Jax

The power suit hid the fact that I was sweating down the back of my neck, nervous that Mr. and Mrs. Vanderman wouldn't pull through to be the parents they should be for the woman I loved. Nervous too, for the soft opening to be everything that Sage envisioned. I knew her heart and soul had gone into this thing and I wanted to see her succeed more than I wanted my next breath. I couldn't wait to see her eyes shine with unshed tears, the pride in the way she held her head up high, the way the whole room would light up at her presence. She was like this big, sparkling beacon of happiness, doing things her own unique way and making everyone around her smile.

I still wasn't sure what she was doing with an asshole like me, but I thanked my father every single day for sending me this woman. There was no other explanation for it.

The nerves still weren't enough to erase every last lustful thought I had looking at Sage in that damn dress. It showed off her long legs, the ones that had wrapped around my waist enough times to wrap around my heart. She was so beautiful and it wasn't so much that she didn't know it, it was more that she just didn't care. To her, her beauty was just there, neither bad nor good, just something that she got in the genetic spin of the wheel. She'd go to the store right out of bed, her hair a tangled mess and not one swipe of make-up on her face. Yet she could rock a designer dress and heels with the west coast socialites who were sure to show up tonight. Her confidence came from within, which I was finding was the sexiest kind of confidence there was.

I kept my hand on her back while we walked up the lit pathway to the restaurant, reaching out to open the door for her. She was strung tight, our conversation quiet and sparse, both of us lost in our own heads. We were early, Sage wanting to be there to make last minute checks, every napkin in its place, every server's apron pressed to perfection. Plus, her parents were set to arrive at seven, and I knew she needed some time to collect herself before she presented her finished masterpiece.

Before she did anything though, I force-fed her some hors d'oeuvres the chef had prepared already. I figured the girl hadn't even eaten today, so stressed with the opening. When she slammed them down without a fight, I knew I'd been right. I left her to do her thing, knowing she at least had some food on board, while I sought out the bar.

Sitting at the long bar, nursing a beer poured by the new bartender, I watched her buzz around the room, in her element. I reached down and fingered the cold band of metal in my pocket, running through various scenarios of how I'd present it to her. My mom had shipped it down to me a few weeks ago at my request, along with a note for Sage, and a scathing letter that only a mom can write, berating me for not bringing Sage up to meet her yet. In the end, she'd still given me the wedding band, along with her blessing.

I had second-guessed my decision about a million times, not about wanting to marry Sage, but about giving a plain gold ring to a billionaire, the offering less than she should settle for. In the end, it was all I had to offer, and if she'd taught me anything over these last few months, she was anything but typical. I remained hopeful that she'd see it for what it was: a sentimental offering of the ring my father had given my mother, leading to twenty-nine years of married bliss. I wanted that and a thousand more years with her.

"Sage!" A voice bellowed from the front door, the relaxed atmosphere dissolving instantly. I swiveled on my stool, seeing Mr. Vanderman filling the doorway, his eyes already taking in every detail of the restaurant.

Sage rushed out from the kitchen, not to her father, but to my side, holding her hand out for me. I stood quickly, took her hand, and walked her over to her father. He eyed our hands clasped between us, but didn't say anything. Sage leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. His simple pat on the shoulder in return didn't give me the warm and fuzzies, but it was too early to judge how tonight would go. When Sage pulled back, I wrapped an arm around her, bringing her against my side before stretching out my hand to Mr. Vanderman.

"Nice to see you again, sir."

Head nod and a hand shake later, I was apparently dismissed.

"Where's mo--" Sage's voice was drowned out before the question was asked.

"Show me around, Sage." If it bothered Sage that he only gave orders, never phrasing his demands as a polite request, she didn't show it. She'd obviously grown up with this kind of behavior, probably used to it by now. I shook my head, amazed that Sage had developed into the warm, happy person she was today.

