And that’s the thought that came spewing out.
“None of us have heard a word from you in forever.” As soon as she said it, the caveat came to her.
Trevor.
Sue nodded, looking as wrecked. “You made it clear you’d prefer not to hear from me for a while, so I stayed away.”
“Prefer not to hear from—what the hell?”
Wright moved forward, still holding on to her, his touch a solid support. “Maybe right now isn’t the best time to do this.”
Sue looked from Wright to Sophie and back again.
A quick understanding lit in her eyes as she looked at both of them. Wright with his hand on Sophie’s, his presence close and sure. For all she knew, Sue had watched them kiss.
It didn’t matter that Sue had been out of her life for a while now. She’d still known Sophie since she was a baby, and Wright almost as long.
Without saying a word, Sue’s gaze met Sophie’s, a question hovering between them.
And Sophie refused to answer.
She didn’t need to know what was going on with her and Wright, but she better have an explanation for showing up out of nowhere.
“You can’t show up here,” Sophie blurted out.
“I did call. Or rather, Trevor called and invited me.”
“He what?” Sophie’s question boomed across the verandah, and everyone drew up short.
“I wanted to come see all of you, but I didn’t know how or think it was a great idea until Trev told me about Dev and how well things are going now.”
Sophie turned to Wright, clutching his arm tighter. “You have to find Trevor. We need to fix this before the bomb gets dropped on Dev and Roark too.”
“I will.” Wright peeled her hand from his arm and held them in his. “I’ll find Trevor. Everything is going to be fine.”
As much as she appreciated the sentiment, she knew it wasn’t true.
Nothing was going to be fine now.
She didn’t know why her mom was here or why Trevor had summoned her, but her sudden appearance was not something the Bradley family was ready for. The last years of hard-fought peace and respect could easily fracture in the face of the woman who’d walked out on them.
Old hurts, bitter feelings. There might be a time and a place to come together, someday, but this wasn’t it.
Yet here she was.
“It’ll be okay.” Wright squeezed her hand, probably attempting to bring her back down to earth. Remind her of what was real, of their plans.
But there was no way she could go through with telling her brothers about the two of them now. Not with this shit about to hit the fan. When they all dodged this bullet, then she would talk to her brothers.
The truth about her and Wright would have to wait.
“Thanks for saying so.” She squeezed his hand in return. “But I doubt it.”
Chapter 22
One look and he knew. The window of opportunity they were going to take to come clean about their relationship, to talk about the future, had closed.
His perfect time to tell her about Asheville and Charleston was gone.
Now everything would be about the sudden reappearance of Suzanne Bradley. Once again, Honeywilde and the family would be in an uproar.
Call him selfish, but he wasn’t having it.
He left Sophie’s side to go find Trevor and made a vow that he wasn’t going to lose her in the chaos. There would be chaos, no doubt. And hurt feelings, but he wasn’t going to let what they’d built, the fact that now Sophie had let him in, get shoved aside in the fray.
Her words came back to him.
I don’t know how to exist unless I’m in crisis recovery mode. I don’t know how to enjoy this. Any of this. Life.
At the first sign of her family fracturing, Sophie would rush to her family’s rescue. And he loved her for it, he did. But in her efforts to save everyone else, she’d pull away. He knew it.
She’d put everything she wanted, all of her need and dreams and desires, on the back burner in order to serve others.
That was not going to happen to them. Not with him.
He wouldn’t let Sophie weather this storm alone while taking care of everyone else. And once the winds settled, he’d still be with her. They would still be together.
Trevor was downstairs, standing on the outskirts of the party, but well within earshot of Dev and Roark.
“Trev.” He tried to wave him over without the other two noticing.
No such luck.
“Yeah, man.” Trevor approached him, beer in hand, casual as could be, like he hadn’t invited their estranged mother to show up at Honeywilde after years of little to no communication.
Devlin watched them first, Roark’s gaze trailing right behind.
Wright kept his voice as low as possible given the music from the band. “We need to talk upstairs.”
“What’s up?”
“I think you know. The guest you invited?” He glared at Trevor, willing him to follow his meaning without making him say it. “She’s here.”
“The guest I invi—Oh.” His brow scrunched, he looked past Wright. “She’s here? Now?”
“She said you told her to come.”
“Not tonight.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not sure why you thought it wise to invite her at all without telling everyone else, but she’s here. And Sophie isn’t happy. You need to go fix this.”
“Right. Got it. Hold my beer.” Trevor shoved the pint glass into his hand and took off for the stairs.
Roark and Devlin confronted him as soon as Trev was gone.
“What’s going on?” Roark asked.
Dev’s intense stare bored into his skin.
“Nothing. Something Sophie needed help with.”
“And Trevor took off like that?” Dev’s doubtful tone made Wright nervous.
Devlin could smell bullshit a mile away. He’d been distracted enough by Anna and the pending engagement not to clue in on what he and Sophie were doing, but Wright got the feeling all obliviousness had worn off.
“What’s really going on? I’ve never seen Trev move that fast or be urgent about anything. And you look sick.”
