AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mitch hummed a low note. “Sex is great and all, but you can’t exactly call a hookup if you break down in the middle of the night.”
“Clearly you aren’t swiping on the right people.”
Mitch shook his head. Sophie’s habit of masking with humor was achingly familiar — anyone who’d met him knew that — but being on the other side of it was a test in patience.
“It’s not a reflection of you, what your dad did.”
“He chose her over us.”
“But that’s on him.” He bracketed her face with his hands, needing her full attention. Needing these words to soak into her bones. Into her marrow. Hating that no one had ever told her this before.
Sophie deserved better. Deserved the world.
“He made a mistake. He missed out. Sophie, you’re incredible, and the only reason he doesn’t know that is becausehefucked up. Not you.Shit, you can’t blame yourself. You were just a kid. Don’t waste your time wondering what you could have done better when you didn’t have a chance.”
She blinked, twin tears rolling down her face, slow tracks painting her cheeks.
“What do you need? Name it.”
“I—” she choked out, then shook her head.
Okay. Mitch knew when it was time to push and when to pull. So he wrapped his arms around her, offered the comfort she so obviously needed. That he’d so badly wanted to offer since the day they met. Even if he wished it hadn’t taken tears to let him in.
The sight of them was a bit of a shock. He was so used to Sophie’s impenetrable barriers that to see her crack and crumble like this — so different from the gooey, boneless fall that occurred when they had sex — was a little ground-breaking. Tectonic plates were shifting under his feet. State lines would need to be redrawn, because this? The naked vulnerability oozing out of her right now? It was uncharted territory.
He had no fucking clue how to handle it except to keep going. Straight ahead and hope for the best. That was the Langford way. It had gotten his dad through a hell of a lot of fires, and it would have to get Mitch through this.
Sophie needed it. Had more than earned it. Her wayward father and undeserving friend might have been too self-serving to see it, but Mitch knew exactly the treasure he had in his reach, and he wasn’t giving that up for anything. What Sophie needed to feel valued, cherished, he’d do all of it. Go above and beyond. Whatever it took for her to recognize she was worth dedication.
Worth devotion.
It was everything he wanted to give to her and more, but she was cagey. Sophie wouldn’t trust the intention without irrefutable proof.
Fine.
Anything she wanted, he’d give her. Mitch had made that decision point two seconds after entering her orbit.
Sophie released his shirt, extracting her hands from where they were trapped between them, and pulled back. Her eyes were red rimmed but brighter, a small smile sitting easy on her lips. “You’re really easy to talk to.”
“I’m a good listener. And I like hearing you talk.”
“Stop it. You’re too much,” she said. From where she sat on his lap, wrapped around him, he was surrounded by her. She smelled like flowers.
“Stop what? I didn’t—”
“Don’t. Don’t say anything.” Her voice was soft, rich with amusement.
Please. Give me this forever.He wanted it so much he was ready to shake out of his own body. Above him, Sophie’s breath came in soft puffs. He could count the freckles across the bridge of her nose. She sighed, and he held her tighter.
“You’re amazing. Do you know that?” She angled closer, nodding, her nose brushing his.
His pulse quickened at the contact.
“I really want to kiss you right now.”
Every part of him wanted to close the distance. “Normally a flesh wound wouldn’t stop me—”
“Gross,” Sophie joked.
