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“Hey, Soph! It’s good to see you! What made you turn right back around? I thought for sure you would stay with your parents for at least a couple of days.” His smile was wide and full of white teeth.
Sophie arched a brow at him. “I think you know what brought me back.”
Darren’s smile grew even wider, but Wayne, standing just behind Darren, compressed his lips into a thin white line. Darren ignored his husband and looped an arm around Sophie’s shoulders.
“Of course I do, hun. But I still think you should have stayed. You don’t need to be dealing with all this nonsense right now. You need to be resting and enjoying a nice visit with your folks. That’s the best thing for you.” His big hand squeezed her shoulder.
“I’m fine, Dar, really. The visit helped, even brief as it was.” She pulled gently away from him and sank into one of the plush chairs that were scattered around the living area. It was the first time she’d been at their new place since they’d gotten everything unpacked.
The place they were renting from Henry. That was probably why Darren was as twitchy as a ballerina on coke.
“Oh?” Darren practically chirped as he perched on the edge of the table in front of her. “Tell me all about it. Did you run into an old flame? High school crush? Was the head cheerleader fat?” He waggled his brows at her and extended his hand to Wayne. “Wayne, honey, why don’t you pour us a teeny martini?”
Wayne tipped his head to the side. “Why don’t you stop treating Sophie like a child with a brain injury? It’s kind of creepy and I’m sure she doesn’t appreciate it. She knows something’s up, Dar. She wouldn’t be here if she didn’t.”
Darren’s sunny expression immediately melted into a scowl, aimed directly at his husband. “I’m not treating her like a...” He trailed off, waving his hand, clearly unable to remember exactly how Wayne had phrased it. “Whatever. I’m not. I’m just trying to be upbeat!” His eyes narrowed.
“Try and be honest. I’ll go get us all drinks.” Wayne touched Darren’s cheek briefly and then scooted into the kitchen, his face grim. Sophie sighed.
“Honest about what, Dar? What aren’t you telling me?”
He took both her hands in his and squeezed her fingers. “I don’t want you to panic. I know this is terrible timing what with the news and all.” He pronounced news like it was the name of a disease she had. Sophie rolled her eyes.
“Spit it out. I can take it.” She felt like she could take anything. Darren could open his mouth right now and tell her Christian was back and was slandering her all over town and Sophie thought she could take it in stride. Her talk with her dad had energized her determination, and the feeling had only increased during the car ride back to the city.
Neither of her parents had been surprised when she’d come downstairs with her bags before dinner and repacked her car. Her mother had tried to cajole her into staying to eat, but Sophie had wanted to get back as soon as possible and put her plan into play. She used the time in the car not only to think and iron out the details of her scheme, but to make a few calls as well.
“Well, it’s just... there may have been a few more membership cancellations than I let on.” He grimaced, his eyes intent on her face.
Sophie blew out a long breath. She’d suspected as much. Nicole was leaking stories to the tabloids still, so any progress she and Henry had made by appearing together in public was shaky at best.
“How many more?”
Wayne returned then, balancing a carved wooden tray of martinis. Sophie lifted hers free and sipped. Given what she had planned for tonight, a little liquid courage couldn’t hurt. Darren took his drink and gulped it.
“Like, fifteen.” His eyes slid away from her face. Sophie’s stomach fell. Fifteen memberships was a fair chunk of change. It wouldn’t break them, but it would certainly put a strain on the month to month running of the studio.
“What else, Dar? Is that it?” Surprisingly, her fingers felt steady around the thin stem of her glass. She shifted on the soft cushion of the chair, some of the tension easing out from between her shoulders. She could do this.
Darren’s lips turned down as he took another sip of his martini. “Some of our clients—our most loyal clients—the professionals who bring in all the other professionals... They’re starting to waver. There have been a lot of calls asking what’s going on. They all want some reassurances.”
“I don’t see why it’s any of their business,” Wayne grumbled into his glass. Sophie touched his knee in thanks.
“It’s their careers, Wayne. I understand that better than just about anyone.” She turned back to Darren and patted his knee in turn. “It’s okay. We’ll be back on top... or as close to as my little studio is ever going to get... in no time at all.”
“Wow.” Darren blinked at her over the rim of his martini glass. “You’re taking this a lot better than I thought you would. After the whole thing with Henry and his skanky no-longer-ex with the bad hair...” he trailed off, shrugging one shoulder. Wayne muttered under his breath, but it was too low for Sophie to hear. It sounded like something derogatory about Nicole though, which made her smile.
She took another healthy sip of her martini and let the alcohol bloom warmly in her chest and belly before she spoke. “Whether she’s his ex or his ex-ex is still up for debate. But it’s pretty much an established fact that she’s behind the stories in the paper, and the cancellations too, I would wager. Nicole really has it out for me.”
“That bitch!” Color flared in Darren’s cheeks and he leapt to his feet, pacing. “I’ll scratch her eyes out!”
It was nice to have such good friends. Sophie chuckled. “I appreciate the thought, Dar, but I’ve got other ideas.”
“Your plan?” Darren asked with a sly grin. Sophie nodded.
“Nicole thinks I’m just a weepy pushover—”
“The hell you are!” Darren’s brows snapped down again.