Roark set his glass down and moved in to complete their circle. “The kitchen isn’t on fire again, is it?”
Wright glared at Dev. “You told him about the fire?”
“I had to.”
Roark stiffened enough to seem two inches taller, his voice taking on a sharp tone. “Is something on fire right now or not?”
Only everything. “Nothing is on fire. The inn is fine, just . . .”
Shit. As soon as he told them, the storms would blow in. His plans, Sophie finally finding the courage to open up about their relationship, it’d all be swept away by the hurt and betrayal.
But Dev and Roark had a right to know. That was their mother upstairs, and their issues, the same as they were Sophie’s.
“Your mother is here. Upstairs, with Sophie and Trevor.” He got it all out as quickly as possible.
Roark blinked, his expression blank.
“You’re kidding.” Dev’s voice was flat, but his eyes held an edge.
Wright met his gaze. “Would I ever joke about that?”
A wall fell over his best friend’s face. A mask he hadn’t seen in months. “No.”
As if sensing the shift in mood from ten feet away, Anna quickly joined them. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Roark straightened his arms by his side. “Nothing is wrong. You guys stay here. We’re not doing this right now. I’ll handle it.”
He stalked toward the stairs, leaving Anna and Madison to stare at each other. “Doing what?”
“Our mother is here.” Dev’s words were still without inflection as he turned to Anna. “I need to go with Roark. I’d rather you stay here until I know what the hell is going on.”
“I can do that. I think,” she said.
They all looked at Wright.
“I’m go
ing with you, man,” he told Devlin.
His best friend jerked his chin down in something resembling a nod, and Wright followed him up the stairs.
This was just fantastic.
Of all the times Suzanne could’ve chosen to return, she had to pick now.
It was some phenomenally shitty timing.
They got upstairs. As soon as they were close enough to see that no one else from the party lingered on the verandah, Roark’s question came with a tone that could strip wood. “What made you think tonight was a good time for this?”
Trev’s hands went up. “I did not say come tonight.”
Right behind Devlin, Wright took in the scene before him and cringed.
Sophie appeared ready to melt into the verandah’s floor; her mother stood, stone-faced, while Trevor looked panicked. And Roark was pissed.
Beyond pissed.
Wright had seen the eldest Bradley on a protective tangent, but this was a whole new level. Either because of the family’s newly won closeness or because now he had Madison, Roark was on the warpath.
“You said to come as soon as I could,” Sue Bradley argued.
“And to let me know.” Trevor’s volume went up a click. “Not just show up. This isn’t helping to accomplish anything.”
Dev moved to stand by Roark’s side. “What is there to accomplish? She shouldn’t be here.”
“Trevor told me you got engaged and how well you were doing.” The hopeful pleading in Sue’s voice made Wright want to hide.
She probably meant well. She was their mother, so she must love them, but as a parent, she’d screwed up. And then left them; her ex-husband not too far behind.
“I’m doing fine.” Devlin stared at something past Sue, looking right through her. “Still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
“I wanted to congratulate you. All of you.”
Dev leveled a look at her. “You could’ve called or sent a letter.”
Wright wanted to intervene. He hated seeing Dev like this. Didn’t realize how much he hated it until he’d gone months without seeing the icy veneer in place.
And through all of it, Sophie remained stock still and silent.
He wanted to go to her. Shield her from what was happening, soothe the pain that put the lines of hurt on her face.
He could imagine what she was thinking. Her worst fear, now playing out in front of them.
She’d been happy tonight. For the first time in a long time, she had something for herself, with him, and they were both happy.
Now this.
Sue shook her head. “There’s too much to talk about, so much I want to say, and it can’t be said over the phone.”
“So you show up, unannounced. Uninvited.” Roark’s voice went lower. “Not thinking how it might affect the rest of us. We’re not doing this now. You can come back tomorrow or the next day, but tonight, this conversation is over.”
“I was invited,” Sue rushed to say. “Trevor said it was okay.”
Trevor threw his hands up and let them land against his sides with a slap. “Later. If you let me know. I told you to let me know when you could visit. I didn’t say drop by anytime.”
“And you didn’t think to let us in on your invitation?” Roark turned on him.
Sophie snapped out of whatever trance she was in and moved closer to Trevor. “Everybody calm down. We have guests downstairs. I’m sure Trevor meant well. Obviously there’s a misunderstanding. I think we can all agree, now is not the best time to do this.”
“I can’t think of a worse time,” Roark sneered.
Then Madison and Anna appeared at the top of the stairs and moved closer. Anna shot Dev a look of apology and shrugged, but Madison had her sights set on Roark. “Are you okay? I thought I heard you all the way downstairs.”
“You know what?” Roark tossed his hands up. “That’s it. We’re done talking for now, and that’s final. Whatever this is, it can wait until the gala is over.”
“It can wait forever,” Dev mumbled.
“It’s late for her to be driving,” Trevor murmured.
“And we live in an inn with plenty of rooms.” Roark was already turning away.
