Erotic, sensual, pleasurable sure. But fun? Not for a long time, if ever. They were past the point of negotiation and awkwardness, finding a security he’d never thought possible. She sat up on the bed and tucked her feet beneath her.
“Fine, have it your way.” She pulled the sweatshirt over her head. Even though the sports bra flattened her out, she still looked delectable.
“I will. I’m just waiting for you to warm up first.” He licked his lips as her mouth drifted into a circle. He loved it when she did that.
“I’ll jump in the shower. That should do it.” He was right behind her as she stepped out of her pants on the way to the bathroom. Her eyes were wide, startled as she turned around. “You already showered.”
He leaned down, careful to arch away from her frosty hands as he whispered, “I am going to clean every inch of you. Slowly, deeply, completely.”
She shivered, though he doubted it was from the cold, and removed her sports bra without taking her eyes from his. “What now?’
He reached behind her and turned on the water. “Now I charm you out of your panties.”
———
“Would you teach the new class with me next month?”
David’s smile dropped so fast Sophie could almost hear it plunk on the floor.
“Please, no. Can’t you get one of your other instructors to do it? They’ve got boyfriends right? ”
She forced her mouth into a pout. “I thought you liked the class.”
“I don’t like the way the men look at you, even with their wives right there.” David buried his head behind the newspaper she’d brought home with her. She could spend every Saturday just this way.
“Their wives aren’t much better.” Sophie scooped the creamy oatmeal studded with raisins and apples from the crock pot, and sprinkled brown sugar and toasted walnuts over the top. She barely believed him when he said he’d never had oatmeal before.
“It’s all too group sex for me. But if you can’t figure it out I will. I don’t want someone else, you know.”
She set the bowls on the table and pulled down the newspaper so she could see his reaction. “Would you be jealous? It’s all very mechanical I assure you. It could be very professional.”
He folded the paper and set it aside as she poured the fat free cream over the oatmeal. “I’ve seen the mechanics of the situation firsthand. Just cancel the classes until Daphne comes back.”
Sophie shook her head and took her seat. “It’s my most popular course. I was actually thinking of expanding it, maybe offering an advanced class.”
David looked at her sideways. “You’re a model student, but an advanced class? I’ve seen the book, Sophie. Some of the positions are downright acrobatic.”
“You wouldn’t want to try them?”
His spoon froze in mid air, a raisin plopping back down on his bowl. “Not in public, no.”
Sophie shrugged. “Maybe I should hire professionals.”
He set the spoon down. “Is that legal? Wouldn’t that be a liability issue?”
“Not prostitutes, instructors who teach sexually explicit topics. Like Sexual Reflexology and Tantric Sex.” She waited, but saw no reaction. He must not know.
“Sounds good, especially if it gets me off the hook.” David attacked his bowl, finishing in under a minute. The man loved to eat.
“I’m glad you think so. I know the perfect couple.” She scooted onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.
His face went white. “Not us.”
“No, not us,” she said, nuzzling into his neck. She breathed in his scent, but pulled back. She didn’t want to miss his reaction. “It’s Tessa and your dad.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Marry her.” David jumped as his father’s voice boomed through the room. “Sophie is fantastic. Beautiful, smart, charming and refuses to talk about you.”
David smiled at that. Good girl. “You had Tessa grill her last night, didn’t you?”
Lance mocked innocence. “Me? They actually get along great, but I was referring to my job interview.”
“Right, teaching the classes.” David closed his laptop as Lance neared.
Lance sprawled out in one of the chairs opposite David’s desk. “I mean it, you know. You should marry her.”
“I don’t think you’ll ever be in a position to dole out marital advice. Though you have plenty of experience.”
Lance shrugged. “I’m a slow learner. I made the same mistake three times. But not this time. You’ll see.” He settled further in to the chair. “Too bad Sophie’s busy tonight. Kelly was disappointed she missed meeting her last night.”
“You didn’t,” David moaned. He hadn’t invited Sophie to Kelly’s birthday dinner because she had Daphne’s baby shower. But Sophie might not realize that.
“Didn’t what? Ask her if she would be joining us? No, Tessa assumed she wouldn’t. I think they must have discussed it last night.”
Good, maybe. She seemed fine last night. Better than fine. Her words echoed in his head. Show me I’m yours. I’ll keep you safe. You won’t be alone. He hadn’t even bothered to fish the condoms out of his bag when they got home last night.
“Oh good, you’re still here.”
David snapped back to reality as Tessa glided into the room.
She sashayed to his desk, setting down three sheets of paper and plunking a set of keys on top. “It’s perfect for her.”
Tessa leaned against the chair Lance was sitting in. David winced as Lance pulled her onto his lap.
“Consider it an early wedding present.” They were obviously quite pleased with themselves.
