fair amount of indignation, and a heaping amount of betrayal. Love had lingered beneath it all, which had pissed me off more than anything. “I knew your letters would bring it all back. So I threw them away.”
“You what?”
I clenched my jaw against the onslaught of guilt Sophie’s expression, and the hurt in her voice, woke in me. I would not apologize—ever—for what I’d done to protect myself all those years ago. “I threw them away.”
She sat back in the booth. “Without reading them?”
“Hi, Captain.” Joaquin stood at the end of the booth, a big grin on his face.
“On second thought, Joaquin, call me Nora.”
The young man’s face fell, but he nodded in agreement. “I’m, um, on my break early?”
Sophie stared at me with an expression I couldn’t read. Astonishment? Relief? Anger?
“I’ll come back later,” Joaquin said, “if this is a bad time.”
“No,” I said. “Have a seat.”
“Joaquin, could you grab me a to-go box?” Sophie asked with a charming smile.
“Sure, Mrs. Wyatt.”
“And take your time.”
Sophie crossed her arms. “You didn’t read my letters.”
“I didn’t read Charlie’s either. It was over. Done. There was nothing you could say to fix it.”
Sophie turned her face away. “All this time,” she said under her breath. She shouldered her purse and scooted out of the booth. “You were wrong, Nora.”
I reached out and grabbed her hand to stop her from standing and felt the first real crack in the hard shell that had grown around my heart. “How? How was I wrong?”
She brushed her thumb across my fingers, and I froze. I stared at our hands, her red nails, as tiny goose bumps broke out on my arm. My eyes met Sophie’s, and what I saw there... She pulled her hand away. “I suppose you’ll never know, will you?”
She stood to leave, but I was suddenly desperate for her to stay. “You haven’t finished your burger.”
“I’ve lost my appetite.”
“Please sit back down. Joaquin is staring.”
She sat, but she looked ready to bolt.
“Aren’t you going to invite me to dinner?”
Sophie held her purse in front of her like a shield and said, “I can’t stomach watching my husband flirt with you for three hours.”
“Don’t you want to show off your cooking?”
Sophie inhaled sharply. “Is that what Charlie said?” I nodded. “That sounds just like him. He can’t say I’m a good cook. He has to imply I’m arrogant about it.”
“He was probably making a joke.”
“You think so?” Sophie narrowed her eyes. “Friday night. Seven o’clock.”
“I don’t know where you live,” I said, grasping for something—anything—I could say to prolong the conversation, to get her to stay.
Her mouth curled into a slow, mischievous smile, one I’d seen many times. My entire body thrummed in anticipation.
“If you want me to stay, just say it.”
“I want you to stay.”
“Now, see, that wasn’t so hard.”
I laughed, and looked away, embarrassed to have shown so much of myself. With one smile, Sophie destroyed the shell around my heart, and I mourned its loss.
Joaquin walked up with a Styrofoam box. “Want me to box your burger up, Mrs. Wyatt?”
Sophie’s smile and shoulders dipped at Joaquin’s arrival. “That would be lovely, thank you.” Sophie watched me with raised eyebrows and a small, private smile. “Call me later, and I’ll give you my address.”
“I can write it down for you, Nora,” Joaquin said, ever helpful.
Sophie laughed and waved her hand. “There you go. Enjoy your chat,” she said and left.
The memory of her mischievous smile stayed, played in my mind like a GIF, her voice in my ears repeating, I wanted to see you. I wanted to see you.
That’s when I knew I was still in love with Sophia Elizabeth Russell.
eight
sophie
Logan knocked on the hood of my MDX, startling me out of my trance.
“What are you doing?”
I stepped out of the car. “I just got home,” I said.
“The garage door went up fifteen minutes ago.”
“Oh. I was listening to ‘Fresh Air,’” I lied. The garage door whined and creaked as it lowered. Logan’s expression said she wasn’t buying it. “How was tennis?” I asked.
“Good. Lexa’s still a little slow from her sprain, but she’ll get there.”
I placed my computer bag and purse on the kitchen island. “Good,” I said. The oven clock said five. Had it only been three hours since I left Nora at Mel’s?
“What’s for dinner?” Logan asked.
“Um, I don’t know.” I stared at the keys in my hand. Why was I holding my keys? I tossed them on the counter next to my phone. Would Nora call me? Did