Seth must have been able to read, by Bobby’s reaction, how relieved he was to hear that. Once Bobby had told him that he wouldn’t have it any other way, Seth had relaxed and actually been somewhat animated as he’d filled Bobby in on exactly what his job would entail, which was basically different from assignment to assignment. But there were some universal expectations that were true across the board.
When Bobby had started at Sloan Construction, he had been given preferential treatment. Mainly from his dad, but also from Jason, who was serving as V.P. at the time. Looking back now, Bobby realized that it’d probably had less to do with the fact that he was family and more to do with the fact that they’d known they could depend on him. Once Bob Sr. had had his heart issues, some of the crew had left, moving on to perceived greener pastures, thinking that Sloan Construction wouldn’t be able to withstand their leader being out of commission. So Jason had not only been faced with stepping in and trying to run things, but he also had to quickly rebuild their manpower.
It wasn’t that Bobby hadn’t risen to the opportunity. He had. And he ultimately earned any of the nepotism he’d been afforded the hard way—through backbreaking work. But the thought of having to prove himself, to work his way up in a field he’d always been drawn to, was making Bobby feel more alive, more excited, than anything—other than the woman he was currently waiting on—ever had.
Bobby grabbed his phone and sent Sophie a quick text letting her know that he was here. She’d shot him back a smiley face emoji, which was her way of saying that it was going to be a few minutes. Sophie was a lot of things, but punctual was not one of them.
For a moment, he contemplated going in and seeing if he could move the process along, but he immediately threw that thought out and remained seated in the SUV for two reasons. First, Sophie hated feeling rushed and he didn’t want to start out their weekend on a bad foot. Second, Bobby knew that, if he went into his house, he’d delay their departure even longer than if he just waited in the car.
It was difficult for Bobby to keep his hands off Sophie under normal circumstances. Today was not normal. He’d been strung tight all day because of their Snapchat sessions. Not to mention the fact that, over the past few months, with her increased traveling, he’d missed her more than he’d ever known was possible to miss another person. Add both of those factors to the rush he was feeling about no longer being in construction and finally pursuing something he’d always been interested in, and he knew, the second he laid eyes on her, he wouldn’t be able to resist touching her, kissing her, taking every ounce of pent-up arousal and rush of adrenaline he was experiencing and focusing it solely on her.
And Bobby knew that once would not be enough with her. It wouldn’t even begin to take the edge off his desire for her. It had always been that way with Sophie. Since their first kiss on their very first date, he’d wanted more, like an addict who was always feening for his next hit.
For a while, he’d thought that his unquenchable craving was due the fact that, ever since middle school, Bobby had had a serious thing for Sophie Hunter. Even during elementary school, he’d always thought she was cute. Whenever she’d come over to Bobby’s house with her brother, Nick, who was best friends with Jason, he remembered that she’d follow him around, talking nonstop about girl stuff. She’d tell him about a new dress she’d just gotten, some drama that had been going on with the girls at their school, or what grade she’d received on her spelling test. He’d loved hearing her ramble on and on. Not because he cared about what she was saying because he usually wasn’t even paying attention. No, Bobby remembered, even when he was as young as ten years old, loving the sound of Sophie’s voice.
And not just her voice—he also loved her larger-than-life facial expressions. Everything Sophie was feeling was displayed on her face. Maybe he’d been drawn to her like a moth to a flame because, although Bobby felt things deeply, he’d never been good at expressing himself. If self-expression were an Olympic sport, Sophie would have walked away with the gold, hands down, even when she was eight.
But then, when Bobby was in eighth grade and Sophie had started sixth, everything had changed. He stopped just enjoying the time he’d spent around her and started looking forward to it and even being disappointed if a day went by when he hadn’t seen her smile, heard her laugh, watched her brow furrow in concentration, or smelled the sweet scent that was uniquely Sophie. He’d thought about her constantly. Sophie Hunter had consumed Bobby’s thoughts every second of every minute of every day since he was thirteen years old.
