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Trying to change the subject, she asked, “Are you ready to set off to work?”
He gave her another funny look. “I am.”
She couldn’t help but notice how dashing he looked in a pair of dark slacks and a white dress shirt with the top buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. It was then that she noticed his watch. It was a designer watch. She’d noticed it before and assumed that it was a knockoff. A very good knockoff.
Trey got to his feet and rounded the table to pull a chair out for her. “But you’re not. I’ll just have Maria bring out your breakfast.”
She was about to protest, but then reconsidered. Perhaps a bite to eat before the interview would be helpful. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
In just a couple of minutes, he returned with an apple in his hand.
“Is that all you’re eating?” She hated the thought of Maria going out of her way to cook for just her.
“Relax. I already ate.”
“Oh.” She eyed up the bright red apple. “You must really like apples. You seem to always have one on hand.”
“They’re a sweet snack and travel easy. You should try them.”
“I eat apples.”
He arched a disbelieving brow.
“Okay, not very often. Since when have you come to know my habits so well?”
“Since we’ve been working practically nonstop to get the magazine turned around.”
Just then Maria came onto the veranda with a covered dish and a large glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. As Sage ate the delicious food, she realized that staying here at the château reminded her a lot of her childhood. There had been glamorous travels to the farthest ends of the earth and her spacious childhood home had been complete with a full staff that were more like family than hired help. But most of all, she’d been able to relax and enjoy herself.
“What are you thinking about?” Trey asked once Maria departed.
Why not be honest with him? No matter what she wanted to tell herself, they were much more than coworkers. Friends? Possibly. But somehow it felt like more. She knew that reading anything into their relationship was dangerous. For all she knew Elsa could have planted Trey in her life. It wouldn’t be the first time that her stepmother had done such a despicable thing. But there was something about Trey—a genuineness that made her want to trust him with her deepest and most profound secrets.
She set aside her fork. “I was thinking that I haven’t been this relaxed since...since before my father married Elsa.”
Trey didn’t say anything. Instead he settled back in his chair as though letting her open up to him at her own pace.
She averted her gaze out to the sea. “After my father’s marriage to Elsa, the changes to the household didn’t happen all at once. In fact, in the beginning Elsa couldn’t have been nicer and Father had been so happy. All those years of loneliness were behind him. But when my father traveled for business, Elsa started to change. Things in my room started to disappear.”
“She stole from you?” Trey’s expression was one of astonishment.
“When I called her out on it, she was all apologetic. She claimed there was a charity drive and she didn’t think I would mind
donating a few items to the underprivileged. Of course, looking back now I realize this was all for my father’s benefit. She was so cunning and devious that, in the end, she had me feeling guilty for wanting my possessions back—including the last gift from my mother—a porcelain doll.”
Trey’s expression hardened. “Is it all right if I hate your stepmother on your behalf?”
Sage shrugged. “I struggle with that emotion every time the woman interferes in my life, which was quite often over the years. But to hate her would consume me and hurt me, not her. Instead I feel bad for her that she is such a miserable, spiteful person.”
Trey’s mouth gaped slightly. “You feel sorry for her?”
Sage nodded. “Not like I want to help her or anything. I still think she has a lot to answer for, but sorry as in I’m grateful I can see the good in life, unlike her, and I’m not consumed with revenge or whatever drives her.”
Trey leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. He reached out and placed his hand on hers. His thumb gently stroked the back of her hand, sending goose bumps racing up her arms and setting her heart aflutter.
His voice was low and gravelly when he said, “Have I ever told you how amazing I find you?”
