I clench my teeth. “He’s supporting me through this. Period.”
“Is that all you’re gonna give me? Really? I cantellthere are feelings involved. Rhett still looks at you the same way he did when we were in high school.”
I stare into her eyes. “Can I be honest?”
“Yep. Lay it on me.”
“I don’t think what we felt for each other ever went away. Now that you know the relationship with Bradley wasn’t real, are you really that surprised? My heart has only belonged to Rhett Rivers.”
“I thought as much.” Sage opens her arms wide, encompassing me in a comforting hug.
Drawing in a deep breath, I bury my face into her shoulder. “I’m just kind of afraid I’ve broken his heart beyond repair.”
As I ease back, she presses her lips together. “Have y’all talked about it?”
“Not really. It’s been hard with everything that happened. My head’s barely on, much less straight enough to deal with the tangle of confusion in my heart.”
“Oh, Noah.” Sage tugs me back to her chest as we pause at the main bedroom.
“I know. It’s just a lot.” My gaze flicks to the bed where I’ve spent so many nights with him curled around me, then to the en suite and my face flushes hard, my heart rate accelerating as the memory of Rhett jerking himself off in that shower takes my breath.
“What’s going on?” Sage touches my arm, makingme look into her eyes. “You’re all pink and sparkly eyed all of a sudden. What are you thinking about?”
“Uh, a couple of days ago.” I hesitate, and she nudges me. “Okay, fine. I was in bed and heard Rhett call out to me from the bathroom. Or so I thought.” I jut my chin toward the en suite door. “I went in. And well…” My face couldn’t be any hotter. “I’m fairly certain he did call my name. While he was—” I clench my teeth together and widen my eyes, willing her to catch my drift.
Her lips part in an O of surprise. “Oh god.” Hands flying up to cover her mouth, she begins to chuckle. “Oh, wow.”
“I know, right?” I shake my head. “It was… hot. And it made me feel some things I wasn’t expecting to feel so soon after?—”
“Okay,” Sage cuts in with a wince. “So, tell me to shut up if you need to, but after everything I dealt with, I finally decided Kade was the only one who’d be able to help me past the trauma. And”—her cheeks pinken—“he definitely did.”
Mulling that over in my head, I pull at the sleeves of my top. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”
She swallows hard. “Of course. That’s only for you to say. But don’t feel bad if you are, either.” Her tone is soft and understanding. “I needed to put everything else behind me. And being intimate with Kade was the first step.”
I drag in a breath and give her a smile that only falters the tiniest bit before whispering, “How will I know when I’m ready?”
“You just will. It’ll help that you and Rhett already have preexisting trust. He’s already your safety net. Let him catch you.”
As we exit to take our conversation back to the kitchen, Sage points at the door across the hall. “What’s in there?”
“Actually, I don’t know. I tried to open it before, but it’s locked.”
Her brows raise and a twinkle of mischief lights her eyes. “Think it’s a sex dungeon?”
I sputter with laughter. “Doubtful.”
Sage plucks a bobby pin from her hair and holds it up. “Wanna try to break in?”
I laugh. “Go for it.”
Just as she stoops to have a look, the front door bangs open downstairs.
“Noah?” Rhett calls out, and I meet Sage’s eyes, ducking my head.
“Oops,” I breathe out before raising my voice to respond to him. “Just giving Sage the tour, Rhett!”
“Oh. Okay,” comes the rumble of his raspy baritone.