David didn’t bother to argue, just set the keys aside and looked down at the papers. A picture of the exterior of a sprawling colonial house was followed by bullet points of its features. Pictures on the other pages showed an enormous kitchen, weight room, master suite, and the view of the Portland skyline at night.
“You think giving me a house will make me want to get married?”
“Not you, her.” Tessa said, sending her viper smile his way. “You’re a bear. She has to have some reason for marrying you. The house is perfect for her. A gourmet kitchen as big as her apartment, heated floors because her feet are always cold, lots of bedrooms. Just take her up there and see.”
How did she know so much about Sophie? They must have talked for longer than he realized. He hated that Tessa was right about this. His condo was too drafty for her, her place too small for him. A house just made sense. But Sophie had a hard enough time accepting the truck, there was no way she’d let anyone buy her a house.
David fingered the keys. Didn’t you usually need a real estate agent to see a house?
“We already own it,” Tessa explained before he could ask. “I caught it a few months ago and have been decorating it ever since. But if she doesn’t like it, she can always redo it herself.”
And he thought Tessa’s real estate habit was just a cover. “Sophie won’t let anyone buy her a house.” He shoved the keys wistfully across the table.
“Just take her up there. It’s only five minutes from downtown. If she doesn’t like it, I’ll start looking. If she does, then you can convince her. She swears you’re actually rather charming.”
———
“In bed woman, until the guests arrive. Craig will have my head if he knows you got up a minute before.” Sophie chided her sister as Daphne applied her make-up in the bathroom mirror.
“The man is obsessed.” Daphne pressed her lips together, then pulled back and admired her coral lipstick.
“That he is. But it’s just five more weeks. You can do anything for five Mondays right?”
Daphne laughed and rubbed her tummy. “Thanks Dad. I haven’t heard that one in a while.”
Sophie grinned, remembering how their father used to help them make it through school until the next holiday break.
“Oh!” Daphne’s hand molded to her side. “It’s her foot!” Daphne reached f
or Sophie’s hand and pressed it to the spot.
Sophie could distinctly feel the heel, the little toes. “It is his foot.” She’d felt the baby kick before, but this was somehow more real. Not just a flutter, but an actual body part. “I think he has big feet. We’ll have to get him bigger baby shoes.”
“She’s a girl, Sophie. I just know it.” Daphne’s head shook as she released Sophie’s hand, but Sophie left it there. Just in case. If David was serious about not having children this might be her only chance to feel it.
Sophie blinked the mist from her eyes as she reluctantly took her hand away. He was done stretching for now. “I told you, I had a dream. Right before you found out you were pregnant. You’ll see.”
The doorbell rang and the guests began to pour in, piling the living room with presents. Sophie managed to keep Daphne seated for most of the party, except for her bathroom breaks and when the guests had to try and guess how many squares of toilet paper it would take to circumnavigate her waist.
After the carrot cake, Daphne dove in to the gifts and Sophie breathed a sigh of relief. The party was almost over, and she was still okay. Sophie snuck to the back bedroom and made her promised phone check in with Craig, who had slipped out to SGI to get some work done.
She’d barely got her message across when the doorbell rang. Hanging up quickly, she skirted the living room and made her way to the door. Laurie, a masseuse at Working It Out, made her apologies for being late, but instead of joining the group she pulled Sophie into the kitchen. She thrust the newspaper at Sophie and said, “You need to see this.”
“What?” Sophie asked, plopping the heavy bundle on the countertop. “The Sunday paper?”
“It’s the Saturday edition. I get it for the ads so I can plan my shopping. But that’s not why you need to see it.” Laurie’s hands deftly moved the pages. “Scene and Heard.” She drummed her hand against a series of black and white photos.
“I know what it is. It’s the society column.” Sophie turned her attention to the page, and promptly closed her eyes in defeat. David had warned her not to risk it. She opened them again, taking in the four photos of David being kissed by four different women. The only one he was kissing was her. Sophie recognized Tessa and his executive assistant, one of the few people David had taken the time to introduce her to. And then there was that annoying redhead she had pulled him away from, but the angle of the shot made it look like she was kissing him. Sophie had made sure that twit’s lips never touched him.
She turned to Laurie. “It’s not how it looks.”
Laurie nodded. “Whatever you say, but I’m not worried about you. Daphne reads the paper cover to cover every morning. That kiss you are planting on him, that’s not a ‘we’re just friends’ kiss. Which is the lie you’ve fed to your sister.”
“I never lied.”
Laurie crossed her arms across her chest. “Daphne and I talk every day, she has no idea about you and David. She suspects though, always asking if he’s been around and how you are acting.”
So Laurie was the one who kept Daphne up on the happenings at the club. The club.
