by Cara Dee
Tennyson smiled politely and shook the host's hand, the two exchanging a few words and a chuckle or two before it was Sophie's turn.
John hugged her and kissed her cheek. "Welcome back to the show."
"Good to be here again, John." She smiled then waved to the audience and took her seat closest to John's desk. Tennyson was already seated in the chair on the other side of her.
"We've been waiting." John grinned as the crowd continued to go nuts.
Sophie automatically sought out Tennyson's hand, and he wove their fingers together, which caused the audience to cheer louder. God, it was…indescribable. Crazy. Humbling. The shiny side of the penny that was Hollywood.
"With that out of the way…" John scanned his audience with a smirk and a pointed look. Then back to Sophie and Tennyson. "First of all, congratulations are in order. Your son must be excited about becoming a big brother next spring—" He was cut off by the applause, and he laughed. "Come on, people! We're here to talk about A Killer's Walk! And, between you and me, Sophie—is Judah Finch single?"
She laughed softly, noticing the audience seemed extremely interested in that answer, too. "I'm sorry, who's Judah?"
On cue, a big screen rolled down behind them with a promotional poster of Judah and Sophie.
"Oh, I think you've met him, young lady!" John wagged his finger, though he was quick to move on. "Tennyson, how was it to work with Sophie and Judah?"
"Terrible," he drawled, only to wink at the crowd.
Sophie wanted to jump him. Stupid horny hormones.
*
San Francisco
"He fell asleep fast," the interviewer said with a warm laugh.
Sophie smiled down at Kayden, who'd dropped off the second they'd arrived at the hotel room where she'd be stuck for the rest of the weekend for interviews. First up was a magazine that spotlighted various charities.
"We went shopping for Christmas gifts this morning," she told the woman. "I guess he takes after Tennyson—shopping puts them both to sleep."
It was liberating not having to skirt around the topic of her family anymore.
"That’s so cute. Is he around or is he working?"
"Tennyson? Today he's in San Diego. He's busy with post-production for A Killer's Walk, but they needed his help at the ranch, so he flew down with our pups." Sophie got comfortable on the couch and nodded in thanks when Lucy brought her a bottle of juice.
The interviewer went on. "This would be Fight for Fighters? He runs it?"
"Asher, his brother, owns the organization, but the rehabilitation ranch in San Diego is Tennyson's baby." She grinned. "I think he's bringing home a new dog for us this holiday, actually."
They'd discussed stability for their dogs and decided to do like Asher from now on. With Mendocino becoming their primary home, they'd hire a house sitter so the pups never had to leave—unless Sophie and Tennyson would be gone for almost a year, like Australia. Quarantine wasn't worth the trouble for anything less than a long stay.
"That’s wonderful. So many dogs and cats get abandoned—especially around the holidays." The woman shook her head. "But anyway." She smiled. "Tell me about Central Living."
*
San Francisco
"You sure you don’t want me to stick around?" Lucy asked, concerned. "The recorder is behind the chair—I switched it on."
"It's fine, thanks." Sophie smiled reassuringly. "Take a break, call your husband." She'd handled worse journalists in her life, and the next one wasn’t about to change anything.
Not that she'd call Jessica Jensen a journalist. She'd gone from running a gossip blog to hosting a gossip column at a well-known trade, but gossip was still gossip, and she could be vicious.
Said woman walked in wearing high heels and a fake smile, and they went through the equally fake process of air kissing and complimenting each other's clothes.
The first questions were innocent enough, but Sophie was on to her. Jessica slid into the topic of clubbing and jet-setting.
"You don’t miss it at all?"
Sophie shook her head and smiled pleasantly. "No, it's not for me anymore." She knew she had to choose her words carefully, even if a recorder behind her chair was documenting everything for Sage. "I still love going out with my friends, but we keep it smaller."
Jessica nodded and looked down at her tablet. "Did you hear Cassandra Whittington is dating a player from the 49ers?"
"Nope, afraid I didn’t hear that." Sophie withheld her amusement. "I'm happy for her."
