Wrapped in You

by Jules Bennett

  Protective shield back up. His eyes were no longer holding that vulnerable compassion. She’d already taken a mental picture of how he’d looked, and she’d never forget. Why couldn’t he just let go? Why had everyone let him close himself off?

  Sophie crossed her arms and stared up at him. “Just when would you like to discuss that? Because until you and I talk about what happened years ago, you’ll never be at peace. I for one am sick of the way you’ve let this just eat away at you, because it’s affected everyone around you.”

  She hadn’t meant to snap; the words just flooded out of her mouth before she could put up her filter. She couldn’t say she was sorry, though. A decade was a hell of a long time for any of them to keep all these emotions bottled up.

  Zach massaged the back of his neck. “Drop it.”

  “Drop it? Is that how you cope?”

  Those tortured eyes closed for the briefest of moments before his lids lifted and those eyes the color of rich chocolate met hers. “It’s the only option I have. That accident . . .”

  The low, raspy tone nearly had her reaching for him. The hurt lacing his voice matched that in her heart. They weren’t friends anymore, not like they used to be, and she had no right to pry into his life, his emotions. Hadn’t she moved on? Purposely guiding her life in another direction, away from anything that resembled the young man she used to love . . . or thought she’d loved.

  She waited on him to finish his thought, but he just shook his head and glanced away.

  Carefully gauging her words, Sophie took a slight step forward. “No, don’t look away. That accident isn’t what messed up your life. You messed it up afterward by pushing everyone away and not facing the fact that you’re human. Why can’t you see that people can’t shun you without you allowing it? You’re the one who built that invisible wall around yourself, refusing to let people in.”

  Silence hovered between them. Sophie could hear the steady thumping of her heart. She’d not been alone with Zach since before that night. Chelsea or another family member had always been present the few times they’d been in close proximity over the past several years. Awkwardness was now being pushed aside by long overdue questions.

  Zach turned toward the door. “This was a mistake.”

  Oh no. He wasn’t getting off that easy. She struggled to get between him and the door. She made it . . . barely.

  “You’re not leaving.”

  His eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected such a quick, defiant reaction from her. To be honest, she was pretty proud of herself for being bold where he was concerned. She was sick to death of him running from her, from Liam, from the accident. Someone here needed to grow a set and man up. Apparently that was going to be her.

  If she’d learned anything from Chelsea’s death, it was that tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed and you had to seize the moment or the moment would seize you.

  “Move, Sophie.”

  “No.” She forced herself to look into those beautiful, lost eyes. “I won’t bring up the car accident, I won’t make you talk. But don’t run. Chelsea wouldn’t want this. She’d want us to be friends again.”

  “You’re right. She would.” Zach sighed as he glanced around Chelsea’s apartment. “Damn, I miss her.”

  “We’ll miss her forever,” Sophie added softly. “Is that why you came by? I do that when I want to feel closer to her. I keep waiting for one of you guys to ask for my key back to give to the landlord.”

  “I actually came to start going through some things. I can come back.”

  Once you’re gone. The unspoken words hovered in the air just as sure as if he’d spoken them aloud.

  “No.” Sophie headed back to the couch and picked up her purse. “I’ve been here long enough. I actually already found a few items I’d like to keep. Things I bought for her over the years, and the pictures of us as kids. They’re sitting on her bed. Just look through them and let me know if I can have them.”

  Zach nodded. “You’re entitled to whatever you want.”

  Sophie’s cell chimed from her purse. She hesitated answering the text now, but Zach had already moved toward the bedroom. He stopped as he spotted the binders on the dining table.

  “Those were in the bottom of her closet,” Sophie told him, pulling her phone out. “I haven’t looked at them yet.”

  She glanced down to the text from Martin and sighed. Their dinner date was being put off. Again. Most women would be disappointed, and in a way she was. Sophie realized he was a busy man, with his city job and helping his father run a chain of restaurants. Things came up, life happened. They’d dated for six months, but for the last month they hadn’t been on even one date because of their hectic schedules.

