With him, she pretty much said and did what she wanted.
And he wouldn’t lie. Knowing he could push her to places that made her nails bite into his skin, made her temper spark and her spine stiffen, gave him a sense of... something.
Not pride. Not importance.
Distinction.
He was the one Sophie would talk to, candid and unabashed. She didn’t worry about being perfect or perfectly polite with him. He was the one she’d go toe to toe with and not back down an inch. And he was the one she’d run to in the middle of the night, sneak off and have sex with, risking so much simply because this was what she wanted to do.
Whether or not she could ever admit it, to him or to herself, what they had was special. What they had was different. And it mattered to her as much as it did him.
If they kept going, it would only matter more.
Next to him, she stirred. “If we don’t make a move soon, it’ll be tomorrow before I get out of this bed.”
Wright wrapped his arms around her, holding her close before they sat up. “Guess we have to go, then. You look sleepy, but if I miss dinner, someone will notice.”
“You can buy me a coffee on the way back.” She slipped from the bed and crossed the room to collect her clothes. The late-afternoon sunlight, diffused as it shined through the sheer curtains, made her fair skin glow. Her form, petite and lithe, took on a mystical quality thrown into sharp contrast with her riot of red bed head.
Wright broke out into a grin, his chest expanding with a pleasant ache.
“What?” She scrunched her nose at him as she stepped into her panties.
“Nothing.” Only that he couldn’t imagine life without her.
“You’re so weird.” Her hands behind her back, she hooked her bra on and grabbed her pants.
He felt weird. All knotted up inside, but full of joy. Life didn’t feel this way, not normally. His life was one of working hard and striving to be the best he could. He wasn’t that different than Sophie. Trying to be a great chef and please everyone with his skill, seeking to please his parents without sacrificing his own happiness, and putting forth every effort to impress this or that girl he was dating at the moment, but consistently falling short because . . .
Because this or that girl wasn’t what he really wanted.
He wanted Sophie. In some way, he probably always had.
He’d always worked so hard, he didn’t take the chance to stop and soak in the moments with her. He refused to let this moment go.
Wright leaned back against the headboard and watched Sophie get dressed. By the time she slid on her shoes, he was in a trance.
“Wright. What are you doing? We’re going to be late. You’re the one who needs to get back, and I need coffee.”
He held his arm out, waving her over. “Stop talking and come here for a second.”
“Excuse me?” She cocked her head but moved closer.
As soon as she was within reaching distance, he grabbed her and pulled her onto the bed next to him.
Sophie squeaked, but didn’t put up any resistance.
“I wanted to say I’m glad we did this today. Took the time to get away and come here, together. This was . . . this was special.”
Her expression went blank as she blinked. “I . . . I’m glad we did too.” Smoothing her hair back, she glanced away.
“Hey.” He turned her chin toward him again. “What is it?”
With shining eyes, she put on a smile. “Nothing. Like you said. This was special.” She pinched her lips together for a moment before speaking again. “And you’re a sap who’s going to make us late.”
He kissed her, knowing she wanted to say something beyond calling him sappy, but she wasn’t ready. He kissed her until her shoulders weren’t so stiff, her compact body held tight. When she finally relaxed, he tossed off the covers and grabbed his clothes.
She reached down for his boxers and handed them over. “Look at that. This time you’re the one with no clothes on.”
Wright laughed and snatched his boxers from her. “Hey. Any time you want me naked, all you have to do is ask.”
Chapter 16
They made it back with maybe twenty minutes to spare before dinner service. After rushing through a drive-thru for coffee, Wright swung into the parking lot, barely managing to keep his Jeep on all four wheels.
“Jeez!” Sophie grabbed the “oh shit” bar and held on for dear life. “Told you we needed to get going. You’re late.”
Wright killed the engine and hopped out. “Worth it,” he said, before closing the door. “I’ll find you later,” he called to her around the car and sprinted toward the front door of the inn.
As he rushed through the entrance, he almost knocked down a baffled-looking Trevor on his way out.
Trevor spun to avoid him, wide-eyeing Sophie as he passed the portico. “What the hell was that about?”
She put on her best casual expression. “I think he’s late. Or something.”
“Yeah, no shit. Where have y’all been?” Trevor checked his watch.
“Been?” She scratched at her ear, then her hair. Trevor shouldn’t be asking about a “y’all” at all.
“Roark said the two of you were going to try some food or wine or something for the fund-raiser. Where’d you go?”
She forgot Wright had given them the perfect cover for being gone all afternoon. “Oh, right. Chateau Jolie.”
“The competition. Nice. And fancy.” Trev drew out the word. “And?”
“And what?”
He tilted his head to the side, thick brown hair flopping over. “And, details?”
The details that really mattered were none of his business. “How about some details on where you went when the rest of us had to go light hunting at Luanne’s Warehouse?”
Trevor quirked his mouth and squinted at her. “I had stuff to do.”
“Exactly. And we had stuff to do today.”
With a quick glance around, the youngest Bradley moved closer, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’ll give you details about the other day if you’ll tell me what’s going on with you and Wright.”
