Miss White and the Seventh Heir

He had to do more.

The following afternoon, Trey had given a lot of thought to how he could make amends with Sage. He knew nothing he did would undo the past, but he wanted to show her he was better than that—he wanted to prove it to himself.

He’d let himself get so caught up in evening the score with his father that he hadn’t realized the price it would exact from those around him.

He needed to get back to being himself.

He needed Sage to trust him again. And the pendant had been a start, but he wanted to do something extra special—something to put the spark back in Sage’s big, beautiful eyes. And he had the inkling of an idea that just might do the trick. But he couldn’t do it alone.

It was midway into the afternoon when Trey decided to make his departure. They had just arrived outside the Grand Theatre Lumière. The red carpet was in full action with celebrities in designer gowns, sparkling gems and black tuxes. When a celebrity stepped onto the carpet, camera flashes lit up the area. There were

so many cameras that it was blinding.

Sage leaned close to him to speak over the crowd. “Did you see George? Oh, look, there’s Uma. This movie is going to be amazing.”

He loved hearing the enthusiasm in Sage’s voice. Day by day, things were getting better between them. Though he wished the process was faster, he was grateful they’d made it this far.

He leaned close to her ear, catching the sweet scent of jasmine. He lingered for a moment, breathing in her intoxicating scent. When someone bumped into him, it jarred him back to his senses.

“Would you mind if I went back to the château for a bit?”

Concern filled Sage’s eyes but in a blink it was gone. “Sure. I’ve got this. I got caught up in the fact that people are starting to talk with us. But when I mention an interview or a cover, they shy away.”

“You’ll nail it. Just give it time. The festival seems like a really big crowd, but it’s really rather small when it comes to passing information. Once it gets around that you are so nice and have integrity, they will view QTR in a different light.”

She looked at him with skepticism. “I don’t know about that.”

“Trust me.” The words were out before he realized that was the exact wrong thing for him to say to her. “Forget that. Trust yourself and believe that you can do this.”

As he walked away, he realized his campaign to win back Sage’s friendship and perhaps her trust had to be many pronged. The first would be celebrating her birthday, which was quickly approaching. It landed on the next to the last day of the festival. And it wasn’t going to be any birthday party. He had something very special in mind.

And the other idea was to deal with Elsa. He knew that Sage thought she could handle her, but he had to do something to help. That woman, she just couldn’t get away with the way she treated Sage.

He would see about getting his group of online friends, aka hackers, to lend a hand. He’d never needed their help before, but they owed him for various things in the past. This was his time to collect. He needed to know everything about Elsa and all the things she didn’t want other people to know—including her questionable acquisition of Sage’s family company.

He strode quickly to the château. He needed to speak with Maria, his housekeeper, before she left for the day. She had been with him since he was a boy. In many ways, she was as much a mother to him as his own mother.

As soon as Trey entered the house, he headed for the kitchen. It was Maria’s favorite room. She’d told him that numerous times over the years. And he had to agree with her. It was spacious, modern and had the most terrific view of the sea. It was one of the reasons he’d held on to the place.

“Maria.” He entered the kitchen and came to a stop. He glanced all around, but she was nowhere to be found. “Maria?”

He started walking through the house looking for her. After covering the ground floor, he was starting to suspect she’d completed her work early and had gone home. He supposed he could phone her, but he’d rather go over the details in person.

He reached the top of the steps when the door to Sage’s room opened. Maria stepped into the hallway. When her gaze caught him standing in the hallway, she jumped and pressed a hand to her chest.

When she spoke, it was in French. Though she also spoke English, she preferred her native language. “You startled me.” She smiled at him. “I didn’t know that anyone had returned.”

“Sorry, it’s just me.”

“Can I get you anything?”

“I could really use your help.”

Her eyes widened with interest. “Certainly. What do you need?”

“I need your help planning a birthday party for Sage. If you could take care of coordinating the food and staff, I’ll take care of the invitations.”

Maria smiled. “You really like her, don’t you?”