Chapter 18
Lucas
“What the hell do you mean she’s sending someone else?” I asked, staring at Suzanne.
Suzanne held my gaze, hers calm and composed. “She said a personal emergency came up.”
“That's not okay,” I countered sharply. “I want her here. I don't want somebody else. She's the only one I trust.”
“I can't tell you how happy I am that you trust Sophia given your resistance to us hiring a PR consultant in general. But we can't force her to come. I'm sure she'll be available when you get back from London. Also, I’m sure anything you need from her can be handled from a distance. I can send her a message and see if she's going to be available online,” Suzanne explained logically.
I spun away, crossing my arms and staring out the windows behind my drafting table. Fuck. I’d been tied up last night and hadn't had a chance to check in with Sophia before she left the office. When I texted her, I'd gotten no response. I came into work today to find out she wouldn’t be going on our London trip. I was furious. Not with her in particular, but mostly with how out of control I felt inside.
“Are you okay, Lucas?” Suzanne asked from behind me.
I was definitely not fucking okay. But I wasn't about to share that with Suzanne. I spun around, schooling my expression to calm.
“I'm fine. I would've appreciated more notice than this from her.”
Danny stepped into the office at the tail end of my comment to Suzanne. He arched a brow and leaned against the doorjamb.
“The very definition of an emergency is that you can't plan ahead. Whatever came up for Sophia, we don't own her, so get over it,” he said pointedly.
I glanced between them. I could sense they were curious about my reaction. Hell, I should’ve been curious about my reaction, but I wasn't. This thing with Sophia was driving me crazy. Nothing but a few nights with her, and it was like I couldn't live without her. I, who’d sworn I wasn't going to take anyone seriously again, was on pins and needles wondering why she wasn't responding to my texts and wondering why the hell she couldn’t come to London. I gave myself a mental shake and shrugged.
“Fine. I need to make a few calls, so if you two will excuse me…”
I didn’t miss the pointed look between them, but I ignored it.
After they both quietly left my office, I closed the door and sank into my chair, running a hand roughly through my hair. At that moment, my computer screen buzzed, indicating a video call from Seth. I tapped the keyboard to answer, and his face appeared.
“Hey there. How's it going?” he asked.
‘Fine,” I bit out. I was so out of sorts, I didn’t even go through the niceties of asking him how he was doing.
If he noticed anything amiss, Seth moved along. “I was hoping we could touch base about the project. I wanted you to take a look at the latest design and let me know your thoughts before I tell our teams to move on.”
One of the things Seth and I managed well was to assign our teams to projects together and alternate taking the lead. There were few men I trusted as much as I trusted Seth. Not only to be a decent guy and not try anything underhanded, but his judgment was incredible, and he was brilliant.
I must've sat staring blankly a little too long.
“You okay?” Seth asked.
I glanced at the screen. “Yeah, I'm fine. Why?”
“Okay. You seem a little… I dunno, off, I suppose.”
I felt myself snapping before the words came out of my mouth. “How can you fucking tell through a computer screen?”
“Easy, man. I don't mind if you're feeling moody, but I'm just checking in. Friend to friend, okay?”
I took a deep breath and let it out. “Sorry, man. Long week. Let me take a look. Is it up right now?”
At his nod, I tapped into our shared drive where we stored designs when we were working on them. We chatted for a few minutes, my mind only halfway there. As we were finishing up, Seth glanced over his shoulder. I heard the door behind him open and then saw Nicole stepping into the frame.
She leaned down to smile at me through the screen. “Hey Lucas, how's New York City?”
I managed a smile. “Decent, but there’s no view here like what you see in the Sierras everyday.”
“Cities have their own beauty,” she replied.
“How are you and the baby?” I asked.
Nicole was beautiful, but she truly appeared glowing now. Her skin was bright, and her brown eyes warm. “I feel great actually. I got through the worst of the morning sickness, and now I just have strange cravings. I've always thought I was lucky because Seth’s a great cook, but now I feel even more blessed. He cooks whatever I want whenever I want it,” she said with a little laugh.
