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Twenty
Sage
“Holy crap,I never thought I’d see this day again,” Harper says, sticking the spoon in the bubbling baked beans on the stove. “These are actually delish. Are they a Pinterest recipe?”
I grin. “Those are from a can. Hey, I couldn’t pull off everything from scratch.”
“I still can’t believe it. A few weeks out from a launch, and you’re usually nothing but work. And now you’re taking off a whole night to cook dinner for a man at your place? Honestly, I feel like I’m in an episode of Black Mirror.”
I pull the cornbread out of the oven as I turn to her. “I thought you’d be ecstatic.”
“Oh, I am,” she says, putting her hands up in the air. “I am thoroughly overjoyed that Sage Everling is not only putting down work, but she’s giving a man a chance at more than one night. I just never thought I’d see the day. What changed?”
For a moment I turn to her, serious, oven mitts on my hands. “I don’t know. I think it’s just… him. I can’t explain it.”
Harper lets out a squeal, and I almost regret the serious moment. “Oh, he’s it then. I had the same feeling with Brad. The same inexplicable feeling. Oh Jesus, you’re going to marry a Texan. How exciting!”
“Okay, slow down. This is nothing like you and Brad. You’ve always been a hopeless romantic. Me, not so much. This is still new to me, and to be honest, I might not like it. I might give this a go for a few weeks and decide it’s too much.”
“Stop it. You’re a goner and you know it. I’ve never seen you smile so much.”
I smile, to my chagrin, at this statement. “I know. God, is this what it feels like?”
“Is this what what feels like?”
“Love.”
After the word is out of my mouth, I’m kind of in shock. Who am I, throwing that word around again? But dammit, I can’t deny that he does something to me, that he makes me feel all sorts of things I didn’t think were possible.
“Well, let’s see, cooking a five-course Texan feast almost from scratch for a man? Yeah, it might be love. Or you’re pregnant and craving spicy foods. Are you pregnant?”
“No,” I reply harshly, shaking my head vehemently. “Absolutely not.”
“Okay, then it’s love. Where’d you get all these food ideas from?” she asks, flipping the ribs in the oven while I tend to the dessert.
“I chatted with Levi about it yesterday. He tipped me off.”
“Getting in with the family, too. Wow, Sage, you’re doing this dating thing like a pro.”
I sigh.
“What is it now?” she asks, rolling her eyes. “You really are like a naïve sixteen-year-old when it comes to this thing.”
“I don’t know. We just haven’t really talked about what this is officially. Are we exclusive? Are we serious? I don’t know.”
“Time will tell. But honey, the way he looks at you, trust me. He’s not going anywhere. He’s in it for real. I’ve known since the first time I chatted with him.”
I’m putting the finishing touches on the cheesecake—not so Texan, but apparently Cash has a thing for cheesecake—when it dawns on me.
“Wait a second, did you say since you chatted with him?”
“Oh, shit. That’s right. I never brought that one up. Yeah, not long after you met him, I ran into him at the dog park. He didn’t know who I was, but I scoped him out. I knew from that second on he was a keeper, that he was perfect for you.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
She shrugs. “Would you have listened?”
I weigh her words. “No, probably not.”
