Page 150 of Hidden Ties

“I thought you would have quit your second job once you were working full-time at the firm,” he probed.

“I wish. I can’t, especially now.”

Kent frowned. “Why especially now?”

“My car was stolen today. It wasn’t worth much, but it was reliable and paid off. I might luck out and get it back, but I don’t have hopes it’ll come back drivable.”

“Where in the fuck was it stolen from?”

“The parking garage,” she answered, wiggling out from under his restraining arm. She gained her feet to rush toward her dress. Holding it in front of her, she went to the foot of the bed to pick up her bra and panties. “May I use your restroom?”

Rolling over to face the bathroom, he gestured to the door behind her. “Sage, I think we know each other well enough now that you don’t have to ask to use my bathroom.”

“I didn’t want to take it for granted,” she replied politely, holding the dress in front of her as she backed up toward the door.

Getting up, he dressed in a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a cream-colored shirt, then took out a pair of casual loafers and slipped them on. He was turning the audio system off when Sage walked back into the room.

“How are you going to get to work in the morning?”

“I’m going to take the bus. I’ve had to take it before when my car was down for repairs. It would have been nice if they hadn’t stolen it before I forked out the money for a new set of tires.”

“When was that?” he asked as they came out of the bedroom.

Sage shrugged. “About a month ago.”

As he drove her home, he was surprised when she reached out to hold his hand as it rested on the console. She had never initiated contact with him before.

“Thank you for being so considerate tonight. You gave me a night I’ll never forget.”

“My pleasure.” Lifting her hand to his lips, he pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “You sure you won’t let me drive you to work in the morning?”

“I’m sure.”

He didn’t argue, not wanting to press the issue. So far, he had gotten away with Sage not realizing he had been the one who’d come into Matthias’ kitchen. He knew she didn’t want him to connect her to the cleaning company she was working with. It was wiser to distance himself from that area of her life.

“I have to go back to Queen City this weekend to check on my house. I won’t get back until late Sunday evening. When can I see you again?”

“Monday, I do my grocery shopping. Tuesday, I take my nieces out to the park and hit a restaurant. Wednesday, I have to catch up on laundry and cleaning. Thursday—”

“I could go with you on Tuesday.”

“I don’t expect you to.”

“I want to,” he cut in. “We can do lunch like we’ve been doing, but I don’t want to wait until Friday to spend time with you outside of the office.”

“My nieces can be a handful,” she warned.

“I like kids. I was a handful myself.”

“All right, just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Giving him a mysterious smile, Sage ran her thumb over his knuckles on the hand she was holding. The intimate gesture made him want to put his hand where she could rub something else, which was becoming painfully erect.

“What does that mean?” he said, trying to take his mind off the renewed desire she was unaware of.

“Wait and see.”

THIRTY

“Do me, too!” Jumping off the bed, Colby ran into the bedroom, putting out her arm. She tugged on the bottom of her top to get her attention. “I want to smell pretty, too!”