Teague

by Juliana Stone

  Wow. Head spinning, Sabrina climbed the stairs to her bedroom. She was outnumbered and outgunned and totally unsure. Letting Teague into her home might be the biggest gamble of her life.

  She closed her bedroom door and leaned back on it for a few seconds, trying to gather her scattered thoughts and trying to calm her fast beating heart. It was no use, of course. There would be no calming of the nerves and no way would her heart slow down, not with Teague in the house.

  She eyed her closet and after a moment’s hesitation, headed for it.

  Forty-five minutes later, she was ready for dinner. She’d dug out the blue dress she’d worn for Teague on their last night together in the summer, but opted for flats instead of heels. Her hair was secured to one side in a loose bun, her cheeks were flushed a healthy pink, and oh, the butterflies in her stomach were working overtime.

  How was she ever going to eat dinner if the damn things didn’t disappear? She stood on the last stair, hand clutching the railing.

  Bingo rounded the corner and stared up at her, tail wagging madly. The dog was in his happy place. “Traitor,” she murmured, bending over to scratch behind his ears. She straightened when she heard a noise from the dining room.

  On tiptoes, Sabrina made her way across the hall. She took a moment and then peeked inside. It didn’t take long for her heart to squeeze and then turn over. The table was set for four, and Teague was handing Morgan the silverware. His head bent low, and he was listening intently as she told him about the rep hockey team she’d made.

  “I’m the only girl on the whole team, Tigger.”

  “That’s impressive.”

  She nodded. “I know. And I get my own dressing room. Just like I’m a princess or something.” She giggled. “The boys’ room stinks.”

  “Does not,” Harry said, placing a napkin on the finished plate setting. “Girls are stinkier than boys.”

  Teague laughed at that. “That is not true, bud.”

  “Well I think it is,” Harry muttered. “They stink and giggle all the time.” “Give yourself six or seven years and I’ll bet you’ll look at it differently.” Teague glanced up then and Sabrina’s heart stopped. Literally. She gasped for air and hid her distress by faking a cough.

  “Mommy! Chef Jean let me put the shrimp into the pot. They were gray when I put them in and now they’re pink!” Morgan clapped her hands, her face frozen in a big, ‘O’. “You got your princess dress on! Mommy you’re so pretty.”

  With three sets of eyes watching her intently, Sabrina couldn’t help but blush. She smoothed her skirt and stepped into the dining room.

  “The table looks beautiful,” she said softly.

  “Yeah. Beautiful,” Teague murmured.

  Chef Jean appeared, her eyes alive with approval when she spotted Sabrina. “We eat our spring rolls now?”

  “Are there green things in them?” Harry asked with a frown.

  “Yes there are green things. And yes you will like them.”

  “I don’t think so,” Harry replied.

  “I promise,” Chef Jean said with a grin. “Sit. I serve and you eat.”

  She disappeared back into the kitchen and Teague pulled out a chair as the kids scrambled onto theirs. Trying to calm her nerves, Sabrina took the last few steps to the table and slid onto the chair.

  Teague’s fingers touched her neck, a gentle caress that was gone just as fast. She blew out a breath and reached for her napkin, glancing up at Teague when he settled in the chair across from her.

  The smells from the kitchen were amazing. Her kids were smiling. Heck, even the dog looked as if it had mastered the human smile.

  Sabrina had no idea how this night was going to end, but right now she wasn’t going to think about that. So what if Teague had probably paid a small fortune to fly Chef Jean up from Manhattan to her home to cook dinner?

  It was just a meal. Nothing more. Nothing less.

  “Wine?” Teague asked, reaching for a bottle of red Merlot. He smiled, that slow lazy smile that was like a punch to the gut.

  Who was she kidding?

