Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 26232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
If we were still friends, I probably wouldn’t think twice about it. Hell, if she marries Alex, I won’t have a choice. I smile and nod at him.
He lets her shake his hand, then pulls away and waves his pumpkin bucket at Alex. “Candy?”
The adults burst into laughter, which eases the tension that crept over us.
“Yeah, I got you, champ.” Alex sweeps his hand toward the kitchen. “Follow me.”
Sophie’s gaze ping-pongs between Z and me. “Can we talk for a second?” she asks me.
Z lifts his chin. “Go ahead, I’m gonna see if Alex has some extra candy for me.” He leans in and kisses my cheek.
Sophie tilts her head toward the sliding glass door leading to the stone patio Alex built a few summers ago. She flips the tricky latch on the door with ease.
Someone’s been spending a lot of time here.
Outside, she tilts her head back and closes her eyes, inhaling the cool, crisp fall air. The scent of wet leaves hangs heavy around us. Alex’s yard is usually pristine, but it looks like he’s fallen behind on yard maintenance this year.
I wait, quietly, curious to hear what she has to say.
“I hope you’re not mad about us.” She gestures toward the house.
“Not at all,” I answer, honestly. Off-balance and confused, yes. Mad, no. “Just a little surprised.”
“Alex was really there for me,” she says, hesitating on every other word. “I’m completely sober now. Almost a year.”
“That’s great.” I’m genuinely happy for her but still unsure of what she expects from me. An apology forms on my tongue but I bite it back. Sorry for what? Not holding her hand through who knows how many trips to rehab? When she couldn’t even say one supportive thing when I—
No.
I keep my mouth shut and wait.
She gestures toward the diamond on my left hand. “Congratulations.” A hesitant smile flickers over her lips. “Chance is adorable. He looks exactly like Z. Alex showed me pictures but it’s even more obvious seeing them together in person.”
Unsure if that’s some backhanded way of asking if I ever questioned Chance’s paternity, I only hum a noise of agreement.
“How’s Hope?” she asks. “You said she has a daughter?”
“She’s good.”
“She’s still with Rock?”
I grind my teeth, annoyed she’d even ask. “They’re very happy together.” Hope wouldn’t appreciate me telling Sophie anything about her marriage, so I keep it to the bare minimum.
“That’s good.” The corners of her mouth turn down. “I guess you two are pretty tight now, huh?”
“I guess.”
She bites her lip and shifts her gaze to the patio door. “Look, whatever I did when I was drinking, I don’t…remember.” She touches her fingers to her forehead lightly. “Alex said you were living in California for a while? I…I don’t remember. I’m sorry, though.”
I blow out a long breath. Should I be happy she has no memory of the conversation that, in my mind, ended our friendship? Probably. If she doesn’t remember, that means she couldn’t have told my brother. But I’m not quite sure I believe her when she says she has no memory of it.
Senator Kelly’s long dead. I don’t ever want Sophie to put the pieces together and think Z had something to do with the murder. And I really don’t want my brother to suspect anything.
I paste on a bigger smile. “I understand. Apology accepted.” In a softer voice, I add, “You look good. I’m happy for you.”
She lets out a relieved breath. “Thank you. I don’t want there to be weirdness, you know, between us.”
“No weirdness,” I confirm, then laugh. “Well, besides the idea anyone would want to date my brother.”
She blinks, then realizes I’m kidding and laughs with me. “He’s a force of nature.”
It certainly seems Alex has been supportive of Sophie. “You could say that.”
“So.” She swings her arms at her sides like she’s shaking off the awkwardness. “Are you guys staying?”
“Can’t. I told Alex, we have something in Empire that starts in a little bit.”
“Club stuff?” She raises her eyebrows.
I open my mouth to explain it’s a charity event, then think better of it. What if she wants to tag along? I’m not ready for that. “Yes,” I say, hoping that squelches any desire to attend.
She nods. “I think we’re staying in, watching horror movies, and handing out candy.” A soft smile flickers over her mouth as if she’s content with a quiet night on what used to be her favorite party holiday. The thought makes me…happy. Maybe she really has changed.
“Sounds perfect. We did that last weekend to get in the Halloween spirit.”
We chat for a few more minutes. Nothing of significance. It’s nice to catch up and let go of some of the hurt and anger I’d been holding onto.
The sliding glass door rumbles open and Alex steps out. “Everything okay?”
What’d he think we were going to do, have a catfight on the lawn?