Tempting Sophia

by Jessica Prince

  She shook her head on a heavy exhale and stood upright. I expected her to head back inside, so she shocked the hell out of me when she rounded the hood and climbed into the passenger seat. “It’s freaking freezing out there, and I’m not letting you inside. You want to talk? Well, here’s your chance. Start talking. You’ve got five minutes.”

  I hadn’t been prepared to see her, let alone speak to her. So her giving me this chance caught me off guard. I froze, completely unprepared.

  She rolled her eyes, shaking her head at my silence, and started for the door handle. “Whatever. I’m out of here.”

  “Wait. No.” I grabbed her arm to keep her in place. “I’m sorry. Just… give me a second. I wasn’t expecting you is all. I’m not quite sure where to start.”

  Her chest rose on a deep inhale. “Why don’t you start with Chelsea?”

  I nodded, looking straight ahead through the windshield. My hands went to the steering wheel, gripping it so tight in an effort to keep from touching Sophia that my knuckles turned white.

  “I met her a few years ago in a bar. I’d never seen her before in my life. It was nothing more than a one-night stand. I didn’t know until after I slept with her that she was dating my father.” I turned my head, my gaze going straight to her as I implored, “You have to believe that, butterfly. I never would’ve done something that despicable.”

  She closed her eyes and looked away from me, but nodded for me to continue. So I did.

  “She was stacking the deck in her favor. You know as well as anyone that the Abbatellis are known all over New York. How much we’re worth is no secret. She got her hooks into my father, but when she discovered he wasn’t so easily manipulated, she sought me out. She thought I’d fall for her bullshit just because she put out, and when I didn’t, she used our night together as a way to blackmail me.

  “I was still trying to break through to him, trying to impress him.” I let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Christ, I was so fucking stupid. Always striving for the acceptance of a man who never cared about anyone but himself.”

  I was so lost in thought, lost in the misery that selfish old bastard caused for most of my life, that I jumped when she reached out and touched my hand. “Wanting your father’s acceptance doesn’t make you stupid,” she said quietly. She was the only one who really knew how my tumultuous relationship with my father had affected me. “It’s not stupid, Dom. He just never deserved you or Lola. And in the end it’ll be his loss.”

  The small, sad smile I offered her didn’t come near my eyes. “Anyway, when I finally quit my dad’s company and moved to Seattle for you, she realized her leverage was gone. She’s a spoiled, gold-digging bitch, and she didn’t handle my brush-off well.” I twisted my body so I was facing her. Finally losing the battle to not touch her, I reached over and took her hands in mine. “I should’ve told you everything, Sophia. I never should’ve kept secrets from you, and I’m sorry for that. I’m so goddamn sorry.”

  “I know,” she whispered, her voice husky with emotion. She looked like she was seconds away from crying, and that gutted me. “And about the e-mails? You want to talk about that?” she asked, prompting me to talk about why I tricked her.

  “I have no good excuse for that,” I admitted, sorrow weighing heavily on my chest. “Deceiving you was wrong. I just love you so goddamn much that I was desperate for any way to get through to you. I’m sorry for hurting you, Sophia, but I can’t be sorry for how much I love you. You’re it for me. You’re under my skin. I don’t know how to live without you, and I was willing to try anything to get you back.”

  She sniffled and pulled her hand from mine, batting at the tear that had fallen to her cheek. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”

  “Thank you for letting me.” The conversation was over, I could feel it. I didn’t want her to go, but we’d just taken what I hoped was a step forward to fixing things between us. I couldn’t push for more right then or it would’ve been two steps backward. “Sleep well, butterfly,” I said softly as she pushed the passenger door open.

  She placed a foot on the ground but looked back over her shoulder. “Are you sure you want to do this? Stay out here, I mean. It’s supposed to snow tonight.”

  I smiled and pointed at the thermos sitting in the cup holder between the two seats. “I have coffee for that. All my bases are covered.”

  She smiled, and that alone was enough to warm me against the chilly temperatures. “All right.” She climbed out, but before closing the door, she leaned back down to extend an olive branch. “And Dominic?”

  “Yeah?”

  “If you have to pee, just knock, okay?”

  A corner of my mouth quirked up in a grin. “I’ll hold you to that.”

  She headed back inside, leaving me alone in my car. I pulled my phone out and opened the e-mail account I’d been using to talk to Sophia for the contest. She wasn’t completely willing to let me in just yet, but maybe BigSpoon would have a better shot at breaking through.

  Like I’d told her, I was willing to try anything.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Sophia

  I was surprised to find Dominic was gone by the time I woke up the next morning, considering it was barely six.

  I hadn’t been able to sleep after we talked the evening before. My brain wouldn’t shut off. My heart wouldn’t stop racing. I’d been restless all night.

  Walking away from my bedroom window, I grabbed my phone from the bedside table and started scrolling through. That was when I noticed all the e-mail alerts that had come through.

  Once I started reading, I sucked in a broken gasp and stumbled, the backs of my knees hitting the bed. I sat before my legs gave out and continued reading.

