"It's awful, Tyce," Sage protested.
"Yeah, but everyone will wonder why it's there and will concoct all sorts of crazy ideas about it and only you and I will know the truth."
For him to leave that awful painting hanging on the wall was his way of telling her, and the world, that he was finally secure about his talent as an artist, his place in the world. "But why does it have a hole in it?" Sage asked.
"I was standing in front of it, thinking about you, and I was so pissed off that I punched it."
"Talking about punches, why do you have a bruise on your jaw?" Sage asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Oh, that's courtesy of your brother," Tyce replied, his tone blasé.
"Jaeger punched you?" Sage shrieked.
"Linc, and it happened five minutes before he told me that you Ballantynes are repaying me for Lachlyn's shares. Was that your idea?"
Sage wrinkled her nose. "If Connor had known about Lachlyn then that's what would have happened. The money should be with you in a month or two-did Linc explain that?"
Tyce's hand caressed her back. "Some of the money will be in my back account. Not much but more than I had before."
Sage stepped away from him and put her hands on her hips. "What do you mean by that? I know that we all signed papers to transfer our share of the assets, to liquidate the cash."
Tyce's hands slid into the pockets of his pants. "Yep, but I'm diverting some of that money back into the Ballantyne coffers. Well, Linc and I are still arguing about this. He says that the object in question belongs to you, that it's right for you to own it, but I'd still like to pay for it."
Object? What object? What on earth was he talking about? Tyce opened his hand and Sage looked at a small square of white tissue paper resting in his palm.
"Trying to buy a ring for a jewelry designer is a bitch so I thought that I'd try something else."
"A ring?" Sage asked, knowing that she sounded stupid but not quite believing what she was hearing.
Tyce flipped open the tissue paper to reveal the brilliance of the red diamond flower ring. "Like this stone, you are rare and precious and you take my breath away. Will you please, please marry me?"
Sage stared at the ring, tears burning her eyes. "My mom's ring. Oh my God, Tyce, that's my mom's red diamond!" Sage reached out to pick up the ring but Tyce snapped his fist closed. Sage jerked her head up and saw the mischief in his eyes.
"You Ballantynes... You see gemstones and everything instantly goes out your head." Tyce waved his closed fist in front of her face. "Say yes and you can have the ring."
"Are you bribing me?" Sage demanded, smiling, her hand holding his fist.
"Apparently so," Tyce said. "So, are you going to marry me for your mom's ring?"
Sage reached up to hold his face. "I am going to marry you because I am stupidly in love with you and I intend to stay that way for the rest of my life. Because I can't imagine myself being with anyone else but you." She smiled, teasing him. "But I can't lie, the ring is a factor."
Tyce kissed her, his lips curving against her mouth. "I'll take it. Love you, babe."
"And it's about damn time!"
Sage whipped around to see her brothers, their wives, Amy, Reame and Lachlyn walking from the storeroom at the back, the men carrying bottles of champagne and the women carrying glasses.
After kissing Lachlyn-she had another sister, yay!-Sage narrowed her eyes and looked at Tyce. "Why are they here?"
"I needed their help to set this all up, to get you here," Tyce said, shrugging. "Apparently they have their uses."
Sage heard the affection under his sarcasm and thought that he and her brothers would be just fine. She, however, was not. Sage walked up to Linc and poked her finger in his chest. "What the hell were you thinking, punching Tyce? Seriously, what is wrong with you?"
Linc brushed her hand away. "He deserved it." Linc kissed her cheek and gave her a quick hug. Sage hugged him back and felt him stiffen in her arms. She pulled away and found him looking at the destroyed canvas. "What the hell is that?" he demanded.
Jaeger also tipped his head to the side and sent Tyce a look of pure confusion. "I don't get it, Latimore. They pay you for this garbage?"
Tyce and Sage exchanged a long look filled with everything they were going to spend the rest of their lives saying. I love you. You're gorgeous. Can't wait to get you naked.
Tyce laughed and shrugged. "Yep. Strange but true."