"You two had quite the public fight a couple years ago." Jessica raised a brow. "Did you ever solve your…issues?"
"We grew apart—wasn’t much to solve. We're simply different people these days."
She hummed and scrolled on her tablet. "How long have you and Tennyson Wright been together?"
"Not long enough." Sophie grinned.
Jessica grew frustrated, but there was no way she'd win this.
*
San Francisco
"I can't wait to see you, either." Sophie sighed and looked out the window. They were stuck in traffic on the way to the airport, and all their plans had changed. Having been forced to stay longer, they wouldn’t be able to drive up to Mendocino. She'd fly up there now instead, and Tennyson would meet her there tonight. He'd already had their cars sent up there.
"Kayden still behaving?" he asked, a bunch of dogs barking in the background. He chuckled. "How the hell do I only choose one pup? They're all fucking adorable. I think Max has picked one, though."
Sophie laughed softly, but before she could reply, Lucy looked at her apologetically and tapped her watch.
"I'm sorry, honey, but I gotta go." Fuck, she missed him so much. "I have an online interview to get through before we get to the airport."
"Okay, I'll see you tonight. Love you."
"Love you more. Bye." She hung up the phone and answered the questions from Lucy's online questionnaire. Most of them were about work and charity, and then the final ones were a bit more personal.
"Hmm, next one…" Lucy adjusted her glasses. "'Do you have any advice for those who are new in the industry?'"
Sophie hated those questions. She was actually the wrong person to ask because she'd been born into it. "Ugh. Um…" She racked her brain as she reached over to retrieve Kayden's blankie from the floor. "Always keep fighting—no, that sucks." Closing her eyes, she thought back to her dad. And it was pretty simple after that. "Never lose sight of who you are." In Hollywood, in particular, it was too easy to get lost and forget.
Lucy nodded and typed it down. "Last one. 'Can you tell us about a defining moment of your life? Something about only you. Something that helped shape who you are today.'"
Jeesh, there were countless of those moments. In the past few years alone, Sophie had been sent on multiple roller coaster rides of emotions simply because of revelations or something that had happened. But most recently, it would be the night on the rooftop in Cardiff.
"I think I found peace when I stopped running," she answered pensively. "Goals are amazing to have, but for a long time, I was always chasing something, and I didn’t even know what it was. Answers, maybe. But I realized I will never be finished. I'm a work in progress until the day I die. So I stopped running. I stopped trying to understand life and just live it instead."
Lucy looked over at her and smiled. "I love that." The car came to a stop then, and this was it for now. She was heading back to LA to spend the holidays with her husband, and Sophie and Kayden were off to Mendocino. "See you next year?"
Sophie chuckled. "See you next year, hon."
*
"I can't anymore…" Sophie gasped and fell back against the mattress, completely fucking spent. "I can't—I can't."
"One more." Tennyson groaned hoarsely and continued moving inside her. His cock was harder than ever, it felt like. Thick and long, stroking her insides and all soaked from her orgasms. "Fuck—" He gritted his teeth and swiveled his hips to reach deeper and ru
b his pelvis against her clit. "Love seeing you in my house—our house, our bed."
"I can't come again, Tennyson," she whimpered.
The northern California wind was icy outside the bedroom window, and the patio furniture rattled against the wooden floor of the second-story balcony. It was too dark to see the ocean and the cliffs, but the harsh winds made it impossible to forget where they were.
Home.
Palming Tennyson's scruffy cheeks, she locked their gazes together and kissed him softly while he buried himself deep. She was out of breath and exhausted, yet filled with so much energy.
Everything fit into place. Them as parents, best friends, and partners. Their friends. The city home in Pacific Palisades. Their son who slept peacefully in his room across the hall. Their family. This house—gorgeous, rustic, spacious but not huge, homey and warm, old enough to have reading nooks and creaky floors, upgraded enough to have interior design magazines drooling. It was their fortress of solitude.
"You know this is home now, right?" She exhaled and arched her back, her body coming to life once more. Damn, she hadn't thought it was possible. "I love it here."
