Her Hometown Hero(46)

She stood there at the kitchen table, gazing at the bright silver box  and sparkling blue bow, and she waited. Running her finger over the bow,  she looked for a card. Nothing. There was always a card attached,  usually only a few words, but there was always a card.

Why not this time? Maybe because he'd given up caring about her, but he  wanted to finish this silly game he'd begun. Okay, if he wanted closure,  she'd give him his stupid closure. Anyway, she couldn't stand the  suspense anymore, so she lifted the lid and found tissue paper on top.  Almost fearful, she removed the paper and then sank down into the chair.

"It doesn't matter," she whispered as the stinging in her eyes  increased, turning her vision into a blur before the tears finally  spilled over.

She was done for. She was in love with a man she shouldn't be in love  with-a man who hadn't even found her himself. She was being a good  little puppet in a game set up by people she loved because they thought  she wasn't capable of doing something on her own.

Though she was twenty-six, she would forever be a frightened  ten-year-old child who had lost her parents too soon, who was afraid to  love because love was so easily snatched away. Who always put work  first. Who had goals and aspirations in life.

And she couldn't be in love with Spence-she couldn't. It was just her  hormones thinking she was in love because she'd given him her body, not  because she couldn't imagine a life without him. She reached into the  box and picked up a wand; a note lay next to it.

Make a wish, and I will make it come true.                       
       
           



       

This wasn't just any wand, some toy from a store. It was a scepter. Sage  knew her history, and this was the real thing. At one time, royalty had  held this, not to wield some magical force, but as a symbol of their  importance.

Did this mean he'd returned to town? She hated that her heart thundered  at the thought. Was he telling her that he hadn't given up? She didn't  know what to do. They'd been manipulated into dating, and then he'd  found out and hadn't told her. Didn't that mean she couldn't trust him,  couldn't trust anyone? Maybe it was herself she couldn't trust.





Spence gazed out his window and watched as the neighbor children built  another snowman. Three snowmen now stood in their yard, each with a  carrot nose, rocks for eyes, and something he couldn't quite figure out  for mouths. Each had sticks in its sides for arms, and he couldn't help  suspecting that the little tyrants had purposely chosen one of those  branches because it had what looked like a hand making a gesture  particularly inappropriate during the holidays.

Chuckling, he watched as a snowball fight happened down the street, and  his neighbor three doors down hollered at Jimmy to come back inside. On  the other side of the street a father was pulling his daughter on a  sled, and she laughed with glee when he slipped and landed on his  behind.

"It's almost as if I'm living in the middle of suburbia," he said aloud.  "Except that Sterling isn't urban enough to have any suburbs." Why he'd  chosen to live here instead of buying a nice estate nearby, he didn't  know. When he'd found this place, he hadn't hesitated. The Realtor was  pleased. A little too pleased at first. When he'd shown no interest in  her personally, she'd finally stopped calling-two months later.

She probably figured he'd be looking for a wife to fill the five  bedrooms, three bathrooms, and bonus rooms. She was right. He was  looking for a wife-it just wasn't her. And when he bought the house,  he'd had no thought of marriage, but after one day in Sage's presence,  he'd known she would be his.

Maybe he hadn't known, exactly, but deep inside, he must have. All he  had to do now was convince the woman. It wasn't going to be easy,  though. It had been four days since he'd seen her, and Christmas was  only two days away. If his plans for Christmas Eve didn't work, there  was no hope.

But of course his plans would work. He was a closer-he didn't ever lose.  It just wasn't in him to give up until he got what he wanted. And right  now he wanted Sage Banks to become Sage Whitman.

When he knew something was right, he went for it, and he had no doubt  that the two of them were meant to be together. It didn't matter how  their relationship had started. The bet, the meddling, none of it  mattered. The point was that it had started, and now he couldn't seem to  focus on anything but her.

It really didn't help that he'd been called twice to Seattle this month  for emergencies. It seemed the holidays were causing a lot of heart  conditions. Maybe people should lay off on the eggnog and fudge. He  normally lived to do surgery, and he'd done his job perfectly, but the  second he'd finished with it, all he wanted to do was fall into Sage's  arms.

Being away from her just wasn't an option anymore. The sooner she came  to the same conclusion, the happier they both would be. Running his  fingers through his hair in frustration, he paced his large living room.  Though he was normally a smart man, he'd still pushed her, still  expected a different reaction from the one he should have known he'd  get.

Maybe love really did make a person blind-make them do things that were  out of character. Though he didn't analyze everything like Sage did, he  generally used his brain a bit more than he had been since meeting up  with her again. She was probably wondering how he'd managed to get  through medical school.

He was wondering the same thing. When he realized he'd crossed his  living room for the hundredth time, still with no answers, he decided  enough was enough. With a determined step, he grabbed his coat and keys  and walked out the front door.

He was careful when he pulled out of his driveway and drove off-the  neighborhood was full of playing children. But when he hit the main  road, he picked up speed. He was on a mission, and the sooner he got to  Sage's place, the better.

After pulling up at the apartment, he let out a deep breath and gazed up  at her window. The string of lights circling it were inviting and warm,  just like the woman he loved. Stepping from the truck, he moved slowly  up the steps, his heart pounding and his hurry all but forgotten. It was  ridiculous to be nervous. He knew she loved him. She was just  frightened.                       
       
           



       

He knocked on the door and tensed when he finally heard the sound of  footsteps nearing and then the sound of the lock as it clicked open.  Sage was now standing there, her eyes widening at the sight of him.  Maybe he should have cleaned up first. That he hadn't shaved for two  days, or brushed his hair this morning, and probably looked slightly  crazy-he'd gotten a ridiculously little amount of sleep-wouldn't inspire  confidence.

"Good morning," he said, thinking maybe he should have stopped for  doughnuts. She loved the cream-filled ones with glaze on top. Maybe he  should turn around and go back for some. Maybe not. She wasn't likely to  open the door again if he just left without saying anything else.

It took her several seconds to respond, and all she could manage was, "Um, hi."

"Are you going to invite me in?" Boldness seemed to work best. Before  she could say yes or no, he pushed forward, giving her two choices: to  get run over or step aside. She moved, her hand still on the doorknob as  he made his way inside.

"What are you doing here, Spence? Studying for a future in door-to-door  sales?" she asked as she finally shut the front door and wrapped her  pink robe more tightly around her.

"I wanted to see you. I missed you." He led her to the kitchen.

After another pause, she reached a height of eloquence, at least to  judge by what they'd been saying to each other this morning. "Would you  like a cup of coffee?"

"Would love some." That would give him at least fifteen minutes with her.

"You look tired. Did you have a hard case in Seattle?" She sounded more  like herself as she poured their coffee and sat down with him at the  table.

"Yes, father of three, only forty-two. Had a massive heart attack and  needed an immediate bypass. I think he'll make it, but he needs to  either quit his job or hire some help. He's obviously dealing with too  much stress."

"It's just too bad when it takes a major surgery for someone to slow down," she said with a shake of her head.

"Yeah, I see it all the time." It was almost strange how polite they  were being to each other, how they were both skating around what they  really wanted to say. He'd pushed for her to be his wife-she'd said she  needed time. Wasn't four days plenty of time?

"You know you need to stop sending gifts, right? I love them, each one,  but it's too much, Spence. You weren't even here, but you somehow  managed to have another one delivered," she said.