Page 139 of Hidden Ties

“I did.”

“I had sex with Denny on our second,” Glory confessed.

Sage gave her an accusatory glance. “You told me you made him wait until you were married!”

“I lied.”

Sage laughed so hard she had to hold her stomach, and Glory had to wipe tears of mirth away. The doorbell ringing broke the moment.

“Go get you some,” Glory urged, her laugher stilling. “You only live once, Sage. You can’t put a timer on when you want to do something. I’d rather do what I want to do and regret it later. Some opportunities never come back. Mistakes are easier to live with than regrets. Take it from someone who knows.

“I should have been there for you when we lost Mom and Dad. I should never have let you drop out of Julliard. I shouldn’t have yelled at you when you told me you were going to be late today. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You were only a phone call away when Mom and Dad died. I dropped out of Julliard because there isn’t a place I would rather be than with you and the girls. I don’t blame you for being upset today—we know how dirty Victoria plays. We’ll handle it like we also do.”

Playfully, Sage pressed a hand to Glory’s forehead, pressing her head back onto the pillow. “Read your book and get some sleep. I’ll wake you when I get back to tell you all about it.”

Rising from the bed with a lump in her throat, she stared down at the frail woman. She had talked with Tayla before getting dressed. She was going to sit with Glory when her husband got off in thirty minutes.

Each day, it seemed she was coming closer and closer to losing her sister, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. There was no way Victoria wasn’t going to use the opportunity to drag Glory back to court for being late.

“Go, Sage. I’ll be fine.”

Sage pressed her lips into a facsimile of smile. “Call if you need me. I don’t care whatever the reason, I’ll come back.”

Her sister sadly smiled up at her. “I know you will. You always do. That’s a habit you need to break.”

TWENTY-SIX

Sage stared around the elegant room, feeling like a misfit. Sensitive to the condescending way Garrett Hollingsworth’s wife, Gail, had treated her when they had been introduced, she had given the woman a wide berth.

“Don’t let her get to you.”

Sage turned toward the woman who came to stand next her. Her name was Hayley; Kent had introduced her before starting a conversation with her husband, Desmond.

“Gail only had the party because Garrett wanted her to.”

“She told you that?”

“Mmhmm,” Haley murmured.

Taking a sip of her wine, Sage idly let her eyes travel around the room. “Did you come because of your husband?”

Haley gave her a rueful smile. “The opposite. I dragged my husband to come here with me. The invitation was hard to turn down. Garrett made a donation to my charity.”

“That was nice,” she offered distractedly as Kent glanced across the room to where she was standing. When his eyes moved to Haley, a frown creased his forehead.

“Oh …”

Sage saw Haley give Kent a satisfied smile.

“He doesn’t like me talking to you, does he?”

Turning her gaze back to Haley, she looked at her questioningly. “Excuse me?”

“Your date used to be my lawyer.”

“Used to be?”

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