"What has made you so suddenly quiet?" Gabriel asked as he looked at Sage.
"Kate doesn't want me. And honestly, that makes me furious right now," Sage replied.
"What do you mean?" Gabriel stopped in the act of lowering himself onto a garden chair, his brow furrowed. Sage settled across from him on the other chair. "She seems to have developed genuine feelings for you. I thought you two were connecting."
"What? No!" Sage let out a short laugh, shaking his head dismissively. "I just overheard how she's judging me for my past. Was it wrong to date freely and casually to be with anyone I found attractive and agreeable? I was honest about that, Gabriel. I didn't feel any deep, emotional connection with anyone. It was purely physical, about shared pleasure. Can't Kate look past that and see the man I am now?"