"Yeah?" He smiled and kissed her passionately. "Did you take the grand tour earlier?"
Of course she had. From the five bedrooms and the bathrooms up here to the kitchen, office, living room, and backyard downstairs. Tomorrow, she'd go into town and buy Christmas decorations.
"Mmhmm…" She nodded and closed her eyes, her hands trailing up his solid arms. "I can't wait to fill it with memories."
"You have no fucking idea how happy that makes me." He brushed some damp hair away from her face and pressed his lips to her temple.
She let out a moan as he rubbed her clit more firmly, and it was only a matter of minutes before she was sent into another frenzy of need for him. Their night continued, and the sky would be graying with a dim morning light by the time they crashed.
*
When Sophie woke up the next morning, the bed was empty, her stomach was tight with hunger, and she could hear voices and music coming from downstairs. Christmas music.
She freshened up in the bathroom and stole a pair of boxers from Tennyson. Then a snug hoodie followed, and she headed downstairs to find her guys goofing around in the kitchen. Pots and pans hung above the kitchen island in the middle of the space, and Tennyson grabbed one Kayden could use as a hat.
Looking past the adjacent dining room area and living room, she saw that the Christmas music was coming from the flat screen.
"Now the aliens from your cartoon won't be able to find you." Tennyson grinned and then went to the fridge to bring out ingredients for…something.
"Like de TV, Daddy," Kayden giggled. "Boys this hat!"
"Yeah, the boys wore those on TV," Tennyson agreed. "You wanna shake that Christmas butt or help me with breakfast?"
"Eggssss!" Kayden ran a victory lap around the island as a new Christmas song came on, and then he held up his arms. "Up, pwease?"
Tennyson picked him up and sat him down on the counter next to the stove. "Okay, let's make pancakes. Mommy likes blueberry this time." He poked Kayden's tummy and smiled. "When she was pregnant with you, she hid chocolate from Daddy. Can you believe that?"
Sophie stifled a laugh behind her hand, staying somewhat hidden in the doorway.
"I wan'eggs." Kayden scrunched his nose.
"You'll get your eggs." Tennyson nodded. "Then we're gonna bundle you up so we can go pick out a Christmas tree in town."
It had been fun watching the two, and Max and Pup were probably dozing off in the living room, but the newest addition to the family chose that moment to give away Sophie's location.
The twelve-week-old Doberman puppy was energetic and full of spirit despite her horrid beginning in life. She'd been branded and mutilated, her tail and one of her ears missing.
Sophie smiled and bent down to scratch her gently along her neck.
"Mommy, eggs!" Kayden called.
Straightening, Sophie chuckled and walked over to the stove. "Morning." She kissed Kayden before tilting her head up to Tennyson.
He hummed into a firm kiss. "Morning, sweetie. Sleep well?"
"Definitely." She peered at the bowl of blueberries. "Anything I can do?"
"One thing, if you don’t mind." He nodded over at the living room. "There're plans for the next ranch spread out on the coffee table. Could you take a look and let me know what you think?"
"Of course." Sophie couldn’t help but feel excited. It happened every time he sought out her advice and wanted her opinion on something.
It always mattered.
*
Considering how small Mendocino was, Sophie drove to nearby Fort Bragg to do her shopping. It was the first time she'd ever been to Walmart, and…yeah. But everything was so cheap, and she filled two carts with food, drinks, decorations, and…well, there was a dollar spot, and things ended up in her cart like magic.
Flushed and kind of high on adrenaline, she packed up her SUV and headed back home.
Tennyson and Kayden had returned as well, and she found them in the living room. A large Christmas tree took up the corner near the glass doors that led to the backyard, and their son was fast asleep on the couch. Pitter Platter was running on the flat screen, which made Sophie grin.
"Honey, I'm home," she sang.
Tennyson stepped back from the tree and chuckled. "Are we turning into one of those families?"
"Up here, I want that domesticated bliss, hell yeah." She smirked.
"You won't find me complaining." He smiled and jerked his chin toward where she came in. "Do you need any help with the groceries?"