  Sometimes she wondered if she dated Martin because he was so secure, so safe. Other times she wondered if she was with him because he reminded her of her childhood and she knew no different. He had that structured, polished thing going, and stability. Nothing to worry about with him. Definitely inside her comfort zone.

  Sophie turned toward Zach, who still had his back to her. Those broad shoulders stretched his thin gray T-shirt to the max. Well-worn jeans hugged his backside, and work boots that had definitely seen better days spoke volumes about how hard the man worked. She watched as he flipped open the binder and flipped through page after page.

  Everything in her life had been safe until she’d fallen for Zach Monroe. Then she’d been a foolish teen. Now she was a grown woman with more common sense.

  So why did her stomach always flutter when this intriguing, infuriating man was around? She wanted it—no, needed it to flutter around Martin. She kept waiting for that moment to happen.

  “My plans got canceled.” She shoved her phone back into her purse without responding to the message. “Do you want help going through Chelsea’s things? I don’t mind, but I understand if you want to be alone.”

  Throwing her a glance over his shoulder, he shook his head. “I’ll be fine.”

  Dismissed. Why would she be delusional enough to think he’d accept help from anybody, especially her? Did she seriously believe just because they’d shared a two-minute conversation about their past that he would be ready to play nice? Way too much angst lay between them for the gap to be bridged in such a short time.

  She was about to retrieve her items from the bedroom and leave, but Zach’s low, whispered, “You’ve got to be shitting me” had her moving to stand beside him.

  What she saw in the binders had her just as stunned.

  Chapter Three

  Damn it. He’d hoped Sophie was leaving. The spellbinding floral scent mocked him as she moved closer. So close, her bare arm brushed his and it took all of Zach’s control not to step away. He couldn’t let her know how she still got to him, and he damn well couldn’t react to that slightest of touches.

  After all this time, after every ugly thing in his life and having every reason shoved in his face as to why he shouldn’t want this woman, he still did.

  Yet in the midst of his Sophie-induced haze, the pictures and the words in Chelsea’s handwriting stared back at him from the pages of the binder. Each plastic sleeve held details of exactly what Chelsea’s vision was for the Sunset Lake property.

  “A spa?” Sophie asked.

  “Not just a spa.” He flipped back to the first page, where Chelsea had written BELLE VOUS in bold letters. “A getaway resort for women. What the hell does that even say?”

  Sophie laughed. “It’s French for ‘beautiful you.’”

  “Of course she wouldn’t just want to call it something in English,” he muttered.

  His sister had had a flare for all things over-the-top. Her dream had been to travel to Paris, but in all her escapades, she’d never made it there.

  “So she wanted to open a resort.” Sophie reached over, tugging the other binder from below his. “She laid out so many plans in these.”

  Everything from the rich hardwood flooring to the drapery tied back in the entryway of each servi
ce room, instead of doors. She’d even made notes about having little café chairs and tables along the patio that would overlook the lake, where the ladies could enjoy meals or just relax.

  Zach glanced over at Sophie and the pages she searched. “She never mentioned this to you?” he asked.

  Shaking her head, Sophie turned and met his gaze. “Not a word. I’m seriously just as shocked as you. Maybe she was afraid we’d laugh or talk her out of it.”

  Zach didn’t miss the hint of hurt in Sophie’s tone. More than likely she was upset that Chelsea had kept a secret. In reality, though, didn’t they all have secrets? Some not as glamorous as others.

  “I have no idea what to do with this now,” he muttered as he closed his binder. He’d seen enough.

  “I can’t see you and your brothers getting into the resort and spa business.” Sophie laughed. “Perhaps selling the property would be for the best.”

  Maybe in a logical way of thinking, selling the house would be best. Zach had never thought logically, though, and he didn’t intend to start now.

