THE NEXT MORNING Trey knew he had to say something to Sage about the kiss. He’d seen the confused look in her eyes when he’d backed off and when he’d made a quick exit after they’d arrived home.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to follow that kiss up with more—a lot more. The problem was that Sage didn’t know the “real” man she was about to get involved with. And if they were about to start something, even casually as he didn’t do commitments, then she deserved all the facts.
After watching his parents, he didn’t believe in living happily-ever-after. Love was fleeting at best—at worst it crushed people. Either way, he refused to end up on the losing end like his mother.
And this morning, Sage was acting differently—cooler. They had just finished breakfast and headed for the festival when he decided to lay everything on the line.
“Sage, we need to talk.”
“I know. We were so busy with the festival yesterday that I didn’t get to touch base with you about the audit prep work. Is it all coming together?”
“Yes. But this isn’t about the audit—”
“Good. I’ll check my emails when we head back to the château to dress for this evening’s movie premiere.”
“Sage, wait.” And then realizing how abrupt that sounded, he said, “Please. What I want to talk about isn’t work—”
“Stop.” She quit talking and turned to him. “I know that I crossed a line. It was wrong of me. It won’t happen again.”
“Sage, if you’d let me speak.”
“No. Just let it go. Please. It was just a lapse of judgment. It didn’t mean anything.” When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “I just got caught up in the excitement of the evening.”
So he’d misread the situation? Good. They could get back on track.
“So how about we get to work,” he said, wanting to end this awkward conversation.
“We’re okay?” Her gaze searched his.
He nodded. “Let’s go.”
They continued toward the festival. Trey shoved aside the awkward moment with Sage. It was best not to dwell on it. But still, a strained silence lingered between them.
When they reached the Grand Theatre Lumière for the morning showing, Trey excused himself to get them both coffee. The truth was that he needed a few moments alone to gather his thoughts.
Meanwhile, Sage had zeroed in on a young actress and planned to go introduce herself. He hoped it went well. Wait. There he went again, wishing for Sage to succeed. Was that really what he wanted?
The line at the café was long. Fifteen minutes later, Trey stepped up to the counter. He ordered espresso for himself and a vanilla latte for Sage.
He was on his way back when he spotted a tall, slender woman approaching Sage. The woman had her back to him, but she was much taller than Sage. In fact, the woman was almost as tall as him. Her willowy figure was draped in a snug black dress. Her platinum-blond hair was cut short and not a strand was out of place.
He paused near one of the large pillars outside the theater. If this woman happened to be an actress or person of interest, he didn’t want to interrupt Sage’s chance to nail down an interview.
He could only hope this was the break Sage had been hoping for. It would be a good way to ease the tension between them. And then they could go home and what? He’d reveal the truth of his identity to her?
How exactly would that go?
She’d most likely fire him. And that would be the easy part. The other part—the one where there is pain and possible tears in her eyes—well, he wasn’t so sure that he was up for that.
He moved a little closer. Neither of the women appeared to notice him.
“Sage, my dear, what are you doing here?” The older woman’s voice held an icy tone. “Shouldn’t you be off cleaning floors or some such thing?”
This woman knew Sage? And then the woman turned, giving Trey a full view of her face. It was Elsa White.
His body tensed. He wanted to move to Sage’s defense. But at that moment, Sage’s gaze met his and she gave a slight shake of her head, warning him off.
Standing on the sidelines was not a position he was used to taking. When it came to caring for his mother, he may have been young but he’d stepped up, making sure she made her doctors’ appointments and took her medicine. But Sage wasn’t like his mother. Sage was strong and more than capable of taking care of herself.
Sage’s face instantly hardened. There was absolutely no sign of that famous smile that she shared with everyone. “Elsa, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Trey couldn’t have been dragged from his spot. If Sage needed him, he’d step up. But he wasn’t the only one to notice the exchange. These two women were oblivious to the observers. Right now, their sole focus was on each other.
His gaze volleyed between them. There was so much tension arcing between these women that it could light up all of Cannes. To say there was no love lost between these two was an understatement.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Elsa said. “You don’t belong.”
“I’m right where I need to be. Shouldn’t you be in New York plotting your next devious deal?”
Anger lit up Elsa’s eyes before they narrowed with an evil glint. “I don’t have to be in New York to do my plotting. You are out of your league here. You best be on your way little girl.”
Sage squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I’m not a child anymore. Your scare tactics no longer work on me.”
“Oh, dear, you misunderstand me. I’m not trying to scare you. I’m warning you to get out of my way before I roll right over you.”
And with that the older woman turned and strode away.
Sage stood there for a moment as though gathering her thoughts. Trey approached her. He really wanted to question her, but he knew now wasn’t the right moment. She would open up to him when she was ready and not a moment sooner.
Sage began to walk and he fell in step beside her. She was quiet for a moment. She didn’t stop until they were at an overlook. The morning sun danced upon the water. The multitude of yachts looked like toy boats from this distance. But Trey’s attention was on Sage and what he could do for her.
She paused at the railing. “I’m sorry about that. I seem to be making a habit of apologizing to you.”
