Tough To Love (3 page)

“Are you calling Rally a fool?” Vanity questioned, then took a quick glance over her shoulder. “I won’t say that about him. He might get upset with you.”

“I can call Rally a fool if I think he’s acting like one.”

Brushing her hands down the front of her blouse, Vanity then fixed the hem of her shirt. “You shouldn’t call Rally names. He’s a good man who’s done nothing but show you kindness. How could you talk about him behind his back?”

A part of Sage wondered about the change in Vanity’s demeanor, but she was too caught up in the heat of the conversation to give it a second thought. She wanted to get this entire situation out in the open so this woman would stay out of her face. Maybe this would finally get Vanity to leave her the hell alone and go the other way when she saw her coming.

“Rally is a pushover if he can’t see you for what you really are,” Sage pointed out, oblivious to the smug look that passed over Vanity’s face.

“Sage, stop hinting around and just tell me what you honestly think of me. I can handle whatever you’ve got to say about me.”

Sage didn’t want to say it. The one thing she remembered about her parents was that they always told her not to say anything bad about another person, but it was hard for her to keep her mouth closed with Vanity challenging her.

What would it hurt
?

“Vanity, you’re a spiteful bitch that would use any opportunity you could to make things better for yourself. I didn’t like you the first time Rally brought you home, and my opinion of you hasn’t changed over the years. I doubt it ever will.”

The office door slamming behind her made Sage practically jump right out of her skin. Spinning around, her eyes locked with Rally’s furious green ones. “In my office now!” he yelled.

“Rally, how long have you been standing there?” She gasped, taking a step back.

Fuck, the one time she stood up for herself with Vanity and Rally would have to walk in on her telling his girlfriend off.

Rushing past her, Vanity threw herself into Rally’s arms. “Did you hear those horrible things Sage said about me? I haven’t done anything to her. All I have ever tried to do was be nice to her, but she hates me because of you. She wants you for herself.”

Vanity stared at her with crocodile tears in her eyes, then redirected her attention back to Rally. “Do you think I’m like that?”

Jealousy mingled with disbelief shot through Sage’s body as she watched Rally tip up Vanity’s face and plant a soft kiss on her full lips. “No, I don’t think that about you, sweetheart. I’ve told you more than once Sage is just jealous of you. Why don’t you go to that boutique you love so much and charge something pretty to my account? I’ll take you out tonight for an early dinner after work.”

Sage silently cursed Rally for not being smart enough to see Vanity was just using him. God, was he so blind that he couldn’t see if a woman truly loved him or his money? If he stayed with Vanity then he deserved every single thing she did to his sorry ass.

“I don’t feel like shopping.” Vanity pouted, stepping back from Rally. “I’m just going to go home and try to forget about the hurtful words Sage yelled at me.”

Don’t fall for that
! Sage’s mind screamed.
Rally, I know you’re smarter than this
.

“How about you just go and look around?” Rally suggested, gently touching the side of her enemy’s cheek with his finger. “I’m positive after you get to
Orchid’s
you’ll find something amazing for your perfect body.”

Unable to hold her tongue any longer, Sage blurted out. “Please, don’t fall for those fake tears. She’s only using you. Why can’t you see her for what she is? Hell, you’re always ready to point out my numerous faults to me. You even do it with your own brother, but not Vanity. Open your eyes!”

Pivoting away from Vanity, Rally stormed up to her, took her by the arm, dragged her into to his office, and shoved her inside. “You never did know how to listen. Stay in here until I’m done with Vanity.” He glared at her, then slammed the office door shut in her face.

Storming towards the door, Sage wrapped her fingers around the knob. She was seconds from opening it when she took a breath and stepped back. Vanity was probably out there waiting for her to prove how immature she thought she was.

However, she would stay right here and wait for Rally to come back because she was tired of telling him how wrong he was. One of these days he was going to open his eyes to the truth and realize he was with the wrong woman, but when he finally came for her it would be too late.

