ran up my bare arm, and he licked his lips. “You know, Sage, I meant what I said about your singing, but this dress…that’s the real show stopper.”
I had to resist the urge to shudder at his touch and instead took a step back so that he couldn’t reach me so easily. “Believe it or not, I didn’t wear this dress to impressyou,” I told him, my voice so cold that I barely recognized it.
“What would really impress me is to see what’s underneath,” he said, his gaze lowering to my breasts. “You know, I’m not staying on the eighth floor with everybody else. I splurged on a nice suite on the top floor. Maybe you should come on up after the party and check it out.”
Subtlety clearly wasn’t his thing, but I wasn’t interested. There was something about the wolfish expression on his face, the sly look in his eyes. He wasn’t passionate and filled with lust. No, it was more like he was playing chess against an opponent that he was determined to defeat. I felt like I was nothing more than a game to win, something to conquer. It wasn’t exactly a turn-on.
“No thanks,” I said, giving him a tight smile. “I’m perfectly happy with my own hotel room.”
To my surprise, he didn’t seem put out by my rejection. In fact, he chuckled.
“Going to make me work for it, are you? That’s okay. I like that about you. This wouldn’t be nearly as fun without a challenge.”
He took a step closer again, and I tried to keep the distance between us with my own step back, but instead I ended up pressed against a wall.Damn it.