up Pippa and headed to her room, feeling his eyes on her until she closed the door.
She leaned against it, setting a kiss on Pippa’s head. “Don’t get too attached, sweetie,” she whispered. “He’ll be leaving soon.”
chapter fourteen
Sophie awakened to darkness. She’d slept like a rock but had no notion what time it was. Pippa didn’t stir as she stretched toward the flashlight on her nightstand and flipped it on. It was after nine o’clock in the morning.
She searched for her dog in the jumbled bedding. “Pippa?” Not finding her, Sophie shone the light around the room. The door was cracked open.
Rain pattered on the roof, and the wind howled as she slipped from bed and out the door. “Pippa?”
“She’s in here.” In the living room Aiden was seated in the armchair, the screen of his phone lighting his face.
Pippa jumped from his lap and skittered over to greet her.
“She was whining earlier so I took her to the garage to do her business. She’s getting to be an old pro.”
“Thank you.” Sophie smoothed her hair, which probably looked like a skein of yarn. “I can’t believe I slept this late.”
“You must’ve needed it. And it’s so dark it’s impossible to know the time.” He handed her the phone. “I charged it in my car all night. You’ve got a few messages.”
“Thanks.” Her notifications showed an unknown caller, a text from Seth, two from Jenna, and one from Erik. She and the groomsman had texted back and forth a bit, but hours went by between her texts and his responses. It was a little annoying.
“I scheduled a flight for tonight,” he said.
Her stomach plummeted. “That’s great.”
“The storm will be over early this afternoon, and we can get the house back in order before I go.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the help. Hope there’s not much damage.”
“Doubt it. The house has been through much worse. I helped myself to a protein bar earlier. There’s plenty left.”
“I’d kill for coffee.”
“Too bad there’s no fireplace—I could heat some water.”
“How long do you think the electricity will be out?”
“Hard to say. Hopefully not more than a day or two. I can take you to get a rental car later if we can find someplace open.”
“That would be great. Thanks. I’ll have to call for a tow too.” She shifted. “I think I’ll go get dressed.”
* * *
Sophie retreated to her room, Pippa on her heels. The woman looked adorably mussed fresh out of bed. Even in the dimness he could see the pillow crease on her cheek and the snarls in her tousled brown hair. He was glad she’d been able to sleep late.
As for himself he’d tossed and turned, thinking about last night’s conversation. About her revelation, about the way she’d forgiven him. She lightened up as they played the games. He glimpsed a side of her he hadn’t seen since their dating days. He’d forgotten how competitive she was. She’d never been the most gracious winner.
But he hadn’t minded. He always played along, sulking, while secretly admiring his strong, sassy woman. And last night he’d been glad to see the old Sophie coming out. The one he’d fallen in love with.
Careful, Maddox. You’re leaving tonight.
What was he doing? No need to go traipsing down memory lane. He’d achieved what he hoped—settled the past with Sophie. He was free and clear to go home and finally move on. This time together had been healing for him and for Sophie too. But soon they’d go their separate ways.
He’d repeated the same mantra several times during the night, but something inside him refuted the message.
Enough with the wishful thinking.
He awakened his phone. Tiffany had texted him late last night, and he hadn’t responded. He replied now, letting her know about his flight. He should ask her about becoming exclusive when he got home. She’d been hinting around awhile, but he’d been hesitant. And if he didn’t do something soon she was going to move on.
That notion should bother him more than it actually did. He shook away thoughts of Tiffany. He should work on his speech for tomorrow night. He’d planned to write it on the plane, but he needed something to focus on now.
Back when he’d devised the SpringChute, he’d never dreamed his little invention would go beyond Extreme Adventures. But Ross entered him for an Extreme Sports Technology Award in the Innovations category, and Aiden was actually a finalist.
The awards ceremony was tomorrow night. He didn’t expect to win the ESTA; the competition was