With Brave Wings

by Cara Dee

  "Tennyson," she warned, "I told you not to give me anything this year."

  "And I still don’t understand that," he chuckled. "But these are from Kayden, so if you want to complain, bring it up with him." Sophie mock-glared before rolling her eyes in amusement. "So why no gifts?"

  She shrugged and piled the two gift boxes on the countertop. "Just easier that way. I've turned into a bum. I come home from work—bra flying off like magic—shower, disappear into PJs, and the thought of sending out thank-you notes for the gifts or calling everyone and pretending I want to chitchat…it's like running a marathon. I don’t wanna."

  "Yeah, I can see why that would make you not want birthday presents." Tennyson smirked wryly, too damn amused by her adorableness. "Sending thank-you notes—even if it's a quick text—would get in the way of being lazy."

  "Exactly. You get it." Sophie walked over to the coffee maker again and poured two mugs. "Besides, I already have a gift for the three of us that will fill my quota of being sociable and making an effort."

  "Oh?" He smiled as she poured milk into his mug and sweetener into her own.

  It struck him how much he enjoyed these moments with her. It was domesticated and perhaps insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but he loved every minute of it.

  He also loved that she was so comfortable around him that she could be herself. And to him, it was when she was the most beautiful.

  Like most men, Tennyson could lose his shit over sexy lingerie and come-hither eyes, but he didn’t always want his partner on her A-game. He wanted the everyday things that came with stained yoga pants and no makeup. A side his woman would show only him.

  Shaking his head, he snapped out of it and focused on what Sophie was saying.

  "…so yeah, I asked my publicist for help." She brought their coffees over and sat down. "I haven't been fair—I know that now. Whenever you've asked me to come with you and Kayden to the beach or whatever, I've stayed hidden."

  She definitely had his attention now.

  "Did you come up with a plan, then?" He took a sip of his coffee, wondering why the fuck his never came out this great.

  She nodded. "I'm not interested in going to some club, but I'd like to go out with you and Kayden. So Sage told me to take the regular Hollywood route. It's safe, she says."

  "What's this Hollywood route I've never heard about?" Tennyson grinned, confused.

  Her mouth twisted into a smirk. "Courtside floor tickets at the NBA playoffs."

  Tennyson's brows lifted, and he chuckled because, now that he thought about it, he'd certainly seen many celebrities show up at sporting events. Celebrities who'd never shown interest in the sport before. He wondered idly how many had done it to announce something, be it an engagement ring, a pregnancy, or a new partner.

  "You don’t even like basketball, sweetie."

  He couldn’t say he was a big fan himself, though he didn’t change the channel if there was a game on. He'd played a little when he was young, but Asher had been more into it than he.

  "I know," she said with a sheepish grin, "but it might be a good way of coming out, so to speak. I mean, it's obvious. Everyone knows we're Kayden's parents, but we've never confirmed anything whatsoever. And at a game, paps wouldn’t shove cameras in our faces."

  "True." Tennyson set down his mug. "How did you manage to score tickets?" The playoffs were only weeks away, and he knew Asher was pulling all sorts of strings to get seats. But floor tickets? Christ.

  "Sage is good at what she does." She shrugged and grinned impishly. "So, what do you say? Wanna go to a game with me and Kayden?"

  Tennyson couldn’t quite express just how much he did, but he managed to chuckle a hell-fucking-yes.

  "Great! And I have one more thing I'd like to run by you before I let you go to bed."

  "What's that?" He drank more of his coffee, refraining from saying he was in no rush.

  "Brooklyn's looking for a new place for when Maliah starts eighth grade in the fall." Sophie reached over to the fruit bowl and snatched up an apple. "She doesn’t like the school district they're in now, but it's slim fucking pickings out there. I swear, I had no idea it was that bad." She bit into the fruit. "But anyway, Pali's a great place for kids, but it's expensive." She paused as she swallowed. "So I was wondering if you could help me buy a condo that I can sublet to her. It would help lower the costs, but I know nothing about real estate. I didn’t exactly have to look for this place, and Daniel took care of everything."

