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My throat tightens. “Mom…”
“I know.” She nods. “And I won’t go there. But you and I both know that Sophie’s been a long time coming.”
Yeah, she has. The woman I never knew I wanted. And by some major miracle she actually wants me.
Now if I could just get her alone andshowher how much I want her that would be good, thank you.
“Look at you,” Mom says smiling. “You can’t wait to see her, can you?”
I roll my eyes but her fond expression doesn’t waver. “Go,” she tells me. “You’ve humored me enough.”
Love for my mom rushes through me. She’s been through a lot in her life. Back when dad left her we wondered if she would ever smile again. Hell, we wondered if she’d ever get out of bed again. I remember Myles and I having to cook dinner for the five of us. He’d make sure Holden and Eli were fed and I’d tiptoe upstairs and force mom to take some mouthfuls of whatever godawful thing we’d cooked.
My chest twinges. That was the first time I learned that love could hurt. It took a long time for us to forgive our dad for that. And maybe we haven’t completely. Myles hasn’t, that’s for sure.
We love him. He’s our dad. But do we trust him?
Nope.
My mom though, she’s always been there. And though she’s fallible, she also shows us unwavering support. I’ll never truly understand how she and Deandra got so close, or how they both are happy to spend time with Dad, but part of me wonders if it’s for us.
She wants us to be happy, so she’ll do whatever it takes. And that’s true love.
The kind of love that would sacrifice anything.
I lean forward and hug her. She lets out a warm, contented sigh, her face resting against my chest. I can remember the first time I realized how tiny she was. I was twelve years old and had reached the same height as her. A few weeks later I was taller, and she was asking me to reach things on shelves for her.
And now she’s about a foot and a half shorter than me. Doesn’t make her any less fierce though.
“You’re a good man,” she whispers against my chest. “You keep holding onto that happiness, okay? Don’t let it go.”
“I won’t,” I promise her. And it’s a promise I intend to keep. I’m not going to hurt Sophie the way my dad hurt my mom. I want to protect her. Keep her happy. Make her feel safe in my arms.
If it takes a goddamned lifetime I’m going to prove to her that she can trust me.
I stand and grab the glasses I left on the table and wink at my mom. She grins back as I walk out of the living room and head to the kitchen. I hear the sound of dishes being put on counters and laughter and the familiar pitch of female voices. When I walk inside I spot her immediately, talking to Julia as she stirs a pot with a large wooden spoon.
Julia says something that makes Sophie laugh just as the clouds part for a shaft of sun to break through them. It hits the glass doors that lead out to the patio and the hills beyond, casting a halo over Sophie’s golden hair.
And then she looks up at me.
Her lips part and her eyes light up and all I can think is that I want her.
No, Ineedher. Now.
And I don’t give a shit about who’s sleeping in whose cabin or the fact that despite the break in the clouds it’s still pouring outside. Or that this room is filled with people who are all watching the silent interaction between me and my girl, who’s still staring at me as though I could part the oceans for her.
Sophie’s stopped stirring the pot of whatever’s cooking in front of her. Julia notices and takes the spoon, gently moving Sophie to the left.
“I need to speak to you,” I tell her.
She runs her tongue over her bottom lip and nods. I hold my hand out to her and she walks toward me, not caring that everybody’s watching us.
When her fingers slide into mine it feels like the sun is coming out. And I don’t give a shit if everybody knows I’m about to drag her to whatever private place I can find and bury my face in her body until I’m about to suffocate. Or that I want to feel her convulse around me again and again until she can’t remember what day it is.
The only person I care about is this woman staring up at me.
“Ready?” I ask her softly.