  To: Sophia

  From: BigSpoon

  Subject: My whole world

  Sweet Sophia,

  There are many things I’ve done in my life that I regret. I regret the decision I made in high school to bleach my hair so I could look more like those douchebag boy-band assholes all the girls were crazy about. I regret that one time I let you talk me into eating sushi off a conveyor belt—I never knew just how badly food poisoning could hurt until then. I regret accepting that dare to drink an entire gallon of milk when I was sixteen—sure, I won a hundred bucks off Tony Sinclair, but that kind of sickness was only rivaled by the sushi mistake I mentioned earlier.

  I was laughing so hard by the time I finished the first paragraph that I had to stop to get control of myself. I remembered each and every one of those moments Dominic was talking about, and with them, all the good memories I had of growing up around him and Lola.

  But one of my biggest regrets was that it took me so long to make you mine. See, I had this amazing girl in my life for years, and I was too much of an idiot to see her as anything other than my little sister’s best friend. I never told you this, but I thanked God every single day we were together that you hadn’t grown tired of my stupidity and moved on before I had my shot.

  It might’ve taken me longer than it should have to wise up and see the beautiful, amazing girl standing right in front of me, but I eventually got there. In my defense, I’d always been a slow learner.

  I didn’t know the meaning of true happiness until I had you, butterfly. I didn’t know what unwavering, unconditional love was. Sure, I loved my mom and Lola, but that was different. Growing up around my father, I’d let myself believe that soul mates were something made up in romance novels and movies.

  But then you told me you loved me and I felt it. For the first time in my life, I felt it, Sophia. Down to my bones, in every single inch of my body.

  And there hasn’t been a day that’s passed in the last fourteen years where I doubted that you are just that.

  My soul mate.

  My everything.

  The love of my life.

  That’s what you are, my sweet Sophia. And I know it’s hard for you to see it right now, but I know I’m yours too. I hurt you, and I’ll spend every
day until eternity hating myself for that. But you’re mine, baby. And I’m yours. And I’ll wait for as long as it takes for you to forgive me and let me back in, because not only do I not know how to live without you in my life, I don’t even want to try.

  You’re my whole world, butterfly.

  Yours forever,

  Your BigSpoon

  A fresh wave of tears trickled down my cheeks, making the words on the screen blur before my eyes, but I kept going, opening the next e-mail.

  To: Sophia

  From: BigSpoon

  Subject: Sleepovers

  Sweet Sophia,

  Do you remember the very first time you stayed the night with me? I remember it like it was yesterday. I’d already moved back home and was working for my dad. You were only a couple days away from moving to Seattle to start college, and I was already starting to miss you like crazy.

  I couldn’t think, couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the fact that I’d just gotten you and already you were leaving. I was so consumed with it that I started fucking up at work. Nothing major, just little things here and there, like showing up late a few times because I’d stayed up all night talking with you.

  Anyway, my dad laid into me about my commitment to my job. He said I was soft for letting a woman mess with my head when I had more important things to concentrate on. He accused me of being weak when it came to you. But I knew I wasn’t weak. He was the weak one. It takes strength to love someone with your whole heart, and he’d never been capable of doing that. Not even with his own children.

  We got into a huge fight, screaming and shouting and calling each other horrible names. I was miserable by the time I left his house, but when I got home, you were there. You saw it written on my face and knew exactly what to do to make me feel better.

  You didn’t even have to say a word, baby. Just being in your presence was enough to soothe me. You stayed with me that night, even though your father was against it. You wore one of my T-shirts to bed, and I remember thinking you’d never looked more beautiful than you did when you walked out of my bathroom in it.

  You got us into bed and pulled the covers over us. Then you told me “Normally I prefer to be the little spoon, but since my man needs it, I’ll be the big spoon tonight.” The last thing I thought before I fell asleep that night was that I’d gladly be your big spoon for the rest of my life.

  I still mean that. I want every night with you. I want to take you to bed and make love to you until you can barely move. Then I want to curl you into my chest and fall asleep with my arms wrapped around you.

  Please let me do that, butterfly. Forgive me, baby, and I’ll spend the rest of my life letting you be the little spoon.

  Forever Your BigSpoon

  Dominic

  A sob wrenched itself from my throat as I finished the e-mail. When we broke up ten years ago, it had been so easy to forget all the good times and focus on the bad. All those tiny moments that made my love for Dominic so strong were pushed to the back of my mind, locked away in the deepest, darkest recesses, because remembering made the pain that much worse.

  I’d forgotten about that night until just now.

  His messages as BigSpoon were opening a door to the past, letting all the good come rushing in, and I found myself craving each of his words. So I opened the third and final email.

  To: Sophia

  From: BigSpoon

  Subject: All the reasons why

  My butterfly,

  There are so many things about you I love that it would be impossible to list them all, so I’ll just tell you the ones off the top of my head.

  I love the way you scrunch your nose when you’re laughing.

  I love it when you sing in the shower, even though it’s horribly off-key.

  I love how fiercely loyal you are to those you love. Lola and Daphne might not be your blood relation, but there isn’t a single thing you wouldn’t do for them.

  I love how you’re such a bad cook that you look like a kid on Christmas morning when I offer to cook for you.

