And why? Had he entered an alternate universe or something? Was this Tag-Team-on-Spence Day? He expected his brothers to join in on the ribbing next. They probably had built-in radar and were on their way there now.
“If you want her to go out with you, you have to make her want to,” Bethel said. “A lady wants to be courted, to be treated like she’s the crown jewel and like you have eyes for no other woman but her.”
“I’ve never had a problem getting a date before, but suddenly the one woman I want to take out would rather change bedpans than accept an offer from me. I’ve sent her flowers, told her she’s beautiful, made it more than clear that I des—” Oops.
“We may be older than you, sweetie, but we’re not stupid. We know when there’s chemistry between a man and a woman. Were you going to talk about desire?” Bethel asked, and Spence shifted uncomfortably in his chair. This conversation was going from bad to worse.
“No, ma’am,” he muttered, and his father and the two women laughed as he shifted again.
“Well, if you want to get her to accept a date, you need to be more romantic. Yes, flowers are nice, but they’re unoriginal. You have to show her that you’re putting real effort into it,” Eileen said a bit dreamily.
“Effort?”
“Yes, son, effort,” Martin said. “I know you don’t usually have to work so hard, but isn’t Sage worth it?”
“Of course,” Spence replied. “She’s more than worth it.”
“Then prove that to her. Prove that she’s worth you using your brain along with your charm,” Martin told him.
“Give her the world in the palm of her hand, show her there’s still magic in dating,” Bethel said, her eyes misting over.
“This isn’t helping,” Spence grumbled. They were talking in riddles. He needed definitive answers on how to get the girl. A handbook with all the plays diagrammed, maybe.
“Be her Prince Charming,” Eileen added.
Was that supposed to make a lightbulb suddenly turn on over his head? It sure as heck wasn’t working. But as he stared at the three people in the room with him, his thoughts began spinning. Ahh. Yep. Looked like the light had kicked on, after all.
If one thing was for sure, it was that Spence would make a hell of a Prince Charming.
Green and red, gold and silver, garlands and lights—this was no hastily tricked-out break room. The hospital had gone all out to make this a Christmas party that wouldn’t be forgotten. Was that an advantage of living in a small community?
Sage stepped into a meeting room that had been completely transformed into a holiday ballroom. The decorations were placed carefully enough to satisfy even her stringent requirements, candles were burning bright, and the smell of Christmas pine, cinnamon, and cloves drifted through the air.
“You are stunning.”
She gasped to find Spence behind her, and it took several seconds before she could breathe again. He was resplendent in a black tux with a bright red tie and a sprig of holly on his lapel.
“I could say the same about you,” she said, smiling shyly as she lost herself in his eyes.
“I think red is my new favorite color after seeing that number on you.”
“Here you are, Sage.” Almost in a daze, she turned to find a man approaching with a drink. Who was he? Oh! Her date.
“Thank you, Ted. I’m parched,” she said, accepting the glass and taking a deep drink. She only hoped the alcohol level was at least eighty proof.
“I found our table. Would you like to sit down?” he asked, ignoring Spence completely. If she were Ted, she’d do the same. Her date paled in comparison with the guy. All the men in the room did, actually.
“Sage, you are breathtaking.”
She turned again, a genuine smile coming to her lips as Martin approached with Eileen on his arm.
“This lovely woman leaves me in the dust,” Sage said as she gave each of them a hug.
“Don’t be silly. I was just happy to be invited,” Eileen said with a giggle.
“Is my grandmother here?” Sage asked. “She didn’t tell me whether she was attending.”
“No,” Eileen replied. “Martin invited us both to come with him, but she wasn’t feeling very well.”
“She’s not well? She didn’t say anything to me. I should go and check on her.” What had happened? Her grandmother had seemed fine half an hour ago when she’s spoken to her on the telephone.
“There’s no need to rush off, darling. She just said her feet were tired from all the dancing we did last night.”
“If you’re sure . . .”
“I’m positive. If you rush out of here, your grandmother would have my hide. You don’t want me to get into trouble now, do you?”
“Of course not, Aunt Eileen,” Sage said. “We were getting ready to sit down. Would you like to join us?” Please join us, she added silently. She had a feeling it was going to be difficult to keep a conversation going with her date if she was left on her own.
“I’d love to join you,” Martin said, and the four of them went to Sage’s table. “We’ll just move the seating around.” He grabbed a waiter and had him move some place cards.
She stood at the table, giving Ted the opportunity to hold out her chair. When he simply sat down, she was subconsciously disappointed. Yes, it was old-fashioned of her, but she’d always been taught that a man held out his date’s chair, never sitting before she did. When Martin did the proper thing by Eileen, Sage smiled.