  “I’m still not selling.” More than ready to get to the reason he came, Zach headed toward the bedroom.

  He should’ve known Sophie would follow. Great.

  “Have you even thought about it?” she asked, right on his heels. “Have you wondered what Chelsea would want you guys to do? You know the town would fix it up, make it beautiful and draw people in.”

  He didn’t give a shit what the town wanted or what their vision was. He cared about Chelsea, and now that he knew her dream, he couldn’t just laugh it off. Deep inside he knew that’s why she’d kept these notes hidden. Fear of rejection. Rejection was something all four Monroe kids had in common. They’d experienced enough of it before they were rescued by Ed and Nancy Monroe.

  Zach had never known the love of parents before he was adopted. Braxton kept to himself, but whatever demons he battled were pretty big as well. And Liam, well, he placed himself inside this bubble and refused to let anyone in, so his past had been riddled with rejection. He’d also not gone into details. That was one thing all boys had in common. They didn’t want to get into the ugliness of their pasts. They’d fight those devils all alone to keep the outside world from seeing just how damaged they truly were.

  But right now Zach wasn’t going to focus on his past, or that of his brothers’. Yet again, that’s not what Chelsea would have wanted. She’d want him to take a leap of faith, to be adventurous like she was.

  So what now? Did he find someone who would want to take on such a business? Find a woman who would want to be the manager of a resort for women only? Did he do it himself? Chelsea would’ve gotten a kick out of her three brothers opening a spa.

  The image nearly sent him into panic mode. He needed to thoroughly think about this. Somehow he had to make this work in order to honor his sister’s memory.

  “I’m not ignoring her dreams,” he finally said. “Selling to the city will never be an option for me.”

  Granted, he was fixing up his own home, and that was taking up a chunk of his time and money. The old Victorian he’d been raised in from a teen was now his, and he’d been slowly renovating it to sell. He’d not mentioned that last part to his brothers yet. He’d certainly give either of them first dibs at the house, but Zach was ready for a change. And he was still up in the air as to whether or not that change would be just a different house or a different town altogether.

  Now, though, this resort plan would have him reevaluating everything.

  “The concept of a women’s resort and spa isn’t a bad idea,” he went on, shocked at the thoughts flooding him. “Think about it. We’re not far from Savannah. From a business standpoint this idea of hers could work, and there’s nothing else like it that I know of. We’re already a hot spot for tourists who filter over anyway. Why not add more appeal?”

  Sophie stared, mouth open, eyes wide. “You’re not seriously considering this.”

  Shrugging, Zach merely held her wide-eyed stare. He might not go through with this crazy plan, but he at least wanted to toy around with some of his thoughts and Chelsea’s ideas.

  The brief notes he’d seen had his mind spinning. Packages for groups of working women, mother-daughter specials, guest rooms in the mansion or renting one of the two cottages on the land. The ideas were really endless, and Chelsea had one hell of a start already outlined.

  Damn it, he already had this business up and running in his head, like some damn kid daydreaming about what they want to be when they grow up. What the hell did he know about a spa? He had callouses, only shaved and cut his hair under duress about three times a year. From a business angle, though, he was pretty confident the spa would be a huge success.

  Thinking about something and going after it were two totally different things. Case in point, the woman who stood before him. He’d attempted to go after her once, and that had turned into a living nightmare.

  Sophie shook her head. “You’re crazy. You want to discuss this with your brothers before you go any further? As far as Liam is concerned, the property can go to the city if Braxton is okay with it.”

  “If I want to move ahead, I’ll buy their portion somehow. If this plan ends up falling through before takeoff, we’ll all sit and discuss other options.”

  No matter how adamant Liam was, Zach knew deep in his heart he wasn’t going to sell this property. He couldn’t get rid of that last bond he had with his sister. Selling to the city would have her rolling over in her grave. She’d been so angry when Anna had broken off the engagement with Braxton, she’d actually confronted the woman. Thankfully, Zach had gotten there in time to break up the scuffle that was about to break out.

