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“Are you okay?” he asked, his question urgent.
“I’m fine,” Sofi said, unsure why he was asking about her well-being when he’d been the one in a fight. “But are you?”
Austin puffed a breath out of his nose, a sure sign that he was about to be cocky. “I fought one guy, Sof. Of course I’m fine.”
Sofi rolled her eyes as Austin’s gaze softened.
“You sure you’re okay?” he asked, this time with less intensity but the same level of concern.
“I am,” Sofi promised.
“When I saw that guy with his beefy hand gripping you so tight,” Austin began before pressing a chaste kiss to Sofi’s forehead.
It was the kind of kiss that melted every part of Sofi even as she knew it did nothing to him.
“And then you barreled into him like you were a bull and he was wearing red,” Memphis spoke up.
Sofi had forgotten he was there.
Oh shoot! Rachael!
Sofi whirled around to rush to Rachael’s table when suddenly the bride-to-be appeared, leaning as heavily on Austin as she had on Sofi before, taking the place that Sofi had hoped would be hers, at least for the rest of that night.
Sofi didn’t often get to be the woman on Austin’s arm since he was typically dating some woman or another. But as Austin’s best friend Sofialwaysheld a part of him, more than any other woman could claim. So even as he dated one woman after another, he always held a place in his heart for Sofi. So Sofi was okay with their arrangement. Or at least that was what she told herself.
But tonight it looked like Rachael was taking Sofi’s coveted spot and since Rachael really couldn’t stand all that well on her own, Sofi wouldn’t begrudge her . . . much.
“Did you come to join the party?” Rachael asked, somehow sounding drunker than before. Had she gotten ahold of someone else’s drink?
“I’m a bachelorette, you know,” Rachael explained as she pointed to her sash that was inside out, concealing the sequined letters that spelled outSoon to be Mrs.
“Did you drive her?” Austin asked Sofi.
She nodded.
“I think it’s time that you get home,” Austin directed Rachael.
“With you?” Rachael giggled, letting her head rest on his arm.
Sofi fought the urge to rub her chest where her heart had begun to hurt. Rachael shouldn’t be flirting like that with anyone other than Roland. Still, Sofi knew it wasn’t Rachael’s flirting that had hurt . . . it was Austin’s responding wink.
“I think your fiancé may have a bit of a beef with that,” he said smoothly as he let Rachael fall all over him while they walked to the doors.
Memphis followed, shaking his head at his brother’s antics although he was probably also taking notes. The only Ashford brother who flirted and dated more than Austin was Memphis.
Sofi walked behind them all, forcing herself to watch her best friend and reminding herself who Austin was. He flirted recklessly with a woman so far off the market her wedding was just a couple of weeks away, yet he was always so careful, so appropriate with Sofi. Sure, he teased her, but really flirting? Never. Was Sofi just that unappealing to him?
Tears pricked her eyes and then began to fall. She was glad she was so far behind the others that they didn’t see her wipe them away. The last thing she needed was to have to explain herself.
At least she had good reason for emotions tonight, after the trauma she’d just experienced. And really, that was probably the reason she was crying now. As the adrenaline faded and she processed what she’d been through, it was only natural to shed a few tears. They had nothing to do with her most recent thoughts.
But as Sofi tried to keep lying to herself, the truth kept pressing forward. Unless she got over her crush on Austin, he would keep breaking her heart piece by piece until there was nothing left. She would lose not only her heart, but her friend. And Sofi couldn’t have that. She couldn’t imagine life without Austin.
So as she wiped her tears and straightened her shoulders, she knew what she had to do. She’d been considering it for months but hadn’t had the nerve to pull the trigger. But she’d come to the point that she now feared not doing it more than going ahead. It couldn’t be put off any longer.
But that didn’t mean she was going to like it.
Two
