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Between Lennon and Maddie, the conversation flows. Caleb opens up about his late wife, and when Liam glares at me, I know he thinks I’m overreacting. But after the shit that went down with Weston, I’m always on high alert when it comes to Sophie and her safety. Hell, if Liam wasn’t a longtime friend, I wouldn’t trust him around her either.
“Babe, I forgot the diaper bag in the truck,” I hear Lennon tell Hunter.
“Gimme the keys and I’ll go grab it.” I stand before either of them can protest.
“Sure. Thanks,” Hunter says, reaching into his pocket and handing them over. “It’s in the back seat.”
I head outside without suspicion and can look at this guy’s car for any clues whether he’s an actual decent guy. Once I grab the bag from their truck, I walk to the street where he parked and laugh when I see it’s a Ford Taurus. An old ass one too.
Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I quickly snap a pic of his license plates, then I peek into his windows. There are a couple of duffle bags in the back, a pair of shoes on the floor, and some empty takeout containers.
Is this guy living in his car?
Shaking my head, I head back inside and deliver Allie’s bag. After we’re finished eating and the table is cleared, Lennon excuses herself and asks Sophie if she can use her bedroom. All the girls follow. Apparently, it takes three of them to change a diaper, which leaves the guys together in the living room.
“Sorry to hear about your wife,” Hunter offers. “I lost my best friend last year. I know it’s not exactly the same, but—”
“Yeah, thanks.” Caleb scrubs his hands over his jeans and nods. “It was quite sudden.”
“Can I ask how?” Hunter says.
“Car accident. She was on her way to work in the morning, and I was already at my job. I didn’t find out until five hours later when they tracked me down.”
“Man, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“How about your friend?” Caleb asks.
“Motorcycle accident.”
The room goes silent.
Brandon dying changed everything.
“Okay, all clean,” Lennon comes back in and announces with a cheery smile.
“How far along are you?” Caleb asks Lennon when she takes a seat on the couch next to Hunter. “Sophie told me you’re expecting again.”
“I am!” she beams. “Only two months along. We were pretty shocked it happened so fast after Allie,” she admits. “But we couldn’t be happier.” She smiles up at Hunter who cups her face and presses his lips to hers.
“And now you know how she got pregnant so soon,” Maddie cracks. “They never have their hands off each other.”
“I think it’s sweet,” Sophie chimes in. “At least one of you men knows how to handle a Corrigan woman.” She flashes a smirk at Liam who, in return, rolls his eyes.
“Sorry, Soph. You’re not my type,” he retorts, making all of us laugh, considering we know who she’s really talking about. But hell, if that confirmation doesn’t send relief through me.
“Why’s that funny?” Caleb asks.
“Long story,” Hunter says. “That’s a story for over a round of beers.”
My whole body tenses. I hate that Hunter is being so nice to this asshole.
Sophie excuses herself to check on the dessert. A moment later, she shouts from the kitchen, and I fly off the couch to see if she needs help. She returns before I can and puts on a sad, pitiful face.
“My dessert burned. I forgot to turn the oven temp down after the casserole.” Her shoulders slump, and I feel bad, considering how much work she put into tonight.
“Oh, Soph. That’s okay,” Lennon says, waving her off.
“No, it’s not,” Sophie retorts. “I’ll go grab something quick. Just stay here, and I’ll be right back.”
Allie starts to fuss, and Lennon says it’s getting close to her feeding and bedtime so they’re going to go. Sophie protests, but understands the fussier Allie becomes. It gives me hope that this night will come to an end, but as soon as Hunter, Lennon, and Maddie leave, Sophie announces she’s going to grab a pie from the store.
“I’ll come with you,” Caleb offers, and before I can come up with an excuse as to why that’s a horrible fucking idea, they’re both out the door.
“I hate that guy,” I grit between my teeth to Liam. He’s on his third beer and shakes his head at me. I know he thinks it’s because I’m jealous, but it’s much more than that. “I don’t have a good feeling about him. I think he’s living in his car.”
“He’s a widow who’s probably just connected with Sophie on a different level.” He shrugs, but I don’t care what he thinks. My gut tells me this guy is bad news.
Once they return, Sophie serves us warm apple pie with New York vanilla ice cream. I’d say it was delicious if I wasn’t so annoyed with Caleb being here too.
