Chapter Sixteen
SALLY STOOD AT the entrance to the gym watching Gage teach a group of little boys how to dribble a basketball. He was so big compared to the boys, and he treated them with gentle kindness and patience. Seeing him guiding them, cheering them on, and hearing his laughter mixed with their sweet giggles did funny things to Sally’s stomach. She remembered the hurt in his voice when he’d told her about the child he’d had no say in losing, and she wished she could give that Stacy a piece of her mind. Gage would make a wonderful father, and he wanted children so badly. She’d always known that, but it had been a one-day type of thought, not something she’d given weight and credence to like she was now. But she wasn’t getting any younger. Was she being selfish wanting to be with Gage, when a younger woman could give him lots of babies?
“He’s something, isn’t he?”
She startled at Danica’s voice and smiled at her curly-haired, very pregnant friend. “He’s really good with kids.”
“Apparently he’s good with a certain woman, too. Everyone says I’m glowing.” Danica patted her stomach. “But you look like you’ve discovered the fountain of youth.”
Sally couldn’t suppress her smile. “I had forgotten how invigorating good sex could be.” It was Thursday afternoon, and she’d been staying at Gage’s house all week. They had yet to make it through an entire day and night without making love—in the shower, the bedroom, the living room, the kitchen. Tonight they planned to stay at her house, and she was a nervous wreck about it.
“And I want to thank you for not doing it in the supply closet again,” Danica teased. “Oh! The baby’s kicking.” She grabbed Sally’s hand and pressed it to her stomach.
Sally felt an elbow, or knee, or some other tiny baby part pushing against her hand. “I forgot how wonderful that feeling is.”
“Not so wonderful at three in the morning when the baby’s sitting on my bladder.” Danica nodded toward the gym, where Gage was high-fiving with the boys as they said goodbye. “Speaking of babies, did you decide how to tell yours that you and Gage are together?”
“You mean that we’re married?” She watched Gage put the balls away. He’d been her best friend, her rock, for so many years, and now that they’d moved past that, she couldn’t imagine going back to only being friends for anything in the world. It was still a struggle in her mind, because she was knowingly putting her own hope for forever above Rusty’s welfare.
“I’m trying not to overthink it anymore. It’s not like I need Rusty’s permission. I just want him to trust me, and I want to know I’m not going to screw him up, or mess up things between him and Gage.” That was the hard part, because as much as she believed with her whole heart that she and Gage would be together forever, where her son was concerned, she couldn’t afford a mistake.
Gage’s powerful legs ate up the space between them.
Danica smiled at Gage as he came to Sally’s side and slid an arm around her waist. “I think you found the fountain of youth, too.”
“Yeah. It’s called Sally Tuft-Ryder.”
She’d never tire of hearing him say that.
“Someone’s eager to get this family started,” Danica teased.
“Yes, I am, which reminds me. It’s after hours,” Gage pointed out. He leaned down for a kiss, and like a starving woman offered food, Sally kissed him back.
How could she be starved for him after only a few hours? This wasn’t young love, or infatuation, both of which tended to include insatiable desires.
Because our love is bone-deep, the truest love of all.
So why am I worried about it falling apart?
A horrible thought knocked her for a loop. Could she be worried about losing more of her son to Gage? They were already so close.
No, she wasn’t that selfish.
Was she?
Great. Now I’m grasping at straws to rationalize the over-worrying mother in me. It was time she shut those thoughts down once and for all.
“Mommy!” Chessie ran down the hall all bundled up in her pink coat and hat, her mop of dark curls billowing out around her adorable chubby cheeks.
Blake followed his daughter, carrying several large shopping bags. His dark eyes locked on his wife, and a guilty smile lifted his lips as he raised the bags.
“I see you and Daddy did some shopping.” Danica’s smile told Sally she didn’t mind one bit.
Chessie slowed as she neared, hands outstretched. She flattened them against Danica’s belly, her little eyes bright with excitement. “Hello, baby. I have lots of surprises for you.” She pressed a kiss to Danica’s belly and immediately launched into Gage’s arms. “Guess what, Aunt Sally and Uncle Gage!”
Gage scooped her up and kissed her cheek. “How’s my favorite girl?”
Blake kissed Danica and lifted his chin in greeting to Gage and Sally. Sally realized she had no idea if Danica had mentioned their marriage to him, but given the way he was looking at Gage, like he knew all his secrets, she had a feeling she had.
