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“Rory will always know she can talk to us,” I tell him, feeling like he needs to hear that.
He nods, half with me and half lost in his thoughts. “Yeah, we’ll make sure of that.”
After a few minutes, he circles back to the initial topic. “Tori was beautiful, with red hair and green eyes. She was wild and carefree.” A small half-smile forms on his lips. “But she was young. We both were…She loved to smoke and drink and had a reckless streak to her. I loved her the only way a teenage boy could, and after she died, that love morphed into guilt.”
His eyes meet mine. “When I saw you crying at the cemetery, my mind went to Tori, not because of your looks, but because when our eyes collided, I saw in you what I often saw in her: devastation. You were so damn sad and lost, and that’s what drew you to me. I couldn’t save Tori, so I wanted to save you.”
Gage laughs humorlessly. “Fuck, I couldn’t even save myself.”
“Stop,” I say, moving closer to him. “When I had no one, you were there. When I landed myself in jail, you were there. And when I couldn’t go home, you gave me a safe place to stay until I could function again.”
“And then I pushed you out the door by fucking two women,” he growls, shaking his head and moving back slightly, so we’re no longer connected.
“I need you to know, no matter how slow you want to go, I’m okay with that. Just the fact you're giving us a chance means the world to me. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you trust me again, to show you that you’re all I want and that you mean the world to me.” His gaze sears into mine, pleading with me to know he means every word he’s saying.
“It is hard,” I admit. “Sometimes, when I would think about you, the memory of you with them appears, and it hurts. But I won’t be that woman who throws your past in your face. You’re clean and working hard to have a fresh start, and it’s not fair for me to bring up what you did while you were high. But you’re right, I do need for us to take things slow, so I can protect my heart.”
Gage nods in understanding, framing my face with his hand. “One day, you’re going to trust me with your heart.” He leans in and brushes his lips against mine. The act is soft and sweet as if he’s showing me that he can go slow and take things at the pace I need.
“I promise you, Sadie,” he murmurs against my mouth, “when you’re ready to give me your heart, I’m going to protect it and keep it safe.” He gently sucks my bottom lip into his mouth, and butterflies erupt in my belly.
And as I kiss Gage back, I feel the truth in the lyrics he wrote for me—slowly, with every word, every promise, every action, he’s bringing me back to life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
GAGE
“This is too much.” Sadie scans the room with wide eyes, taking in the spacious living room and kitchen. She follows Kendall down the hallway and gasps when she sees the master bedroom completely furnished. “I can’t accept this.” Kendall ignores her, showing her the second bedroom that’s also furnished, complete with a crib, changing table, and dresser. “Nope, I can’t do it.” She cuts in front of Kendall before she can continue with the tour. “Did you hear me? This is too much. I can’t move in here… accept all of this, and I can’t even imagine how much it all cost.”
“You can and you will,” Kendall says. “You being here means Gage gets to remain in the band, the band my husband is part of. Heck, it means there’s still a band because everyone knows those guys were not going to record without Gage. This”—she waves her hand in the air—“is the least I can do, and I’m only supplying the condo. Gage bought all the furniture.”
Sadie’s eyes land on me. “Gage.” She sighs. “You didn’t have to do this.”
I shrug, not wanting to point out that her furniture was all cheaply made and that she and Rory deserve the best of everything. She provided a beautiful, loving home for our daughter, and that’s all that matters, but since I’m able to give them the best, I’m going to damn well do so. Money doesn’t mean shit to me, but her happiness does.
“Wait a second,” she says, walking over to the dresser where there’s a picture frame with a photo of Collin and Sadie. She put it on the dresser so Rory would grow up, knowing about the brother she never got to meet. “How did this get here?”
