* * *
“Are you sure we should be doing this?” Dressed in a sapphire-blue mini that set off her eyes, Rina sat across from Sage at the Post Oak Grill, one of Sage’s favorite restaurants.
Dressed more conservatively in a short, black silk dress and platform heels, Sage took a sip of wine. “I’m sure, all right. Absolutely sure we shouldn’t be doing it. But I’m really glad we are.”
Rina laughed, making her long silver earrings jangle.
Sage released a slow breath. “I’ve had one heckuva day. I had to get out of the house, just for a while.” I had to stop thinking of Jake.
The episode this afternoon with Felix had shown her a completely different side of him, one that was far too appealing. The hero worship she’d seen in the boy’s dark eyes told her how good Jake was with the kid. She wished she hadn’t noticed. She didn’t want to like Jake as well as lust for him.
“Well, we aren’t that far from your apartment,” Rina said, taking a sip of the rich Stag’s Leap cabernet they had ordered, “and this place should certainly be safe enough.”
Sage took a bite of perfectly cooked, medium rare filet mignon, savoring the delicious port reduction sauce. “God, I love the food here. Since all this started, I’ve barely had time to eat. Believe it or not, I’ve actually lost a couple of pounds.”
Rina rolled her eyes. “That should happen to me.”
Sage scoffed. “You don’t need to lose weight. You’re perfect.”
“I don’t need to lose weight because I constantly watch what I eat. If I didn’t, I’d be as big as a house.”
Sage just smiled. Rina ate healthy food, and both of them went to the gym at least three times a week. That is, until she had gotten involved with the Saudi deal. Fortunately, there was a fitness center in the apartment building where she lived.
“So tell me about today,” Rina said. “How did it go with his high-and-mightiness, the sheik?”
“Actually, I think it went pretty well. But, Lord, it wasn’t easy. And this is just getting started.” She sipped her wine, set the glass back down on the table. “You’re still on for the shopping trip, right?”
Rina grinned. “You couldn’t keep me away.”
“A’lia will probably be bringing her cousin Zahra, so there’ll be four of us women altogether. I think that’ll make things a little easier. Or at least with you there, it’ll be easier for me.”
“What’s she like?”
“Beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. But kind of sad, I think. It has to be a hard to have your entire life completely laid out for you and be totally dominated by men.”
“And some of them will be coming with us to the mall, I gather.”
“That’s right. A male relative and probably at least one bodyguard. Along with Jake and Alex.”
“Alex?”
“Alex Justice. He’s the guy who’s helping Jake with security. Apparently, they work out of the same office.” She took a bite of scalloped potatoes and decided she had never tasted anything so delicious. Then again, everything tasted good when you forgot to eat.
“I think you’ll like this guy,” Sage said.
“I’m involved, remember?”
“So am I, remember? He seems interesting. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Interesting how?”
“Six-two, a hundred eighty pounds. Dark blond hair and blue eyes. He’s got the cutest pair of dimples.”
Rina eyed her across the top of her wineglass. “But he’s not Jake, right? So you’re passing him on to me.”
“I’m not passing him on to anyone. I just mentioned him.”
“That’s good, because I’m not interested.”
“I thought you and Ryan were having trouble.”
“Everyone has trouble. We’ll work things out eventually.”
She thought of Phillip. Since he left, they’d spoken several times on the phone, but their conversations were brief and unfulfilling. There were never any arguments, not even any serious disagreements. Maybe that was the problem. Both of them always kept their emotions carefully controlled. No outbursts, no fighting. Never saying what was really on her mind. Maybe that bothered her more than she’d realized.
Sage glanced up. There was something going on in the restaurant. People were beginning to whisper and shift in their chairs. She gazed around the room, caught something pressed against one of the plate-glass windows, a big white square with words written on it. When she saw what it said, the delicious filet mignon nearly came back up.
Dumont Drilling Traitors. Keep U.S. Money in the U.S.
“Oh, my God.” Rina stared out the window, and the noise in the restaurant grew louder. Sage turned to see a man storming toward her, his face beet-red, his brown hair standing on end, his lips thinned in anger.
“It’s people like you!” he shouted. “People like you who are ruining our country!”
Her mind went blank. Opening another drilling platform would mean dozens of new jobs for the area. It would be helping the country end its dependence on foreign oil. The environment had to be protected—she adamantly agreed with that—but Marine Drilling did everything in its power to keep people and the ocean safe.
All those arguments and half a dozen others rushed into her head. She wanted to explain, but as she stared into the man’s furious face, not a single syllable came out of her mouth.
His fist slammed down on the table, making the silverware jump and water slop over the rim of their glasses. “You hear what I said? It’s people like you!”
“You don’t…don’t understand.” It was all she could manage to say as she spotted the valets pushing through the door and starting toward her, caught a slice of the commotion outside, more signs, more people who wanted her to fail.
“Send them back where they belong! You hear me?”
She heard the words, but they were muffled by the ringing in her ears. Then Jake was there, striding toward the table, his face set in hard, determined lines. He grabbed the red-faced man by the back of the neck and hauled him away from her, putting himself between her and the danger. The man looked at Jake and his lips curled back, ready for another damning tirade. Jake’s hand settled on his shoulder, and an instant later the man went limp.
Sage watched in awe as Jake propped him against his side and hauled him out of there as if he weighed nothing, as if maybe he was just a friend who had drunk a little too much. The maître d’ stepped out of the way, letting them pass, and the pair disappeared through the door.
“Oh, my God,” Rina said again, staring at the place where Jake had been.
Sage just sat there trembling. She could still see the fury etched on the man’s ruddy features. And the matching fury in Jake’s. She had never seen him angry before, at least not like that. And part of it was clearly directed at her.
On top of that, she had never seen him in action. The scene was over before it had truly begun. Jake had taken the man down with unbelievable ease, put an end to the threat in seconds. Sage felt certain the guy wasn’t really hurt, just immobilized and then neatly dispensed with.
Though she could be wrong.
She fought to compose herself as