by Jane Porter
She grinned, delighted. Even better, the Wyatts all seemed to enjoy the lavish brunch, with Summer sending Joe back for seconds for her from the dessert table, while Joe and Grandad had seconds and then thirds from the carving station. Sophie ate a little bit of everything, from the omelet to the salads to the fancy shrimp on ice. She sampled one of the tiny lemon meringue tarts, as well as a pretty pink petit four.
The dining room manager walked around the room passing out roses to all the mothers in the room. Summer blushed and thanked the manager for her long stem rose. “This was such a wonderful idea. Thank you, family,” she said, eyes bright. “I don’t even wish your brothers were here because I’m hoping they’ll show up next Sunday for the wedding.”
“And if they can’t,” Joe said, “we’ll still have a wonderful day. Next weekend, there’s big prize money out there. I fully expect the boys to be chasing the money.”
*
When no one could eat another bite, or wanted another splash of coffee, Joe signaled for the bill. The waiter approached and quietly let him know that the bill had already been taken care of. Joe glanced at Sophie, who was smiling, and looking impossibly pleased with herself.
“This is my gift to all of you,” she said.
She’d always been pretty, and she’d always been optimistic, but in that moment she was downright radiant, lighting the room with her beautiful, generous heart. He felt impossibly lucky, and improbably lucky, to have met her online.
They were on their way out, walking through the historic hotel’s lobby, when Sophie suddenly clutched his arm. “She’s here,” Sophie whispered, clearly panicked.
“Who?” Joe asked, his gaze sweeping the lobby with the columns, dark paneling, and polished marble floor.
“Sarah.” Sophie’s voice cracked. “My sister is here.”
Everyone had stopped walking, and they were all looking at her. “Is that a bad thing?” he asked, bewildered.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She shook her head, eyes wide and luminous in her starkly pale face. “I can’t do this,” she choked. “I can’t do this here—”
“We’ll just all walk on out,” his mom said. “We’ll just keep going.”
Joe wanted to ask Sophie what was going on, but his mom gave him a sharp look and he took her elbow again and continued escorting her out.
They waited on the curb while valet brought their car around, and Sophie stared out the window, heartsick, during the drive home. It wasn’t until they were back on the ranch that Sophie sought Joe out to speak to him alone.
“Remember how I told you that my fiancé broke off the engagement with me, just days before the wedding?” she said, her voice faint and unsteady.
He nodded, his gaze riveted to her pale face.
She chewed her lip for a moment and then blurted, “Leo ended things with me because he was in love with my sister Sarah. Two months later, Leo and Sarah married on Valentine’s Day.”
No wonder she’d been so heartsick. “That’s why you wanted to get away from your family.”
She nodded. “It wasn’t just Leo I lost. I lost them… all of them. My family embraced Leo. They accepted him into the family as if nothing had happened. I just felt so betrayed. I felt like I had no family.”
“Which is why Montana appealed.”
She nodded again. “I wanted to get away. I wanted to start over. And thanks to you, I have.”
“And your sister is here now.”
“With Leo,” she added, her voice nearly inaudible.
“What?”
“I suspect she’s worried about me. She’s been calling, trying to make amends—”
“And you’re not taking her calls.”
“But why would she bring Leo to Marietta with her? Why would she do that to me?” Tears suddenly filled her eyes. “I don’t want to see her. I don’t know what to say to her. We were close growing up but I’ll never trust her again. Maybe that’s harsh, but it’s how I feel.
“Sarah was my best friend growing up, but I just feel so betrayed.”
“It hasn’t been that long, either. It’s not even been six months since Leo deserted you.”
“Two months since they married.”
Joe could feel his temper stirring, his mood darkening. “Have you and Sarah talked at all?”
Sophie hesitated then shook her head. “Not really. I mean, what are we supposed to say? What can she say? She’s sorry? So, okay, she’s sorry, but Leo wasn’t hers. She was free to fall in love with anyone she wanted… just not my man.”
Her man.
Joe felt as if he’d just been punched in the gut. His pulse quickened, the anger thick, heavy. “I hope you hold Leo equally responsible.”
“Oh, I do. He’s not innocent. Not at all.”
“And now they’ve tracked you down to Montana.”
“It seems so,” she said, blinking back tears. “I wish they hadn’t. I don’t want to see either of them.”
“What if Sarah had come to you on her own? Would you feel differently?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. It’s just all too raw, too soon.” Sophie drew a sharp breath. “I don’t want her pity. I’m sick of pity, and sympathy.”
“How would she even know to come here?”
“I sent a group text last Monday night with a photo of us, saying that I’d found my heart in Montana and we were getting married this coming Sunday.”
“So she’s come for the wedding?”
“A week early? I don’t think so.”
“Then why is she here?”
Her gaze met his, expression deeply troubled. “My gut says they’ve come to stop the wedding.”
“So what do you want to do?” he asked. “Are you going to hide here on the ranch, or face her in town?”
Sophie closed her eyes. “Face her in town.”
“When?”
“Today, I guess? I’ll text her and see if she’s free this afternoon.”
“If she is, do you want me to go with you? Could you use backup?”