  This was so much more than just a meal. And that’s what scared her.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  It took Teague exactly three hours and forty-two minutes to get Sabrina alone. The dinner had been a one of a kind treat and Chef Jean went above and beyond. The kids ate enthusiastically and even Harry had been convinced to try the green vegetables. (Bribed with dessert, but still…)

  Harry and Morgan insisted that Teague accompany them up to bed and he’d been treated to Morgan’s vocal ability as she sang a Taylor Swift song at the top of her lungs. Then he’d waited patiently while Harry showed him every single pair of superhero pajamas that he owned. Every. Single. Pair. Didn’t matter that he’d seen all of them in the summer.

  Teague smiled at the thought, loosening his tie as he leaned against the counter in the kitchen, watching Sabrina. She’d made a pot of coffee and the rich brew filled the air.

  Her house was cute. Not too big, not too small. A century home, it was built in the late 1800’s, so the old world charm of rich oak trim, stained glass windows and plank floors, only enhanced the modern updates. It was a good solid house and he could see why she’d bought it.

  He accepted a cup of coffee from her, smiling to himself at the way she avoided his touch. He was fine with that. Made the sexual tension all that much hotter.

  “Do you want to sit in the living room?” she asked, her eyes so dark they reminded him of wet denim.

  “Here’s good.”

  Her eyebrow arched. “Okay.” She leaned against the counter, mimicking his stance and they faced each other, separated by a few feet.

  “Why are you selling the cottage?” he asked, watching her closely. He could see that she was surprised by his question, and maybe he’d caught her a little off guard. That was a good thing. He needed all the ammo he could get his hands on.

  She took a sip of coffee. A long curl tickled her nose, and she tucked it behind her ear. Damn, but he couldn’t wait to touch her there. To kiss his way along that perfect jaw and nibble at the base of her throat.

  “When I decided to live here in Gravenhurst permanently, I knew the cottage wouldn’t do as a year-round home. It’s isolated in the winter and, well, I wanted to be in town for the kids.” She shrugged. “I can only handle so much and running two homes was becoming harder to do. Besides, we’re close to the water here and the kids will still get to enjoy the lake.”

  “You love that cottage.”

  She nodded. “Yes. I do. But that’s life, I guess. We don’t always get what we want.”

  “Sometimes we’ve got to work for it,” Teague murmured, and they both knew he was talking about something entirely different. The game changed in an instant. Her eyes flew to his and that spark of electricity lit up like a rocket. Suddenly hot, he yanked on his tie harder and set his coffee down on the counter.

  Keep your shit together.

  She watched him for a few moments, so quiet and still that he was starting to get worried. Had he read everything wrong?

  “Why did you go to Paris?” she asked throwing him off balance.

  Well played.

  “There was a little girl named Amber and she needed my help.”

  “Oh,” she said, slowly. She bit her bottom lip and looked as if she was struggling with something. “Is she okay? I mean, did you help her?”

  “Yeah,” he said eventually. “It took some time but we were able to get her help and end a nightmare that no child should live through.”

  Her eyes fell away from his and she played with the handle of her cup of coffee. “Okay,” she said, still looking down. “That’s good. I mean, I’m glad that you were there for her.”

  Long moments ticked by. Long moments where Teague couldn’t drag his eyes from Sabrina. Long moments where she seemed fascinated with her coffee cup.

  “When you said that last night…” She began hesitantly.

  Teague p
ushed off from the counter, but didn’t move forward. He needed all of his moves to be the right ones. And no way was he rushing things.

  “When you said that you loved me,” Sabrina continued, her voice shaking a little. “Have you ever been in love before?” Those big blue eyes of hers were fixed on him and they shimmered beneath the lights overhead.

  “No.” There was no hesitation. He answered her directly and took a step forward. “Never.”

  “Not even once,” she replied, eyes widening.

  “No. Not even once.”

  “I have.” The words were whispered. “How did you know?” she asked.

  “How did I know what?” Teague frowned slightly, taking a step closer to Sabrina.