Seth slid his arm around her hips and dropped a kiss on the round curve of her belly. My heart gave that funny thump again. It didn't have anything to do with Seth and Nicole per se. It was more what they represented—their trust, their easy affection, and their clear love for each other. I'd never noticed the contrast of their relationship to what I’d had with Kayla until now. I couldn't even quite believe I’d actually asked Kayla to marry me. In hindsight, I'd looked at it more like it was time for me to make a commitment. Kayla had fit into my life well enough that I went along with it, fancying myself somewhat in love with her.
Now, that I'd had a few nights with Sophia, nothing could compare.
Nicole straightened and gave a little wave as she stepped away from the computer monitor. “Nice to chat, Lucas. I was just popping in to see if we needed anything at the store.”
Seth spun in his chair, glancing up. “Get whatever you want, and I'll just cook it,” he said with a laugh.
Nicole dropped a kiss on his cheek. Even that brief moment was intimate as he slid his hand up to tuck her a lock of hair behind her ear.
Seth spun back. “Sorry about the interruption.”
“Oh, no worry. Always nice to see Nicole.”
He angled his head to the side, ever perceptive. “You sure you're okay?”
I stared at him for moment, considering whether to try to explain my unsettled state. My newly developed habit of speaking before thinking, which appeared linked only to anything to do with Sophia, resulted in a question rolling out. “How did you know?”
Seth arched a brow. “Know what?”
“Know Nicole was the one for you.”
He looked startled for a moment and then his gaze cleared. “Are you all messed up over a woman?”
I rolled my eyes, shifting my shoulders uncomfortably. “Maybe. I'm just curious for your opinion.”
He leaned back, his expression bemused. “It sounds corny, but I just did. Once you feel a certain way with someone, you know it's something you haven't felt before. That’s how you know. Well that and then hating when they're not there. I fucking hate it when I have to travel without her,” he said vehemently.
I couldn't help but laugh. Seth was a contained man. It had surprised me when I first heard about him and Nicole, but then I'd seen them together and there'd been no doubt. I thought about the way I felt the other morning when Sophia rolled over and sank down onto me. I could chalk it up to sex. Don't get me wrong, sex with her was amazing—the mind-blowing, earth shattering kind of amazing. But it wasn't just that and I knew it. I stared at Seth and managed to nod. “All right. Thanks.”
“Anytime. If you want to talk more, I'm here.”
We left it at that, and I ended the call. I immediately buzzed my intercom for Danny. He stepped into my office within seconds, closing the door behind him.
“What's up? You still cranky?” he asked.
I leaned back in my chair with a sigh. “No. Sorry, I snapped earlier.”
“Mind filling me in on what's going on?”
I so did not want to have this conversation. I knew Sophia wouldn’t appreciate it, but she wasn't here to be upset, and I needed some advice.
“Okay, you have to promise you won't breathe a word of this.”
“Of course not.”
I took a breath, gathering myself. “So there might be something going on with me and Sophia.”
Danny stayed quiet, but I saw the glint in his eyes. After a beat, he arched a brow. “Not a surprise. I can sense your draw to her. Is this why you're so cranky? Because she canceled on the London trip?” he asked.
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “Yes.”
He cocked his head to the side. “I'm not really sure what's going on because you're not offering much information, but something like that wouldn't normally get to you. Work pretty much drives your life. Even when you were engaged to Kayla, your work life didn't change much. It certainly wouldn't have rattled you if she didn't come on a trip.”
“I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think this is serious.”
Danny grinned. “Sophia’s awesome, and I think she’d be good for you. So what are you gonna do?”
I lifted a hand and let it fall. “I don't know. I don't even know where she is.”
“We can find out,” Danny said.
I stared at him for a long moment. “Let's do it. I think this means canceling the London trip again.”
Danny chuckled. “No problem. I'll call them and tell them we have to move it back again. That should buy you some time to straighten things out with Sophia.”
He stood and left. I spun in my chair to look out the windows. I couldn't quite believe it, but I'd fallen in love with Sophia. I didn't know that I could say I knew what love was, but I knew what this was. I wanted her with every fiber of my being. Within a few minutes, Danny returned.
“She's in Cape Cod. I'm texting you the address right now.”
That's all I needed. As I was about to race out, he called out, “Do you need a ride?”
“Nope. I need to get there as fast as I can, and I drive faster than Stanley.”
With Danny’s laugh following me, I ran out of the building.