Unfortunately, it had taken him over a decade to act on those feelings. Part of that was because, even though Bobby had never been at a loss for female companionship, he had never really been the pursuer. Since he could remember, girls had just always been available and more than willing to do whatever Bobby had wanted. He still attributed a lot of that to the trail his four older brothers had blazed by making the Sloan name legendary by the time he’d made it to kindergarten. Seth was the mysterious, brooding, strong, silent one. Riley was the wild bad boy. Jason was the town’s Romeo, or Casanova, depending on who you asked, and Alex was the charismatic playboy. Following that lineup had been a panty-dropping no-brainer.
He’d gotten the distinct feeling that all the girls he’d ‘dated’ in middle school and high school had cast him in whatever role they’d wanted him to be. They hadn’t seen him or wanted to be with him. They’d just been happy to be with a Sloan brother, and because Bobby was quiet, it had made it easy for those girls to invent what or who he was. Which had been fine with Bobby as a teenager. He hadn’t wanted them to see the real him. And he’d still gotten laid. A lot. And he never had to let anyone in. His role in those girls’ lives had had a lot more to do with them than it ever had with him.
Every girl except Sophie. From the time she’d started following him around in overalls and pigtails, when she’d look at him, he’d felt like she saw him. Which had naturally scared the shit out of him.
Bobby’s phone dinged with a text that read, ‘Almost ready.’
His lips turned up at the corners in amusement. Sophie’s text might have seemed like just a friendly update, but Bobby knew better. That was her version of a ‘do not disturb’ sign. Under normal circumstances, her warning would have been a necessary evil. Usually, he would be heading into their house any second to expedite their departure. Not tonight.
No. Tonight, Bobby would wait, semi-patiently, for his wife. The alternative being his going into that house and delaying their trip by at least a few hours.
Chapter Four
After fifteen minutes of waiting, Bobby was just getting out of the SUV, thinking maybe he should stretch his legs in the hope that some of the blood that had rushed to his midsection would disperse, when the door leading into the house opened and a flash of blonde hair, shimmering in the overhead light, fanned out as Sophie appeared for a moment. She made brief eye contact but then turned around and bent over at the waist to pick up the overnight bag she’d set down beside her. The innocent movement caused her ass to shoot up in the air on display and forced a whole heap of not-so-innocent thoughts to begin racing through Bobby’s head. Her ass was round and firm, causing Bobby to instantly swell beneath the zipper of his jeans as his mouth watered.
After stepping out of the driver’s side of the car, Bobby met Sophie at the garage door that led into their house in two long strides. His fingers wrapped around the handle of her bag and he pulled it away from her, careful not to let his hand graze hers. If he felt her soft, smooth skin, he knew the tiny thread of control he was exercising would snap and he’d push her up against the wall and take her. Hard.
Seeming to be completely unaware of his hormonal war raging just below the surface, Sophie smiled as explanations began pouring out of her mouth. “Thanks, baby. Sorry I’m late. I’ve had the craziest day. It just got away from me. Have you ever had one of those days where you’re focused on your work and you think a half hour, maybe an hour has passe
d, but you notice the time and several hours have flown by? That was my day. Before I knew it…”
The sound of Sophie’s voice warmed him from the inside out, spreading through his veins like a shot of whiskey on a cold, snowy day. He was only half listening as he moved to the back of the SUV, popped open the tailgate, and set Sophie’s deep-purple overnight bag beside his plain, black one. It wasn’t that he was intentionally ignoring her because he didn’t care about what she was saying or because he thought what she was saying was boring. In fact, it wasn’t even something he consciously did. It just happened whenever she started one of her long-winded speeches. It had been that way since they were kids. Bobby instantly relaxed at the sound of her voice.