“Exactly.” Sophie grabbed at the opening for nonconfrontation and ran through it. “You can check in, and we’ll handle all of this later. I’ll get you some keys.”
“No, I’ll get it.” Trevor stopped her with a hand on her arm. “I did this, I’ll handle it.”
Dev glared at his youngest brother’s admission.
As soon as Trevor convinced Sue to go with him, Wright went to Sophie’s side.
With the wisdom not to say anything right away, he stood close enough to brush against her.
“What the hell?” Dev finally spoke at a normal volume.
Anna touched his arm. “Was that your—”
“Yes. That was our mother.”
She slowly covered her mouth. “Why would Trevor ask her to come here?”
Sophie glanced at Wright, on the precipice of panic.
She and Trevor had talked the other day. He knew about her and Wright, and understood. They were closer now, and her knee-jerk reaction would be to come to his defense. To assuage everyone’s anger at him and try to smooth everything out.
True to form, she took a heavy breath and put her hands out. “Let’s all keep our voices down. I’m sure Trevor had a valid reason, and we can ask him as soon as he gets her settled.”
“There is no valid reason for this.”
“Dev.”
Dev shook his head, his mouth a thin line. “I don’t need her to congratulate me. We’re doing fine without her. Why now?”
“I don’t know, but everyone getting riled up won’t help.”
He let out a gruff sigh and took a few steps away.
Dev was as shaken as Wright had ever seen him, and with good reason. He’d been more estranged from their mom and dad than any of them, and he’d probably hoped to go a long while, if not forever, without having their involvement in his life.
“I’m sure he meant well.” Sophie looked to Wright and then past him.
He’d be damned if he wasn’t going to her aid, even though he thought Trevor was batshit for doing this.
“Sophie’s right. Trevor is a lot of things, but malicious isn’t one of them. If he asked your mom to come here, then it must be for a good reason. Make amends, settle some things. I don’t know. But I do know we have a patio full of guests who need to donate a lot of money.”
Sophie’s eyes widened. “Yes. Exactly. We have a gala to finish, and we can’t be up here hashing things out while Roark is down there alone.”
“Fine.” Dev paced back toward them, his jaw clenched tight enough to crack. “This is bullshit, but I’m not ruining a good thing because she showed up. We can deal with her later.”
Anna put her arm under Dev’s, her voice low as she spoke to him.
Wright realized Sophie still stood alone, her entire body rigid.
As the others made their way to the stairs, she cast him an unfocused look and began to follow.
She was walking away.
Did she intend on facing the rest of the evening alone, all because she didn’t want anyone to know about them yet? Deal with the fact that their mother was back and no one really understood why, alone, while everyone else had someone to lean on?
No way.
As they brought up the rear, Wright grabbed her hand. He laced their fingers together and brought her hand up to place a kiss over her fingers. “It’ll be okay,” he whispered.
Her posture remained stiff, her voice shaky. “How?”
“I have no clue, but it will.”
She shook her head, but let him hold on.
The entire night, he stayed by her side. He was there in case she needed him again, but she never did. Eventually, the party drew to a close, and the music ended, but not once did they ever dance.
Chapter 23
The first thing she saw when she woke w
as the photo of her biological parents.
Sophie rolled away and pulled the covers up higher, praying the day would magically go away.
She couldn’t deal with Suzanne right now, she didn’t want to see and hear her brothers argue, and most of all, she didn’t want to face Wright.
Last night, she’d smiled so hard, pretending everything was okay, that her entire body ached.
Wright had tried to talk as the gala ended, but she’d kept herself too busy, intentionally around others the whole time, so that he couldn’t get her aside. He wanted to be there for her, because that’s how Wright was, and she appreciated that. But with her family, with this going on, he couldn’t possibly help.
He’d texted her several times last night to check on her. Her only reply was to say I’m okay.
He’d know it was a lie. Of course she wasn’t okay. She’d been okay for a day or two before her mother showed up, and wasn’t that the problem? A little bit of happiness led to a whole lot of heartache.
And last night, if Wright had pushed to tell her brothers they were together, it would’ve been too much. All the pressure and frustration. The wounded part of her that never went away had resurfaced in the face of her mother, and it all would’ve come pouring out onto him. She didn’t want her hurt and anger making a target of him.
With a curse, she pushed herself to sit upright. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t hide in her room all day.
Once in the shower, she closed her eyes and tried to take deep breaths.
She thought about Trevor on that rock, doing yoga.
Poor Trev. What the hell was he thinking?
After a few minutes, her heart stopped jumping, her pulse not galloping fast enough to make her light-headed.
She was a big girl; she could do this. They were all adults. Somehow they’d get through their mother coming back, figure out the real reason why, and deal with whatever came after.
But she was not about to pile the truth of her and Wright on top of everything else. Then the two of them would be a source of problems. They would be the issue, and she had worked too hard for her family’s happiness to become one of their problems.
Wright had to understand that.
She got out, dried off, and took in her tired reflection.
Everyone was already keyed up and on edge. Now was not the time to lower another boom.
A Taste of Temptation Page 22