The Ruthless Caleb Wilde

“Hey.” He let go of her hand, touched her cheek, her hair, and silently cursed himself for a fool. He was trying to make her happy but he was loading too much on her slender shoulders. Honesty and trust were great, but some things were better put aside until the moment was right. “There’s no rush for any of this, Sage. We’ll take things one day at a time, okay?”

“Thank you,” she said softly. “For understanding that this is—that it’s—” She swallowed. “I guess I’m one of those people who has to ease into new situations, you know? I mean, it took me a while to figure out New York.”

He knew she was trying to make him feel better, so he told her it had taken him a while, too.

“I mean, it’s co

nfusing. What’s with the five boroughs thing? Only Manhattan is New York.”

“Is that an attack on Brooklyn, Mr. Wilde?”

“Uh-oh.”

“Uh-oh, indeed,” she said, laughing.

It was good, hearing her laugh. Definitely, he’d have to remember not to layer too many things on her for a while.

“Anyway, you’ve got it wrong.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Me? Get something wrong? Impossible.”

“Manhattan is New York but it’s really the city. All the other boroughs are New York, too, but they aren’t the city.” She rolled her eyes. “Clear as mud, right?”

“No. Actually, it’s as succinct a description as I ever heard.”

They rode in easy silence for a few minutes before Sage turned toward him again.

“Caleb?”

“Yes?”

“When are we going to leave here? For Dallas, I mean? I know you have to get back to the real world, sooner or later.”

He cleared his throat. “Well, I thought we’d stay here the rest of the week …”

“Oh,” she said.

There was a world of weight in the one soft word. Caleb glanced at her. She was sitting back in her seat, hands folded in her lap, staring straight out the windshield.

“You’re worried about meeting my family,” he said softly. “Trust me, honey. They’ll be surprised, but they’ll be happy for me. For us.”

Sage nodded. She wanted to believe that, wanted to trust him—she was trusting him, not just with her future but with her heart. And that was part of the problem, part of what made all that was happening so dangerous …

“Here we are.”

She looked up. They’d pulled to the curb with Central Park to one side, a tall building to the other.

Caleb undid his seat belt, reached over and undid hers.

“Such a long face,” he said softly. “That’s not a way to start the first week of our lives together.”

She looked at him. “That’s a very nice thing to say.”

He grinned. She loved that grin. Part arrogance, part mischief, completely and heart-stoppingly male.

“What? You think we legal eagles can only speak tort?”

Sage laughed. “What I think is that you’re full of surprises.”