  On that note, I love how much you love it when I cook for you.

  I love how, when you get home from work, the first thing you do is wash your makeup off, put your hair in a ponytail, and throw on ratty sweats because your comfort is more important to you than looking good 24/7.

  I love how you used to flit around when you were younger, never content to just sit around—hence being my butterfly—but then you settled down and grew into a confident, self-assured woman who can sit at home watching Game of Thrones without a care.

  I love that you’re House Stark to an almost obsessive level, all because of Jon Snow. Although I’ll admit I’m a little jealous of your crush on the guy.

  I love your passion for sports. Just one of the many things that makes you every man’s dream girl.

  I love you DESPITE how crazy you are for scary movies and haunted houses.

  That’s all I can think of at the moment, but the point I’m trying to make is that I just love you. Every single thing. Good and bad. And if you let me, I’ll wake up every morning telling you another thing I love about you and go to bed with you as the little spoon. There won’t be a single day that passes where you won’t know the extent of my feelings for you.

  I’m never giving up on you, my butterfly. Please don’t give up on me. Forgive me so I can have my world back. Come back to me so I can be whole once again.

  I’ll never stop loving you.

  BigSpoon, a.k.a. Dominic

  Oh God. My heart couldn’t take it any longer. I dropped my phone onto the mattress beside me and hung my head, letting the tears come unchecked. I let myself feel everything: the good, bad, and ugly. I allowed it all in.

  By the time I finished crying, I was exhausted, both emotionally and physically. My eyes were puffy and itchy, but I felt a sense of calm that I hadn’t felt in a very long time, not even when Dominic and I had gotten back together. I’d still been waiting for the other shoe to drop then, so I’d never been totally calm.

  Now I was. And it was a miraculous thing.

  My phone rang and I picked it up in the hopes of seeing Dominic’s name on the screen. However, the person calling wasn’t the Abbatelli I wanted just then.

  “Hey, Lola. Can I call you back later? I need to—”

  “Sophia?” The sound of her tear-filled voice put me on high alert instantly. “What’s the matter?”

  “Is Dominic with you?”

  “No, honey. He was gone when I woke up.” My vision went fuzzy, a fear I’d never experienced in my life making my blood run cold. “Is he okay? Did something happen?”

  “He’s… he’s really upset.”

  Waiting for her to get out what she was trying to say was sheer torture. “Talk to me, babe.”

  “I-it’s….” She sniffled into the phone. “Our dad died.”

  It felt like all the air was sucked out of the room. “What?”

  “It was a heart attack. He died last night. I had to call Dom and tell him, and he just… God, Soph, he lost it. You know about his relationship with our father. He was always trying to please him.”

  “Oh God. Lola, when did you call him?”

  “A-about thirty minutes ago.”

  I shot up and rushed to my closet. “He must have taken off right before I got up.” I snatched the first articles of clothing I saw off their hangers and threw them on the bed so I could strip out of my nightgown. “Lola, I have to go. I need to get to Dom. Are you okay?” I hopped from one foot to the other as I pulled on a pair of leggings

  “Y-yeah. I’m all right. I know I shouldn’t be upset. He was such an a-asshole, but….”

  “But he was still your father,” I finished for her. “I get it, honey.”

  “Thanks. Just go to Dom. Make sure he’s okay?”

  “I will. And I’ll call you later, I promise.”

  With that, I hung up the phone and threw it down so I could put on my sweater and slip into my Uggs. Th
en I grabbed Lancelot and my purse and rushed out the door.

  All my earlier pain and heartbreak was forgotten. All I could think about was making sure Dominic was okay.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Sophia

  I threw my car into Park as soon as I pulled into the parking spot in front of Dominic’s apartment, grabbing my little guy before heading to his door. My knock went unanswered for a solid minute, causing my panic to intensify.

  I tried again, that time calling out, “Dom? It’s me. Can you let me in?” Nothing. “Please, Dominic. I talked to Lola. I know you’re here, I saw your car in the parking lot. Please just open the door. I’m worried about you.” Lancelot woofed in my arms, echoing my sentiment.

  Finally the sound of the deadbolt disengaging came through the door, and it opened seconds later. Dominic stood before me looking absolutely wrecked, and the sight of his pain shredded me.

  “Hi,” I whispered.

  He didn’t respond, just moved farther into the apartment without a word. I followed after him, closing the door behind me and shutting out the only light that seemed to fill the tiny apartment. He sat on the small couch that had been crammed into a corner, his elbows to his knees with his head in his hands. There was a bottle of bourbon sitting on the coffee table in front of him. “I haven’t had any,” he said, breaking the silence in the room. “I got it out because all I want to do is get blind fucking drunk, but I haven’t had any… at least not yet.”

  I set Lancelot on the floor and watched in surprise as he trotted over to Dominic, let out a tiny whine, and laid down, resting his head on Dom’s foot. It was like my puppy knew Dom needed comfort and was attempting to give it to him.

  “Well,” I said as I headed for the couch, “it’s not like I’d blame you if you had. It would be totally understandable.” I placed my hand on his back. “I’m so sorry, Dom.”