“Nothing dramatic is going to happen, but yes, it’d be great to have you there. At least that way I won’t feel outnumbered.”
*
The meeting with Sarah didn’t go the way Sophie planned. For one, they were meeting in a corner of the Graff lobby. For another, Sophie and Sarah had no opportunity to speak alone together. Leo was glued to Sarah’s side, sharing a love seat, holding her hand, or wrapping his hand around the back of her neck, or more annoying, rubbing her neck.
Leo had never once rubbed Sophie’s neck, which was fine, because Sophie didn’t want or need her neck rubbed, but it was just so weird and so uncomfortable seeing Sarah and Leo together that Sophie couldn’t concentrate on the conversation.
“I still don’t know what you’re doing here,” Sophie said when conversation died and she sensed she was supposed to say something.
“Mom was worried about you,” Sarah said. “Everyone’s worried about you—”
“Because I’m getting married?” Sophie interrupted. “I would think everyone would be happy for me seeing how hurt I was.”
“Maybe that’s just it,” Sarah said, darting a nervous glance at Joe who was standing behind Sophie’s chair. “We don’t know Joe, although he seems quite nice, and then we weren’t invited to the wedding.”
“His mom wanted to invite you,” Sophie said tartly, “it was my choice not to.”
Sarah sighed. “How do you think that made our mom feel?”
“Mom wouldn’t have come anyway. She’s terrified of flying, and won’t get on a little plane. And you have to get on a little plane.” Sophie counted to five, and then ten. “And maybe one day you and I will get past this, Sarah. But if you seriously want to get past this, you need to leave Leo home.”
Sarah made a soft gasping sound which made Sophie roll her eyes.
“You are not the injured party here, Sarah—”
“And I’m tired of you b
eing the victim,” Sarah cried. “You didn’t really love Leo. You were marrying him because it was good for your career—”
“Is that how you’ve justified your actions?” Sophie interrupted, rising.
Sarah rose, too. “The point is, I love Leo and I’m happy. And you love Joe and you’re happy. Can’t we please put this behind us? Can’t we try to move forward?”
“Is that what you want?”
“Yes!”
“Then fine. We will move forward. I don’t enjoy being upset with you, and will work on letting the anger go. Please give everyone my love at home. Tell them you met Joe, and I’m happy and all is good. Okay?”
Sarah nodded tearfully. “Okay. And I do love you, Sophie.”
Sophie suppressed her frustration long enough to give her sister a swift hug. “I love you, Sarah. Travel safely.”
And then she turned around to walk out, more than ready to escape. She’d thought Joe was right there at her side. But then he was moving the opposite direction, and she knew, a split second before his fist connected with Leo’s jaw, what was going to happen.
*
Joe didn’t punch Leo because he lost control. He hit him precisely because he was in control. Leo had it coming, and deserved what he got.
His brothers liked to call him old man, and there were times Joe felt like an old man, but not today. Today, he’d thrown a punch as if he were a prize fighter and he’d knocked Leo down on his back.
Adrenaline still pumping, he looked to Sophie, expecting pride, or possibly approval. Instead, she was horrified.
Disgusted and horrified.
He stepped over Leo, grabbed Sophie’s arm, and marched her out of the Graff.
Sophie was nearly incoherent though, babbling questions he wasn’t in the mood to answer.
From the moment Joe saw Leo, he knew just who he was dealing with. A rich, spoiled, arrogant know-it-all who didn’t give a flying fig for anyone else. Joe couldn’t fathom how Sophie had fallen for him, but she had, despite the fact that Leo Brazer was a slimy salesman to the core.
*
Inside Joe’s truck, Sophie fought to calm herself. It took her long minutes before she could even bring herself to speak to Joe. “Why would you hit Leo?” she asked faintly.
“Why wouldn’t I hit him? He’s an ass. He wronged you in every way imaginable.” Joe shot her a sharp look. “Why are you defending him?”
Sophie was exhausted, more than exhausted. It had been so stressful, and so draining, to come face-to-face with Sarah and Leo. “I’m not defending him. But I don’t understand why you’d hit him. You hit him hard.”
“Good.”
“Not good, Joe.”
“He stood you up. He left you at the altar. He embarrassed you in front of everyone.”
“That was in the past.”
“Not in the past, obviously not in the past. You haven’t moved on. You haven’t gotten over him.”
“That’s not true. I’m here, I married you; we’re together.”
His laugh was low and mocking. “Are we together?”
“What does that mean?”
“We still have separate rooms. We haven’t made love—”
“Because your mom seems to think—”
“Don’t blame this on my mom. This is about you. This is about how you’re not ready for anything with me.”
She tugged on the decorative button on her sweater. “It took you years to get over Charity,” she said lowly.
“This isn’t about Charity. This is about you. We’ve been married almost five weeks, and I appreciate that you’ve needed to take it slow, but I’m beginning to think there’s a bigger problem here, that you haven’t been honest with me. You haven’t told me the truth.”
“When we first met, I wasn’t ready to sleep with you. I’ve never been the girl who can get naked on a first or second date. It takes me a while to get to know people. I mean, I was a virgin when I met Leo, a twenty-four year-old virgin. That has to tell you something.”