I trailed behind them as Sage showed him the features of the restaurant, the layout, the menus, the kitchen, the waitstaff, and finally the head chef. I'd heard the Beach Squad girls squealing over how hot the chef was a few nights ago. I'd laughed it off, but could acknowledge what they were talking about. He was as tall as me, not quite as muscular, but I could see how the girls would find him attractive. Plus he could cook like one of those guys on the Cooking Channel. He smiled at Sage while she introduced him to her father and to myself, and I could see they were friendly toward each other.

Stepping closer to Sage while we chatted, I slipped my arm around her waist, pulling her in a little tighter than necessary. It was a dick move, but I couldn't help myself. I was just making it clear how things were, that's all.

"Shall we get seated?" Sage looked up at me, her smile nervous and hopeful.

Here I was pissing on her leg in front of another male and this was her big night. Nice move, asshole.

I kissed her forehead and steered her back to the dining area. "Absolutely, I'm famished."

We were led to our reserved table and I was pleasantly surprised to see all the other tables filled already. I spotted Kai across the room with the rest of our friends and he gave me an encouraging smile and head nod. I pulled out Sage's chair, waiting till she settled, and then took the chair to her right. Her father slipped into the chair on the left, leaving one seat empty at our table for four.

"Your mother gives her apologies for missing dinner tonight. She had her girls weekend, you know." Her father smoothed a black napkin over his lap, unaware or simply not caring that he'd delivered hurtful news.

"Oh, I thought she was coming with you." Sage's face drooped.

Mr. Vanderman waved the server over. "Well, they had to move their weekend and this was the only one available." Then he went over the wine list with the server, needing to pair the exact right wine with the filet he intended to order later on.

I squeezed Sage's hand under the table, hoping to imbue my support. She gave me a shaky smile and I decided to step up my game, for her sake.

"So Mr. Vanderman, we have a reporter here tonight who's done a fantastic write-up on the effect this restaurant is already having on the community. Everyone is quite excited to support Sage."

"Well, I should hope so. We've just pumped a lot of money into a small community. If they didn't support Stem2Stern, I'd pull up stakes and relocate." He chuckled, like throwing his money around wasn't a huge deal to 'regular' people.

"Mr. Vanderman?" A tall, dark-haired guy approached our table.

"Oh, Paul, great to see you. Have a seat." Mr. Vanderman stood and shook the guy's hand, tilting his head to the empty seat left at our table for four.

Sage and I shook hands with Paul, unclear on who exactly he was and why we were sharing a table with him.

"Paul here is heading up some restaurants on the east coast for me. I thought you two would like to spend some time together after dinner and share stories, swap ideas." Mr. Vanderman was speaking to Sage and Paul, ignoring me entirely.

Sage's eyes widened slightly before she recovered and put on a polite smile, one I knew was fake. "It's lovely to meet you, Paul, but I'm afraid my schedule is jam packed right now. I'll have to take a rain check."

She squeezed my hand tighter under the table, as if to keep me calm or to express her own anger, I wasn't sure. The sweat on the back of my neck was back, not because of nerves but from the restraint it was taking to not lash out at Sage's father. I counted to ten, then twenty, finally able to rein it in. If I didn't grind my teeth away to nothing before the night was up, I'd consider myself lucky. What kind of asshole sets his daughter up with another man at the same table as her boyfriend?

Sage's thumb, frantically stroking my hand reminded me this night wasn't about me. It was about Sage and her accomplishment. I had to stay focused on that. I'd fucking kill him with kindness.

We ordered our meals, the choice a difficult one with all the tempting items on the menu. Sage had assured me beforehand that even though this place was fancy, it didn't have any of those tiny entrees that left a person starving after forking over their whole month's paycheck. Given we were right on the water, I chose the salmon and Sage chose the shrimp skewers. Not surprisingly, Paul chose the exact same filet Mr. Vanderman ordered, right down to how much pink in the center. I smirked at him, unable to hold back what I thought of his nonexistent backbone. He was too busy following every condescending word that fell from Mr. Vanderman's mouth to notice my dislike.

