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She stands and moves closer to me. “Dean, I’m sorry. I just have a mission I won’t stop trying to fulfill for anything.”
“You and me both.”
Her eyes widen at my words, but she says nothing more. She leaves the kitchen and I don’t follow her. Instead, I head into my office to figure a few things out before the storm arrives. The winds pick up outside, and I send Ines and a few other workers home to ride the storm out with their own families. After a few hours, the rain falls, and I make my way to Sophia’s room.
I knock, and she opens the door with a flourish.
“Did you see the bag of Mia’s things you can use as your own?”
Sophia glances at the duffel and suitcase near the door of her room. “Yes, I’ve seen them and was just about to take a shower before the storm gets too bad.”
“I’ll leave you to it then.” I turn away and she shuts the door.
I try not to picture a soapy Sophia in the shower washing her body. She’s definitely a beautiful girl, but there is too much at stake to succumb to temptation. I’m not a man fueled by desire. My desires don’t lead the wheel. I’m not some teenage guy who can’t control my urges around a pretty woman. I can, and I will.
I head back to my office to finish up a few more things before the storm hits.
“Dean, anything else you need?” Leo asks.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m heading down to ride the storm out at the airstrip. We want to make sure the plane doesn’t get destroyed.”
“Take Zack with you.”
“Ok.” With a nod, he leaves my office, and I try not to think about how I’ll be hunkering down this hurricane with Sophia, alone.
In the kitchen, I spot the candles and flashlights that were left out by Ines before she left. I grab a small flashlight and stuff it into my pants pocket.
Hurricanes usually happen gradually as it moves over the island. I’m confident the house will withhold, and flooding shouldn’t be a problem. But better safe than sorry.
The wind howls outside my bedroom window as I change into something more comfortable, remembering to transfer my flashlight.
Before I can put my shirt on, the lights go out, and I grab my flashlight to make my way back to the kitchen to light a few candles throughout the house.
“Dean?” I hear Sophia call out. “Are you there? I can’t see a thing.” With no moon casting its light through the windows, the pitch blackness surrounds us.
“Stay where you are. I’ll come to you.” I don’t need her traipsing around in the darkness and hurting herself.
I move up the stairs and down the hallway to her room. I spot her standing in the doorway in nothing but a pair of gray yoga pants and a white tee. Her hair’s still wet and appears even longer as it drips down the front of her shirt.
“Is this normal?” she asks, her eyes appearing worried.
“Have you never been through a hurricane before?”
She shakes her head with wide eyes.
“There’s nothing to worry about. The name’s scarier than the actual storm. The storm is barely a category three and should be over soon.”
“Do you have another flashlight and some food?”
I smile. “Follow me.”
We make our way carefully to the kitchen, and I toss her a flashlight.
“I had Ines make a lasagna and keep it in the oven, hoping it’ll still be hot enough to eat.” I find a lighter next to the candles and light a few and spread them along the marble countertops. “Besides, the generator should kick on soon.”
Sophia moves to the oven, opening it and taking in a deep breath of lasagna before donning two oven mitts to fish it out. “Generator? So once that’s on we’ll be fine?”
A bright flash of lightning lights up the entire house, and the thunder that follows is nearly deafening. Sophia jumps a little.
“Storm’s really kicking up now.”
She moves closer. “I hate thunder and lightning.”
I gaze at her. “You don’t seem like the kind of girl who’s afraid of anything.”
She smiles. “I have only two fears, and one of them is storms.”
“What’s the other?”
She doesn’t say anything, just blinks, so I drop it.
“We’ll be fine,” I reassure her.
She sucks in a deep breath and releases it. “I hope so.”
I decide to divert her attention off the storm and work on dishing out lasagna and the salad Ines prepared. “I think there are even some rolls in the microwave staying hot.”
Sophia’s whole face lights up. “You’ve just found my weakness. Most women are weak for cake and cookies, not me, I’m weak for bread and pasta.”
I stare at her, my eyes roaming over her fit body, unashamed about it at all. “I highly doubt that.”
“I work out a lot.”
