Her Hometown Hero(33)

"I wouldn't do that to you, Sage. I'm falling hard."

"I think this jet's temperature just rose a few degrees, Spence."

"Then I better stay where I'm seated, because if I come over there, I'll mess up your glorious hair."

"Grace would get more than a little upset with you. She worked hard on  it," Sage said, then winked. "I, on the other hand, wouldn't mind at  all." He began to get up when Laura came back in to refill their  wineglasses.

Spence's eyes burned with hunger, but he remained where he was, and not  long afterward, the jet started making its descent into Seattle. Their  night was just beginning, and the need ripping through Sage's stomach  was rising degree by degree.





"Where are we?" Sage asked when the car finally stopped. They'd landed  in Seattle over half an hour ago and were now somewhere downtown. She'd  never been to Seattle-she'd only seen pictures of it, or images in some  of her favorite movies, like Sleepless in Seattle.

"Dinner and dancing at the Vault Nightclub," Spence told her.

"I haven't heard of it," she said, wondering whether she should try to  act a bit more worldly. At her age and with her level of education, she  should know more about culture and entertainment, but she'd studied just  medicine so intensely and for so long that she simply didn't know what  the outside world was like-let alone what the dating world was like.

"It's a cozy place with the best chef in the west, but only the best of  the best are in on the secret. Otherwise the location would become too  crowded. There is nothing like warm food and intimate dancing to heat  you up in the thick of winter. We're going to have a nice romantic  dinner and then listen to soft music while I hold you close," he said as  he led her from the car to the club.

After stepping inside, they were seated immediately, and Sage discovered  that Spence hadn't been kidding. The place was dark, small, and  romantic, and their table was near the stage where a band was setting  up.

"They won't start playing for another hour. We have plenty of time to  enjoy a nice meal, then sit back and enjoy a drink before dancing."

"I bet you've been here a lot," she said after they ordered and waited  for their appetizers. He looked at her for a minute as if trying to  decide what he should or shouldn't say.

"Sage, people like to play a lot of games. It's natural and it comes to  us easily. I like the occasional game myself, and I won't lie to you  about it. I've dated a lot, but what we have right now is fresh and new.  Maybe I shouldn't have brought you to Seattle, where I lived for so  long, but this is one of my favorite places on earth. While I have taken  many a date to dinner and dancing before, it wasn't here. Most the  women I dated in the past-let's just say that this wouldn't have been  their cup of tea. I tended to date more . . . shallow women. One of the  reasons I like you so much is because you're so real-because you're the  type of woman a man wants on his arm forever, not just for a night."                       
       
           



       

Should she be offended by anything in his speech? Sage didn't know. Was  he saying the other women he'd dated were all show and no substance?  Maybe. But was he also saying she was all wholesome and good for bearing  kids, but not exactly a seductress? That should please her, but, heck,  part of her really wanted to be femme fatale. Didn't all women want the  guys they were dating to think they were the most amazing creature ever?  Didn't they want men they cared about to be reduced to a drooling pile  of mush in their presence?

Okay, maybe not. She never used to feel that way before.

"I agree about the games," she finally told him. "I've seen a lot of men  play them-and a lot of women, too. I don't want to be dishonest. I was  so focused on studies that in my downtime pretty much all I did was  observe the world around me without actually living in it. I'm a little  sad about that now. Yes, I'm proud of my education, but there's more to  life than just work and school."

"I agree, but I don't play as much as you might think. The game has  changed anyway. This has gone from my being fascinated by you to my not  being able to go one hour without you on my mind. If this were nothing  but an act, you'd be able to see it. When I was younger, I wasn't  interested in women for much more than a night. I hate to admit that,  but it's true. Now . . . well, my feelings are different. Now I never  want to let you out of my sight."

"Should I be afraid? Maybe get a restraining order?" she asked, chuckling.

"Afraid? Yes," he said with a gleam in his eyes.

Her stomach tightened with need. "I could skip the jazz," she said. She was ready-more than ready-to go to his room.

"I'd love to take you right now, Sage. But I'm not going to. I'm giving  you a full first date before I take you to the hotel and ravish you."

"Fine. Then we had better talk about something else, because right now, even this thin material feels like a straitjacket."

Just then, the waiter appeared with their appetizers. He didn't act as  if he'd overheard, but Sage's cheeks heated anyway. They definitely need  to put the sex talk on the back burner.

"I'm an open book. What do you want to know?" he asked, leaning back and opening his arms.

"Tell me about your family. You were all so much older than I was, so I  don't know much about your brothers. Yes, I had a crush on you, but  let's not dwell on that, please," she said and paused, but when he said  nothing, she continued. "My grandmother and your father have been  friends forever, but all I know is that you were adopted."

His eyes clouded, and she regretted asking him to open up about his family. Maybe it was a touchy subject.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked," she said.

"No. It's fine. I love talking about my family. My brothers and father  are the most important people in the world to me. It might take a week  or so to fill you in on everything, though."

"It's a good thing that I could listen to you talk all day and night for  months on end," she replied, then blushed again at how much she was  revealing about herself. Luckily, he let that one pass.

"Some of this you probably already know, so I hope I don't bore you.  Michael is the youngest-the baby, as we like to call him when we're  teasing him. He's also the most sensitive, but don't push his buttons,  because I've seen that boy explode. He's always jetting off somewhere-he  buys and sells commercial real estate. I've noticed lately that he's  been home a lot more, though. We all have since our dad got sick."

"I didn't know your dad was sick."

"He didn't want to upset anyone, so he didn't say anything, but since  we've been back, he's doing a lot better." Spence kept his suspicions to  himself. He'd feel horrible if he'd been thinking his dad was faking  and then something really did happen. "Onward then. Camden is next in  line. He's the family lawyer, and we make fun of him because he's always  searching for unusual cases. I don't know what he's working on right  now, but he's pretty excited about it."

"Grace is doing something with Camden and she won't tell me about it. It's driving me crazy. Do you happen to know?"

"I will do some investigating and see if I can find out."

"I guess that's a start. This is the first time she hasn't shared with me."

"Now you have my curiosity piqued."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it right now, so continue. I  believe we are up to Jackson," she said, and sipped at her wine.                       
       
           



       

"Ah, Jackson. He's had some rough patches over the years. He was married  and then lost his child. To this day, it's hard for him to talk about,  but since he got married to Alyssa, he's a new man, and I'm enjoying  time with my brother more than I can express. He's a good man."

"I can't imagine losing a child. How did he make it through all of that?" she asked.

"I really don't know," he said with a sigh. "It took a lot of time.  He'll open up eventually and share it all with his brothers, but for  now, I'm just glad to see him happy again."

"It doesn't always help to open up. I know everyone says that we need to  talk about our feelings, but sometimes it's just too painful to share  them with anyone-like reopening a wound. It's hard when you think the  rest of the world can't possibly understand." Sage was remembering how  alone she'd felt after losing her parents and grandfather.

"It sounds like you might know something about this subject."

"Well, you know . . . girl problems," she said flippantly, hoping he  wouldn't push this subject. She didn't want to be mousy and pathetic  tonight. Besides, she found it far more interesting to talk about him.  "Do you know anything about your birth parents?"