  “You’ve never been in love before. How do you know what you feel for me is real? We had what, four or five weeks together in the summer? And then you left. You just left and…and I know you had reasons. Dallas and that little girl. I get that. But I can’t help but wonder how you know that what you feel is love? How do you know it’s not something else?”

  She wasn’t making this easy.

  “What else could it be?” he asked, searching for the right thing to say. Where the hell was Tucker when he needed him? The guy had all the right words.

  She made a strangled sound. “Teague, this thing you feel could be anything. It could be lust or the thrill of the chase. It could be infatuation. It could be…” Breathless she stood there looking at him, that precious face of hers open and honest and confused as hell.

  Teague took those last steps. He moved fast and took her unaware. He sank his hands into that silky hair that he’d been dying to touch all evening, and he swept his mouth across hers. She stilled, held her body stiff. At first his touch was gentle, nothing more than a whisper across her lips. But when he felt her relax, he took command and pressed into her, his tongue seeking and stroking and claiming what was his.

  She melted against him and he took advantage, his free hand roamed hungrily across her body and down her back until he cupped her ass and pulled her in so that there was no doubt as to how worked up he was.

  Teague kissed her until he felt that thread inside him—the one keeping him together—begin to unravel. When he finally pulled away, they were both breathing heavily. He stared down into her eyes and felt that unmistakable pull inside him. The one that had been gnawing at him for months.

  With one more kiss to her forehead, he stepped away. He walked back to where he’d left his coffee mug and poured the remnants into the sink. Then he loaded it into the dishwasher, trying like hell to put out the fire in his gut. Especially the one that had his cock bulging out of his damn pants. He wanted her so badly that it was painful, but he knew that this went way beyond the physical. This was so much more and there was no way in hell he was going to screw it up.

  He took a moment and then turned to face her.

  Sabrina’s hair had come loose and she pushed it away from her face, her eyes shiny and full. He saw the questions there and hoped like hell that he had the right answers.

  “What are you doing?” she asked haltingly.

  Teague blew out a hot breath and dragged his hands through his hair. “I’m leaving.”

  Her delicate eyebrow arched. “But…”

  “You asked me how I know that what I feel for you is love. Open the envelope I gave you in the summer.”

  “Envelope.” A small frown furrowed her brow. “How do you know that I haven’t?

  Teague watched her closely. “Because if you had opened it already, you would know.”

  “What would I know?” she whispered, and her lips trembled.

  “You would know that I love you with everything that I’ve got. You would know that when I look at you and Harry and Morgan, I see the world differently. I don’t see war and desperation or suffering. I see something that I’ve never seen before. I see hope and beauty. I see love.”

  Teague walked past her and headed toward the front door. His chest was tight and he had no idea if he was playing this correctly. But he was going to go with his gut. He was going to give her the time she needed to figure this out on her own.

  “Open the envelope, Sabrina. You’ll be able to get inside my head and then you’ll know what I know. ”

  Teague sat in his car for a good five minutes, staring into the dark and wondering if he’d done the right thing by walking away. He could have had her. He knew this. He could have scooped Sabrina into his arms and carried her up to her bedroom. Lord knows his body ached at the thought.

  “Shit,” he muttered, firing up the engine of his truck and pulling away from the curb.

  It was a cool evening, boasting a night sky full of stars and a hint of frost in the air. Teague slid from his truck and pulled a cigar out of his suit jacket, leaning back against the vehicle as he lit the Montecristo. Voices from behind the house echoed eerily across the water and he knew that most of his family was out there. They were a noisy bunch and he smiled when his sister Grace started in on his cousin Cooper. Those two were always butting heads.

  “How’d it go?”

  Teague turned as his twin Tucker appeared from the dark.

  “I guess I’ll find out tomorrow,” Teague replied.

  “What’s going on tomorrow?”

  “I’m going to ask Sabrina to marry me.”

  “Huh,” Tucker said, glancing up into the night sky. “Another man down. Mom’s going to be all over this.”

  Teague grinned and offered his brother a cigar.