"Sage, honey, will you take Paul on a tour of the kitchen?"

We'd just finished our entrees and were waiting on our dessert orders, having almost survived this ridiculous meal and stilted conversation. Of course, Mr. Vanderman had to go pushing our buttons yet again. It's like he couldn't help himself.

"Father." Sage clenched her jaw before continuing. "My head chef will be giving tours after the dessert comes out for anyone who'd like to see the kitchen. I suggest Paul wait for what I'm sure will be a fascinating tour."

Paul's phone began to ring and the servers began placing our desserts on the table, saving Sage from having to make further excuses.

"Excuse me, I gotta take this." Paul spoke directly to Mr. Vanderman, placing his napkin on his chair before ducking out.

Mr. Vanderman watched him walk to the front door before he swiveled to me, dessert forgotten for now.

"Jax."

"Mr. Vanderman."

If I wasn't completely hallucinating, it looked like he was going to smile. Or maybe he had heartburn, I wasn't sure.

"You seem to care for my daughter." He shushed my agreement with a quick head shake. "And you've handled yourself beautifully at this dinner, even when I subtly tried to push Paul on Sage."

Sage choked quietly next to me, her hand squeezing mine again, which at this point, was completely numb from the death grip throughout dinner. I didn't know what was funnier, Sage breaking my hand while I had to grin and bear it, or Mr. Vanderman thinking his matchmaking was subtle. Thankfully, he continued, not expecting me to respond.

"Besides, any young man who can get my daughter to put on a proper cocktail dress is doing something right in my book." He guffawed like he thought he was funny, putting his daughter down in front of me.

That was my breaking point. The moment the decision was made whether I realized it or not. He may be Sage's father, but I wasn't going to let anyone insult her, ever again. I leaned across the table, making sure he heard every word I was about to deliver.

"Sir, I don't tell your daughter what to wear. I figure at twenty-nine years old, she can figure that out on her own. If you see any changes in Sage since you saw her last, it has more to do with her finding a passion for helping build a business. She's always had more intelligence, more grace, more heart than you or I or anyone else I've ever met. But you know what? I find it sad, that only now that she's built a restaurant that you can approve of, that you see your daughter for who she is. So no, I didn't tell her to wear an 'appropriate' dress tonight. And I never will. She's a goddamn adult, and a hell of a good one at that. She can make her own choices."

I stood up and turned to Sage, offering her my hand. I ignored her slack jaw and did my best to get her out of there.

"Sage, would you like to address the restaurant and officially christen Stem2Stern open for business?”

A smile that could have lit a thousand candles took over Sage's face and she slipped her hand into mine.

"I'd love to."

Without a backwards glance, we walked to the front of the restaurant and Sage grabbed the wireless microphone we'd set up earlier. I motioned to our waiter, the signal to indicate we were ready for champagne to be delivered to everyone in attendance. A waiter appeared immediately with a wine bucket, complete with a bottle of Veuve and two flutes.

Sage got everyone's attention. "Welcome everyone to opening night at Stem2Stern!"

The crowd applauded and turned their heads to look at her. "Thank you all for being here tonight to support this restaurant, my staff, and myself. I haven't been in Huntington Beach for very long, but you've all welcomed me with open arms. I promise you that I will always keep the citizens of HB top of mind with all business decisions. This restaurant is for you. It's for HB." A few people whooped at that, making Sage's smile grow.

"I named this restaurant after a very good man, Max Stern." She turned to me and pulled me up next to her, linking our arms. "You all know his son, Jax. It was through Jax that I learned of the contributions of his father. It was through Jax that I learned what it means to be part of a community. It was because of Jax, that I learned what love is."

I looked at her sharply, my heart rate tripling at the meaning of her softly spoken words. She didn't look at me though, just swallowed thickly and kept going, my strong woman in full effect.

