The Ruthless Caleb Wilde

Right. A call to his pilot.

“Take a few days off,” he told Ted. “I’ll be in touch when I need you.”

The last call was the most important.

He phoned his hotel, a tower of glass that overlooked Central Park. He liked the place; it was modern, elegant, laid-back. The concierge knew him well; he took the same suite whenever he was in town.

Now he told him that he’d want the suite for another week, and he added a few important instructions.

“I’ll attend to it at once, Mr. Wilde,” the man said. Caleb could almost hear the smile in his voice.

He glanced at his watch. He could get back to Caldwell …

“Caleb?”

Sage’s voice was soft.

Caleb sprang to his feet, turned toward the bedroom—and felt his throat constrict.

She’d changed into a dress and sandals. The dress was a shade of blue that came as close to matching her eyes as anything that wasn’t the sky ever could. It was simple—thin straps, a full skirt that skimmed her knees. The shoes were simple, too, with skinny high heels and an amalgam of straps. He’d have said their color was tan but he knew enough about women to be pretty sure the right name was far more fanciful.

Her hair was pulled back, sort of knotted on top of her head, and his hands itched to go to her, undo that knot, undo what looked like half a dozen buttons and leave her in just those sexy shoes and whatever she had on under the dress …

“What?” she said with a puzzled smile.

What, indeed.

“You’re so beautiful you make my heart ache,” he said in a rough voice as he drew her into his arms.

Amazing, that this proud, incredible woman was his. His to care for. To protect. To cherish. To share his life with.

Sage was his.

And he …

He was hers.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CALEB’S rental car was where he’d left it, the two kids standing next to it with zealous determination in their eyes.

He dug out the halves of the hundred-dollar bills, gave one to each boy.

“Excellent job,” he said, and then he thought, what the hell, and gave each kid a hundred bucks more.

It wasn’t every day a man asked a woman to marry him.

Marriage.

“Wow,” he said softly, as he pulled away from the curb.

“Wow, what?” Sage said.

Caleb reached for her hand and brought it to his lips.

“Just ‘wow,’” he said with a quick smile.

“As in, ‘Wow, this is all happening so fast’?”