Once he had closed the tailgate, he walked to the passenger side door, maintaining ironclad control as he lifted the handle and held the door open for Sophie to step up. Taking her hand, he helped her, his eyes immediately traveling to the slope of her slender calf, the dip of her ankle, and the sexy line of her foot in her black high heels. Desire poured over him and his hands twitched at the need to touch her soft skin. Her sweet, fresh scent of coconut and vanilla wafted through the air as her silky hair lightly brushed against his forearm.
Bobby clenched his jaw as he reminded himself that, in just a few hours, he would be able to touch that soft hair, tangle his fingers through it, and fist his hands around it. He fisted his hands as he made his way back to his side of the truck. He could practically feel her smooth strands on his palms.
Blood was pounding in his head from pent-up arousal as he settled into the driver’s seat and started the engine. When he did, he heard Sophie’s voice stop. A small twinge of panic gripped his chest, but luckily, Bobby was a pro. He hadn’t heard anything Sophie had just said, but he had noticed that her tone had gone up an octave before she’d grown quiet. Best guess was that she wanted him to agree with her. Since he didn’t have any idea what he would be agreeing to, Bobby decided to go with his good ol’ faithful.
“Mmm hmm.”
Sophie’s hands flew up and her face grew animated once again as she said, “I know, right?! Can you believe that?”
Score one for ol’ faithful. Bobby felt his lips twitch. He’d picked up quite a few handy go-to tools since he and Sophie had gotten married, but that one was by far the one he got the most mileage out of. Bobby looked over his shoulder as he began pulling out of the garage. The minutes until he could get Sophie alone in their hotel room were ticking in his head like a bomb that was going to go off. Which was exactly what he felt like.
Time was such a funny thing. It could drag on and on, endlessly, speed by in a flash, or slip through your fingers like sand. The years he’d spent pining after Sophie had seemed to drag on forever, but the years he’d spent with her were passing at warp speed.
Convinced that she and Bobby were on the same page from his generic response, Sophie continued passionately. “I mean, I totally understand the need for security and the last thing that I would ever want to be is a pain in the ass, but there was just no way that I was going to get strip-searched by some greasy—”
White-hot fury consumed Bobby. Without any premeditation, his foot slammed on the brake as he whipped his head around. “Someone tried to strip-search you?” He didn’t raise his voice. In fact, it was totally calm. Deadly calm.
Sophie’s brows drew together in confusion as she shook her head slightly. “No. Lydia, the woman on the plane this morning, said that happened to her.”
“Oh, right.” He nodded as he continued down their driveway and turned onto the street, bracing himself for the lecture he was sure was coming about how he wasn’t listening. Which was totally fair—he hadn’t been listening.
Instead of calling him on it, Sophie surprised him by turning back in her seat and going on with her story. “So yeah… I just thought that was crazy. And I meant to get caught up on all my work on the flight, but instead, I spent the entire time talking to Lydia…”
Bobby glanced over at Sophie as they pulled up to the stoplight. She was now telling him about the morning meeting with vendors in Chicago that she and Amber had gone to, which was why he hadn’t been the one to pick her up from the airport. He studied her profile for a moment and noticed that something was definitely off with her. She seemed distracted and anxious. If he didn’t know any better, he would say she was nervous.
“Are you okay?” Concern filled Bobby’s baritone voice. The light had turned green, but there were no cars behind him on the frontage road, so he stayed put.
“What?” Sophie spun her head towards him, a defensive spark in her eye.
“You seem…amped up.” Bobby, sensing that he needed to tread lightly in the emotional landmine he’d just stepped onto, was careful not to use any negative words like distracted, anxious, or nervous even though those definitely more accurately described her demeanor.
“I’m just excited to be getting away.” Sophie shrugged, her tone reading much closer to irritated than excited.
Before he had a chance to follow up with another question, he saw lights in his rearview and checked to make sure the light hadn’t turned red before proceeding and then turning onto the on-ramp to the highway.
