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“But I knocked you down.” She chewed her bottom lip.
“You didn’t hurt me. Unless you count my being embarrassed because I fell at the feet of the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”
She rolled her eyes. “Right.”
He wasn’t kidding. “Who are you?”
“Carolina.”
“I’m Sage. Sage Cornell.” He took her hand. “Thank you.”
She settled into the chair next to him, leaving her hand in his.
“Are you a guest?” he asked. Please don’t be here on your honeymoon.
“Don’t I wish. I just applied for a job.”
“You live around here?”
“Tybee.” Darkness shadowed her eyes. She pulled her hand away and linked her fingers in her lap. “Are you a guest?”
“Visiting someone I work with. He lives here.”
Her eyebrows crunched together. “A Fitzgerald?”
“No.” He grimaced and the sting of pain reminded him to relax his face. “I don’t know why he’s living here. His fiancée’s last name is Smythe.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “I think Abby’s married to a Smythe.”
“I don’t suppose I could have your phone number.” Way to be confident. “That is, I’d like your phone number.”
“I… I’m sorry.” She sighed. “Between taking care of my mother and searching for a job, I don’t have much time.
“You don’t have time to talk?” He wouldn’t give up.
Her eyes swam with unshed tears. “I might not be a great conversationalist.”
“What can it hurt?” He pulled out his phone, raising his eyebrows. Cornells pushed through to meet their goals. “Like I said, I’m Sage Cornell.”
She sighed. “Carolina. Castillo.”
He wanted to do a fist pump, but that wouldn’t impress her. He handed her his phone, not sure his eyes would let him enter her digits correctly. Damn this injury.
“There.” She handed his phone back to him.
“Let’s try it.” He wasn’t stupid. She could have put in a fake number.
A phone rang in her purse. She pulled it out, shut off the ringer and created a contact. “I really have to get back to my mother.”
“Thank you for helping with my headache.” He grinned. “If I call tonight, would that be too soon?”
“I’d…like that.” She laughed as she walked away.
He waited until she’d stepped into the parking lot, then pumped both fists. “Yes!”
“What was that for?” Kaden’s voice came from behind him.
“I just met the most gorgeous woman.” Sage steadied himself before he pushed up from the table. “And got her number.”
Kaden shook his head. “A guest?”
“Nope. She applied for a job.” And if she got the job, he planned to spend a lot more time with Kaden. Excellent. He’d keep his partner happy—and maybe himself, too.
* * *
I’M A THIEF! What had she been thinking?
Carolina parked in their driveway and wanted to pound her head on the steering wheel.
Not only was she a thief, she’d touched a stranger. Just started rubbing his head. Sage must think she was the stupidest, most forward, craziest woman in the world.
It’s just—he’d been hurting. His headache had been so much like her mother’s, she hadn’t been able to stand by and let it eat at him. Even though he’d said it wasn’t her fault, it had been. If she’d paid attention, she wouldn’t have made him fall.
Worst of all, because she’d been so flustered, she’d walked away with the bird. She’d planned to stop in the B and B and return the darn cardinal.
But Sage had started flirting and she’d forgotten. A small zing had her straightening her shoulders. Would he call? Did she want him to? Time was her enemy—she didn’t have any to spare.
Shoving her hair off her face, she caught a whiff of something delicious. She sniffed her hand. Chocolate and citrus. Sage’s scent. Was this his shampoo? She’d had her fingers buried in his thick, gold-streaked brown hair. And his eyes matched his name—a sage-green filled with so much pain she’d needed to ease his distress.
She stared at her mother’s house. It was time to do the same for Mamá.
The door was unlocked so she pushed inside and set her purse on the coffee table. “You forgot to lock the door, Mamá.”
Her mother came out of the dark kitchen and stumbled, grabbing the archway. “What did you bring me?”
Carolina shouldn’t.
“You brought me something, right?” Her mother touched her hand to her temple and closed her eyes. “Nothing?”
