Page 19 of Broken Hearts

“Hey,” I say when Sage finally opens the door. Her hair is all messed up, like she’s just rolled out of bed, but her eyes are red-rimmed, like she’s been crying or has barely slept. Maybe both. “Peace offering,” I quickly add, holding out the cold brew to her.

Her gaze drops to the cup in my hand before lifting to mine. “Is it poisoned?” she asks, her voice husky, as though these are the first words she’s spoken in a while.

I bark out a laugh, not expecting her to say that. “No,” I reply, taking a sip from the straw before I realize what I’ve just done. “Shit, sorry,” I say holding out the other cup to her.

Sage takes it from me, the tiniest hint of a smile on her lips as she says, “Thanks.”

I rock back on my heels waiting to see if she’s going to invite me in. When it’s clear she’s not, I ask, “Can I come in?”

She takes a sip of her drink, her eyes closing briefly as she savors the flavor and caffeine hit. When she opens them, I’m staring at her mouth, at the way she licks her lips after she swallows.

Fuck.

“I just…I just want to apologize,” I say, shoving my free hand through my still wet hair. “I know I?—”

My words are cut off as Sage opens the door wider, indicating she is inviting me in. I step inside, hearing the click of the door closing behind me and then following as she walks over to the large glass doors and steps out onto the balcony.

It’s only now that I’m standing behind her that I realize she’s dressed in a tiny pair of sleep shorts and a tight tank, which does absolutely nothing to hide the amazing body she has.

She might not be tanned like the locals, but she is definitely lean and in great shape, and as I walk out behind her, my mouth goes dry at the view in front of me. I take a long pull of my coffee as I sit down in one of the chairs and Sage takes the other.

I didn’t spend a ton of time up here with Mitch, most of our catching up either happened in the shop, out on the ocean, or around the firepit, but I did come up here occasionally. When he renovated the place just over a year ago, it was my opinion he asked for when trying to decide if he should knock down the walls and make the place more open.

I knew he didn’t have any family, just the occasional girlfriend, so I’d told him to do it because what was the point of the second bedroom when there wasn’t anyone to use it? Thinking back on it now, I remember the weird look he’d given me, the sad smile that had crossed his face as he’d nodded in agreement.

Why the fuck did he never tell me about Sage?

“So,” I eventually say, the two of us staring out at the ocean.

“So,” Sage repeats, and I can’t help but smile as I turn to her. “What?” she asks when she catches me watching her.

“Mitch did that all the time,” I say, chuckling.

“Did what?” she asks, her brow narrowing in confusion.

“Every time I started a conversation with ‘so’, he’d smile and repeat it right back to me. I think he knew it was because I was about to say something that made me uncomfortable or whatever, and he was trying to lighten the moment.”

Sage blinks at me, and I realize that’s probably the most I’ve ever said to her in one go. It’s also something about Mitch that I’ve shared with her.

I watch as she swallows hard before saying, “I don’t know if I ever noticed that.”

I turn away, shrugging as though it’s no big deal. “I guess maybe he didn’t do it with everyone,” I murmur.

Sage doesn’t say anything, but I can feel her eyes on me, the way she stares at my profile as though she’s waiting for something. Eventually, she takes another sip of her drink before she says, “So what were you about to say that was making you uncomfortable?”

The laugh falls out of me before I can stop it, and shaking my head, I say, “Fuck me, you’re so much like him.”

“I am?” she asks, surprised.

I turn to face her, nodding once as I say, “Yeah, I think you are.”

Sage licks her lips, and my gaze drops to her mouth again. “I don’t know that much about him, really, so I wouldn’t know.”

I lift my eyes back to hers, giving her a small smile. “I know, and I know that’s why you’re here,” I tell her. Sage nods but doesn’t say anything. I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly before I say, “I’m sorry I’ve been such a dick.”

Her eyes widen at this, and I can’t help but laugh, especially when she says, “Seriously?”

“Seriously, I’m sorry or seriously I’ve been such a dick?” I ask.

---