Sophie continued describing her day, and Bobby made sure not to let his mind wander. Something was off with his wife and she obviously was not going to offer up any explanations, so he needed any clue he could get. Unfortunately, after twenty minutes, the only thing he’d been able to deduct was that something was definitely off. Which was exactly where he had started.
Yes, Sophie loved to talk, but she was usually very engaged in what she was saying. Now, it seemed like she was verbally running on a talking treadmill and she couldn’t get off.
Hmm. Get off. That gave him an idea.
* * *
Sophie knew she needed to calm down. Take a breath. Just be quiet. But all she could seem to do was talk incessantly. No matter how many times she told herself to zip it, hush, and shut up, words just kept pouring out of her mouth like water from a dam that had burst. Honestly, she had no flippin’ idea if she was even making sense.
When Bobby had asked if someone had tried to strip-search her, she had to do a Google search in her mind to figure out what in the world he could have been talking about. Then she remembered Lydia and her conversation with her on the plane and realized she must have been talking about that.
Her mind felt completely disconnected from the rest of her body. It was like she was talking on autopilot. She wished she would shut up on autopilot, but apparently, her off switch was on the fritz. From the second she’d stepped out into the garage and saw Bobby getting out of the SUV, her heart had been racing like Road Runner and her mind had been screaming a continuous chorus of, I’m pregnant! I’m pregnant! I’m pregnant! Maybe she kept talking because she was afraid that, if she stopped, Bobby would be able to hear her inner thoughts. He did have an uncanny ability to read Sophie’s mind.
Hey, that was an idea. She’d been trying to figure out a way to break the news to her husband, the one who had specifically stated on their first date that he never wanted children, that she was knocked up. She was with child. There was a bun in her oven. Maybe, if she just sat quietly, he’d read her mind and figure it out all on his own. He would take care of breaking the news all by himself.
“Sophie?” Bobby’s voice cut through her mind’s borderline-manic state.
“What?” she asked, wincing at the fact that she’d snapped at him once again as nerves started bubbling up at why he said her name so sternly.
Had she just said what she’d been thinking out loud?
Did he know she was pregnant?
Maybe she’d just told him without even meaning to…
“Did you get my text?” he asked in a tone that made her feel like he might be repeating himself.
Obviously, she hadn’t been following along, too busy dealing with her merry-go-round of crazy thoughts that was circling around in the funhouse she called her mi
nd. Knowing that, in her current state, she didn’t have a great shot at figuring out the puzzle that was this conversation, she decided to ask Vanna for a vowel.
“What text?”
Bobby’s eyes shifted briefly to Sophie before returning his attention to the road and the look she saw in his baby blues caused every cell in her body to come alive with sensation.
“Oh,” she half-gasped, half-whispered.
In that split-second glance, the primal, hungry glint in Bobby’s gaze had made it crystal clear exactly what text he was referring to. It had to do with a certain undergarment that he’d requested she not wear. Now, her heart was beating rapidly for an entirely different—much more fun!—reason. Her mind went blank as all thoughts of anything other than the fact that she was in fact panty-less fled from her consciousness as she answered quietly, “Yes.”
Sophie stared at her husband’s strong profile. The only signs that he had heard were the slight flare of his nostrils and his jaw setting as it tightened. As she licked her lips with anticipation as to what action her response would garner, the rest of the world disappeared and she waited, captivated by Bobby’s mere presence. He held himself with quiet control, which was probably one of, if not the sexiest things in the world.
Seconds ticked by and, still, Bobby had not responded. Sophie shifted in her seat, the leather squeaking beneath the small patch of skin that was bare between her skirt and the back of her knee. Her eyes traveled below his square jawline, down his neck, and across his broad shoulder. She continued her visual journey down the curve of his rounded shoulder over his muscled bicep, the cotton of his shirt stretched taut against the bulge that resided on his upper arm at all times, even when he was totally relaxed and not flexing. The thudding of her heart steadily continued to increase in frequency and force as her body responded to what she was seeing.
My Love - Bobby & Sophie: A Crossroads Novella Page 4
