THE FESTIVAL WAS nearing the end.
Late Thursday afternoon, Sage stared at her production calendar for the magazine; it still had noticeable gaps. For all their efforts, she still couldn’t secure all the necessary interviews. And without a rock-solid plan, the board would vote against her. She was starting to wonder if this was a lost cause.
But if the magazine failed, it meant she wouldn’t be able to keep up her payments to the private investigator. And she knew if he were taken off the case now, she would probably never get this close to uncovering Elsa’s lies again.
And then there was Trey. She should be happy that the closing of the magazine meant he would be out of her life, but try as she did to dislike him—and she did try hard—there was something about him that made her want to forgive him. Had she forgiven him? Perhaps. But did she trust him? That was another story.
Knock. Knock.
“Come in.” Sage looked up from the desk in her room.
The door swung open and Trey appeared. “I was wondering if you might be interested in an early dinner here at the château before we leave for the party.”
“That sounds perfect. I just need to finish this email.”
Trey nodded in understanding. “There’s also something I’d like to discuss with you. Can you meet me downstairs when you’re finished?”
She nodded and he left.
That was strange. She’d noticed the serious tone in his voice. In fact, his whole face wore a serious expression. What had happened? Or did he have another secret to reveal? Her heart sank. Was there something else he’d been lying to her about?
She turned back to her email, but it suddenly didn’t seem like such a priority. She couldn’t dismiss her worry. What if it wasn’t Trey? What if Elsa was causing more problems?
Deciding she could finish the email later, she closed her laptop. She hurried downstairs. If her stepmother was causing problems for Trey, she would...she would do something. She just didn’t know what that something would be. Messing with her was one thing, but messing with someone she cared about was quite another.
Sage came to a stop on the bottom step. Did she care about Trey? Her heart started to pound. The truth was she did care about him. She probably shouldn’t, but her heart had won the battle over her head.
“Sage, there you are.” Trey stepped in front of her. He didn’t smile, not a good sign. “I thought you had an email to finish?”
“It can wait. This sounds serious.”
“We can talk out on the veranda.”
He waved for her to lead the way. She held her tongue until they were standing on the private balcony. But then she turned to him. “What is it? What has Elsa done now?”
His eyebrows rose. “How do you know it’s her?”
Sage didn’t but it was so much better than the alternative. “Call it intuition.”
“Your intuition is right. I heard from one of our distributors today and they said they are discontinuing distribution of QTR to their supermarkets.”
“What? But why?” And then realizing she already knew the answer to her own questions, she said, “Elsa. Of course. Did they say why?”
He shook his head. “They were very short and to the point. So I took it upon myself to make inquiries with a couple of our other distributors. It seems Elsa has been making the rounds.”
Sage sat down before she fell down. Her whole world felt as though it were crumbling around her. “This can’t be happening. That woman won’t stop until she puts me in the ground. I probably wouldn’t even die in a manner that would please her.”
“Hey, it’s not that dire. I was able to talk to all of the other distributors and keep them on board. So we’re only down one.”
“For now, until Elsa finds another way to stick it to me via the magazine.” Now that the shock had worn off, anger was taking over. Sage got to her feet and started to pace. “If only I had a way to stop her.”
“I might be able to help you.”
“What? But how?”
“You know how I’m into computers and security software, right?” She nodded and he continued. “In my business, you get to know the best hackers because I need them to break into my software in order for me to make it stronger.”
“So you hire criminals?”
“Pretty much. Hey, if the government can hire them, I can, too. It helps keep them out of trouble.”
“But I have a feeling you’ve turned them back to their illegal activities.”
“I’m not admitting anything. All I’ll say is that I have a handful of trusted computer experts, and if there’s anything in cyberspace to stop Elsa, they will find it. She has no idea what sort of war she has started.” Trey looked so proud of himself that she hated to say anything. But he must have read it on her face. “What aren’t you saying?”
She sighed. “I had someone do the internet thing and they couldn’t turn up anything.”
“They weren’t looking in the dark corners these guys will be searching. I’m not saying they will, but they could look on her very own computer. That is, if they wanted to.”
“I’m sure they will.” She wanted to trust Trey. But he’d already let her down once. What would stop him from doing it again?
“Talk to me, Sage.” The hopeful look faded from his face. He stepped up to her and reached out, taking her hands in his own. “I know I hurt you, but I promise it won’t happen again. If we’re going to beat Elsa, we have to work together.”
He was right. They were stronger together. She’d been working on taking Elsa down by herself for the past year, but there still wasn’t enough to make Elsa relinquish her hold on her family’s company.
She stared deep into Trey’s eyes. Inside her a war raged—to trust him or not. Having access to all of QTR’s files, he had the ability to hurt her. But he hadn’t. Nor had he walked away after his cover was blown. He seemed genuinely interested in saving the magazine.
Maybe it was time to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Sage inhaled a deep steadying breath and then she slowly blew it out. “I also have someone digging into Elsa’s web of lies. He uncovered small things, but nothing that would stand up in court and prove she didn’t belong at White Publishing.”
“This person, do you trust him?”
“Let’s just say I trust him as much as I trust anyone who makes their living out of spying on people. So far he’s proven himself reliable.” Now for the latest development. “And he’s on to something big.”