“I’m good! Me and Daddy bought lots of presents for the baby, including a tiny basketball and dolls, because Mommy said boys and girls can play with dolls and we don’t know if I’m going to have a baby brother or a sister.” Chessie pressed her hands to Gage’s face and kissed him smack on the lips, tugging on Sally’s heartstrings.
“That’s going to be one lucky baby.” Gage had a longing look in his eyes that could not be mistaken. This was what Gage wanted. His own family.
Chessie wiggled out of his arms and grabbed Danica’s hand. “We got you presents, too, Mommy.”
“Okay, sweet girl,” Blake said. “It’s time to take Mommy out to dinner before you let our secret out of the bag.”
“Secret?” Danica asked.
A knowing look passed between Blake and Gage. Blake flashed a cocky grin and said, “Seems secrets are going around these days. We’ll see you guys later.” He winked at Sally, confirming her thoughts.
After they headed for the exit, Gage wrapped Sally in his arms and kissed her again. “I have an office just waiting to be christened.”
“No. No way. Not on your life after what happened Monday,” she said, secretly loving his desire to push her boundaries.
“I knew you’d say that, which is why I made other plans for us. Come on.” He led her toward the lobby.
“Does it involve having sex in a public place?”
A dark look settled over his features. “Do you want it to?”
“Want and willing are two different things. We have a knack for getting caught, remember?”
“Ah, then there’s still hope…”
And just like that, her mind tiptoed down a naughty path, contemplating his office, his truck, and just about every other place they passed as he drove through town.
GAGE PULLED OFF the mountain road and drove up the long driveway toward home. Our home. He couldn’t help but think about it that way. They were going to Sally’s house later that evening for the night, but in his heart he knew they belonged at his house. He stepped from the truck and came around to help her out. She was busy texting when he opened the door.
“Everything okay?” Gage asked.
“Mm-hm. Kaylie and Max want me to come over early a week from Saturday morning to set up for the baby shower.”
He nuzzled against her neck, inhaling the familiar scent of her lavender shampoo. His whole bathroom smelled like her. Her perfume lingered in every room, and he loved it. “Not too early, I hope.”
“Not that early.” She tucked her phone into her pocket and turned toward him. She ran her fingers through his hair and he leaned into her loving touch.
“When you touch me like that my whole body exhales. It’s like I’ve been running on overdrive all day, and your touch centers me and brings me home.”
“What happens when I touch you like this?” She pressed her lips just below his jawline.
He took her hand and held it against his zipper so she could feel his rising erection. Her eyes flamed, and he pulled her to the edge of the seat and covered her lips with his. Heat coursed through him, and he intensified his efforts, fighting the urge to take her right there on the seat of the truck despite the freezing December temperatures.
He reluctantly broke their connection. “I have a surprise for you, babe.”
“I like the surprise you were just giving me. I want to be eighty years old and still kissing you like that.”
“We’ll never stop.” He brushed her hair away from her face with both hands and pressed his lips to hers again. “You and Rusty are my world, and that is never going to change.” He helped her from the truck.
“I thought you made plans for us.”
He draped an arm around her on the way up to the house. “I did.”
He unlocked the kitchen door and followed her in. It took her a moment to notice the lights he’d secured to the sides of the kitchen table. He shrugged off his coat and hung it by the door.
“What are those lights for?”
“You,” he answered simply. He helped her off with her coat and hung it beside his. Then he reached into the closet and lifted out an enormous bag of mosaic tiles and shook it.
“What is that?”
He took her hand and led her to the table. “This is your surprise.”
He set the bag on the table, and she carefully unwound the ribbon he’d tied around the opening and peered inside. His heart was racing with anticipation. He had no idea if he’d bought the right supplies, although the salesperson he’d consulted had insisted that he’d purchased everything she’d need.
Her confused—and hopeful?—gaze caught his. She put one hand into the bag and filled it with tiles. “Gage,” she said anxiously. “Tesserae. It’s been so long.”
“Tesserae?” He opened the closet and began putting the rest of the supplies he’d purchased on the table.
“That’s what these pieces are called.”
She watched him loading the table with every type of mosaic adhesive he’d been able to find, and several choices of materials for her to use as a base. She was silent for so long, he worried he’d misread the tears in her eyes.
When she finally reached up and caressed his cheek, a smile forming on her beautiful face, he exhaled.
“I can’t believe you went to all this trouble.”
