For some reason, they’d chosen the Bradleys to be Sophie’s family.
Had they known how rocky the Bradley marriage could be behind closed doors? They couldn’t have predicted the tumultuous future, but surely there were signs. Did her birth parents choose her adoptive parents simply because they had the room? Or because they had three boys and no girl?
Sophie shook her head. Their choice was baffling, even though now she couldn’t imagine her life any other way.
Her brothers meant the world to her. Without them and Honeywilde, where would she be? No job, no purpose. No foundation.
But she did have them. And right now she had to shake a leg if she was going to make it to Roark’s morning meeting.
With a groan, she forced herself out of bed. Today was going to suck.
As she stood, the tenderness of her body sent memories of last night washing over her, and she grinned. Totally worth it.
No matter how exhausted she was or how much coffee she had to mainline in order to stay on her feet, her amazing night with Wright made any of today’s struggles acceptable.
And that’s what she was still telling herself when the post-lunch narcolepsy struck.
“Soph. Hello?” Dev snapped his fingers together and waved a hand in front of her face.
She shoved him away from her spot on their favorite great room sofa. “What? I’m listening.”
He sat back on his end of the sofa. “No, you aren’t. You’re sleeping with your eyes open. What did I just say?”
“Something about lights,” she muttered.
“Something? I listed off about ten different options for the Chamber’s gala. You know, the stuff Trevor mentioned with the lights.”
“A canopy of illumination.” Trev provided the proper term.
“Yes, that. Did you hear any of what I said?”
“I stopped listening after ‘twinkle lights.’ Is there any coffee yet this afternoon?” She craned her neck in search of the trolley.
Dev made a show of bellyaching at her lack of enthusiasm, but shoved off the couch, hopefully in search of caffeine.
As soon as he left, Trevor leaned forward from his chair. “You okay, Sis? Late night?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” she muttered.
When he didn’t respond, she peeked out from beneath her lids.
Trevor studied her, one eyebrow raised, lips quirked.
“What’s the look for?”
“Nothin’.” He put his hands up and slid back in the chair. “Nothing at all.”
The squeak of little wheels drew their attention as Wright rolled the coffee trolley over from the kitchen.
He handed a cup to each of them and took the chair opposite Trevor. “Figured you might need an afternoon pick-me-up. Both of you.” He tossed in the quick save.
Rather than respond, she took that first, delightful sip, letting her eyelids flutter shut. “Thank you.” Her words came out breathy.
Trevor shoved up from his chair. “I have to go.”
Sophie roused at his carrying on. “Now?”
“Yeah.” He checked his watch. “I have to leave now or I’ll be late.”
Rather than ask the obvious, she imitated his look from moments ago.
“Tell Dev I had an errand, okay? I’ll be back before dinner. Later, y’all.” And with that, Trevor took off.
“What was that about?” Wright watched him go.
“Hell if I know. Trevor does more coming and going than anyone I’ve ever known. I’m too tired to move and he’s zipping off to parts unknown.”
His chuckle was soft and deep. “How are you feeling?”
“Other than sleep deprived?”
“Yeah.” Wright wet his lips and smiled, and the expression on his face was a double shot of espresso to her system.
“Other than that, I’m doing exceptionally well. Thank you for asking.”
“Good.” He sipped his coffee.
“Great.” Dev rounded the corner with empty hands. “I’m looking all over for this thing and the two of you already have coffee.”
Time was, Dev would’ve griped more, all day to be exact, but today he poured himself a cup of coffee and got down to business. “Now that you’re both here, and Sophie is conscious again—wait, where’d Trevor go?”
“No one knows.” Sophie took another sip. “He’ll be back before dinner, though.”
Dev took about two seconds to look confused and surprised before moving on. “I was talking about the lighting for the fund-raiser. You know how Trevor mentioned the lanterns and long strands of bulbs? The canopy of lights?”
“Yeah.”
“I found this place in Newton, a lighting warehouse, and it has all kinds of stuff, at discount. I’m thinking that’s our best bet to check out the options. Everything is in stock; it’s in person and better than trying to figure out how it’ll look by an online picture.”
“Sounds good. When are you going?” Sophie asked.
“We should go right now.”
This time, she almost choked on her coffee. “What? No.”
“Why not? This is the quietest time of day, it won’t take a couple of hours, and if I go alone and get something and it looks stupid, I know I’ll hear about it. Namely from you.”
Fair enough. He would definitely get an earful. She wasn’t the type to sit silently by if her brothers jacked something up.
“Fine, but how about we go tomorrow?”
“Because tomorrow I have too much going on. After brunch, I have to go on a call with Roark and review some plan he has about the Chamber.”
Sophie’s eyes went wide. “Look at you. Going on calls. Wheeling and dealing. Roark Junior.”
“Do not call me that.”
She made a show of rolling her eyes. Dev called her Roark Junior when she took notes on her phone. Turnabout was fair play.
“Come on. Today is the only free time I have. Run over there with me. You can sleep in the car for the twenty minutes it takes to get there.”
A twenty minute nap did sound divine.
“If it’s all right, I think I’ll go with y’all.”