"So please raise your glasses in a toast with me." I handed her the flute, keeping one for myself. "To all the couples who go on first dates here, to all the couples who fall in love again on their 50th wedding anniversary, to all the birthdays and celebrations of our friends and family...may these walls always contain happiness and joy and prosperity."

She lifted her glass and everyone followed suit, taking a sip.

"Please enjoy your dessert and stay for the dancing right after." Sage turned the mic off and I pulled her into a hug while the crowd clapped for her.

"Congratulations, baby. You did it. So damn proud of you." My voice shut down and I couldn't say anything more. Instead, I cupped her jaw and brought my lips to hers, showing her what I thought of her accomplishment. The kiss was sweet and gentle, something I didn't do enough of with her. She loved it rough and wild and out of control, but I also wanted to show I cherished her. I adored her. I loved her.

"All right you two, break it up!" Esa shouted in my ear, pulling me from my moment with Sage. I blinked my eyes open and saw Esa, Bailey, Hessa, Brinley, Ivan, Jack, Kai, and Dean surrounding us, giving pats on the backs and hugs to Sage and I. The atmosphere went from sweet and intimate to loud and celebratory in the space of a kiss. I knew there would be plenty of time for Sage and I to be alone. Right now, I wanted her to live it up and celebrate her accomplishments with our friends.

"Looks like you two are officially doing this thing now that her dad's seen you together," Kai loudly whispered to me.

"We've been doing this thing, whether Mr. Vanderman acknowledged it or not." I wasn't going to let that man dictate our relationship.

Looking back to our table, I saw that Mr. Vanderman was no longer seated. I frowned, but didn't have time to figure out where he'd gone.

Jack clapped me on the back. "I've been meaning to tell you, nice going, landing a sugar mama." He busted up laughing along with the other guys.

I glanced over at Sage, glad she was too busy with the giggling girls to have heard that comment. Then I glared at Jack and he just laughed harder.

"I guess I should get used to hearing that shit, considering I'm looking to make it permanent."

All four guys stopped laughing and leaned closer, all jokes aside.

"For reals, man?" Kai asked me, a soft smile on his face.

"Yeah, if she'll have me. But keep it quiet, I want to surprise her, okay?"

"Hell yeah, man. Congrats. She's a lucky girl." Ivan shook my hand. "All the cool kids are getting married these days." He winked at me.

"Hey, don't look at me. Bailey and I just got together and things are going smoothly. No need to rush that conversation. Could you imagine her and Esa planning their weddings together?" Jack held his hands up and backed away a step, his face scrunched up like he smelled something funny.

"Dude, it's not contagious." Dean playfully punched Jack in the arm.

"Better safe than sorry, man." Jack still looked scared, which made us all laugh again.

"What are you boys saying to my man? He looks green around the gills." Bailey stepped over to our group, her hand resting on his chest while she snuggled up to his side.

"We were just asking him if he knew how to dance, seeing as how you two are together now and he's one of my groomsmen. He'll have to dance at the reception, right?" Ivan piped in, saving Jack from talk of engagements, but throwing him under the bus just the same.

"Yeah, he said he wanted to salsa dance with you." Dean tossed out there, ignoring Jack's looks of hate.

"Salsa is so fun, Jack. You gotta try it!" Brinley piped in as she joined the group.

"I know! Jack can sing a duet with Hessa at the reception." Kai looked excited at the prospect, earning him a deeper scowl from Jack.

"Really? You'll dance with me and sing?" Bailey looked like a toddler with her first ice cream cone. She was bouncing up and down in her stilettos. Shit, Jack was going to have a hard time backing out of all that.

I pulled Sage to my side and steered her clear of the group. I wanted us out of there before Bailey caught wind that we were all just teasing Jack. That girl was a little too fiery for my taste. Plus, we needed to find Sage's father and close that trust fund conversation once and for all.