“This wasn’t trouble, bird. I want to help you do all the things that make you happy. I could see how badly you missed this even in the few minutes we spoke about it in Virginia. If your mom can’t be here to share it with you, I can. I don’t want to replace her, of course, but—”
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him—hard. “Thank you. I haven’t done this since I found out I was pregnant with Rusty.”
He watched with delight as she sifted through the tiles and supplies. She stepped back from the table with an awed expression and took his hand, placing it over her rapidly beating heart.
Excitement shone in her eyes. “That used to happen every time I went into a studio with my mom. I can’t believe all these years later I still feel the same thrill, only this time it’s beating even harder, because of you.”
SALLY HAD FORGOTTEN how wonderful it felt to create something unique and how inspiring true happiness could be. And more than that, she had forgotten what it was like to have someone supporting her dreams. Especially the dreams she hadn’t even realized she still held on to. She and Gage worked side by side for hours, barely speaking as they pieced together tiny chunks of glass, stone, and ceramic, filling in the design she’d quickly sketched on a base. Their faces were so close, she heard his every breath. Their hands moved in tandem, fitting pieces together like puzzles with no interlocking confines, but somehow knowing exactly where each piece should lay and creating a gorgeous flow of colors. Why wouldn’t she and Gage work effortlessly in sync? They’d known each other for years. They were a couple even before they’d officially become one. She knew that now with her whole heart, the way Gage always had.
Memories of creating mosaics with her mother flooded her. She’d looked forward to those stolen hours together. In a childhood that had seemed to fly by in a whirlwind of jetting from one luxurious location to another—with a father who was busy making business deals and her mother at his beck and call, attending fancy luncheons and dinners—those few stolen hours had been the glue that had held her relationship with her mother together. Maybe it had been the lack of time together that had allowed her to adjust to being away from her parents when they’d created the rift between them over her pregnancy. Her life had been a blur of responsibilities after Rusty was born, and even after she and her parents had made amends, they’d continued traveling. She’d never really had a home base until she’d married Dave. They’d built a home together, yet separate. They’d spent so many hours apart while he was building his business and she was going to school, and then they were chauffeuring Rusty around to school events, friends’ houses, and sports practices. They’d been married decades, and somehow they’d never spent time together the way she and Gage had.
She realized she’d never had a relationship like this one before.
She swallowed hard and looked into the living room, where pictures of Gage’s family were intermixed with photos of Sally and Rusty on the mantel. The pictures of her and Rusty had accumulated over the years, and she’d seen them so many times, she hadn’t thought twice about them, until now.
She stole a glance at Gage, who was inspecting a chunk of bluish glass, and a wonderful sense of peace came over her. He’d been right there with her all along, the rock she’d needed, the friend who listened, and now, her sensual lover and the man who was helping her to return to the person she’d once been, only better.
He must have felt her staring, because he looked up and blew her a kiss. Then he placed the glass beside the stone she’d just set. They’d created this gorgeous piece of art together, and yes, it was just a mosaic, but it had become clear to her that they were meant to build a life together, too. As they set the last pieces in place, all of her worries about Rusty and what the future might hold disappeared.
She inhaled deeply, taking a step back from the table to admire their work. Gage’s fingertips touched hers, and the adoration in his eyes embraced her. The answers she’d been seeking had been right there all along.
She placed her hand on his chest, remembering how he’d placed it there almost two weeks ago, and she realized she hadn’t reached for her hair this time—but for him. He was her calming influence as much as he was the heat that stoked her fire.
“What do you think, bird? Do we make a great team?”
Team? They were so much more than a team. They were friends and lovers, confidants and sounding boards. They were everything, and more than anything, she wanted their relationship to remain as strong as they were today.
“The best team ever.”
He hugged her, taking her in a warm and wonderful kiss. “I love you so much, Salbird. There are no words big enough to tell you just how it feels to build a life with you. Thank you for letting me be part of your world.”
She couldn’t form a response, could only kiss him again and again, anchoring herself to him.
He brushed his lips over hers and spoke just above a whisper. “Ready to go to your house for the night?”
My house? That house wasn’t hers anymore.
That life wasn’t hers anymore.
Everything had changed.
A lump rose in her throat, but this time, as she thought of the house where she’d lived for the majority of her life, it wasn’t unhappiness causing her throat to thicken. She was on the cusp of ending a chapter of her life that she hadn’t seen coming. And once she let out the words that were perched and ready to fly, they would open a door for the bountiful joy filling her up and nearly bubbling over.
“I think I’ve found my nest here with you,” she said softly. “And if you’ll have me, I don’t ever want to leave it.”