Page 50 of The Bluffing Game

“It’s very nice.” I give the bear a squeeze. “You really didn’t have to do that,” I tell her, but I’m thankful for her generosity.

“I wanted to give him a little present,” she says, shrugging.

“But you didn’t have to spend your money.”

“I know. It’s fine,” she says. “It wasn’t that much.”

“His name is Cheeseburger,” Toby says, holding the teddy bear up like the bear is Simba from The Lion King. “Because he loves McDonald’s as much as me.”

I try not to roll my eyes or laugh at his emotional manipulation. I certainly don’t want to encourage him.

“Well, that’s a cute name. Cheeseburger. Unique,” Sage says, not knowing the deeper meaning of the name.

“I called him Cheeseburger because I want Daddy to take me to McDonald’s after he swings me on the swings so I can get a hamburger and French fries and a strawberry milkshake. I’m going to get a Happy Meal, right, Daddy?”

“I already told you, Toby, we’re not going.” My tone is patient, and Sage gives me an oops smile. His lower lip quivers again. “We’ll talk about it after you play.”

“I’m going to go play on the swings now,” he says. “You and Ms. Sage can talk and watch me.”

He goes running ahead of us and up to a group of kids. Sage offers me a wry smile.

“I hope I didn’t just mess things up for you. Sorry.”

“No, he was just having a little tantrum about wanting to go to McDonald’s for dinner. And I told him we were having fish and chips tonight, which he normally loves, but he’s got it in his mind that he’s going to get a burger from McDonald’s.”

“If I were a kid,” she says, laughing, “I would much rather have McDonald’s than fish and chips, but fish and chips are yummy too.”

“You’re more than welcome to join us if you’d like. I don’t know if you have dinner plans or not.” I wonder if she knows that my statement is loaded.

I don’t really care if she has dinner plans. I’m curious if she has a date.

It had been agony staying away from the restaurant for the last week, but every night, I had a dream of her, and many of them were sexual in nature. And while I’m attracted to her and I want more from her, I also want to respect her boundaries.

I want more than just dinner.

But Sage came to town for a reason. And while I’m not impressed with the fact that she is looking for a rich husband, I understand that someone with her background, someone who grew up impoverished and who doesn’t really know their birth dad, may be seeking security in ways that she thinks money will bring her. I feel for her, and I am hopeful Brett can find her dad and set up some sort of reunion where she can find peace in that part of her life.

“You look like you’re a million miles away,” Sage says, touching me lightly on the shoulder. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry. I was just spaced out. But if you want to join for dinner, we’d love to have you.”

“I have plans, but thank you.”

I want to ask what her plans are and if she has a date, but I know it’s none of my business, and I don’t want her to think I am interrogating her.

“Were you thinking about work? You had a really serious expression on your face.”

“I wasn’t thinking about work specifically, more like just life.”

I don’t want to tell her I was thinking about her situation or that I had stayed away from the restaurant because I was sexually attracted to her. I don’t want to be one of those men. I don’t want her to think, for me, this is all about just getting some because it truly isn’t. I am actually drawn to the sort of person that she is. She brings out a protective spirit in me, a guardian of some kind. And while I am used to protecting Toby, Lucia, and Izzy, I’ve never felt this way about a random woman before.

“Toby’s already made friends,” she says.

We watch him run around with a little girl. He shows her his teddy bear and points over at us.

“He really loves it. That was a really generous thing for you to do.”

“Oh, no, it was nothing.” She grins. “Plus, maybe I was bribing him, trying to get him to like me.”