  "Of course I can help." He smiled, constantly reminded of what a sweetheart she was. A few years ago, she wouldn’t have cared about anyone other than herself, and now she wanted to make sure a friend of hers could live in a good school district. "You're a good friend, Sophie."

  She shook her head. "She's always been there for me. I'm just trying to even the score a bit."

  Fucking sigh. When would she stop putting herself down? He had to come up with something that would make her see.

  Chapter 13

  The following evening, Sophie arrived to one of her favorite restaurants with Brooklyn. Her party was already here, so they were shown into a private dining room where her closest friends waited.

  The regret of leaving Kayden with the nanny for the evening faded slightly, and she smiled widely as she was engulfed in hug after hug.

  "Happy birthday." Tennyson gave her a tight squeeze and kissed the top of her head. "I see you're wearing Kayden's gifts."

  That man. Sure, it was Kayden who'd picked out the white gold necklace and added two charms, one diamond heart and a "K." And it was Kayden who'd bought her the matching bracelet, too.

  "I'd smack you if I didn’t love them," she told him with narrowed eyes and a grin she couldn’t fight. "Thank you, Tennyson."

  "Thank our son." He winked before letting the next person greet her.

  It was Asher, and after they'd hugged, he presented her with a small gift bag. "It's from Kayden."

  "That, too." Noah pointed to a table in the corner where a bunch of gifts was stacked.

  "Oh yes, Kayden might have a shopping problem," Daniel said solemnly.

  "Jesus Christ." Sophie let out a laugh. It looked like she'd be sending out thank-you notes, after all.

  Two waiters came in with what looked like the entire menu's selection of drinks, and Sophie talked with Daniel and Zane a bit while the others took their seats.

  "Sorry I'm late."

  She turned around and saw Josh.

  Maybe it was because Sophie hadn't so much as kissed a guy in years that her body kind of went homina, homina, but that was good, right? She had to see if there was more than…than…ugh.

  Tennyson.

  "Let's take our seats, love." Daniel gave Sophie a knowing look before he dragged Zane away.

  She refrained from glaring at Daniel and instead walked closer to Josh and smiled. "Hi. I'm glad you came."

  "Yeah?" He grinned a little and rubbed the back of his neck. "I wasn’t sure it was a good idea. Unfortunately, I'm one of those who remember exactly how badly they fuck up while they're drunk."

  Here goes. She had sort of forgotten how to flirt, but she gave it a try. "Who said you fucked up?" She looked up at him from under her lashes.

  God, she felt stupid.

  Josh opened his mouth to respond but then closed it again and knitted his brows together.

  "You didn’t fuck up, Josh." She gave him a flirty smile before joining the others.

  The ball was in his court, and maybe she was interested in playing. She felt like she owed it to herself to try.

  *

  Sophie and Tennyson broke the news to Brooklyn about the condo after dinner as they were on their way back to the loft. Of course, she argued over and over, but it was only a front. Sophie managed to convince her by listing a few of the things Brooklyn had done for her. Whether it was a makeup emergency before a work event, babysitting Kayden, or teaching Sophie how to cook, Brooklyn had always been there.

  So t
hat was settled.

  "Thank you—"

  "Okay, that’s enough." Sophie chuckled and patted Brooklyn's arm. "It was fine the first three times you thanked us, but let's change the subject now."

  On the way into the building, she noticed Tennyson wasn’t there anymore, so she spun around to see him smirking and leaning against his car.

  "Aren't you coming up?" she asked, confused. Noah, Asher, and Josh were already upstairs. Daniel and Zane were going to New York tomorrow, so they'd declined.

  "I wanna check in on Pup, and since I'm getting up at five, I thought I'd crash at Asher's," he said.

  "Oh." She pouted and walked over to him. "What happens at five?"

  He smiled down at her and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm heading down to San Diego to look at a couple ranches for a Fight for Fighters project I'm starting."

  "Oh," Sophie repeated. He'd told her about their plans for expanding Fight for Fighters during dinner, and a part of her wanted to ask more. Be involved, help, contribute…

  "I'll be back tomorrow night once I've picked up Pup," Tennyson murmured. "Come here." He pulled her in for a hug. "Remember to buy Women's National tomorrow. Don’t think I didn’t see you throwing out the advanced copy they sent you."

