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“Um…” She dug her toe into the floor sheepishly. “Not really. I was going to tell my dad when I got home.”
“Shit.” I smacked my forehead. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do; let’s go sit down over there, have a treat from the coffee stand, and catch up. But first, we have to call your dad and tell him where you are.”
I escorted Sage to one of the café tables near the stand in the lobby that served coffee, pastries, and sandwiches. My stomach was a roiling mess when I walked a few feet from her and dialed Jake. I hadn’t heard his voice in—
“Clara?” he rasped.
“Hi, Jake. I—”
“Any other time, Clara—any other time…but I can’t talk. Sage is missing—”
“She’s not missing,” I blurted out. “She’s here.”
“What? Where?”
“At Rossi. She’s here with me in the lobby.”
He was silent for a long beat, then, in an even tone, he asked, “What is she doing there?”
“She wanted to see me,” I admitted quietly. Too quiet for all the background noise around me, but from his grunt, he’d heard. “Tell me what you want me to do. Bring her home?”
“No. I’m coming there. Give me twenty minutes.”
“Of course. We’ll be waiting.”
He hung up without another word, and I returned to Sage. “Your dad’s coming.”
Her brow crinkled. “Is he mad?”
“I think he’s mostly relieved.” I nodded toward the cart. “Let’s order something. We can talk while we wait for him.”
Sage wanted a donut, and I decided I needed one too. We sat down at the small table with our treat, and I watched her dig in, getting chocolate frosting on her teeth and lips. My stomach panged. I’d missed her terribly over the past couple weeks and was just now realizing the magnitude of it.
So, I told her. “I missed you, Sage. I’m sorry I haven’t called or texted. I should have, and I really regret not doing that.”
She wiped her mouth with a bunched-up napkin. “I thought you would, you know. I guess I could have texted you first, but even though my dad said the space you were taking was because of him, I wasn’t sure I believed it.”
“He was right, though. You have quickly become one of my favorite people. Not many people know about Brian Kegan and Periodgate. I told you that because you’re important to me.”
Her stare was long and contemplative. “It doesn’t really feel that way.”
Oh, my heart. My poor, crumbling heart.
“I’m sorry. I was taking care of myself, and I neglected you.”
“Yeah.” She looked down at the napkin in her hand. “Are you breaking up with my dad?”
“I don’t know what’s going to happen with us, but I don’t want you to worry about that. You have enough on your plate. Wait a good ten years before you start dealing with grown-up stuff. It’s no fun, I promise you.”
“Okay. I get that.” She fluttered her lashes at me. “But just so you know, if you guys do break up, I’ll probably be deeply traumatized.”
A laugh snuck out of me. This kid knew how to dig the knife in and look adorable doing it.
“Wow, if I’d known I was going on a guilt trip, I would have brought my passport.”
She snickered. “That’s a good one. I’m writing that down.”
“You’ll have to credit my brother. He said that to me one too many times growing up.”