Her attention jerked to Wright. “You what?”
With a casual lift of his shoulders, he rested his coffee mug on the arm of the chair. “This is the only free time I have, the cookie dough is already made and Marco wants to try his hand at finishing them, and I’m on this committee too. Unless you don’t want my input or help.”
“We do,” Dev answered for her. “If you can get away from the kitchen for a couple of hours.” He and Wright shared a smile, which meant Wright was going with them.
It would be fine. She and Wright and Dev could run an errand together, no big deal. They might’ve had earth-shaking sex last night, but that didn’t mean Dev would know.
They were able to be low key about it. At least, they better be.
As soon as they piled into Dev’s 4Runner, Sophie in the passenger seat, Wright behind her, the car-colepsy set in. They weren’t halfway down the mountain before she was asleep.
She woke to Wright nudging her arm.
He stood at her open car door, blocking out the sunlight. “Soph. We’re here.”
She rubbed her eyes. “Did I snore?”
“No.” He chuckled, holding her steady by the elbow as she climbed from the car. “Are you fully awake or should I carry you inside?”
She did her best to give him the evil eye but screwed it up by yawning. “I’m fine. I think the nap helped.”
He closed the car door behind her and they followed Dev toward what looked like an abandoned warehouse, except for the ornately lit sign on the roof.
Luanne’s Lighting Warehouse.
“Where does Dev hear about these crazy places?” Wright muttered the question.
“God only knows.”
They reached the steps, and she wasn’t as awake as she thought. Her toe caught on the second step, making her stumble. Wright caught her, grabbing her by the arm and waist.
His r
escue was appreciated, and nothing unusual, except that as they climbed the stairs, he didn’t let go.
“You sure you’re okay?” He grinned. “I can pick you up if you’d like.”
Sophie dug her elbow into his side.
Wright laughed and rubbed where she struck. “Well, don’t say I never offered.”
They reached the platform of the warehouse to find Devlin scowling at them.
Beside her, Wright tensed. “Sophie tried to face-plant on the stairs.”
A decent enough recovery, but to be sure they covered up the moment, Sophie kept walking past Dev, griping the whole way. “I’m tired and I tripped. That’s what happens when you drag an exhausted woman out to the middle of nowhere.”
She tromped into Luanne’s Lighting Warehouse, and her footfalls echoed in the enormous space.
“Hello?” Dev called out from behind her.
The warehouse was the size of a football field. Indoor lamps, outdoor lampposts, string lights, displays of recessed lighting—it was wall-to-wall lights of every kind imaginable.
“Let me see if I can find the office.” Dev gave her one more little scowl before walking down the wall near the entrance.
As soon as he was far enough away, Sophie turned and gave Wright her own bug-eyed glare.
“What’d I do?”
“Besides grope me in front of my brother?”
“I wasn’t groping you. I stopped you from wiping out. Am I supposed to let you fall on your face?”
“Yes.”
He tossed his hands up.
“This way, guys,” Dev called out and waved them down the wall to follow him.
They went all the way down the wall and headed toward the back.
“Luanne was on the phone, but she said all exterior lights were in the back.”
Turned out, “the back” was the whole back third of the warehouse.
“Jesus.” Wright sighed. “There’s no way you’re going to find what you want in an hour, Dev.”
Dev cursed and did a three-sixty in the middle of the aisle. “Okay . . . here’s the plan. We all know the kind of look we’re going for? Think soft glow, Midsummer Night, enchanting, unique.”
“Got it.”
Dev scanned the layout of aisles. “I’ll take these two; Soph, you take the next two; Wright, take those two over there. If you see something that looks cool as hell, how about taking a picture on your phone and texting it to us? Divide and conquer. Go.”
He sounded so much like Roark, she had to fight the urge to salute him.
They split up, Sophie taking the middle aisle, and shelf after shelf of boxes and displays blurred together into nothingness. A few hours of sleep didn’t result in the best decision-making skills.
The minutes passed as she wandered, and then came a “pssst” from the next aisle.
“What do you think of these?” Wright rounded the corner, holding two Japanese lanterns in each hand, all of them different colors.
“I think that’s not the look Dev was talking about.”
“No, not exactly.” He moved closer. “But he did say anything that looked cool as hell. These are cool.”
She shook her head to hide her grin. “They are, but they’re wrong. We need something more like these.” She pointed to a box of twinkle lights and the strand that lit up the shelf as an example.
“Let’s get those, then.”
“Not these, but like these. And we need them in a quantity larger than a strand of a hundred or we’ll be stringing up lights for hours.”
“Still an option, though.” Wright passed her two lanterns and pulled out his phone. He snapped a picture of the twinkle lights and then one of her holding the lanterns.
“You did not just take a picture of me holding these stupid lanterns.”
“I did. And come here, there’s something else I want to show you.”
Shuffling around to his aisle to return the lanterns, she was blinded by spinning balls and two strobe lights.
“Those are disco balls.”
“I know, but look.” He flicked on another light. This one was red.
“We’re supposed to be working.”
“Since when are you the stick in the mud?”
