AllFreeNovel
Share Us
SOPHIE
“Hey, Mom.” Sophie lodged her phone between her shoulder and her ear while she pulled the box from the shelf above her, shivering against the cold air. If she’d known she’d be spending all day in the Archives, she wouldn’t have worn a skirt. But this lavender set always made her feel like a walking succubus, and if she had to be going out of her mind replaying that damn kiss, then she would take Mitch down with her.
The way his eyes had bugged out of his head that morning had given her a real ego boost.
“Do you think I should get my wrinkles frozen?”
“What? No, definitely not.”
“Carl seems to think—”
“Fuck Carl. Who’s Carl?”
“My new brand manager.”
“You’re the freaking mayor. Why the hell do you have a brand manager? You know what? Don’t tell me; it’ll make me mad. Please tell me I don’t need one.”
“Of course not.” There was a concerning pause. “But he does need to speak with you.”Great.Sophie hated dealing with government officials. Especially because it usually resulted in a stranger telling her how to live her life. “Stop pouting. It’s only to confirm the details of the tricentennial with you. I’m assuming Meg isn’t your plus-one anymore.”
“Funny.”
“You should still bring someone. It’ll be a fun night, and I haven’t seen you with anyone in a very long time.”
Jesus. This was practically a conspiracy. Levi, Mitch, now her mom.
“Averylong time, Soph.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll think about it. I love you.”
Once her phone was pocketed, Sophie dropped the box to the ground.
She wasnotinterested in being thrown away again. Her whole life, she’d had friends blow in, use her, and leave. Amanda — god, their whole “friend group” at school — who talked behind her back. Jacob, who pretended to be her friend, who said, over and over, “You treat me better than my girlfriend does,” knowing damn well she had a crush on him. Penny, with the fake email accounts, sending her anonymous hate mail about how she dressed or the day she hadn’t shaved her legs. Calling her “spider.”
Meg, who used her to get a better job.
Each one took a piece of her until she didn’t know how to trust anymore.
* * *
“Hey. Everything okay? You look like you want to destroy whoever is on the other side of that email.”
Mitch leaned casually on the doorframe, hands stuffed into his pockets, looking happy and delicious.
“Andnowyou look like you kind of want to hurt me. Should I, uh, go? Yeah, I’m gonna—” He thumbed over his shoulder.
“It’s okay. You can stay,” Sophie said, the tight knot between her ribs releasing as Mitch settled into his chair. Having him beside her made it better.
“So, who’s the asshole?”
She spun to face him. “Well.” She tented her fingers, enjoying the giddy little smile that Mitch sent her way. “Your bestie Jeremy just derailed my evening by asking for all the original transaction receipts from January of 1991. The good news is that we still have those records in the Archives. The bad news is it’ll take the next eight hours to scan them all.” And the clock was already ticking toward five.
“Excuse me, but fuck that.”
Sophie pressed her lips together, cursing the heat that rushed to her cheeks. Mitch wrinkled his nose, looking confused and downright adorable.
Her shoulders shook with the force of holding back her laughter.
Finally he asked, “What’s so funny?”
