Perfect Fit - Brenda Jackson [116]
“Isn’t it? You need to think real hard on what you’re doing, Sage. You’re throwing away the love of a good man, a man who loves you to distraction; even I can see that. That night we had dinner at his place was definitely an eye-opener. He couldn’t look at you without wanting you with pure love shining in his eyes. Hell, even someone distrustful of love like me could see it.”
Rose sighed deeply before continuing. “And I would give anything to have a man love and want me that much, Sage. Your relationship with Erol sheltered you from what’s out there, sweetheart, what most women have to choose from. There’s a pool of die-hard players, baby-daddies and just plain old no-good jokers who want to spend their money, and yours, too, with the gall to think that it’s all right to have a different woman every damn day of the week. I know, Sage, because I’ve had to deal with them and you haven’t.”
Without saying anything else, Rose turned and walked out of the room.
When Sage arrived at the airport, a uniformed man who looked like a security guard met her. Then she recognized him as the security person for Landmark Industries.
“Ms. Dunbar?”
“Yes?”
“I’ll be glad to escort you to gate seven.”
Sage lifted a brow, not understanding. “Gate seven?”
“Yes. The plane has been fueled and is ready to go.”
Sage didn’t want to sound dense, but there was no help for it. “The plane?”
The man’s patience had to be admired. “Yes, the private plane that is scheduled to fly you to Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Blackwell made arrangements with Mr. Landmark to use the company’s jet for your trip. I understand an emergency has come up in your family.”
“Yes, my mother has taken ill.” She shifted her carry-on to another hand. “Is Mr. Blackwell the person who will be piloting the plane?”
“No. He’s made arrangements with Mr. Landmark for his personal pilot to take you home,” the man responded.
Sage nodded. After all the things she had said to Gabe, she could understand why he wouldn’t fly her home personally. But she couldn’t understand why he had gone out of his way to help her after everything she’d said to him. She would have thought he would not want to have anything to do with her.
“Ms. Dunbar?” The uniformed man’s voice forced her attention back to him.
“Yes?”
“Are you ready?”
She glanced around the airport terminal, wondering if Gabe was around anywhere. When she didn’t see him, she returned her attention to the man. “Yes, I’m ready.” She then followed him to their destination.
* * *
Gabe tossed the money for his coffee on the counter when he saw Sage walk off with the uniformed guard. He had to come to see her one last time before she left, just to make sure she was all right, even if it was from a distance. He had wanted to go to her, and talk to her, and assure her that everything would be all right with her mother. And he wanted to tell her again that he loved her.
A piercing pain shot through his chest upon remembering all she had said, and then how she had walked away from him and his love. A part of him had wanted to go after her and make her see reason, to make her realize that she was making the wrong decision regarding them. But he couldn’t.
He had taken Sage on with emotional baggage and all. He’d known the risk, but still his heart had fallen deep. It had fallen deeper than any heart should fall, and her words of rejection had cut him to the core. They had made it difficult to draw breath into his lungs.
And yet he still loved her.
For the second time in his life, a woman who couldn’t let go of the past had kicked him to the curb. A part of him wondered why he was torturing himself. A heart could only break so many times.
Gabe walked over to the window as the private jet carrying Sage home prepared for takeoff. He suddenly felt the most devastating loss of his life because that plane was carrying away the