"What's it called?" Jaeger asked, moving closer to the wall.
Sage's eyes didn't waver from Tyce's face. "It's called Love, Lost and Found."
Tyce's eyes warmed and softened at her answer and he wore his love and devotion for her like a coat of armor. She'd finally found her warrior and damn, it felt amazing.
"You Ballantynes are so weird," Reame said, popping the cork on a bottle of champagne. He looked at Lachlyn and raised his brows. "Their madness is contagious. Run... Run now."
Tyce grinned at Reame. "It's not madness-it's love." He looked from Reame to Lachlyn and smiled. "You two should try it-it's not so bad."
Reame and Lachlyn looked equally horrified and Sage smiled at their expression. Actually, come to think of it, her new sister and the man Sage considered her fourth brother looked really good together...
* *
If you liked Sage's story,
pick up these other
BALLANTYNE BILLIONAIRES books from
Joss Wood!
HIS EX'S WELL-KEPT SECRET
REUNITED...AND PREGNANT
THE CEO'S NANNY AFFAIR
as well as reader favorite
MARRIED TO THE MAVERICK MILLIONAIRE
Available now from Harlequin Desire!
***
If you're on Twitter, tell us what you think of Harlequin Desire! #harlequindesire
Keep reading for an excerpt from CLAIMING HIS SECRET HEIR by Joanne Rock.
Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!
Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards
http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010003
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Desire story.
You want to leave behind the everyday! Harlequin Desire stories feature sexy, romantic heroes who have it all: wealth, status, incredible good looks...everything but the right woman. Add some secrets, maybe a scandal, and start turning pages!
Enjoy six new stories from Harlequin Desire every month!
Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Other ways to keep in touch:
Harlequin.com/newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
Join Harlequin My Rewards and reward the book lover in you!
Earn points for every Harlequin print and ebook you buy, wherever and whenever you shop.
Turn your points into FREE BOOKS of your choice
OR
EXCLUSIVE GIFTS from your favorite authors or series.
Click here to join for FREE
Or visit us online to register at
www.HarlequinMyRewards.com
Harlequin My Rewards is a free program (no fees) without any commitments or obligations.
Claiming His Secret Heir
by Joanne Rock
One
Steeling herself against the January chill, Caroline Degraff stood outside the gates of the Los Altos Hills mansion that would have been hers and wondered how to get in.
Her grip tightened on the wrought iron fence separating her from the French château-style home she'd helped to design but never lived in. Caroline guessed that she would already be visible on the property's security footage. Too late to turn back now from this crazy idea to show up unannounced.
Prepared to deceive the husband she'd once loved.
But she had to know the truth about the powerful man on the other side of this imposing enclosure dotted with motion-detecting cameras. The man she'd married eleven months ago but hadn't seen since their honeymoon, tech company mogul Damon McNeill. Her father, a well-known investor in Silicon Valley projects, had hated Damon even before the marriage. He'd sent Caroline into Damon's California-based social media software business, Transparent, as an entrepreneur in residence-a common practice in tech start-ups that could benefit from an outside business perspective-in the hope she'd find weaknesses Damon's investors could use to oust him from the CEO position. Except Caroline had fallen in love with Damon rather than give her father the scathing scouting report he'd craved.
She hadn't known until that time in her life how cold and manipulative her father could be. He'd called Caroline a traitor and refused to attend the wedding, preventing anyone else in her family from doing so, as well. That had hurt her deeply, but she'd been so in love with Damon, it hadn't mattered. The weeks they'd spent together in Italy for their honeymoon had been the happiest days of her life.
Then she'd travelled briefly to London on her own after the honeymoon. From there things got fuzzy in her mind. She remembered she'd argued with Damon on the phone because she'd seen her father while she was in London. But she also remembered returning to this very house overlooking San Francisco Bay. She'd never even seen Damon that day, and she'd been trying not to notice too many details of their new, custom-built home so they could enjoy it together when he got home from work. Then, while she'd been staring out over the Bay, she'd heard him enter the house.