Little Secrets:Unexpectedly Pregnant(28)

"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."

Tyce just stared at her, shock on his face. Sage didn't know what else  to say, how to express her heart, how to ask for what she wanted. Didn't  he understand that she was willing to risk her stable, constant life  for one filled with a lot of passion, a little uncertainty, risk? Didn't  he understand how hard it was for her to be in this position, to love  someone so much and be scared of being rejected? Words, pleading,  desperate words bubbled in her throat and as they rose they burst apart  and all that remained was a bitter taste on her tongue.

But she knew that if she didn't speak them, if she let them die, if she  let him walk out that door without expressing them, she'd lose the  moment forever.

Tyce took a step back and, operating on instinct, Sage grabbed the open  sides of his leather bomber jacket to hold him in place. He started to  pry her hands off but she tightened her grip and shook her head.

"All I'm asking you to do is to stand here and listen to me, just for a  minute, maybe two. I know you are angry but you need to hear this. You  need to hear me."

"You've got two minutes and that's it," Tyce growled.

"Okay, I'll keep it short."

Sage pulled in a deep breath and looked for her courage. This was too  vital to mess up but her tongue was battling to form the words. Voice  croaky, she got the first sentence out. "I love you. I think I fell in  love with you the first time I saw you and I've loved nobody else, ever.  I want you, I want us. You, me, our baby, a family."

Tyce didn't react and just stood statue still.

"Be my family, Tyce, within this family. Yeah, my brothers are annoying but you can handle them."

Still no response. Sage blew out a breath, dropped her hands and stared  down at the floor. "If my love isn't enough, then walk out that door and  we'll communicate about the baby through lawyers."

It was an ultimatum but she had to know, she couldn't live with maybes  or possibilities. He either loved her or he didn't, he either wanted a  life with her or didn't. It was actually a fairly simple choice.

Tyce shook his head. His words, when he finally spoke, felt like splashes of acid on her soul. "It won't work, Sage. I'm sorry."

"Now it's your turn to push me away."

Tyce nodded. "It's easier to be alone... We both know this." Out of the  corner of her eye, she saw Tate's hand shoot out to grab Linc's arm as  he stepped forward. Really? Did Linc think that he could force Tyce to  stay? Feeling shocked and saddened, Sage watched as Tyce opened the  front door with a vicious yank. In the open doorway, he stopped abruptly  and Sage couldn't help the surge of relief, the rush of hope.

Maybe he'd changed his mind; maybe he was prepared to give them a chance.

Instead of moving toward her, Tyce looked at Linc instead. "You should  know that, somehow, certain members of the press have information about  Lachlyn, about Lach-Ty and about her connection to Connor. Handle it any  way you see fit."

"Tyce-" Linc stepped forward and Tyce shook his head and stepped into the cold, dark night.

Sage stared at the door for a long time before turning back to her  family. She tried to smile but she could feel her chin wobbling, the  tears sliding down her cheeks. "So," she said, trying for jaunty but  failing miserably, "anyone have any idea what I can do about this  gaping, bloody hole where my heart used to reside?"



Tyce, standing in his studio, released a violent curse and threw his  custom-made palette knife across the room so that it bounced off a wall.  Annoyed and frustrated, he punched his fist through the big blue  abstract canvas before shoving his hands into his hair.

He had to get out of his studio, get out of the warehouse. He couldn't  think in here, couldn't create, couldn't paint. The portraits of Sage  were all facing the wall but he knew that they were there and he was  constantly tempted to turn them around, to waste minutes and hours  looking at her glorious face, remembering how they loved each other.         

     



 

Your choice, moron.

It had been two weeks since he'd seen her and he'd spent every minute of  each day missing her. The news was out that Lachlyn was a Ballantyne  and the press had gone nuts, as he'd expected. Surprisingly, Sage's  pregnancy wasn't reported on and, for big mercies, he was grateful.

He'd called Lachlyn to find out if she was okay, if she needed his help  to deal with the press, but she'd moved into The Den and he heard that  Linc had hired a bodyguard to accompany her wherever she went until the  furor died down. The press had camped outside his warehouse for half a  day but wet, snow-tinged rain had sent them scurrying back into their  holes.

He had to get out of this place, get some fresh air. Tyce walked out of  his studio and onto the catwalk and heard voices below him.

"You guys do know that this is breaking and entering, don't you? We  could be arrested for this." Tyce immediately recognized Beckett's voice  so he rested his forearms on the catwalk and waited to see what they  were doing.

A voice he'd never heard before replied in a laconic drawl. "I'll be  arrested and my PI license will be revoked since I picked the lock."

Linc walked further into the warehouse, followed by Jaeger and Beckett  and lastly, a guy he didn't recognize. Unlike Sage's brothers, Mr.  Ex-Military's eyes were darting around the warehouse looking for  threats. His eyes shot upward and immediately clocked Tyce standing on  the catwalk.

Super soldier-because the guy was a fighter, anyone could see that-gave him a quick nod.

"Whose stupid-ass idea was this anyway?" Jaeger muttered.

"Mine," Linc said, his voice rock hard. "I'm done with the situation and  we're going to sort it out. I don't care if he has six black belts and a  lightsaber, the imbecile is going to listen to us. If that takes one of  us getting the crap kicked out of us, then so be it."

Tyce lifted his eyebrows at the desperation he heard in Linc's voice but he still remained quiet.

"Speak for yourself," Jaeger said.

"Reame can handle him," Beck said.

"You never told me that he had a couple of black belts," Reame said, looking amused. He looked up at Tyce. "Do you?"

Tyce almost smiled when three heads shot up to look at him. "A couple. In Tae Kwon Do and Krav Maga."

Reame swore and held up his hands. "He's all yours," he told the  Ballantyne brothers, but Tyce knew whose side he'd be on if blows were  traded. It wasn't his. As always, he was alone.

"What the hell do you want?" he demanded. "And what's so important that you broke into my place to tell me?"

"No breaking, only entering. I'm Reame Jepson, by the way."

He'd heard of Linc's oldest friend, the man the Ballantyne siblings had  known since they were children. Not only were they great friends but the  ex-soldier's company also handled the security for Ballantyne  International and, from what he understood, many other Fortune 500  companies. Tyce gave Reame a brief nod but kept his eyes on Linc. "Say  what you have to say, then get the hell out of my warehouse."