She balked, taking two steps back. “Nothing. Nothing is going on.”
He gave her that look again, blue eyes narrow and homed in on her. “If you say so. But you sure do look funny. You’re not high, are you?”
“No!” Warning bells went off as she pushed past him. High on great sex, but she sure wasn’t going to tell him that. “I’m fine.”
Trevor followed her. “Then how was the chateau? Did you guys try wine? Find anything you like?”
She’d found something she liked, all right. Having the time and attention of Wright was proving addictive, the way she felt with him even more so. He made her stronger, willing to take a chance on feeling something. In return, she found pleasure, ecstasy, and a person she didn’t have to hide from.
Wright had seen more of her than anyone, and he liked what he saw. So far.
Maybe he’d like all of her, even the scared, little heart she resented. If anyone was capable of accepting her faults, it’d be him.
“Seriously, Sis.” Trevor stopped her. “You’re all glassy eyed. Maybe it’s a fever.”
Sophie wasn’t suffering from any fever. She was developing feelings for her closest friend.
More feelings. New, different, complicated feelings that went beyond sharing stories and humor, confiding in one another about crap dates. Feelings that went further than great sex or the rush of adrenaline they got from sneaking around.
How long had it been since she had hope?
Hope that someone would like her for her; accept her exactly as she was. Hope that maybe, just maybe, she could be loved and love in return, without it all falling apart.
Hope was terrifying.
“I’m not sick. I’m tired.” She walked faster, eager to get away from her brother.
Once inside, she went straight to the elevator. He wouldn’t follow her to her room,
so that’s where she’d go. Surely no one would need her for the next few minutes and she could take a moment.
She needed time to think. Collect herself and her thoughts. Today, something had shifted. Didn’t matter that she and Wright had already slept together and that, in a way, this was their third time. No, today was something new, and there would be no going back.
As the elevator door opened, she hopped on and punched the third floor a few times for good measure.
Trevor stuck his hand in the door. His expression softened, but he didn’t move his hand. “You should get rest. But did you find some wine? Because you still haven’t said.”
She almost smacked her forehead.
The whole point of their day and their outing had escaped her. Wine and food wasn’t what weighed on her mind at the moment. “We found three options for the fund-raiser that will complement Wright’s menu for the perfect pairings of food and drink.” As she spilled out the same lines the waiter used on them, the elevator began to ping in protest of the open door.
“Good.” Trevor moved his hand, but his inquisitive look was back. Not good. “I’m sure it’ll be awesome. And hey, Dev wants to see you in a few minutes,” he called through the closing doors. “He asked me to find you since he couldn’t.”
The elevator doors closed and she slumped against the far wall.
She could not face Devlin right now. She couldn’t face anyone. Her glazed-over look was a postcoital, precrisis haze. And it had to be super obvious if Trevor noticed.
Once in her room, she sat on the edge of her bed and took a deep breath.
On her bedside table sat the photo of her parents. The parents she barely knew.
“I can’t face Dev right now. That’s a fact,” she told them.
Great, now she was talking to their picture like they could answer. She hadn’t spoken to them, aka talked to herself, in years.
It was the stress.
Lying to her family and hiding what she and Wright were up to, was driving her mad. The last time she’d talked to her parents, she was in college. Scared to death she was going to fail Statistics, flunk out of school, and let her brothers down when they were counting on her, she’d cried and vented to her dead parents almost every night for the last weeks of her junior year.
Sophie smiled, her bottom lip wobbling.
She’d felt crazy talking to them, but it’d helped. If only for the comfort of telling someone she was scared and alone, sharing with them, saying it out loud had helped.
“Ah, screw it, why not?” She scooted into the center of her bed and crossed her legs. “I’m sleeping with Wright—my friend, Dev’s best friend—and now I don’t know what to do. I can’t just tell my brothers, but today was so . . . so . . .” She blinked away the burning in her eyes. “It was wonderful. Perfect. I didn’t know . . . no one ever told me I’d feel this way.” Sophie gestured toward their picture. “I mean, you couldn’t have told me, I’m not blaming you, but . . . now what do I do?”
She wasn’t ready to tell her family about her and Wright, but she knew they were no longer just messing around.
“If you were here, I promise I wouldn’t have kept it from you,” she told her parents.
Would they have judged her if she had, though? Would she even know Wright if they were still alive? Chances were, if they’d survived, she would’ve never been close to Wright. Never gotten to know him enough to kiss him. To trust him. To care.
She shook off the thought, refusing to obsess over what-ifs.
“Anyway, I have kept it from my brothers, and now Wright and I are . . . well, I don’t know what we’re doing or what we are, but I’m in a pickle, that’s for sure. I’m about to pop for someone to talk to about all this, but there’s no one, and now I have to go talk to Dev about whatever, and I’m not sure how I’ll pull that off when even Trevor is giving me the side-eye. Ugh.” Sophie flopped over onto her side.
She lay there for a few minutes, a little calmer after blurting out the truth at her parents.
“I know. I have to go downstairs,” she told them. “I have to shower and pull myself together and act like I’ve got some sense. I can do that.”
