Sophia

 

 

"How did that lunch go with the subway guy?" Cadence tugs on the hem of the white dress she's wearing. "This is too big for me. I think you made a mistake with the measurements."

"It's for the spring." I stand back and survey the way the fabric falls over her small stomach. "Once you're as big as a house, it's going to fit perfectly."

"I'm too tall to become as big as a house." She circles her arms in front of her as if she's imagines what her soon-to-be protruding belly will look like. "I've heard that tall women tend to show less and short women show more."

"That's wrong. My cousin, Marcie, is taller than you and boy, oh boy, she was enormous right before her son was born; enormous but beautiful."

"You're kidding." Cadence laughs as if her merriment is enough to prove my words wrong. "I'm already five months along. Look how tiny my belly is."

I purse my lips, tilting my head to the left. "You can't see it from this angle. I think tiny is the wrong word."

"Stop it." She cradles her stomach, her fingers splaying over the thin fabric of the dress. "We shouldn't be talking about this. We should be talking about you and Nick."

"I didn't go to lunch," I say knowing that it's deflecting from everything that's happened between Nicholas and me since. "I sent Mr. Foster in my place."

Her mouth quirks. "You sent your boss to have lunch with a man you met on the subway? Explain to me how that makes any sense at all."

There's no possible way I can continue this conversation without divulging exactly who I was supposed to meet for lunch. "I'll explain it if you promise you won't freak out over who the man on the subway is."

"What does that mean?" Cadence sits on the edge of my bed; her long legs stretched out in front of her. "Is he a criminal? Who the hell is this guy?"

"Promise, Den." I hold out my right pinky finger. "Pinky swear that you're not going to overreact to what I'm about to tell you."

"What are we eight years old now?" She wraps her finger around mine and gives it a firm tug. "I, Cadence Sutton, do pinky swear that I won't lose it when Sophia Reese tells me what the fuck is going on."

"I told you that I met that guy Nicholas on the way to a book signing," I remind her.

She nods her head enthusiastically. "We've established that. Move on."

"Fine," I snap back with a wide grin. "I was on my way to get a book signed for Mr. Foster. His wife asked me to do it as a favor for his birthday."

Her long finger taps the face of the watch on her wrist. "Time is wasting, Sophia. Why are you telling me where you were going? I don't care about the why, the where or even the when. I just want to know who the hell this Nick guy is."

I laugh and plop myself on the bed next to her. "I was on my way to get a book written by Nicholas Wolf signed."

I wait, hoping she's putting those two pieces together in her mind.

"What a weird coincidence." She shifts restlessly on the bed. "You were on your way to see a Nicholas when you met one."

I sigh in exasperation. I know she's tired. I get that she's been working her ass off, but Den is smarter than that. I spell it out in simple form for her. "I met Nicholas Wolf on the train on the way to his book signing."

She shoots me a look. "What? Sophia, what?"

"You heard me." I exhale wearily. "The man I met on the train is Nicholas Wolf. He was the guy I was supposed to meet for lunch, but I sent Mr. Foster in my place because Nicholas just wanted to sleep with me."

"So?"

"So?" I repeat back with a scowl. "You know I don't just sleep with any random guy. I won't and that's all he was after."

"Again, I'll ask, so?"

I can't help but laugh as I take to my feet to face her. "He's so sure of himself, Den. Like way too sure of himself. It drives me crazy. It's too much and since I keep saying no to him, he won't leave me alone."

"He's asked you to sleep with him?" Her brows rise. "Did he seriously ask if you wanted to fuck?"

I cover my face with my hands when I feel a rush of color invade my cheeks. "Not in so many words. When we were on the subway, he wrote down an address in the book I gave him to sign. It was a bistro in the West Village. He said if I showed he'd give me a copy of his next book. I planned on going until I went online and realized it's his signature pick-up move. He's done the same thing with other women before."

"It's original." Her gaze narrows. "I can't believe you stood Nicholas Wolf up and sent your boss in your place."

I wrinkle my nose. "I was scared that Mr. Foster would realize I sent him there blindly but he didn't. Nicholas didn't say a word about the fact that he had invited me there and not Gabriel."

"You dodged a bullet, Soph." She sets her hand on my shoulder. "The entire thing could have exploded in your face."

"I know," I murmur. "I'm lucky I still have a job."

"You said that Nicholas won't leave you alone, so I take it you've heard from him since you stood him up that day?"

I pause before I reply. "I've run into him a few times since then. He came to my office and then we ended up having a burger together last night."

"You went on a date with him after all?" She squeezes my shoulder through the thick denim shirt I'm wearing. "You neglected to mention that you actually did said yes to him at least once."

I swat her hand away in jest. "We talked about my design business. He has a friend who is going to look over my website and tell me what I need to do to make improvements to it."

"So it was a business dinner, not a pleasure dinner?"

"Exactly," I say firmly. "We talked about websites, my designs and then we said goodnight."

"You like him, Soph." She jerks her thumb at me. "You smile when you talk about him."

"I don't." I wipe the back of my hand across my mouth. "I'm smiling because I'm talking to you."

"You're so full of it," she chides. "If you like him, give him a chance. What's the worst that can happen?"

"I'll feel like an idiot," I answer quickly. "Wait. No, I'll feel like a used idiot."

"Sex with a rock star in the literary world is not a bad thing. Besides, if he's still chasing you, maybe he's interested in more than that."

My gaze drifts to the stunning engagement ring on her left hand. Den was never a romantic before she met Tyler. That's all changed now that she's found her soul mate. She may want to believe that Nicholas sees me as more than a random fuck, but I know better. "I don't want to get hurt. I know how I am with men. If the sex is good, I'm going to be twirling in circles for weeks after when I stop hearing from him."

"You can't predict the future." She reaches for my hand. "If you like him, give him a chance, Soph. Maybe he'll surprise you."