Dream Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Series #1) (14 page)

Sage
spoke over the top of his glass again. "Sarah, I swear everything you do
sends me over the edge."

Her
eyes rounded. "Um, er, I started writing about fifteen years ago. I'd
never thought about it before then."

"What
made you think of it then?"

She
gave him a sad smile. "The need to do something after divorcing a cheating
husband."

"I'm
sorry. I wasn't trying to pry. You don't have to talk about it."

"Oh,
it's okay. I was over him before our second anniversary. I just kept thinking
he'd change if we had children. Stupid thinking on my part. But I was young and
wanted a family." She lowered her eyes and stared at a drop of wine on the
white tablecloth. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I also had a son. He
was born premature and only lived a day. My panic attacks started after he
died." She glanced up.

Sage
was frowning. He reached across the table and covered her hand with his.
"I'm so sorry, honey."

She
gave him a little smile and looked back at the wine spot.

"Sarah..."

She
lifted her eyes again and stared into sympathetic blue ones, waiting for him to
finish his sentence.

"You
fascinate me."

She
hadn't expected that and wrinkled her brow. "I'm very ordinary
and…plain."

"There's
nothing plain or ordinary about you. When I first saw you at Imaginings
Publishing, I felt a draw. Of course, I figured you were some uppity author and
wouldn't waste your time with me."

"You've
got to be kidding?"

"I
kid you not."

"That's
crazy."

"Well,
when you got mad and left, that solidified it in my mind."

Sarah
grinned and shyly looked away. "If it's any consolation, I find you just
as fascinating."

Sage
squeezed her hand. "Stay with me all night."

Sarah
blinked rapidly at the sweetness in his voice. She nodded.

The
waiter brought dessert menus and interrupted the intense moment. "What are
your suggestions for dessert?" she asked. "Or maybe I should ask,
'what is Julie's favorite dessert'?"

"That's
easy, anything with chocolate." They both ordered Chocolate Ricotta Pie
with Hazelnuts. The waiter served their desserts with cinnamon coffees.

"You've
done a wonderful job of raising Julie," Sarah said, while lifting her fork
to savor her first bite. She closed her eyes.

Sage
said, "Do that again."

She
opened her eyes. "What?"

"Enjoy
another bite."

Sarah's
heart fluttered and she turned crimson.

"I
love it when you blush."

She
turned even redder.

Sage
laughed and leaned back. "Thanks for the compliment about Julie. She got a
great start in life from her mother. Marylou doted on her children. She started
teaching them to read and write long before they went to kindergarten and the
house was always strewn with art projects." He smiled at fond memories and
then looked sad.

Sarah
changed the subject. "When did you start modeling? Or how did you get into
the profession?"

"We
were talking about you."

"We
can talk about me later."

Sage
must have sensed her reticence. He rubbed his jaw. "I actually got
approached by an agent on my honeymoon. Marylou and I met in high school and
she got pregnant the end of our senior year. I had no qualms about marrying her.
We'd known each other since third grade and fell in love during Junior High.
We'd always planned to marry and the babies just hurried things up a bit. Our
parents didn't have a problem with us marrying. Of course, when she got
pregnant we got lectured. But secretly, I think the grandparents were just as
excited as we were. When we found out we were having twins, both sets of
grandparents were over the moon. But getting back to your question, we were
honeymooning in the Florida Keys and sitting on the beach when this guy, not
much older than ourselves, came up and introduced himself; said he was an agent
looking for modeling clients. I gave him the brush off but he handed me his
card and Marylou stuck it in her beach bag. After the babies were born, money
was tight. My Dad's health had started to decline and he couldn't keep the
ranch going without my help. I'd been attending college and working part time
with him. Marylou and I decided I needed to work fulltime at the ranch;
especially after my mom died suddenly of a heart attack. She had a congenital
heart defect that was never diagnosed."

He
paused and tapped his fingers on the table. Sarah reached and placed her hand
over his. He looked up with such sadness that her heart melted. He continued.
"Even though I started working at the ranch fulltime, things were still
tough, but none of us wanted to sell off any of our property to make ends meet.
Dad died just before the twins turned three. A few months later, Marylou
accidently came across the business card in her beach bag. She handed it to me
and said, 'I think you should call him. It couldn't hurt to see what he has to
say.' So, I called Pinky Marsh, and yes, that's his real name. He remembered me
and set up a test shoot. After that, he put a portfolio together, and
voila."

"Well,
from what I've seen, you're wonderful at modeling."

Sage
lifted his wine glass and twirled it. "You think so?"

Sarah's
heart stopped. "Yes."

"I'd
actually like to quit modeling. I'm getting a bit old for it."

"No
way. You're only what, thirty-four?"

"Almost.
But modeling is a short-lived career. Besides, I don't really enjoy it. At
first, it was exciting when Marylou and the kids traveled with me. I liked that
part because we could sightsee and visit places we'd never have had the
opportunity to otherwise. After she and Michael died, I only continued for the
money. I love this ranch; modeling and the dude ranch allow me to keep it going
in style. I've been saving and investing so I can retire from modeling and
still have enough to tide us over during lean years."

Sarah
rubbed the back of her neck and looked across the room.

"What's
that look, Sarah?"

She
bit her bottom lip and looked back at him. "I'm almost forty."

"And…"

"It
doesn't bother you that I'm older than you?"

"Do
I look like I'm bothered?"

Sarah
lifted her eyes to a blue gaze flashing desire. She shook her head.

Sage
reached across the table and trailed the tip of his finger down her cheek.
"Let's go home, honey."