Chapter Three

“What is your problem with Vanity? She’s a wonderful woman and you’re always jumping in her face.” Rally’s words hung in the air as he slammed his office door with such force the pictures rattled on the wall.

“I’m tired of coming into the room and finding the two of you at each other’s throats. Don’t just stand there looking at me.” He moved across the room until he was right in her personal space, making it hard for Sage to breathe.

“You don’t have a clue about what is going on between your girlfriend and me,” she said, praying Rally wouldn’t notice her undying attraction to him. “You’re so into her that you can’t see what’s right in front of your face. I never thought of you as an idiot before, but when it comes to her you are.”

Don’t lose your cool
. Rally kept repeating that to himself over and over as he tried not to shake Sage. She was pushing him to the limit more and more each day. He could usually overlook her outbursts, however lately just the sight of her bothered him and he didn’t understand why.

“Mr. Teveare, don’t you have anything to say to me? I can’t believe that you’ve been silent for this long.”

“Sage, you’re a spoiled brat and I’m not going to baby you anymore. If I find you fighting with Vanity one more time, you can start looking for a new place to live,” he threatened softly.

Stepping closer to him, Sage tilted her head back, giving him a close view of her killer eyes that were flashing fire at him. “You would never do that to me. I’m part of your family and you take family very seriously.”

Bending down so they were eye to eye, he said, “I have
never
considered you as family. Did you honestly think my parents wanted another mouth to feed?  My parents pitied you and they
only
took you in so you wouldn’t end up in foster care. I heard them arguing about you one summer when I came home from college.”

Tears burned Sage’s eyes as she stumbled back from Rally. “I told Shawn you hated me and now it’s out in the open,” she said, hurt. “I don’t know why I ever thought the two of us could be friends.” She slipped past him and out the door before he could stop her.

Shit!
Why did he tell her those lies?

Rally stayed glued to the same spot after Sage left and mentally kicked himself for losing his temper. She hadn’t done anything to him, but he was constantly jumping down her throat.

Coming back to work early and finding her in a fight with Vanity shocked him. He was tired of breaking up fights between them. He wasn’t as dumb as Sage thought he was. Without a doubt, Vanity was the one starting the fights with Sage and it was partially his fault.

Hell, why wasn’t he honest with himself? He kept his girlfriend because he was attracted to Sage. It just hit him one day, and now he didn’t know what to do about it. So, instead of pulling her closer, he found stupid ways to push her away from him.

At first, Sage had a little hero worship for him because he had been there for her. She also treated Shawn like a big brother. He lost count of how many times he would find the two of them outside doing something they shouldn’t when Sage was a kid.

Yet, Shawn was the one he came down on the hardest because he was three years older than Sage. He was supposed to protect her and not lead her into a life of crime. Besides, Sage would look at him with those big brown eyes and crooked glasses and he never had any steam left in him to yell at her. Now, she was no longer a skinny little girl, but a beautiful woman that had him fighting the urge to kiss her.

I’ll talk to her later on. I haven’t taken her out to lunch in a while
.

Rally walked over to the settee by his office and took a seat. Sage had talked him into getting the darn thing about two years ago. He hated to admit it, but he loved working on the soft leather. Sometimes after a long day, he’d kick back and sneak in a catnap if he got a chance.

He tried working, getting engrossed in the reports for a minute or two, but Sage’s face kept popping in and out of his head. He shouldn’t have said those things to her because none of it was true.

She didn’t know other things were going on in his life and he took out his anger on her, which was wrong. Vanity was driving him up the wall with hints about an engagement ring. Sage might think he was blind to her true personality, but he wasn’t. He saw Vanity for who she was and she would never become his wife. However, she was good for other pleasures that he needed at the moment.

In addition, Shawn wanted to take some classes overseas for the next six months. His brother was constantly finding stupid ways to spend his money instead of earning his own. Sage was the only person who knew what she wanted and went for it.