  Sophie raked her hands through her golden hair and sighed, reminding him that she still stood way too close to him.

  She pointed toward the bed. “That’s the stuff I want to take. You okay with that?”

  Zach glanced down at the photos, the clothes, the sketch of the Eiffel Tower. “Yeah.”

  He picked up the framed pencil drawing and studied the picture. Sophie didn’t say a word.

  “This is really good,” he muttered before glancing up at her. “It looks similar to the pencil drawings in your office.”

  Sophie nodded. “I got them all at the same time and gave Chelsea that one.”

  Her eyes darted around. She was lying about something. Why? Or perhaps she was nervous being in the same room, a bedroom at that, with him. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable—or any more so than usual. Being alone together was a bad, bad idea.

  When Sophie bent to scoop up the remainder of the items from the bed, Zach didn’t step back. Torturing himself further wasn’t a smart idea, but damn it, he couldn’t force himself away from her. That floral scent of hers wrapped all around him, mocking him. Nothing good could come from allowing his mind to focus on how perfectly amazing this woman was. She belonged to someone else. A schmuck with a perfectly parted haircut and some sporty two-door car, but still.

  As Sophie straightened, he passed over the framed artwork, but didn’t move.

  “What?” she asked, clutching the items to her chest.

  Such a small gap between them now. So close he could see the black ring around her green eyes, see the slight smudge of makeup beneath one eye, as if maybe she’d shed a tear before he arrived. His perfectly polished Sophie was a bit imperfect, and damn if he didn’t want to ruffle her up even more.

  Wait. His Sophie? Only in his every waking fantasy.

  “Do you need help out?” he asked, unable to come up with anything better.

  She shook her head, sending a stray strand of golden hair gliding across her forehead. “I’ve got it. Are you sure you don’t want help here?”

  He wanted to reach out and smooth away the stray hair that had slid down across her cheek. He’d lost any right to touch her years ago. “I’m sure.”

  Sophie stared for another minute, then nodded. As she turned to go, her limp seemed more pronoun
ced than he’d seen before.

  “Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked. When she glanced over her shoulder with brows drawn down in confusion, he added, “From the fall.”

  “Nothing I can’t handle.”

  Of course. Because she was tougher than he was. Zach couldn’t handle seeing her like that, couldn’t handle the fact that he could’ve killed her in that one, reckless moment.

  “One more thing.”

  She sighed. “What?”

  “Don’t tell anyone about Chelsea’s idea.”

  Her hesitation had him worried she wouldn’t agree. Finally she nodded. “I’ll wait to hear from you and your brothers regarding the city’s offer.”

  Once she was gone and Zach was left in silence, he glanced around Chelsea’s bedroom. Sinking to the bed, he rested his hands over his knees and dropped his head between his shoulders.

  That was the most interaction he’d had one-on-one with Sophie in years. Even though she was gone, her scent lingered and Zach was finding it harder and harder to push her out of his mind. She’d been thrust back into his life in the past few days and he honestly wasn’t sure he was strong enough to keep his distance.

  Fortunately, he had enough to keep him occupied and he hoped his personal encounters with Sophie were coming to a close. Between clearing out Chelsea’s apartment, renovating his own home, and now reeling from Chelsea’s bombshell vision, Zach had enough on his plate. Thinking of things that would never be was a waste of time.

  What he needed to focus on now was how to break this women-only resort news to Braxton and Liam. Zach nearly laughed. He couldn’t wait to see their faces when he told them they were going to have to start researching massages and facials.

  * * *

  Zach’s ability to string a sentence together using every cuss word known to man, and some he’d invented himself, was rather impressive. What wasn’t impressive was that he was a damn professional and he couldn’t get the freshly cut ceramic tile to match up perfectly in the corners of his new shower. How the hell was he having issues? This was his livelihood, the one thing he devoted his existence to. The one thing he didn’t screw up.