Page 84 of The Sweet Life

“I quit my job.”

“You’re supposed to give me the bad news first, and that’s the best news I’ve heard in weeks.” He kissed her, long and deep. “Are you okay, though? Really?”

“A little nervous, but honestly, he gave me no choice.” She told him everything that had taken place in Robert’s office.

“I’m surprised everyone didn’t walk out. I don’t know how far you’ll get with the lawsuit, though. They do have friends in high places.”

“But if we give the story to the media first, those friends in high places might not want to be on the wrong side of the story. Honestly, with the documentation Nina has, I wouldn’t be surprised if the founding partners accede to the demands and retire. Nina put together a committee, and they’re drawing up a list of the senior partners they’d like to see head up the firm.”

“If that happens, what will you do?”

“I gave it a lot of thought on the way home, and as much as I enjoy living in the city and my coworkers, I miss you duringthe week, and it gets harder and harder to leave here Sunday night. I want to be your partner in life and at work.” She smiled. “So what do you say?”

His lips twitched. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

“No.” She laughed. “I was asking to be your partner… Huh, I guess I was kind of asking that. We haven’t been dating—I mean living together—for that long, but—”

“Yes.”

“Yes what? Yes, we haven’t been living together for that—”

He took her face between his hands. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Today, tomorrow, a month from now, a year from now. I’ll marry you anytime you want, Sage Rosetti. I adore you.”

“Good, because I love you with all my heart, Jake Walker.”

He stood with her in his arms. “We have seven hours before the guests arrive. I have some ideas on how we can spend them.”

Six hours and fifty-five minutes later, Sage hopped down the hall on one foot while slipping on her other shoe. She heard Kendra say to Jake, “I told you she’d get here five minutes before everyone arrived.”

Sage fast-walked to Jake, covering his mouth before he could out them to Kendra. “And the only reason I could be here five minutes before they arrived was because of you. You’ve done an incredible job, Kendra. Thank you, and I know somewhere up there, Alice is thanking you too.”

Jake glanced at her, and Sage nodded. “We have a little something for you,” he said, pulling an envelope from the pocket of his white dress shirt. “It’s from Alice, Sage, and me. We know this is what she’d want for you. We want it for you too.”

Kendra’s hand shook as she opened the envelope. She pulled out the check and the offer of admission to Boston University School of Social Work and shook her head. “No, this is too much. I can’t take it.”

“It’s not a handout. You’ve earned it,” Jake said, and Sage remembered how he’d reacted as a teenager when he thought someone saw him as a charity case. “There are some strings attached to it.”

“Okay.” Kendra nodded, her eyes shiny and bright.

“We’re hoping you come work with us at Alice’s House once you graduate, and we’d like you to work with us here during the holidays. We’ll pay you, of course. And there’s always a room for you here if you need it.”

Kendra burst into tears, hugging them both. “I was afraid you’d want to get rid of me.”

“Of course not. You’re part of our family,” Sage said. “We couldn’t have done any of this without you. Now it sounds like the guests are starting to arrive. We should probably get out there.”

Kendra had created a playlist of all of Alice’s favorite music with some input from Sage and Jake. At that moment, Robbie Williams’s “Angels” was drifting over the rows of deep purple and soft mauve plants on the warm, late-July breeze, carrying with it the sweet, heady scent of lavender. It didn’t take long for Sage and Jake to be separated as they greeted their guests, listening to their memories of Alice and the differences she’d made in so many lives.

Over 150 invitations had gone out, and given the crowds of people walking among the rows of lavender and the clusters of guests with their drinks in hand chatting around the pond, itappeared everyone had accepted. Sage’s family had insisted on catering the event, and the Beaches and her sister’s coworkers at Channel 5 had volunteered to act as their servers and bartenders for the evening. The trees in the backyard and the ones bordering the pond, the lavender fields, and the lavender store were all decorated with fairy lights.

Her mother’s mural was the focal point of the celebration, and it took everything Sage had not to announce Gia’s secret during her speech. She’d shared it with her sister, though, and now that the tributes to Alice had ended, they stood arm in arm, admiring their mother’s mural. Beside it, an easel displayed Flynn’s preliminary plans for Alice’s House. They were just waiting for the town’s approval before breaking ground.

“The plans for Alice’s House are truly inspirational. Noah and I’ve been talking about it, and we’d like to document Alice’s legacy in a series,” Willow said. “We’d open with an interview with you and Jake. We’d have you talk about working with Alice when you were young and her influence on both of you.” Her sister smiled at Jake when he joined them, repeating what he’d missed. “The series would follow you through the planning and building stages, and then wrap up with stories of the women and children who eventually make Alice’s House their home. We’d protect their anonymity, of course.” She looked from Jake to Sage. “What do you think?”

“I think it could be a great way to raise awareness about gender-based violence and raise money not just for Alice’s House but also for all the organizations involved in the cause,” Sage said, thinking about Chrysalis House. She’d spoken to Nina about it already and was hopeful that new managementat the firm would continue their support. “We’ll talk about it and get back to you. When do you need a decision?”

“In the next couple of weeks. I know you two have a lot on your plate but we just need to know if you’re on board so we can start planning. We wouldn’t begin interviews until the new year.”

“You didn’t tell her?” Jake asked Sage, but before she could answer, he said, “Sage quit her job. We’re going to be partners in business and in life.”

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