She got out of bed before she could dawdle long enough to second-guess. She put out clean clothes and took off the ones she’d worn to the chateau. A shower and a few minutes to gather her senses, that’s all she needed.
All she got was the shower.
As soon as she stepped out and wrapped a towel around her, her phone pinged with its fifth text message. Four from Devlin asking her to find him as soon as possible, and one from Wright.
Dev is freaking out and wants to talk to us. He said it couldn’t wait until later tonight. Be warned.
Her stomach plummeted and she had to sit down again. She was growing weary of the worry about being found out, but this couldn’t be what she thought it was. How would Dev possibly know she and Wright had spent the day doing more than tasting wine? Everything was fine. It had to be.
Visions of Wright beneath her, his bottom lip trapped between his teeth, head thrown back to reveal the strong stretch of his throat, the first hints of a shadow beard along his jaw.
Go on baby, take it.
A delicious shiver ran through her at the memory.
Everything was not fine. Her life was flipping over, upside down and right side up, again and again. Cartwheeling out of control. If Devlin confronted her now about Wright, she’d never be able to lie. She might actually break down and start talking gibberish.
There was a big possibility she couldn’t be around Wright tonight without her skin flushing and her hands automatically seeking him.
This reaction wasn’t going to improve with time either.
She could only hope her brother’s urgency had nothing to do with her afternoon at the winery. But if Dev suspicioned they were up to something, dealing with it tomorrow night wouldn’t be any better than tonight. And putting off the moment of doom would only make her more anxious.
She sent a quick text off to Dev.
Got your texts. I’ll be down in fifteen.
So much for having a moment to herself.
When she reached the lobby, Dev was waiting on her. “Come on in the kitchen. I have to talk to the both of you.” He turned and all but marched toward the restaurant as though leading her to the gallows.
Dev shoved open the kitchen’s swinging doors. “Marco. Could you give us a few minutes? This won’t take long.”
Her stomach lurched again. She couldn’t meet Wright’s gaze, her hands growing clammy, her neck hot. Without looking at Wright, she knew he was tense. His unease radiated across the prep table between them, washing over her.
Once Marco was out of the room, Dev let out a rough sigh. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I had to talk to you immediately.”
She dug up the courage to glance Wright’s way. His face was white with a hint of green.
“I know what I’m doing, but—Shit. I’m not scared. I think you call this freaking out? If so, that’s what I’m doing. I’m freaking out.”
She wrinkled her nose and met Wright’s gaze full on as they echoed one another. “Huh?”
“About popping the question. Asking Anna to marry me.” Dev dug his hands into his dark hair and began to pace. “I’m rattled about it now and I don’t know why.”
“Oh.” Wright shot her a look.
“I love her,” Dev insisted as he picked up a serving spoon and set it back down. “I can’t imagine not being with her. It won’t always be easy, but we can handle whatever life throws at us. Why am I scared all of a sudden? I’m never scared.”
Wright’s pop of laughter was not the tactic Sophie would’ve gone with.
Dev spun on his best friend. “What the hell?”
“Of course you get scared. We all do. You didn’t want to deal with the people in town about the Blueberry Festival because you were scared. And you know why?”
His jaw held tight, Dev shook his head.
/> “Because you gave a damn. It mattered to you. If you don’t care, it’s easy not to be afraid. Afraid of failure or rejection. You wanted that festival to happen. You want Anna to be your wife. You care about her answer, and that’s why you’re scared.”
“But she’s not going to say no. You know that, right?” Sophie touched her brother’s arm.
Dev turned to her, his pale blue eyes wide. “Do I?”
Sophie’s heart clenched. As obvious as it was to everyone else that Anna was in love with him, Dev would always have frayed threads of doubt. Just like Sophie.
They’d both had turmoil and loss in their lives, everything from insecurity to abandonment. And though Sophie’s parents couldn’t help that they were ripped away from her, that didn’t make their absence any easier to bear.
Finding someone didn’t remove the damaged thread from Devlin and replace it with something perfect and new. It merely tied off the weak edges and wove around with something stronger. The kind of love that held a person together.
Anna wouldn’t say no to Dev, and she would never let him go.
Sophie hugged her brother, and Wright’s gaze locked with hers as he spoke. “She’s going to say yes, Dev. I guarantee. Anyone can see how she feels about you.”
As she stepped back, she swiped at her eyes. “Anna is going to say yes. All you have to do is ask.”
“But the longer you wait, the more it’s going to mess with your head.”
“You’re probably right.” Dev dragged a hand through his hair again.
“Of course we’re right. Now, why don’t you tell us how you’ve decided to ask?” Wright deftly maneuvered him to talk about his proposal plans, and Sophie took the moment to start breathing again.
There for a second she knew the ax was going to drop. Instead, Dev was worried about his future and his future wife.
She inhaled slowly, urging her nerves into check.
Dev reviewed his choice of proposal options, he and Wright delving into the details of each while her mind was a whirl of worst-case scenarios.
A Taste of Temptation Page 16