It was one of the qualities that made him so proud of her. Ever since she came to live with them all those years ago, he only saw her cry about her parents’ death once. After that, she bucked up and tried her best to not make trouble for the rest of them.

He was already a senior in high school with only two weeks left to graduation. So, when Sage was dropped into their laps, he wasn’t very nice to her. Yet, she looked up at him like she could see straight into his soul. The wisdom behind her eyes scared him and he didn’t go around her unless he had to.

“What am I going to do with her?” he mused, running his hands over his hair. “I can’t act on the feelings I have for her. It wouldn’t be right.” He secretly wondered if he intimidated Sage like he did other people.

At six feet, six inches, the muscle he packed on by working out every day made him unapproachable to most individuals, but he didn’t care. If they couldn’t see past the outside to the man he was on the inside, they shouldn’t be around him.

“God, I need to stop daydreaming and get to work,” Rally muttered, closing his eyes and resting his head against the couch. He was only going to take a quick nap and then he would get caught up on his work.

****

Sage stood next to the couch, staring down at the sleeping Rally and fighting the urge to run her fingers down the side of his cheek. Without a doubt, he would knock her hand off of him and warn her to never touch his body again. After taking one last look at him, she spun around and went over to his desk, placing the latest stock reports on the top. As she made her way back over to the door a voice asked, “Sage, were you going to leave without checking on me again?”

“I have no reason to be concerned about you. I saw you were breathing so I knew you were fine,” she answered, turning around to look at Rally.

Grass green eyes stared back at her; they were something Rally inherited from his mother’s side. When she first saw Rally’s eyes as a little girl they had amazed her. She would think of anything to ask him just to get him to look at her.

“If I hadn’t been breathing would you have given me mouth to mouth?” he asked, sitting up.

Sage’s knees almost went weak at the thought of her mouth on Rally’s, but she would
never
let him know that. “Honestly, I think I would have just left you there, especially after the way you treated me.”

“Brat…I have no doubt that you would have,” Rally laughed. “My parents and Shawn spoiled you way too much growing up. You don’t know how to respect people.”

“I always respect my elders, Rally,” Sage uttered back as he walked past her. “Besides, I don’t know why you think your parents spoiled me since they never wanted me around in the first place.”

Rally pinned her with a look that should have had her running for the door, but she stood her ground and glared back up at him. “Do you have something to say to me?”

“Sage, you need to stop pushing my buttons. Every time I say something you have a comment. You need to stop it,” Rally complained, staring down at her. “I don’t have the time to baby you the way Shawn does.”

Baby her? Was that how Rally truly perceived the rare times they got to spend together? Well, if he was tired of her being around him, he was going to get his wish. He couldn’t have made it any clearer for her. It was time she stopped with her hero worship when it came to the gorgeous man in front of her. Rally wouldn’t
ever
see her as a woman he could fall in love with.

“Rally, I’m done. I promise you I won’t push your buttons anymore. For the longest time I held out hope that we could be friends, but now I see I was wrong. I’ll be out of your hair by the end of the week, if not sooner.” The pain she was experiencing was intense, but she had to let go of her crush on Rally and find a man who wanted her.

Rally ran his hand over his hair. “I’m not telling you to move out of the house. There’s more than enough room for the both of us. Besides, I don’t like the thought of you living alone.”

“I don’t care what you like. It’s time for me to be on my own and do as I please with my life,” Sage snapped. She was tired of Rally breaking her heart over and over. She would never be able to move on from him if she kept seeing him every day. “After I’m gone, Vanity can move in and you’ll have everything you’ve wanted.”

“How do you know what I want out of life?” he demanded.

“Truthfully, I don’t, but I know the one wish you’ve had for several years now,” Sage stated, feeling like she was growing up right in this moment.

“Okay…tell me what I’ve wanted.”

“You’ve wanted me gone ever since I can remember, and you will finally get your wish granted,” she promised. Sage brushed past Rally and headed for the door. She had a lot to get done in the next few days and standing here talking to him wasn’t even in her top ten.