“A twenty-four year-old virgin,” he repeated.
“My family was strict, and conservative.”
“Leo knew he was the first?”
“Yes.”
Joe muttered an oath under his breath. “That dude is such a dick.”
“I appreciate that you haven’t rushed me into the physical stuff. I know you’ve been ready—”
“You’re beautiful and sexy and, yes, I want you, but I want you to want me back.”
“I do.”
“Sophie, I saw how you looked at Leo—”
“I didn’t even look at Leo.”
“No, you did. You gave him a look that I won’t ever forget.”
“Maybe it was loathing, Joe. Maybe it was disgust. I don’t know what you saw on my face but I can promise you, it wasn’t love, or lust.”
They didn’t speak the rest of the drive home, and didn’t speak as they entered the house. The TV was on in the family room but Joe didn’t go in.
Instead, he just shouted, “Home.” Then he climbed the stairs to the second floor.
Sophie watched him walk away from her, and her heart thudded too hard, making her feel sick. She steeled herself for courage and followed Joe upstairs. He was in his room, door shut. She opened his door without knocking. He was standing at the window staring out.
“I swear, I don’t love Leo,” she said, closing the door behind her. “You must believe me.”
“You were so angry with your sister but you didn’t say two words to Leo, and he was your fiance. You should have let him have it. Today was your chance.”
“But I have nothing to say to him.”
“He treated you terribly.”
“I know, but he’s in the past. He’s behind me. He’s not important.”
“No?”
“No.” She closed the distance between them, standing so close that her pulse quickened and she felt a sizzle of energy and awareness. “You’re the one that’s important. You’re the one I care about.”
“Even though I hit him?”
“You were defending my honor,” she said, lips curving faintly. “Thank you.” Her gaze traveled up, over his broad chest, wide shoulders, to his hard jaw and very firm lips. “I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone take my side, so decisively, before.”
“I will always take your side.”
“Even against your mom?”
“If that’s what you need from me.”
“I don’t need that of you, and I would hate to drive a wedge between you and her. She’s grown on me a lot. I’ve come to care for her a great deal. Just as I care for you a great deal.”
“How much?”
She held up her fingers and showed him a tiny space. “This much.”
There was a flicker of amusement in his blue eyes. “I wouldn’t call that a great deal. That’s more of a tiny deal.”
“Maybe I’m not good with measurements.”
“Doesn’t look like it.”
“Not sure how to best say it.”
“Then maybe we don’t talk.”
“What would we do instead?”
“I have a few ideas.”
“Perhaps you’d like to show me?” she asked, sounding breathless to her own ears.
“Exactly what I was thinking,” he said, head dropping, his mouth covering her as he walked her backward, and pushed her up against the wall. Joe’s hands caught hers, and lifted them, pinning her hands by her head, holding her captive.
He kissed her deeply, leaning into her with his weight, a knee between her legs, his chest imprisoning her, his big hard body showing her just how much he desired her.
Sophie shuddered with pleasure, but also need. She craved him, all of him, not just his body, but Joe, the man. She wanted to feel him and taste him and be one with him. Her feelings were strong, intense, overwhelming. She couldn’t remember feeling this much for anyone before. Certainly not Leo.
Joe swept her into his arms and carried her to be
d. Sophie unbuttoned his shirt and pushed the soft fabric from his shoulders, desperate to feel his skin against hers.
He kissed her as he stripped her, and kissed her as he stroked her, making her body tingle from head to toe. She arched against him, unsatisfied by the light touches and the kisses. Joe was her husband. She wanted to belong to him. It was time to have no more distance between them.
The driving need to be his only intensified when he filled her. His body on hers, his skin covering her, made her feel completely alive. Joe made love to her slowly, savoring the moment, extending the pleasure until she was panting and clinging to him, desperate for release. The climax shattered her, the orgasm so powerful it broke some little wall she’d had up, and she cried, and once she started crying she couldn’t stop.
It wasn’t that the sex wasn’t good, it was the opposite.
Making love to Joe had been unlike anything she’d ever felt before. She felt real and known. Beautiful and valuable. His care for her had been evident in every caress, and every kiss, and in the way he’d made sure her need was met.
The closeness she felt was unlike anything she’d experienced with Leo. In Joe’s arms, she finally felt peace.
Love.
In Joe’s arms, she felt the meaning of love.
And so she cried, because she knew now that what she’d had with Leo had been empty, and she’d been too naïve to know, too silly and optimistic to understand that Leo hadn’t cared for her. Leo had never made her feel this good, or this special, not even once.
She cried because maybe Sarah had been partially right. Maybe Sophie had gone through the motions, wanting a relationship, wanting to be part of a couple, and Leo had been convenient.
She cried because if this was how Leo felt with her sister Sarah, and Sarah felt with Leo, then they should be together. And they were right to end things.
And then Sophie cried because she’d been angry for months, angry with Sarah and Leo for betraying her, when really Sophie had betrayed herself, by settling for less, by being content with a relationship where she didn’t matter, and hadn’t ever truly mattered.
Joe held her through the tears and there were a lot of them.