Sage
wrapped his arms around Sarah's middle and pulled her back against his body,
spoon style. He'd called Newt and Beaner the night before and given them
responsibility for the dudes so he and Sarah could spend time together. Julie
had stayed the night at Tooty's and wouldn't be home until late afternoon. Weak
sunlight filtered through cracks in the curtains and he lifted his head to
watch Sarah sleep. She looked sweet, peaceful, and…inviting. He smiled
remembering the previous night. After a delicious dinner and heartfelt conversation,
he'd wanted nothing more than to end the perfect night with her in his arms.
She was an itch he didn't want to go away. She made a sighing sound. He wanted
to trace the dusting of freckles across her nose with his lips, but he didn't
want to wake her…not yet. He'd let her sleep a little longer.

Lying
back down he decided her feisty attitude appealed to him more than any woman
he'd ever met. He admired her victory in overcoming life's hurdles. When he
thought about her low-life ex-husband, he wanted to pulverize the man. Of
course, if her ex-husband hadn't been such a bottom feeder, she wouldn't be in
his bed right now. He remembered her sadness in talking about the child she'd
lost. Oh, how he could relate to that. After losing Marylou and Michael he
hadn't wanted to live. The only thing that had kept him going was raising
Julie. Realizing that Sarah hadn't had anyone to keep her going, his heart
ached for her. Sarah was a keeper. Before he could contemplate the
ramifications of that, she turned over and looked at him.

He
smiled, "Good morning, Sunshine. Did you sleep well?"

She
quirked a smile. "I had the most wonderful dream."

"Was
I in it?" He lifted a hand to trace the freckles that kept teasing him.

"You
were the star attraction."

"Yeah?
What was I doing?"

"Touching
me."

Sage
moaned and moved his lips to hers. That was the most erotic thing he had ever
heard. The words, "She's a keeper," popped into his mind again.

After
a day of relaxation which included cooking breakfast together and then exploring
his land on horseback, they were now relaxing in the living room. While Sarah
typed on her laptop, Sage read the local newspaper. He loved small town life.
The phone rang and he reached for it on the table next to his recliner.

"Hello,
Sage here."

"When
are you going to join the real world and get a cell phone?" asked Pinky,
his agent.

"Wouldn't
do me any good out here, no service. How ya doin', Pinky?"

Sarah
looked up from her laptop and he mouthed, "Speak of the devil." She
smiled and returned to tapping on her keyboard.

"I'm
doin' super fantastic cause I just landed you an awesome gig."

"Yeah?"
Sage couldn't drum up much enthusiasm.

"Don't
sound so enthused," Pinky said dryly. "If I looked like you and got
to cuddle up with all those gorgeous babes, I'd be swingin' from the
chandeliers with excitement. Hell, I'd even work for free." He paused.
"Well, maybe not for free…but cheap."

Sage
laughed. "So, tell me about this gig. You know this is the season my dudes
show up, so I can't take off for long."

"That's
the beauty of it. They're coming to you and paying a butt load of money, to
boot."

Sage
didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean they're coming to
me?"

"I
got a call from Harvey Livingston. You know, of Livingston Fashions. Seems he's
got a new line that has 'cowboy elements', that's how he described it, and he
wants
you
to showpiece the clothing. He remembered you from the Vogue
shoot last year—likes your style and rugged look."

Sage
wanted to stick his finger down his throat. Harvey Livingston was a pompous
ass. The only good thing Sage could think to say about him was that he did
design great clothes. Without agreeing, he said, "Tell me more,
Pinky."

Pinky
chuckled and named a dollar figure that shot past the moon.

"You're
kidding."

"Nope.
All you have to do is let them take the photos at your place because they think
it'll be cool to capture the real deal—you in your element, so to speak. The
shoot will last four days and then you're in the money, buddy. Of course, I am
too. God, I love me!"

Sarah
looked up and Sage rolled his eyes. She smiled and his heart tripped. All he
could think about were her kisses. They were the stuff of dreams. He couldn't
wait to get Pinky off the phone. Then he remembered Julie would be home any time.
Forcing his thoughts back to Pinky, he asked, "Am I posing alone?"

"No,
they're bringing in three females."

"And
where are all these people staying?"

"I
told them you have a dorm. Come on, Sage. The more accommodating we are, the
more likely we'll land another gig with them in the future. These people are
not small time. Of course, I told them there're nice motels in town, but the
idea of staying at a real ranch got em all excited. I thought Harvey was gonna
piss his pants."

Sage
groaned. "If I agree, they have to understand they can't reveal the
location of the ranch. If not, it's a no go."

"Sage,
I may be greedy, but I'm not stupid. You think I want to ruin our relationship.
You make us lots of money. I think I can keep you modeling until you're as old
as my grandpa."

"Please
don't say that. You'll give me hives. A few more years and I'm retired. You
haven't answered my question."

"I
got it in the contract. Mums the word. No one will know the photos were taken
at the Lazy M."

"Are
you coming for the shoot?"

"Naw.
You know that's not how it goes. You got the body, I got the brains. I'm
working on our next project."

Sage
puffed air and then covered a few more points with his agent. He got up to
check his calendar in the kitchen. Pinky threw out a few dates to see what
worked.

"Shit,
Pinky, why are they in such a hurry. The only date that works for both of us is
week after next."

"For
that kind of money, I'd let em come tomorrow if they wanted."

Sage
knew Pinky was right. The money would pay his huge tax bill and still leave a
bundle in the bank. He huffed, "Okay. But I want the contract overnighted
so I can read it first."