  “You’re cocky. Celebrating already,” Tucker said, accepting it.

  “Not cocky,” Teague replied wryly, following his brother’s gaze and staring up into the big night. “I’ve never been more scared of anything in my life.”

  “Shit,” Tucker said, with a chuckle. “This is only the beginning. Just wait.”

  “For what?”

  “For her to say yes. That’s when it gets real. That’s when your life changes. But I gotta tell ya, it’s worth it. Can’t believe it took you so long to figure that shit out.”

  The boys said no more after that. They stayed out under the stars for nearly an hour, enjoying their cigars and the comfort of each other. It was nice, Teague thought, spending time with his brother. Being here with his family. Right now he felt as if anything was possible.

  He felt as if he was halfway home and hopefully, Sabrina would help get him all the way there.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  The photos were breathtaking. They were intimate and candid, quiet and reflective. They were full of life and exuberant and…

  “I can’t believe you waited so long to open these,” Allie said, moving a few of the pictures so that she could see them better.

  Ashamed, Sabrina could only nod because that big old lump was back in her throat.

  “Wow, the guy has the touch. I mean, I knew he was a good photographer. I’ve seen some of his stuff in Vanity Fair and Time Magazine, but these are beyond good. These are inspiring and touching and so damn real.” Allie bumped Sabrina’s shoulder. “It’s like seeing you and Harry and Morgan, through his heart and soul. My God, the attention to detail. The moments he captured. He was looking for those. Paying attention. Wow. Just wow.”

  It was Sunday afternoon and Sabrina was working with yet another sleepless night. After opening the envelope and seeing the gift that Teague had given her, there was no way Mr. Sandman was coming for her. She’d struggled all night with the need to go to him versus the need to think things through.

  But really, what was there to think through? He’d had her heart, her body and soul the moment she’d opened the envelope.

  “Why did you wait so long?” Allie asked, and Sabrina could see her friend was puzzled.

  Good question.

  Sabrina picked up a photo of Harry in the boat. He’d just caught his first fish and the expression on his face was priceless. He held up the little sunfish, spraying drops of water everywhere and the shot had captured the moment perfect
ly.

  “After Teague left, I told myself that I’d open the envelope when he came back. Stupid, really, but in my mind as long as the envelope was sealed, he had to come back. So when he didn’t I just kind of forgot about it. Put it out of my mind. Buying this house and moving from the city took up all my time. I was too busy to think about an envelope that was somehow tethered to a man halfway around the world.”

  “Hmmm.” Allie picked up another one. It was a candid black and white photo of Sabrina laughing. She was on the beach with the wind in her hair and the joy in her face was contagious.

  “I remember that day,” Sabrina said softly. “We’d just got back from a boat ride to Bala and Harry and Morgan were so thrilled that Teague took us out. It was a perfect day.”

  Allie regarded her closely. “Why did you open these up now?”

  “Teague told me to. He thought it would help convince me that…” Shoot. Was she really going to say this out loud? “He told me that he loved me and I didn’t believe him.” The words fell out of her in a rush, so quickly that it took a few moments for Allie to clue in.

  She clapped her hands over her mouth. “No,” she said, her eyes wide and sparkly. “He said he loved you?”

  Sabrina nodded, close to tears and feeling like an idiot for being so emotional. “Yes. He did.” She sighed. “And then he left.”

  Allie froze. “Tell me he did not leave the country.”

  “No, he…he was being a gentleman, I guess.”

  “A gentleman? He should have stripped you down right then and there and you could have relieved some of that sexual tension you got going on.”

  “Does everything always come back to sex?”

  “Hey, blame my pregnancy hormones. Lately it’s all I can think about.” Allie laughed, though it soon trailed off as she fingered another photo of Sabrina and the kids.

  “What are you going to do?” Allie asked softly.

  Sabrina stared down at the photos until her eyes blurred. “I was thinking about driving out to see him.”

  “Then go.”