“Son of a bitch,” Jake muttered beneath his breath. The group out front had morphed into a mass of people at the back door, slightly smaller, but no less disturbing. He let the door swing closed, but not before Sage got a look at the media trucks parked at the curb, the cameras aimed at the crowd, as well as the back door of the building. It was turning into a circus.
Jake was on his iPhone, in contact with Lincoln Jones. He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket.
“Linc’s pulling up as close as he can get. He’ll have the passenger door open. When I say go, walk as quickly as you can to the car and get in.”
Sage glanced at Rina, who didn’t look nearly as perky as she had before. “Are you ready for this?” she asked.
Her friend’s slim shoulders straightened. “I guess if I want to eat, I don’t have any choice.”
“Go!” Jake said, and they hurried toward the car. He was blocking the way like a pro football tackle, herding them into the car, then jumping inside himself. Linc gunned the engine and they shot out of the parking lot, the tires squealing, the crowd surging toward them, waving their signs.
If she closed her eyes, Sage could still see the one that read Keep American Money in America. And right beside it, Dumont Millions Earned at the Price of Betrayal.
* * *
“We got company,” Linc said, his black eyes fixed on the mirror above the windshield.
Jake turned in his seat, saw the white media van cutting in and out of traffic behind them. “Get rid of them.” He checked to make sure the women had their seat belts fastened as Linc gunned the powerful engine.
A couple of screeching turns, roaring through a few yellow lights, blazing down a straightaway, careening around another corner, and the van was no longer in sight.
“Everybody okay?” Jake asked.
Sage smiled. “When you said Linc could drive, you really meant it.”
Rina grinned and leaned back in her seat with a theatrical sigh. “Reminds me of my high school days.”
Jake’s eyebrows went up. “You drove like that in high school?”
“I had a boyfriend whose dad was into drag racing. Jimmy had a hot Camaro. We did a little drag racing at night.”
“That’s illegal, you know,” Linc said from the driver’s seat.
Rina laughed. “Fun, though.”
Jake almost smiled. He was beginning to like the saucy little redhead. And she seemed like a good friend to Sage. There was no heat in the flirty looks she cast his way. It was just to tease her friend.
They reached the restaurant and Linc drove theEscalade up in front. Jake helped the women out, then escorted them both inside the brick building.
Gravitas was hip and modern, the food upscale and interesting. The maître d’ approached Sage smiling, a short guy in his thirties with brown hair thinning on top.
“We have your table ready, Ms. Dumont.”
“Thank you, Ned.”
He flicked a glance at Jake. “Will there be three in your party?”
“No,” Jake answered.
The man seated the ladies, then returned. “One for lunch, sir?”
“I’m Ms. Dumont’s personal security. I need to make a sweep of the restaurant, make sure it’s safe. Then seat me someplace where I can watch her table, and bring me a sandwich—it doesn’t matter what kind.”
“Of course, sir. Over the weekend, I read something in the newspaper about the protests at Marine Drilling. I hope there isn’t any trouble.”
“Just a lot of noise so far. Let’s hope it stays that way.”
But Jake didn’t like the different factions milling around together. It was like putting them in a pressure cooker and turning up the heat.
The maître d’ seated him at a discrete table not too close to Sage. She deserved some privacy. And since she wasn’t having lunch with Phillip…
The evil demon was back, making him inwardly smile. For whatever reason, his dislike for Stanton hadn’t lessened. Jake was damned glad the guy had left the country.
Which returned his thoughts to Sage and how much he wanted her. What would it take, he wondered, to get her into his bed?
He took a long swallow of the iced tea the waiter delivered. What happened Sunday night had been accidental. He knew women. Sage wasn’t the kind who slept with men other than the one she was pledged to.
Still, the attraction between them hadn’t diminished. He felt it every time he looked at her. Every time she looked at him. Just sitting next to her in the car had left him hard and wanting. He wondered how it had affected Sage.
He had a feeling the desire that sparked between them was new to her, not something she felt with Phillip.
It didn’t matter. Jake didn’t date married women because he didn’t want to think of them in another man’s bed. He felt the same way about Sage. She was available or she wasn’t.
And clearly, she wasn’t.
He made another slow, sweeping perusal of the restaurant, saw that everything was as it should be, picked up his sandwich and dug in.
The delicious pastrami on rye tasted like sawdust in his mouth.
* * *
“Your neck isn’t getting stiff, is it?”
Sage kept her eyes straight ahead. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s okay if you look at him once in a while,” Rina said. “He’s very easy on the eyes.”
“I don’t want to look at him. I don’t want to think about him. I just want this whole thing to be over.”
Rina ate a few bites of her salad. Sage mostly pushed the lettuce around on her plate.
“You know, I’ve known you for years,” her friend said. “I’ve never seen you this way.”
“What way is that?”
“Fascinated by a man.”
The bite of tomato stuck in Sage’s throat. “I’m not fascinated with Jake. He’s smarter than I thought and maybe not so much of a jerk. He’s good at what he does and I admire that. But he’s just a man. More virile that most, I’ll admit, but still only a man.”
“He’s not just virile, the guy is the ultimate stud. Your female anatomy recognizes that, responds to it. You want him, Sage. I’ve never seen you in lust before, until now. It’s as simple as that.”
Her insides tightened. “You think that’s simple? I’m engaged, Rina. I’m getting married to Phillip. Surely you don’t think I should cheat on him.”
“I think maybe you should consider talking to Phillip, telling him you need some time to think things over. Tell him you want to postpone your engagement for a while.”
“For God’s sake, Rina, just because I’m attracted to my bodyguard doesn’t mean I want to give up the future Phillip and I have planned.”
“It isn’t just that. From the start, you’ve been hesitant—and don’t tell me I’m wrong. I know you. I know Phillip embodies all the things you think you want out of life, the things you think you need to accomplish your goals. But maybe that isn’t so. Maybe you deserve more than an arranged marriage—because that’s exactly what it is.”
Sage set her fork down on the table. “My