But we weren’t.
Kaylee left me, and I hadn’t spoken to her since. I didn’t even know her.
And there wasn’t even anger there. There was nothing. I looked at Sophie and felt amazement at the multitude of emotions that unfurled in my chest.
“Really?” Levi’s brows shot up.
“I’ve been preoccupied.”
“Yeah, but it’s Kaylee.”
I shrugged.
“Are you going to talk to her at all?” Levi asked.
“No. Why would I?”
I stared again at Sophie. She was actively listening as Claire chatted, arms flailing wildly and features twisting in entertaining ways as she shared her story.
“Okay. I was just wondering. What if you run into her? It’s a pretty small town.”
“I don’t know.” I waved away his question.
I didn’t like how this felt. I didn’t like this line of questioning. Things with Sophie were so good. And sure, there were some things I hadn’t shared with her yet—but we were still so new. I wanted to give her my best impression. It wasn’t about a woman I once loved that I wasn’t enough for. Who’d I’d given everything to, only to watch her walk away. That would have Sophie retreating back into her shell, thinking I had some massive red flag.
When I didn’t say anything, Levi let out a long breath. “Just don’t wait too long to tell her how you feel. Don’t let her think she’s alone in these feelings. It’s just as scary for her too.”
I felt a conversation coming up that I didn’t want to have, so I made an excuse to leave.
I walked up to Sophie and caught the tail end of what she said to Claire.
“The realization that he puts himself in actual danger for his job puts some of my fear in perspective,” she explained to Claire.
They both turned to me. Sophie beamed and it made me trip up. Then I stepped to the side to reveal a machine behind me.
“What is that?” Her face went colorless, and her warm smile fell. I stepped close in case she actually passed out since she liked to do that.
“Oh nooooo,” she moaned.
“Oh yeah,” I said, nodding and smiling. “You thought I forgot, but I didn’t.”
It was a small karaoke machine that we had in the game closet. The guys liked to sing Broadway hits from time to time. “Do karaoke” was on the list.
“With all these people here?” She looked around nervously, though there were less than a dozen of us left. Even the guys on duty had gone back to watch TV.
“If you start, I’ll go next,” Claire offered. “You’ll be a trendsetter.”
“I’m nervous. I don’t sing well.” And as I watched, Sophie seemed to remember our talk because she added, “But I’ll do it anyway.”
She really was the bravest person I knew.
I would share everything.
Eventually.
Just not yet.
28