* * *
Had she forgiven him?
It was so hard to tell.
Trey stood on the deck of the luxury yacht surrounded by celebrities in their finest attire, but he only had eyes for Sage. She was the only star in his eyes.
Her black clingy dress emphasized her curves and made it difficult to concentrate. And the thigh-high slit that gave him glimpses of her bare legs—
He halted his thoughts. He had to maintain a cool, nonchalant attitude. He couldn’t risk making a move and scaring her off.
For the life of him, he couldn’t read her. She said and did all the right things, but it still felt like there was a distance between them—a wall he wasn’t able to scale. It made sense. Sage had been hurt repeatedly in the past. She had learned to armor herself. And he’d foolishly let her down. If only he could undo the past.
Trey forced a smile to his lips as he sidestepped the dancing couples and approached Sage. He carried an umbrella drink that all the guests were raving about. “Here you go. This drink comes highly recommended.”
She accepted the orange drink topped with a pineapple chunk and a maraschino cherry. “Where’s yours?”
He shook his head and held out his club soda. “I’m driving tonight.”
“We didn’t drive here. We hired a car, remember?”
He smiled. “I must have been distracted by this gorgeous brunette sitting next to me.”
Sage arched a fine brow. “Are you flirting with me?”
“Do you want me to be?”
“That’s not fair. You answered a question with a question.” She sipped at her fruity drink. “Mmm... They are right. This is amazing.”
“And you are changing the subject.”
He turned away from all the people and stared out over the water as the Mediterranean sun hovered over the horizon splashing the sky with brilliant shades of orange and pink. Summer had come early to Cannes. And it felt good to be out here on this impressive yacht. Perhaps he’d purchase his own.
“It’s a beautiful sunset, isn’t it?” Sage asked.
He glanced her way. “Very beautiful indeed.”
Her gaze caught his. “You weren’t talking about the sunset, were you?”
“No, I wasn’t.” Suddenly feeling a bit warm, he downed the rest of the club soda.
Her big blue almost violet eyes stared up at him. He longed to pull her in his arms and kiss away all of her doubts. No other woman in his life—and there had been a number of them—had this profound of an effect on him.
The sea breeze swept past them, sending the long wavy strands of Sage’s hair fluttering. A few pieces clung to her cheek. It was instinct for him to reach out and swipe the strands off to the side. But as his finger made contact with her smooth skin, it was like a switch had been turned on inside of him. His bottled-up attraction was released and his only thought was how soon they could be alone.
Trey struggled to fight off his pent-up longings. He was a sworn bachelor. He shouldn’t care if things didn’t work out with Sage. In any other scenario, he would have cut things off by now and moved on. But he couldn’t walk away from her.
And if he stood here much longer, he might give in to his desire to pull her into his arms and taste her sweet kisses again and again. It was as though gravity was drawing their bodies closer together.
As though Sage could sense the direction of his thoughts, she took a step back. “The movie screening should be starting soon. It’s almost dark.”
Disappointment assailed him. “It is.” Glancing down, he noticed his empty glass. “And I could use another cold drink. How about you?”
“I’m good. Thanks.” She placed the straw between her glossy lips and sucked.
Watching her do such a simple act got to him. It conjured up other more heated thoughts. He needed to walk away and clear his head. He needed more than a cold drink—he needed a cold shower or a dip in the Mediterranean. Although, he didn’t think their superstar host would appreciate him diving off the edge of the yacht in the middle of a party. But then again, it would make this party the highlight of the festival.
Trey was in no hurry to get his drink. It was just as well as there was quite a crowd at the bar. This time he requested ice water. Maybe it would cool him down.
With his icy drink in hand, he moved off to the side. When he glanced back to where he’d left Sage, the spot was empty. His gaze scanned the area and then he spotted her dancing with some man that he’d never seen before.
The man was holding her awfully close and the look on her face wasn’t a happy one. Trey set aside his unfinished drink and moved toward the dance floor. He paused at the side, not sure how Sage would feel about him storming in and dragging her away from this man. But that’s exactly what he wanted to do.
When her gaze caught his, she mouthed, Help me.
That was all the encouragement he needed. He wove his way past the other couples and stepped up to Sage. “Excuse me. Can I cut in?”
Before the man could say anything, Sage said, “Yes. I do owe you a dance.”
The man frowned at both of them before he relinquished his hold on Sage and stormed off. Trey took her in his arms. He loved the way her slight form felt next to him. When her head leaned close to his, he got a whiff of her jasmine scent. He breathed in deeper.
“You know,” he said, “the last time we danced together, it didn’t go so well.”
“That was your fault. You rejected my kiss.”
“I didn’t reject you. I would never reject you.”
Sage pulled back to look into his eyes. “Then what would you call it?”
“I didn’t want things to get complicated. Not before I told you my true identity.”
She blinked. “That’s why you pulled away?”
“It’s the honest truth.”
He could sense something shifting within her. As they continued to dance, it was like she was digesting this bit of news and figuring out where it left them. He wanted to ask, but he decided not to push his luck.
Tomorrow was her birthday and he had a couple of surprises planned for her. Hopefully it’d be enough to finish tearing down the wall between them. For now, holding her close would have to be enough.