He handed her the latte. “Don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I’m sure you’re wondering about that woman back there.” Sage continued to stare straight ahead, not giving him a chance to look into her eyes.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it.” He meant it. Even though he was curious, he had never seen Sage so upset. It was best to let the subject rest.
“You’re right. I don’t want to talk about her.” Sage glanced at him. Determination reflected in her gaze. “But I have to.”
“Okay. I’m listening.”
She took a sip of her coffee. “Elsa is my stepmother. My mother died when I was young. And for many years, my father and I were alone. Then one day my father tells me that he met someone. I was genuinely happy for him. I knew how lonely he was without my mother.”
“It couldn’t have been easy for either of you.”
“His relationship with Elsa could only be described as a whirlwind romance. At first, Elsa was friendly. It wasn’t until much later that I realized it was all a show—at least where I was concerned. I never figured out if she cared about my father or if he only constituted a ticket to a better life. I hope she truly loved him because he must have loved her.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because growing up, he used to take me to the office of White Publishing and he’d tell me that one day it would be all mine. He said it was my legacy. And then when he unexpectedly died of a heart attack, the will was read and the company and house...” She paused as though to rein in her emotions. “It all went to Elsa. I was gutted. I... I felt so betrayed.”
“How old were you?”
“I was sixteen. I went from private schools to public. I lost all my friends. And when I wasn’t in school, I was cleaning the house. Elsa got rid of the staff, saying that we had to tighten the purse strings as the business was in trouble.” Sage turned to him with sadness reflected in her eyes. “You don’t want to hear all of this.”
“I do, if you want me to.”
“For my eighteenth birthday, Elsa kicked me out. At the time, my shares of White Publishing were worth pennies per share. Not having a cent to my name, I was forced to sell her my shares in order to eat. To this day, I regret that decision. When I signed those shares over, I handed over any right to my legacy. But at the time, I was so young and scared. I didn’t know how to take care of myself. I learned really fast.”
“I wish I had known you then.”
“Why?” She eyed him suspiciously. “Would you have ridden up on your white horse to save me?”
He shrugged. “I don’t ride horses, but maybe a white car.”
She didn’t laugh at his attempt to lighten the mood. “I didn’t need someone to save me. I needed to save myself. I needed to learn that even without my father’s money, I would be all right. I learned a lot about myself in those years.”
“But you shouldn’t have had to.”
Sage turned to face the sea. “Maybe I did. I’ll be the first to admit that my father spoiled me. I had no idea how much so until I had to feed myself and put a roof over my head. In that manner, Elsa did me a favor.”
“Don’t go giving that woman any compliments. She’s pure evil.”
“Maybe. But I learned that I’m stronger than I ever thought. I worked for a maid service throughout college. With a full-time job, it took me five years to earn my degree, including taking summer classes. It wasn’t easy, but I did it. Now, I won’t give up until I have White Publishing back.”
He had a feeling that his smiling, beautiful boss was plotting something and it worried him. He’d heard Elsa was not a person to be crossed. “Sage, what are you up to?”
She shook her head. “It’s nothing for you to worry about. Everything is going according to plan. By the way, I just landed an exclusive interview with Starr. Isn’t that great?”
“Yes, but don’t underestimate Elsa.”
Sage’s eyes widened. “How do you know about my stepmother?”
“Everyone has heard the rumors of Elsa White. She’s notorious in the business and not in a good way.” He stared deep into Sage’s eyes, imploring her to heed his warning. He’d dealt with his own share of powerful enemies. “Just keep your eyes open.”
“Trey?” a male voice called out behind him. “Trey? Is that you?”
With the greatest regret, he pulled back from Sage. He knew by coming to the festival that he would likely run into someone he knew. But with his quiet social calendar, he didn’t think there would be many people that would recognize him.
He mouthed, I’m sorry, to Sage.
Her normally bright eyes dimmed. “I... I need to get back to the festival and circulate.” She glanced over his shoulder at the person approaching. “Don’t rush on my account.”
He turned to find his childhood friend. They’d been roommates one year at boarding school, but then Sam had moved away. Trey had always wondered what had happened to him.
“I thought that was you.” Sam strode up to him all smiles, just as Trey remembered him.
“It’s good to see you.”
They started with a handshake that ended up in a hug and a clap on the back.
Trey pulled back. His gaze quickly scanned the crowd, searching for Sage, but she was nowhere to be found. He really needed to straighten things out with her.
“So what has you here?” Sam asked.
“Work.”
Sam glanced at his press badge. “You decided to work for your father?”
It had been no secret in school that no love was lost between him and his father. When family days rolled around, he was the only one who had no family show up. His father was too involved with his precious magazine and his mother never felt up to traveling. As far back as he could remember, his mother never felt well.
“Something like that.” Anxious to turn the conversation away from himself, Trey said, “How about you?”
“I’m producing films.”
Trey thought back in time. “You always did have a flair for acting.”
“Yeah. But it appears that I’m better behind the scenes.”
Trey thought of how he’d turned into an actor with Sage. It had all seemed innocent enough in the beginning. But now that he’d gotten to know her—to kiss her—it all felt wrong.
When he confessed that he was out to destroy the magazine she’d been working so hard to rebuild, she would hate him. But was he at a point where he could just let go of the revenge that he’d been plotting against his father since he was in boarding school?