Sage wasn’t going to bother trying to explain that she wouldn’t do that to him. She wasn’t trading sex for a place to live. Not anymore.
“I’ll come up with something.”
Her mother looked past her and smiled. “Right on time.” She rose and waved. “Over here.”
Sage turned, then nearly fell out of her chair when she saw Jordan approaching their table.
Her first thought was to run. She hadn’t talked to him in years and while she’d seen him at the reunion, it had been from a distance.
“Mom, what did you do?” she asked, coming to her feet.
“I’m saying thank you.”
Sage was still processing that unpleasant nugget when Jordan walked up to her, pulled her close and lightly kissed her on the cheek.
“Hi, Sage. It’s nearly seven and everyone else in this place looks like they’ve had a hard day, while you look amazing. How do you do that?”
She honest to God had no idea what to say to him. The shock was too great. She studied him, taking in what was the same and what was different from the last time she’d seen him. Sure, they’d been at the reunion a couple of months ago, but really the last time she’d truly studied him had been at his wedding to Daisy.
He looked older, but in that great way handsome men seemed to age. There was a bit of tension in his shoulders, but otherwise, he was much as she remembered.
“This is a surprise,” she admitted.
He grinned at her. “For me, too, but when your mom called and invited me to dinner, I had to come.” He kissed her mom on the cheek. “You look younger than I remember. How is that possible?”
Joanne patted him on the shoulder. “You’re such a sweet liar. All right, you two. Have fun.”
Sage took a step toward her. “You’re leaving?”
“I am.” Her expression turned sly. “Have fun, darling. Don’t worry, I won’t wait up.”
She walked away, leaving Sage alone with Daisy’s husband. Indecision pulled at her, but her shaking legs made it impossible to walk away. She collapsed in her chair, then reached for the shot of tequila and downed it in a single gulp.
“At least now my mother’s mysterious behavior is explained,” Sage said more to herself than Jordan. “She was acting strange since I arrived at the restaurant.”
Jordan sat across from her and flagged down their server. “Scotch on the rocks. Make it a double.”
Sage raised her eyebrows. “So we both risk Ubering?”
“I live right around the corner. I walked.”
Which made the choice of restaurants both more and less odd. She would guess that somehow her mother had figured out where Jordan had moved to and had chosen the restaurant for the location. But what was her end game?
Sage told herself it didn’t matter. She was stuck for at least half an hour. She would talk to Jordan, remind him of his duty to Daisy, then hightail it out of here.
He leaned across the table and grabbed her hand. “How long has it been? Years, right? You were at the reunion, but we didn’t get a chance to talk.”
She carefully pulled her hand free. “We spoke briefly at your wedding. On the day you married Daisy.” She emphasized the name.
“That was a while ago. How have you been?”
“Fine. Busy. I’m back in LA. Obviously.”
She pressed her lips together to keep herself from babbling. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t nervous—she didn’t care about Jordan. Maybe it was just being so close to him after all this time. The situation bordered on surreal.
He stared into her eyes. “You look great. Seventeen-year-old Sage knocked my socks off, but the grown-up version is even better.” He gave her a lopsided smile that unexpectedly kicked her in the gut. “How is that possible?”
“Each full moon I sacrifice a live chicken to the gods of the underworld and they reward me with everlasting beauty.”
He laughed, a deep, full laugh that spoke of genuine amusement. She found herself joining in. Their server dropped off his drink.
He held it up. “To old friends.”
Okay, that she could deal with. “To old friends.”
twenty-four
Two hours and Sage wasn’t sure how many drinks later, they were still at their table.
“It’s not all Daisy’s fault,” Sage told him. “You’re half the problem, possibly more.”
“She doesn’t love me anymore.”
Sage rolled her eyes. “I know that’s not true. She misses you desperately. I would know—I hear about it constantly.” Not exactly what Daisy had been saying,