  "Ugh. You had to remind me?" She wasn’t sure she wanted to read the interview she'd given about her…well, she supposed it had been a mild form of an eating disorder.

  "Hey." He broke the hug and gently grasped her chin. "Don’t you see what it is you do at all?"

  Sophie frowned. "I'm just…trying."

  "And succeeding." He smiled and shook his head. "You'll see soon, I promise." With a kiss to her forehead, he wished her a happy birthday again and then rounded the car to get in.

  She was left feeling confused, but that wasn’t new. Life was confusing in general. And much more comfortable in yoga pants, but those would have to wait because she had guests upstairs.

  The only person she was comfortable enough to wear hobo clothes around was driving away.

  "You coming?" Brooklyn asked.

  Sophie turned around and nodded, following Brooklyn into the elevator.

  When they reached the loft, they found Noah, Asher, and Josh in the living room, and Kayden's nanny was waiting in the kitchen. It had been an uneventful evening, which was always good.

  "Thank you so much, Angela." Sophie smiled and pulled out her phone. "I'll email you the schedule for next week. You're available for New York, right? There, sent."

  "Of course." Angela nodded. "Will that be an overnighter?"

  "It will, yeah. We'll fly out the afternoon before, and then I have the first interview at eight in the morning." She scrolled through the appointments Daniel had forwarded to her. "I'll book a hotel for you because Kayden and I will be staying with Lily and Savannah." After working with Lily in Pitter Platter—that animated movie—they'd grown close, and Lily and her wife had a son Kayden's age. Always a plus.

  Kayden was part of a small playgroup out here, but Sophie still jumped at every opportunity that offered some playtime with kids his age, and he loved Lily and Savannah.

  "Pierce!" Noah called. "The movie's waiting."

  She chuckled but wrapped it up with Angela, and once she'd left, Sophie joined the others on the couch. "I see you've raided my cupboards." She plopped down between Noah and Josh.

  "Your snacks are better than ours." Noah gave her cheek a loud kiss before he dug through a bag of chips.

  It was a good deal, though. She had the food and the guys had the alcohol.

  "All right, what're we watching?" She kicked off her shoes and got comfortable. She was a little surprised Asher had wanted to come up, but when she glanced over at him and Brooklyn, she got it. Seemed like the youngest Wright had decided to make a move—at fucking last.

  "We're watching Shaun of the Dead."

  Great…

  *

  After the first movie was over, Sophie checked in on Kayden before she slipped into her bedroom to change clothes. She couldn’t very well go with what she found most comfortable, so she settled for a pair of cute cotton shorts and a snug hoodie.

  She wanted to say bye-bye to her bra, but…

  Returning to the living room, she saw that Brooklyn and Asher were getting ready to leave.

  She quirked a brow at Brooklyn, who shrugged and widened her eyes innocently.

  "I don’t know what's going on," she mouthed behind Asher's back. Out loud, she said, "We're gonna go, honey. Asher offered to take me home."

  "How nice of him." Sophie threw Asher a smirk then hugged Brooklyn. "Thank you for tonight."

  "Thank you." Brooklyn grinned and leaned in to whisper, "I thought you were bullshitting me with Asher."

  Nope. She had been honest when she'd told her Asher had a thing for her.

  This would be fun.

  "It was good seeing you tonight, Sophie." Asher smiled and pressed a brief kiss to her temple. "Give my nephew a hug from me later."

  "I will." Sophie held the door open for them and watched Asher and Brooklyn leave. "Bye, guys."

  She couldn’t wait to tell Tennyson about this.

  Closing the door, she smirked to herself and turned toward the living room. A chuckle burst through her lips when she saw Noah sprawled out, a bag of Cheetos on his chest, dead to the world.

  "When did he fall asleep?" she asked Josh.

  "Ten minutes ago?" He laughed quietly and stood up from the couch. "Want me to help you clean up before I drag his ass over to our place?"

