Aidan had been sitting in the lobby when Sage stormed past Jimmy without a word. He was tempted to chase after her, but having two sisters taught him to let women have a bit of space. More than once, he had been unjustly blamed for all of mankind's mistakes. His sisters somehow thought he invented testosterone.

He instantly assumed the old guy caused her bad mood, although it could be PMS. He thought about texting Brenna to ask for advice in navigating that minefield, but his inquiry would open a can of worms. There was no way his bossy older sister would not want to know about the girl. She would tell Mia who would tell their mother. He needed to stay in New York with his mouth shut.

Rachel arrived a few minutes after Sage and he accompanied her upstairs. She had invited him to dinner, because she hadn't had time to hear about his weekend. When he stopped in on Sunday, she had been ready to leave for a social engagement.

Aidan had spent the afternoon and evening researching the company William asked about. The older man would have found a comprehensive report when he opened his email on Monday morning. Aidan was pleased with himself.

"Why are you so distracted?" Rachel asked.

She had handed him a glass of wine, and he took a drink without swirling the glass. "Something's wrong with Sage." He explained how she entered the building.

"Go check on her and bring her down for dinner. There's plenty of soup."

Aidan liked having an excuse to knock on her door. When she didn't answer his tap, he called to her. Sage opened the door, but stood in her doorway. Her eyes weren't sparkling.

"What's wrong?" His voice was gentle.

"Nothing."

Not believing her, he stepped forward which caused her to move out of his way. It surprised him to see the man standing in the middle of her apartment scowling at him.

Sage asked, "Why are you here?"

"You blew past me in the lobby. Aunt Rachel's inviting you to dinner."

"Well, obviously..."

"I know but..." He raised the volume of his voice. "I'm glad to meet the boss, finally. Aidan Reilly, friend and fake boyfriend. The good news is she doesn't snore."

"What!"

Sage's phone rang on the table next to where he was standing. Aidan looked down. "It's your mother." Without waiting, he answered. "Hello, Bea."

As he listened to Bea speak, he watched Geoffrey shift his feet and sigh. He didn't like Aidan on his turf. Sage clung to Geoff's arm, looking definitely annoyed.

When Bea asked where Sage was, he replied, "She has her hands full."

Sage rolled her eyes at him but never attempted to take her phone.

When Bea hung up, Aidan looked at Sage. "Your father is coming to town on business and your mother is joining him. They'd like to have dinner with us on Friday night. Good thing, I have another suit, right Princess? I'll let you two do what you do. Sage, call me later."

He left without giving either a chance to respond. He heard the older man just before the door shut. "Did you fuck him? He wants you."

Sage was probably insisting both accusations were false, but she would be wrong about one of them. Aidan also suspected he was not her favorite person at the moment. He was extra cocky and normally he let other guys reveal that trait.

"Where's Sage?" Rachel asked upon his return.

"She has company. I don't know what's bothering her, but he'll try to make it better."

"Someone sounds jealous."

"Damn straight I am. He doesn't deserve her."

"And you do."

"More than him. He's practically old enough to be her father."

She smiled. "Of course, you deserve her. I have always thought you'd be perfect together."

"Her parents love me. Everyone thought they wouldn't approve, but they do. Too bad Sage is hung up on the old man. She won't be happy with me, because I made him jealous."

"You need to behave. He's not your sister's prom date. Let's have our dinner and you can tell me about your visit."

Aidan had made Mia's prom date jealous by pretending he was her boyfriend. It was fun, but she didn't speak to him for weeks.

Aidan told her everything about the weekend, including the room situation.

"I'm surprised."

"My mother would put her with Mia just to make sure we didn't sneak around. Sage is an only child."

Rachel concurred with Aidan about his mother.

"Jed didn't miss me at the apartment. He and his girl are so into playing house, they weren't even glad to see me. Marissa was, but just long enough to be shocked the parents liked me. I need to look for a new place."

"Come stay with me."

"I couldn't."

Aidan didn't want to stay with the older woman, but he liked the idea of being in Sage's building.

"Why not? Give the lovebirds some space and save some money."

"My savings aren't much to write home about."

"Good. It's settled. Oh, and speaking of home. I spoke to your mother, but I didn't mention your little escapade."

"Thank you! She'll blow the whole thing out of proportion. She'd probably give me my grandmother's diamond. Even if we were together, I don't think Sage would want a used ring."

"My dear boy, you know nothing about jewelry."

Aidan picked up a fry. He and Jed rarely took lunch together, but a greasy lunch was just what Aidan needed. He hadn't heard from Sage for a couple of days but needed to find out the details about dinner with her parents. They were a regular couple with her not speaking to him. Hopefully, she didn't hold grudges like Mia.

"So is Marissa officially moving in?"

"Would you mind?"

Aidan took a bite of his burger delaying his answer. The roll was slipping away from the meat and filling. It was sloppy but delicious.

"Dude, do you want me gone?"

"I'm not a jerk. I would never throw you out."

"Do you wish I wasn't there or are you glad for my share of the rent?"

"Marissa can swing the rent."

"So, if I offered to leave you'd be glad?"

"Kinda since she already moved in while you were away last weekend. Where would you go?"

"Rachel offered for me to save on rent awhile."

Jed smiled. "Dude, you dog, you're just doing this to make a move on Sage. You got it bad."

Aidan heard himself arguing in his head. There was no point in defending himself out loud.

"I knew it. How're we gonna get rid of the old dude?"

"We're not. Sage needs to do it on her own, but I'm having dinner with her parents and he isn't."

It was the end of the month, so he packed his clothes and meager belongings and loaded a taxi. Jed owed him for half the furniture, but Aidan would worry about it later. He left his bed until he found a new place.

Aidan tipped Jimmy well for his help in moving everything from the cab to the elevator. Then Aidan unloaded the elevator and carried it into Rachel's spare room.

Rachel rubbed her hands together. "Jimmy knows you're a resident. He'll tell the others."

Sage still didn't know. He tried calling her, but she wouldn't answer. He had texted he was sorry and wanted to talk. She ignored them too.

Desperate with no other option, he planted himself in the lobby on Thursday night and waited for her to come home from work. Some nights she worked fairly late. Often it depended on whether she was having company.

He felt his heartbeat increase as she approached the building. He was afraid she wouldn't forgive him.

She walked right past him. He called her name, and she stopped with her back to him.

"Can we talk?"

"Jimmy, can you make him leave?"

"No can do, Ms. Petersen."

"Hmph."

"Princess, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said. I was worried about you, because you came home upset. I know I upset you more."

She turned and finally looked at him. "I know. I just. There's a lot going on right now."

"We have dinner tomorrow night."

"Believe me, I can't forget it. The whole night will be a disaster."

"Because you're mad at me."

"No, because the purpose of the dinner has changed."

"To what?" Aidan asked.

"To introduce me," the deep voice behind him said.

Say what? ⭐️⭐️⭐️