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I heard the rustle of sheets, signaling that Sophie was getting up. I zipped and buttoned my jeans.
Her hand landed on my shoulder blade.
Reluctantly, I turned to face her.
She was naked. Her nipples pebbled in the cool air. I wanted to grab her ass and pull her against me, feel her nipples against my chest. I wanted to take her back to bed, but I had responsibilities.
Sophie’s face was etched with concern. “You’re not late.”
“I fell asleep,” I repeated through gritted teeth.
“I get that, but you woke up in time. Kendall won’t know.”
“I don’t want her to know—”
“That we’re sleeping together?”
I nodded tightly.
“I agree. It’s too soon for sleepovers, but I enjoyed today. I’d love to join you again.”
The tension in my shoulders eased slightly.
Her palm slid over my chest and rested on my heart. She leaned in to kiss my other pec, and I closed my eyes to take in the sensations of her soft lips on my skin and her hair brushing my shoulder. Opening my eyes, I cupped her cheek. “I wish you could stay.”
She smiled softly. “I do too.”
“Whatever happens, know that I want you, Soph. I’ll do anything to keep you both.” I didn’t know where that promise came from, but it felt like it was pulled from the depths of my soul.
She curled her fingers around my neck, stretching to kiss the underside of my jaw. “I want to keep you both, too.”
She pressed her body against mine, and I marveled at her warmth, letting it seep through my skin, infiltrating my heart.
She didn’t say she loved me again, and I was grateful for that. Because I didn’t want to hurt her, even if it seemed unavoidable.
“I’d better get moving.”
“I’ll get dressed.” Sophie moved toward the door.
I should have grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. I should have told her that I loved her, too. That I’d never stopped. My love for her only grew stronger. But I didn’t. The thought of walking away from her again was like a knife to the chest.
I didn’t want to do it, but I might not have a choice. She’d said she wanted long distance when we were younger, but that wasn’t fair to her now. She deserved someone who could commit to her, have children, and build a future with her.
Not someone whose future was tied to his ex. Until I was granted custody, my life wasn’t my own.
I rubbed the piercing pain in my chest, wishing things could be different. That Sophie’s mother hadn’t died, that she’d been able to marry me. But then she’d never have owned a bakery, and Kendall might never have been born.
I couldn’t go back and change the past any more than I could alter the future.
I grabbed a T-shirt and pulled it over my head. Downstairs, Sophie was dressed, her hair smoothed down, and her purse was over her shoulder.
“I put your clothes in the laundry room off the kitchen.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” I grabbed my keys from where I’d dropped them on the floor when we were preoccupied with each other.
“I can drop you off at home.”
She pulled out her phone. “I can call for a car.”
