Whether she wanted to or not, Tyce knew that she no longer had a choice. The story was going to break sooner rather than later and all they could do was manage the process. Maybe they should just announce Sage’s pregnancy at the same time; it might get lost in the bigger news of a brand-new Ballantyne. If they announced it at a later stage, it would just give this story legs. Damned press, why couldn’t they just leave them the hell alone to walk through the chaos of their lives on their own?
Realizing that the taxi had pulled up outside The Den, Tyce paid the cab driver and walked through the gate and up those imposing steps.
This would be the last time, for a while at least, that he’d stand in front of this door, the last time he’d see Sage.
They had to do this, he reminded himself, placing his hand on the door. Because a little hurt now would avoid open heart surgery later.
He didn’t need her; he didn’t anyone. He never had.
* * *
Sage, sitting on a stair halfway up to the next floor, saw Linc open the front door to The Den and looked through the slats down into the hallway and watched Tyce step into her childhood home.
This is it, she thought, do or die.
She knew that if she didn’t ask for what she wanted, she had no chance of getting it, that if she didn’t step forward she’d always be in the same place.
It was an easy concept to think about but putting those words into action was going to be an act of epic proportions.
Oh, God…she was about to risk her heart, her pride, her damned safety when she told Tyce that she wanted more, needed more… What the hell was she doing? Was she mad?
Do it anyway, a little voice said inside her. Whether it’s mad or not, safe or not, do it anyway.
Sage stood up and Tyce immediately looked up, frustration and something that might be fear in his eyes. Sage walked down the staircase, her hand resting on her belly, noticing the purple stripes under Tyce’s eyes.
Yeah, she hadn’t slept much either.
“Hey,” Sage said, stopping on the last step, her hand gripping the banister.
“Hey.”
“Thanks for coming over.”
Tyce jammed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and shrugged. “Sure.”
Sage heard footsteps and looked past Tyce’s shoulder. Oh, God, the crew from downstairs were now all in the hall, their faces alight with curiosity. Did they really expect her to spill her soul in front of them? It was a strong possibility.
“We’re all heading out,” Amy said, holding a book of fabric swatches under her arm.
“Give us five seconds to grab our coats and we’ll get out of your way,” Piper said, her eyes darting between her face and Tyce.
Tyce waved them into the room. “Hell, come on in,” he said. “When have Sage and I ever had a conversation that you lot haven’t, in some way, been a part of?”
He sounded blasé but Sage could see the tension in his body, the anger in his eyes.
“That’s not fair!” Sage hurled the words at him. She reined in her temper and concentrated on her breathing. If they started a fight now, if they waited for the crew to leave, she’d never say what she needed to.
Ignoring her family, Sage focused on Tyce, moving up to him and placing her hand on his heart. “I’m sorry. I was so completely out of line and I’m asking for your forgiveness.”
Tyce pushed an agitated hand through his hair and stepped back, breaking the contact between them. When she didn’t speak again, Tyce lifted an eyebrow.
“That it?” he asked and gestured to the door. “If yes, then I’m going to head out because I’m pretty beat.”
Sage heard, and ignored, the gasp from her audience. “No, that’s not it,” Sage said, forcing steel into her spine. Putting her hands behind her back, she twisted her fingers together.
“I can’t do this anymore.” Sage picked out her words, careful with each one.
Tyce handed her a quick, jerky nod. “Yeah, me neither. Let’s just call it quits before this blows up in our faces.”
Oh, God, oh, Jesus. Sage placed her hand on her stomach as his words smacked into her. He was breaking up with her?
What the hell?
Sage fought the instinct to back away, to agree with him. It would be so easy to smile, to nod, to agree with his assessment of the situation. To allow him to walk away. But that wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted a lover, a partner, someone to live her life with, to share the momentous occasions and the ordinary.
She wanted him in her life on an everyday basis.
Sage shook her head. “I’m sorry you feel that way but that wasn’t what I was going to say.”
Tyce frowned. “Sorry?”
“I don’t want to break up, in fact I’d like us to be together. Permanently.”