SEALed With Love (DiCarlo Brides book 2) (The DiCarlo Brides) (4 page)

She’d seen the Spartan way he lived and wondered why he cared about the money when he didn’t spend it. Sage smiled weakly, then turned to look out the window again. She had hoped they would at least become friends someday, that she would cease to be only a job to him. It didn’t look like that was ever going to happen. She’d have to reign in her growing attraction to him. Somehow. “Apparently there will be a meeting for all of us in Colorado in a couple of weeks. I’ll have the lawyer book us to go out there. I’m sure they can make an excuse about you checking on security stuff while we’re in the area.”

“Let me know the dates.” He pulled his hand away and took a left turn. 

 Sage wrapped her arms around herself, feeling remarkably empty considering the way Joel’s presence filled the car. She already missed her dad.

Present Day--Early September

Sage had been a wreck all day at work. The problem with the person who had been trying to ruin their family name and business all summer had come to a head the previous night and it was all Sage could do not to curl up in a ball and fall apart completely—but the hotel had opened only three days ago and she couldn’t take a break yet. She tried to project an air of self-confidence for her employees, despite the questions and long looks as rumors had flown, but the effort was exhausting. She checked the clock again and wondered how soon she could take off. The glass doors to the hallway opened and a man entered bearing a huge bouquet of red roses.

“Delivery for Sage Parker,” he said.

“That’s me.” She wondered if they were from Joel. He’d been kind yesterday after he came to their rescue, calming and reassuring her, sticking by her when she was most confused and upset. Flowers didn’t seem like his thing, but once in a while he surprised her, doing something uncharacteristically sweet. Red roses, though... they seemed too romantic considering their business-only relationship. She signed for the delivery and twisted the vase on the front counter until she found the card, pulling it out.

“Who are they from?” Wendy asked. “A secret admirer?”

Sage hoped not—it had been so long since she heard from her stalker, she hadn’t even considered it. Her fingers trembled as she pulled the card out of the tiny envelope.

Sweetheart, I’m sorry you had such a terrible evening. I hope the perfume of these flowers brings sweet dreams. Think of me, and our lives together.

Your future husband

He knew about the previous night. He had to be close. The note fell from her fingers onto the counter and she barely managed to snatch it up again before Wendy could get close enough to read it.

“So, who’s it from?”

“A well-wisher. Someone who heard about last night.”  Sage left the roses where they were, unable to stand touching them again and shut herself in her office. Her cell phone rang as she pulled it from her pocket, nearly dropping it before she could answer. It was Joel.

“Where did those flowers come from?” he asked, his voice tense.  Apparently he’d been watching the spa on the camera.

“Who do you think?” Sage’s voice shook as she fought for control. “He knows about what happened last night. He must be in Juniper Ridge. Word couldn’t have gotten back to California this fast.”

Joel swore. “I’ll be right there.”

Sage tried to think through her light-headedness. “No, don’t make a fuss. I don’t want to draw attention to the flowers. If he knows about last night, he could hear from someone if you charge down here and toss them. It could make him escalate.” She turned away from the door so she couldn’t see them, and no one could see her face. “I can’t do this again, Joel. I was finally starting to feel comfortable again. Safe.”

His tone shifted to calming. “You’ll be fine. I’ll follow you home tonight and we’ll talk to your sisters. We’re going to have to make some changes to your schedule.”

That meant saying goodbye to the freedom she’d managed to reclaim over the past months of quiet. “I don’t want to involve them, Joel.” Tears sprang to her eyes.

His response was implacable. “I’ve let you have your way all summer. He’s here, so the time for secrets is past. We’ll tell them tonight—your safety is too important to ignore.”

That evening Sage smiled at Cami and Vince, Cami’s new fiancé, until her cheeks hurt. Her guts twisted and she kept stealing glances at Joel. His lips were pressed together in a thin line and every look he sent her way was reproachful. He had wanted to announce the return of her stalker—no, the existence of her stalker—to her sister the second they walked in the door, but how could she ruin this moment of happiness?

She looked again at the engaged couple and felt a little of the tightness loosen. She had only known her half-sisters for a few months, but she and Cami had spent a lot of time together since they moved into the house in early July. Sage had spent the summer watching Cami’s somewhat rocky relationship with Vince through crazy media troubles and misunderstandings. Good news helped soothe the stress caused by recent events—which included the unwelcome delivery to her desk that morning.

Lana handed Sage a flute of champagne. “I know you don’t really drink, but I figured you could at least toast with us.”

Sage forced herself to think about what was going on around her instead of who might be watching the house from the shadowy tree line. “I make exceptions for special occasions.”

