“You should.”
“It had nothing to do with you.”
“I’m not saying I came up with the idea. I’m just saying I saw it first.”
“Saw what first?” Caleb appeared behind them.
“That TJ was attracted to his wife.”
“Who wouldn’t be attracted to your wife?” Caleb asked.
Both TJ and Matt shot Caleb a look of incredulity.
“I mean mortal men,” Caleb qualified. “I’m obviously not noticing.”
“You better not be,” TJ said, surprised by his visceral reaction.
After last night, he was feeling very protective of Sage. It was only natural, he told himself. It might not be a normal marriage, but it was a marriage. And now, well, now that they’d made love, he couldn’t imagine her being with any other man. Not that he had a right to ask that of her. But she had said herself that she didn’t want an affair.
Caleb clapped him on the back, nearly jolting the spatula out of TJ’s hand. “Don’t look so glum.”
TJ suddenly remembered the burgers and quickly moved to flip them over. “I’m not glum.”
Matt shot TJ a sly look.
“What was that?” Caleb asked, too quick not to pick up on it.
“Nothing,” Matt said.
“That wasn’t nothing.”
TJ didn’t want to play games with one of his closest friends. “My relationship with Sage has shifted.”
Caleb looked worried. “What happened?”
“In a good way,” TJ said.
Caleb’s brow went up. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Matt said. “And I did notice. And I did suggest it. Unlike you, who’s been fixated on I don’t know what for the past seven months.”
“You try operating on sleep deprivation,” Caleb said. “Wait. You’re going to be doing precisely that come spring.” His tone turned sarcastic. “You’re gonna love it.”
“I honestly can’t wait,” Matt said, sounding completely sincere.
Burgers rescued, TJ’s attention went back to Sage. She looked so natural holding a baby. She must have looked exactly the same way holding Eli. TJ experienced an acute longing for all that he’d missed.
“I’m happy for you,” Caleb said, pulling TJ back to the present.
TJ took in the expressions on both his friends’ faces, and he realized where conjecture had taken them.
“It’s not like that,” he quickly put in, feeling a shot of guilt. “It’s…different than that. We’re in this thing. We’re healthy adults. Neither of us wants to run around with anyone else.”
“Does she know that’s how it is?” Caleb asked with a frown.
“It was her idea,” TJ said.
“You can’t see danger signs?” Caleb asked.
“They have limited options,” Matt said.
“You’re in support of this?” Caleb asked Matt.
“Well, I’m not in support of any of the alternatives. Perpetual sexual frustration? Cheating? An open marriage? Can you imagine TJ standing by while Sage heads out on a date?”
“Stop!” TJ shouted. There was no way in the world Sage was going on a date.
“It may be a bit unorthodox,” Matt said.
“It may be playing with fire.” Caleb looked to TJ. “One of you is going to fall for the other.”
“It won’t be me,” TJ said.
There wasn’t any room in his heart. The knowledge made him sad. He realized he was sad for Sage. Because she sure deserved someone to fall head over heels for her.
“Then it’s going to be her,” Caleb said. “What are you going to do if she falls for you?”
“It was her idea,” TJ repeated with determination.
He told himself she knew what she was proposing. She had to have known what she was proposing. As Matt pointed out, they didn’t have a lot of alternatives.
TJ’s gaze continued to rest on her holding the baby. He didn’t want any of the alternatives. They’d made their choice, and right now he couldn’t wait for everyone to leave tonight so they could be alone all over again.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
There was a skip in Sage’s step as she made her way across the campus of Invo North College. She replayed making love with TJ again over and over in her mind. He was amazing, and she was content to take things moment to moment.
For now, she was enrolling in college. She’d pored over the course listings, coming to the surprising conclusion that she wanted to major in data analytics. Math had always been her strong suit, and anytime her work had involved spreadsheets and data sets, she’d been fascinated with the power of the tools.