A Moment Like You (The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers #2) - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,40
she wouldn’t recover and would die soon,” I mumble, hugging myself. “I’ll take any extra time with her.”
“We’ll make sure it’s longer. That’s a promise.”
Those words give me hope and also the strength to continue. As I look around the property, I realize that ever since Henry moved into this town, I’ve felt more at home than I have in several years. It’s not about the place, more like the people who I’ve been sharing my time with. Every weekend when I visit, I feel happier. It’s better than any other place. I was wrong about one thing, this place isn’t hell or the town that we need to fix. And these people are more than just the family Henry refused to acknowledge.
I rest my head on her shoulder. “It’s good to be home.”
Sixteen
Henry
One of the hardest things I’ve done in the past few days—other than not jumping on a plane to drag Sophia back to Baker’s Creek—is to try to ignore Sophia’s scent, her voice, her skin. Everything about her is addictive.
And her lips, I can’t get enough of them. This woman has a hold on me like no one has ever before. It took a lot of strength, restraint, and self-determination to abide by her wishes and not continue kissing her—or fuck her. Even more so to leave the house.
Even though the emotions from this encounter are gripping my heart and making it beat fast, I am calm. I’m more relaxed than I’ve been in the past couple of weeks. Which, like everything that’s related to Sophia, makes no sense. The hole her absence left a couple of weeks ago is now filled with the promise that she’ll be close to me.
She’s finally here, with me.
As I walk toward The Lodge, I try not to think much about her and how beautiful she looks today. Her dark, long hair is down, covering her bare shoulders, and the outfit she wears is casual and yet, she looks stylish as usual.
I make my way to the office just to drop my computer off. There is a lot I have to do around the hotel. We finally received the new furniture. The restoration of The Lodge is in its second phase. We’re focusing on the guestrooms. We closed a few rooms at a time to paint, change the carpet, and renovate the bathrooms. Now with the furniture here, we can furnish and open them as early as this weekend.
When I’m done, I head to my office where I collapse on the leather sofa. The erection our encounter created subsided during my walk, but that doesn’t mean I’m not on the edge. I need to have her, and she already put a big wall between us. That, and her family is in town.
What the fuck was I thinking when I said, “I’ll bring your parents?”
Don’t get me wrong, they seem like decent people, but they were not impressed by me. Not at all. If anything, they had a hard time hiding their animosity. I assume Sophia tells them all about me, and it’s obvious how she paints me.
What am I supposed to do now?
As if I’m invoking the Aldridge forces, Pierce enters into my office.
“Has anyone taught you the concept of knocking?” I ask.
“Says the man who barges into my office thinking he’s my boss,” he retorts.
“Great, we’re having a family reunion,” Beacon says, taking a seat behind my desk. “I don’t understand how you can call this work.”
“What do you need, kid?” I ask trying not to sound harsh.
“Hottie is here, and he’s still holding a grudge,” Beacon says. He places his elbows on top of the desk and says with a deadpan serious face, “My dude, you have to chill the fuck out. We need to talk about this situation. It’s obvious that you haven’t fucked in quite some time. Have you thought about using your hand to jerk off? Or do you always have your butler do it for you?”
Pierce is shaking with laughter. “I can’t with you, kid.”
I want to get upset, but even I am laughing at his stupid jokes.
“Get out,” I order, but neither one of them takes me seriously.