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By Root 914 0

and inconsiderate and that trust, once violated, was hard to regain. He had fully understood her reason for deciding not to marry Erol. But she knew that as a friend, he was also concerned with her decision not to get serious about another man because of the trust factor. He thought the best and quickest way to get over Erol and to put the past behind her was to move ahead into another relationship with someone she felt she trusted. He thought she was the type of woman who believed in romance, love and happily-ever-after. She inwardly admitted that a part of her wanted to still believe in those things, but unknown to Malcolm, her father had done a pretty good job of corrupting those thoughts in her mind.

“Don’t read anything more into my having dinner with Gabe than that, Malcolm,” she said finally. “Gabe and I are nothing more than friends.”

Malcolm lifted a brow. “Friends and no longer just business associates?”

Sage frowned. Her and Gabe’s relationship had shifted from associates to friends, at least it was headed in that direction. But then, after talking with her mother on the phone that morning, she knew that unless she started getting out more, sharing her time with a man, even in just friendship, everyone would think that she was still carrying a torch for Erol. “Yes, Gabe and I decided to have dinner every once in a while as nothing more than friends.”

“So the two of you will be dating?”

Sage drew in a long breath. “I don’t exactly consider it dating since it’s not with the intent of anything serious ever taking place. I’m not ready to get involved with another man again, and Gabe knows that. In fact, what I didn’t tell you yesterday was that at lunch he’d even accused me of coming up with the idea of the theater just to extend my time here to make my ex-fiancé suffer before going back to him.”

A small crinkle formed between Malcolm’s brows. “He actually accused you of that?”

“Yes.”

Malcolm smiled wryly. “No wonder you were fit to be tied yesterday and wanted to feed him to the lions. Even I know that’s not the case.”

Sage smiled softly. “Yes, but then, you know the full story. All Gabe knows is that when we first met nearly six months ago, I was a happily engaged woman who was looking forward to her wedding. Now that’s not the case.”

Malcolm shook his head. “But I still don’t understand why he would think that although you called off your wedding, you and your ex-fiancé would get back together. Couples decide not to marry all the time—sometimes at the ninth hour—and go their separate ways, without looking back. Why would your case be any different?”

Sage shrugged as she remembered her conversation with Gabe over dinner and the reason he’d given her for thinking the way he did. “I think Gabe believes that two people who love each other can work through any problem.” She chuckled. “He’s right there in good company since my parents and Erol’s seem to think that way, too. After talking with Mom this morning, she even alluded that Erol was still holding out that I would change my mind, return to Charlotte and marry him.”

She crammed her hands into the pockets of her skirt. “Well, enough about that. I can’t help what Erol or Gabe think. In time I will just prove them wrong, as well as everyone else. There is no way Erol and I will ever get back together.”

A few hours later Sage leaned back in her office chair and listened to the slow ticking of the clock on the wall. It was the only sound around since Malcolm and the rest of her staff had left for lunch.

She glanced down at the legal pad on her desk that contained a lot of the notes she had made. She was just about finished and would have her secretary type up everything to have ready for her meeting with Mr. Landmark. Gabe would be at that meeting as well. She smiled when she remembered how he had sat in her office last night, on the other side of her desk, going over the papers she had given him to look at. She had been utterly quiet, and the only sound that had marred the tense silence was the same one that was marring it now, the ticking of the clock