When we hit the hallway to the back, the noise of the festivities died down a bit. Sage spun around, surprising me.

"Before we talk to my father, I need some answers." She looked serious. Way too serious for a girl that was celebrating her accomplishments.

"What's wrong?"

"With everything going on, I forgot to ask you this earlier. How come you didn't need me to introduce you to my father? How do you two know each other?" Her eyes narrowed, her stare intent, but her hand was still clasped in mine.

I sighed, happy that there wasn't something serious going on. "Remember when your father was flying here a few months ago and you asked me to trust you?" At her nod, I continued. "When you were dealing with the real estate agent on this property, I was at the hotel, meeting with your father. I called him and asked to meet with him."

Her face scrunched up and she shook her head. "But why? I don't understand."

I squeezed her hand tighter. "I wanted him to know why I wouldn't sell. That it had nothing to do with your skills as a real estate developer and everything to do with me and what my property meant to me. Plus I wanted him to understand exactly what a wonderful woman you'd become. Make him see that, if I could. You needed someone to be on your side for once.”

Her face softened as I talked, the wariness leaving her face entirely.

"You did that for me?"

I pulled her in closer. "Of course. You told me to trust you and I did. But I also wanted you to know that I'd stand up and fight for you. Even against your own father."

She smiled, her eyes tearing up. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Any time," I whispered back before I kissed her.

"I think the sauce makes all the difference, don't you?"

The head chef was standing with Mr. Vanderman in front of a huge stove, a spoon up to his mouth, extolling the merits of a wine reduction over vinegar. We'd finally tracked Mr. Vanderman down.

Sage took a deep breath and then marched forward.

"Father? You have a minute?"

Mr. Vanderman turned, a smile on his face, making him look years younger. "Sure. Your office?"

Sage nodded and led the way. I followed Mr. Vanderman into the office, having asked her ahead of time if she wanted me with her while she had this conversation.

We all sat down and Sage got right to the point. "Time will tell if my restaurant thrives, but I think we can both agree that I opened ahead of time and on budget. Exactly what you asked me to do. Have I passed your test?" She sat tall and proud in her chair, her gaze unwavering from her father's face.

God, I loved that woman. She didn't back down, just got right to the heart of the matter with the courage of a lion.

Mr. Vanderman cleared his throat and took an agonizing moment before he spoke. "When I gave you this assignment, I honestly didn't think you could do it. I was disappointed that you weren't using your education to do something with your life. But leave it to you to move across the country, tackle a difficult situation, and come out of it a winner. And with a new life. You've impressed me. The trust fund is yours."

I exhaled, knowing Sage had just won. She'd set out to get that trust fund and then cut ties, knowing she could do anything she wanted with that financial security. I looked at Sage, seeing that she hadn't moved, hadn't blinked.

"But I think it's more important to tell you something else," Mr. Vanderman continued. He fidgeted in his chair, his usual air of confidence gone, sucked out of the room by his honesty. "I don't say it enough, but I love you. When you were born, I promised you I'd make a good life for you. That I'd provide for you in ways my father never did. You see, I couldn't imagine anyone more precious than you, Sage Vanderman. I've messed up as a father more ways than I can count. But I have always loved you."

Sage sniffled back a sob, her eyes brimming with tears.

He pointed a thumb at me. "And if this guy makes you happy and he treats you right, then you have my blessing."

Turning to me, he reached his hand out. "I listened when you came to visit me the last time I was in Huntington Beach. I respect the courage it took for you to stick up for my daughter to her own father. You're a good man."

I took his hand in mine, shaking it, swallowing the lump in my throat. I nodded and he nodded back. The man equivalent of hugging it out.

Sage let out that sob she had been trying to hold back and we both turned to look at her. Tears flowed over, streaming down her cheeks. She jumped up and rounded the desk, her arms flinging around Mr. Vanderman's neck.

"I love you too, Dad," she whispered.