“I’m not, but . . . you saw how Dev looked at us before. When we were laughing. I know that look. He’s suspicious enough already. We should pick out some lights and go.”
Ignoring her, Wright flicked on a colored spotlight, and a mirrored disco ball began to spin. “Tell me you don’t want one of these for the inn’s game room.”
She bit at her bottom lip to keep from laughing at his face, awash in red, then blue, and then green. “How are you not tired after last night?”
He stepped closer, his voice low. “I’m exhausted, but I think the delirium has kicked in. We should sneak one of these disco balls and spotlights into the game room.”
“Or Roark’s office.”
Wright choked on his laughter. “Holy shit, yes. At the start of his next meeting, hit the lights and turn on the mirrored ball, cue up some techno. Can you imagine the look on his face?”
She began to giggle. The ridiculousness of the vision, mixed with exhaustion, bubbled up into a fit of laughter she couldn’t stop. With her hands over her face, she gave into the humor of it all. They were in some godforsaken warehouse in the middle of nowhere, and lights were flashing on Wright’s face like he was a disco queen.
As she wiped a tear of laughter away, patterns of soft white light in her peripheral vision caught her attention.
She turned and moved away from the aisles to the very back corner of the warehouse.
“Fine. Just walk away from the dance party, then,” Wright called after her.
Tucked away in the dark, farthest reaches of Luanne’s was about a ten-by-ten square of what appeared to be artificial turf. Centered on the fake greenery was a white arbor with an artificial vine along the sides and top, with tiny white lights woven into the vine.
Up close, the fake greenery was tacky, but from a distance, the little round bulbs held the natural magical feel Dev was going for.
The real catcher was the rustic-style lanterns, made of glass and metal with patterned cutouts, hung high above the ground. The cutouts scattered light across the floor, the strands giving everything a soft glow. On either side were tall metal lampposts that matched the lanterns.
Unique and enchanting.
“This is perfect,” Wright said, standing right behind her.
“Right?”
“Of course, ours will look better since we’ll be in the actual out of doors and not in a warehouse with fake plants.”
Sophie moved closer to the lanterns, trying to test the weight and sturdiness in her hands.
“Here.” Wright reached over her and unhooked one to hand it over.
The metal was light, making the lanterns easier to place, the light inside operated on a small battery. “These are perfect.” She turned to him. “We could put them anywhere without driving a bunch of nails and hooks in all over the place.”
He put his hands over hers, lifting the lantern a little higher to observe. Satisfied, he nodded, his gaze settling upon hers. “They have my vote.”
They were only talking about lanterns, but with his warm hands enveloping hers, the mellow light somehow making the moment quieter and intimate, her mind went back to last night.
In his bedroom, the very same seductive look in his eyes.
The rest of the warehouse fell away as he stepped closer, her brother a distant thought as Wright brushed his fingers across the back of her hands. “I can’t wait to see how good you’ll look the night of the gala.”
She hadn’t thought that far ahead, but the fund-raiser party was a little over a week away now. She and Wright would still be together then—doing whatever it was they were doing. Would they be each other’s secret date for the evening? Normally they could dance together without anyone thinking anything of it, but now . . .
How wou
ld she ever be able to dance with Wright again like it was nothing? With his mouth near her ear, his breath ruffling her hair, his hand at the small of her back as he pressed her close to his body.
“I want to kiss you right now,” he whispered.
She blinked, tilting forward. “Me too.”
“You guys did it.” Devlin’s voice echoed across the warehouse, making her jump.
Wright jerked away with a grimace.
“You found it. This is exactly the look we want. These lanterns are perfect.” Dev held his hands out.
Sophie handed him the lantern while avoiding eye contact with Wright. She was too scared to look right at him, but she sensed his tension.
“How many do you think we need?” Dev stepped past them to look at the different pattern options hanging all around.
“Um . . .” Wright scrubbed a hand over his face, sharing a look with her. “Depends on if you want them downstairs or up.”
“Both. Along with this style string lights. The exposed bulb look suits the inn and the vibe we want. Don’t you think?”
Sophie coughed a fake cough. “That’s why the display caught my eye. And I’d say fifty of these. At least.”
“Done. Nice going.” Dev clapped her on the shoulder before heading to the front of the store, leaving her off balance, her mind a whirl.
“He didn’t notice anything,” Wright tried to reassure her.
She worked to breathe normally. “Maybe not, but I don’t know how.” Dev wasn’t the type to not notice. Over the years, he could be accused of a lot of things, but being oblivious wasn’t one of them.
“Come on, we better go help him get the lights ordered.”
Yes. They better. Then perhaps they could stay out of trouble.
Once the lights were ordered, set to be shipped next day, the three of them piled back into Dev’s car without a word.
They were halfway home before anyone spoke.
Dev took a deep breath and opened his mouth. Sophie’s insides turned to stone as she waited.
“So, Wright.” Dev stared into the rearview mirror. “I think I know the answer, but I need to ask you something.”
Oh no, oh no.
He knew. Dev knew and he was about to call them on it.
Worse, there could be serious repercussions. What if Dev really did get furious? Hurtful words would be said, arguing, fighting. Slamming doors.
A Taste of Temptation Page 13