"Yes, please. When did he fall asleep?"
They walked outside together, and he told her Kayden had just fallen asleep, so that should give them a couple hours before starting dinner.
Tennyson opened up the back of the SUV and raised a brow. "Did you buy the entire store?"
"I…I don’t know what happened." She bit her lip and eyed all the bags. "It got a little wild."
He laughed and shook his head. "Fair enough." He kissed her on the forehead and began carrying all the shit inside.
Sophie helped with a few of the lighter bags because it was all he allowed. It was as though men thought women became physically disabled when pregnant. But anyway, that gave her plenty of time to stow away the food and then start decorating the tree.
Even though she'd done this before, it felt brand new.
A while later, Tennyson came up and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "You look happy."
"I am." She turned around in his arms and smiled up at him. "I like it when I'm right. Didn’t I tell you I'd love it here?"
He laughed softly and kissed her nose. "You did." He searched her eyes, something Sophie didn’t recognize flitting past in his gaze—nervousness? Then it was gone. He kissed her again, lingering. "Does this mean you want to share this home with me?"
She nodded, only to freeze when he got down on one knee.
"For the rest of our lives?" He was holding a ring between his thumb and forefinger, a gorgeous diamond ring. Holy shit. "As my wife?"
Sophie exhaled shakily. Her gaze flicked between his and the ring.
Oh, my God.
"Yes." She gulped as her eyes welled up. This was totally overwhelming. Marriage had barely entered her mind yet, but her entire body buzzed with only a single word. "Yes, yes, yes!" She threw her arms around him, and he let out a breathy laugh as they tumbled backward on the floor.
"I love you, Sophie," he murmured thickly. He kissed her deeply and slid the ring onto her finger. "Fuck, I'm relieved."
"Why? Did you honestly think I'd say no?" She grinned tearfully and flexed her fingers, in love with her ring.
He shrugged a little and tucked some hair behind her ear. "I wasn’t sure if you were ready yet. And also, I wasn’t a hundred percent certain the ring I borrowed from your jewelry box was for the ring finger." He smirked. "I would've bee
n fucked if I'd gotten your engagement ring fitted after one for your thumb."
Sophie gigglesnorted and smacked her lips to his. "You're a dork." She couldn’t help but admire her ring again. Several diamonds, small ones, sparkling around a larger one. "I wonder what your mother will think." She quirked a brow at…her fucking fiancé!
Tennyson hummed and traced her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. "I think you'll be surprised. Now…" He replaced his digit with his mouth. "How about a celebratory quickie before our son wakes up?"
*
The next two days went by fast, and Sophie spent her time making plans with Tennyson about smaller changes in the house, worrying because she had never had this much to lose before, being completely blissed out, nervous about hosting her first holiday for so many people, including friends and family from both sides… She was a damn mess.
"Stop." He grabbed her by her arms and kept her from opening the fridge. "You're stressing yourself out. It's not good for you, it's not good for the little one, it's not good for me."
"Everyone's coming in less than an hour!" she argued.
She'd gotten a good head start on bread, side dishes, the turkey, and the house was spotless. But she had so much more, and Karen Friggin' Wright would inspect every inch of the place, Sophie just knew it. Tennyson claimed otherwise, but the past spoke volumes. Karen wanted perfection for her son.
Tennyson leveled her with a look. "If it were only you and me and Kayden tonight, what would you be doing right now?"
That was easy. "Wearing my fucking yoga pants and eating cookie dough. Why?"
He chuckled. "Then put them on and go eat cookie dough. Fuck what anyone else says, and I'll take care of the rest. Okay? Isn't that what women want, a man in the kitchen?" He winked.
It lightened the mood, though there was no way she was putting on yoga pants. She'd struggled too hard to fit into a nice dress.
"No, women want to eat whatever they want without gaining weight," she deadpanned. Then she let out a sigh and managed a small grin. "Fine, I'll chillax. A little."
"All right, and what can I do to help?"
Sophie glanced around, pondering. The dining room table had been set, the fudge was cooling… "Are all the Christmas gifts and stockings in place?"