  Sophie waved it off. "Nah, I'll deal with it tomorrow." She was honestly a little disappointed. It wasn’t even midnight; she thought there'd be at least one more movie.

  "Dude." Josh shook Noah's shoulder. "Wake up."

  "Five minutes, Emma…" Noah batted away the hand.

  "Oh," Sophie mouthed. Who was this mysterious Emma?

  "Do I sound like a girl?" Josh huffed and shook his roommate again.

  That roused Noah enough. He grumbled something unintelligible and lifted his head, blinking drowsily. "Wh…what? Oh. Shit."

  There wasn’t a whole lot else to be said.

  Noah stood up, hugged her and thanked her for tonight, then left the loft. And Josh made a move to follow.

  He hesitated in the doorway.

  Sophie held her breath.

  What do I want? She didn’t know, but—fuck. She was sorta attracted to him, and it wasn’t healthy to keep imagining something that wasn’t real.

  "Thank you for inviting me tonight, Sophie."

  "I'm glad you came."

  Josh nodded and looked down. His lips parted as if he was gonna say something else, but he never did. Instead, he sent her another smile and then left.

  Fuck.

  Sophie closed the door and leaned back against it, her head hitting the wood with a thump.

  Finding a guy had never been an issue for her before, and there was something familiar with Josh's…hotness. He had that smooth body, the sharp jaw, piercing eyes, and killer smile.

  Whereas Tennyson… He was in a league of his own. He was rugged and intense. Dimples and kind eyes, a contrast to all the rough edges of his beard, unruly hair, stockier frame, sinful smirk, and ability to tower over her. He left too much of an impression. He was like an endless world to discover. He set her on fire.

  Josh was hot. Hot, smart, and very nice.

  Sophie wanted something simple. She didn’t want to overthink or risk losing herself.

  A firm rap on the door brought her out of her musings and nearly knocked the breath out of her.

  He's back.

  She knew it.

  Sucking in a breath, she moved away from the door and opened it, finding Josh staring down at her.

  He clenched his jaw and reached out to palm her cheek. Softly, the pad of his thumb brushed over her skin. "So fucking beautiful."

  Sophie slipped her fingers beneath the waistband of his pants and yanked him into the condo. Josh cursed and dippe
d down, capturing her mouth with his in a kiss.

  Okay.

  She waited for the wave of lust to roll through her.

  Josh slammed the door shut behind them and backed her up against a wall. The kiss deepened fast, and she needed to push it.

  "The couch, the couch." She moaned and threw her head back as he grazed his teeth along her neck. Fuck, this was…different. She hitched one leg over his hip, and Josh groaned and picked her up off the floor.

  Come on.

  The second her back hit the couch, her body finally heated up a little. Josh was hard as a rock between her thighs, and she bucked her hips to feel more of him.

  Okay.

  "Oh, yeah," he grunted. "Please tell me I can fuck you, Sophie."

  Everything came to a stop for her at that point. Like the sound of wheels screeching and skidding, she froze as Josh's words went on a loop in her head. She breathed heavily, her lips tingling from his kisses, but the rest of her body had been dunked under ice-cold water.

  "I…" She tried to speak.

  "Shit." He raised himself up a few inches, eyes wide. "I'm moving too fast. I'm sorry."

  But it wasn’t only that.

  I wouldn’t be panicking if this were Tennyson lying on top of me.

  "I wanna do this right," Josh whispered. "I wanna take you on dates and be there for Kayden."

  Oh my God.

  "Could you just—" Sophie gently nudged him away so she could sit up. And try to breathe. She suddenly felt nauseated—and pissed and more confused than ever. She knew she was minutes away from bawling her eyes out. "I'm sorry, Josh—I… This is overwhelming." What a fucking understatement. Her skin crawled. She hadn't thought this through. "I'm so sorry."

  Josh sat back with a sigh and adjusted himself in his pants. "It's okay. Really. Want some time to think about it?"

  Christ, she didn’t only want it—she needed it.

  *

  Washington DC

  Before her guest appearance on a talk show, Sophie took Daniel out for lunch to celebrate his engagement. It was Zane who had proposed, and Daniel was over the moon.