Blake led the toast, and everyone followed with one of their own. Though she only took a tiny sip each time, Sage’s glass was nearly empty when they finished the rounds. With the six sisters, Vince, Blake and Joel there, the list of toasts was long.

She set aside her glass when she’d emptied it and moved closer to Joel. Maybe if she were in arm’s reach of him, he would stop looking at the doors and windows like a soldier expecting an attack at any moment.

“Hey, what’s with the frown? It’s a happy day. We all survived yesterday’s fiasco, and Cami’s bubbling over with happiness.” Rosemary interrupted Sage’s move across the room. “What’s not to be happy about? Unless you wish Harrison had been invited.”

Rosemary and Harrison had an adversarial relationship Sage didn’t really understand—she’d felt the attraction between them the moment they met—eleven years earlier—but they’d been at each other’s throats in the next moment and meeting again as adults hadn’t been better. Sage wasn’t about to ask questions, though; she already had enough problems on her plate. “I hadn’t thought about Harrison. And if Vince didn’t invite his family or friends, I don’t know why we would have called my brother.” He would blow a gasket when he found out about the stalker. She could already hear the irate big-brother attitude.  And she wouldn’t be able to hide it now. Joel wouldn’t let her.

Rosemary started talking about the cake she was going to make for Cami’s wedding and Sage tuned her out, becoming very aware of Joel, who closed the distance between them, coming to a stop on her left. Disapproval rolled off him, or maybe that was her imagination.  She glanced at him again and saw the deep line between his brows, the way his arms crossed over his wide chest, muscles bunching. Even his shaved head and goatee seemed to disapprove of her decision to wait until tomorrow morning to tell the others.

“You don’t have to hover, you know,” she hissed at him.

“It’s my job,” he said, his expression not changing.

And didn’t that describe exactly what was wrong with their relationship in the first place? He got paid to be there—he wasn’t spending time with her because he
wanted
to, but because he wanted the paycheck. That had been fine at first, but since her feelings for him had grown over the summer it was not nearly enough anymore.

Joel hung around until the other guys left and many of the sisters wandered off to their rooms. “Let me see you out,” Sage said when she’d had enough of Joel’s silent presence. Any other time she would have enjoyed having him around. She ought to have been glad he was staying close—the stalker was back and Joel made her feel safe, usually. However, tonight his hovering and disapproval tired her, and made her even more jumpy than before.

He glared, but with a glance at Delphi and Jonquil, who were still nearby, he rose and followed Sage to the door. He turned before opening it and she reached around him, opened the door and pushed him onto the porch, following him out—the open floor plan of the great room, dining and kitchen areas didn’t lend itself to privacy. Before she shut the door behind her, Sage heard Delphi whisper something low. She was well aware her sisters thought there was something romantic between herself and Joel. That illusion would be stripped away in the morning. In some ways, that would be a relief, as hearing the little teases only made her feel worse about his indifference to her on a romantic level.

“You shouldn’t come out here.” His SEAL-trained eyes darted around the yard, looking for signs of an intruder in the darkness. He looked to the side and tensed for a moment, then relaxed a little when Sage’s orange tabby cat, Mr. Sunshine, sashayed out of the woods, headed for the house.

“There’s nothing to suggest he’s turned violent. And you’re here, so my danger is minimal.” She didn’t fully believe her words. Though she tried to tell herself she was safe, there was no question that she had nightmares about being attacked.

“Don’t be stupid.”

“Because any decision you don’t agree with is automatically stupid. Is that it?”

“I never said that.”

She sighed, pushing her dark curls away from her face. “No, of course not. But you imply it with every look and action.”

His jaw clenched and his brown eyes darkened. “I’m not letting you take unnecessary risks. I made a promise to your father.”

“Right. And even from his grave, he makes sure we all dance to his tune.” A familiar ache rose in her chest at the thought. “Look, I’m going back inside. I’ll make sure I flip the locks. I’ll close the blinds, double check every door and window lock, then shut myself in my room for the night.  You can even watch me on the cameras you installed in the house. Is that good enough?”

“Not nearly, but it’ll have to do. I’ll pick you up for work tomorrow, and we’ll discuss all of this in more detail. I’ll take a look around the grounds before I leave.” He lived next door, only a thirty-second sprint from her place on the quiet cul-de-sac, but the distance seemed to make him nervous.

“Terrific. You do that. See you tomorrow.” She turned and reentered the house, locking up behind her. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate his thoroughness—she counted on it, but getting his concern without his love wasn’t enough. Sage made the rounds of the doors and windows as she always did at night, and her sisters—if they noticed—kept their comments to themselves. As
they
always did. She wondered how paranoid they thought she was, and when they learned the truth, would they agree with Joel that it wasn’t enough?