“Did they mention Working It Out?” she asked as her eyes scanned the tiny print below the photos. Laurie’s finger came down hard. “Strong Gyms CEO David Strong, had multiple mergers on the horizon at his father’s, former SGI President Lance Strong, retirement party Friday night. Current plaything Sophie Delfino may want to hold tight to her half of popular women’s fitness center Working It Out.” Plaything. She didn’t even warrant girlfriend status.
Sophie stepped back against the refrigerator. A picture of her and David followed by him with three other women, and a mention of her club. Daphne was going to freak. Her blood pressure would soar.
“Don’t even think about trying to keep her from seeing it. If I found it more of her friends will.”
Sophie straightened her spine, making herself as tall as possible. “I have nothing to hide. But I’m not going to rush out there and ruin her party. Once Craig gets home I’ll tell them both together. He’ll keep her calm.”
Laurie’s head shook from side to side. “I hope so. If her blood pressure goes up any higher she’ll have to check in to the hospital for the rest of her pregnancy.” The laughter from the other room spilled into the kitchen. “I better go join the party. Good luck.”
Sophie sank down at the kitchen table and stared at the pictures again. The picture of her and David made her smile. His eyes were closed as he leaned down, kissing her as she sat at the bar. He didn’t always do that, but it warmed her every time he trusted her enough to close his eyes and enjoy the moment.
Of course, she couldn’t enjoy the moment for long. Daphne wouldn’t recognize how much that kiss symbolized, how far she’d come with David. A few weeks ago he wouldn’t even consider spending the night, and now he found her bed more nights than he didn’t, made the effort to understand why she did things and was even beginning to share things with her.
She was winning the war, battle by battle. If Daphne were healthier, Sophie would just take a hard line with her, force her to realize her baby sister was an adult, capable of taking risks and dealing with the aftermath.
If that weren’t the joke of the century. As if she had a contingency plan for David balking at her attempts to broaden his mind to the possibility of a relationship. She was walking a dangerous path, one with no safety net for her heart. Every day she fell deeper into the abyss, and while he was at least in the water now, he was still in the shallow end.
With a sigh, Sophie knew she’d need Craig’s help telling Daphne. She didn’t dare mention the newspaper column until he got back. Craig might know how to make her accept what was going on. Though he was in the dark too. She’d have to tell him first, calm him down, and then tell Daphne.
Once Daphne had the baby, Sophie would never keep anything from her again. Best to tell the little bits as things began, than hit someone with a freight train later.
———
“How did I know you’d be here?” Craig said as he sauntered into David’s office. “I wanted to give you the update on the Deliver-Ease rollout.”
Craig slapped a report down on David’s desk, much too close to the travel itinerary he’d printed out. Luckily, Craig didn’t seem to notice as he plopped back in a chair and rubbed his face.
“Good news or bad news?” David slid the itinerary in a drawer, and then opened the report.
“Good. Everything is right on schedule, ready to roll December one so the bugs will be worked out by January when the world goes on a diet. The managers are a little skeptical though. When you visit, be sure to really push. I have some motivational ideas in the report.”
David spent every December and January traveling the country, putting in face-time at most every Strong Gym in North America. He’d spent the last hour reworking the schedule so Sophie could go with him. She’d only been out of the state once. Plus, he couldn’t go that long without her. He’d found one of his managers to take over for her at Working It Out while they were gone.
“David!” Craig yelled, slapping the desk. “Do you know when you stopped listening or should I start over from hello?”
David blinked hard. “Deliver-Ease is part of my vision for the new year speech. We’ll be nationwide by this time next year. The program is part of my ramp-up at every gym, but I’ll look over your suggestions.”
“Good.” Craig nodded. “I need to talk to you about something else.”
David swallowed hard. “Business or personal?”
“Both.” Craig checked the cell phone attached to his belt. “Are you still interested in buying Working It Out?”
“I’m not following you.” Sophie was the majority owner, and she hadn’t said a word about selling. Though there was something she’d come to ask his help with. Of course, he’d been selfishly preoccupied with the fiasco that was his father instead of remembering to ask her what she needed.
“Daphne wants to spend the first year
with the baby, and after that, she’s thinking she wants a change.”
Craig kept talking, but David stopped listening. He didn’t give a damn what Daphne wanted. “Have you discussed this with Sophie?” he interrupted.
Craig waved his hand dismissively. “Sophie’s just there until Daphne comes back, and if Daphne isn’t coming back… Sophie will be happy to get back to her career. She made a lot more money there anyway. Of course, she’ll stay in place through the transition.”
“You can’t make decisions for her.” David had seen first hand the ugliness that could cause. He was already nervous about telling her about the house, the trip.
“You don’t know Sophie.”
He swallowed the words he itched to say. Sophie wanted to wait until after the baby to tell Craig and Daphne. She was putting them first, yet they barely gave her a second thought. David got up from his desk and walked to the wall of windows and stared down at the dots on the street below.
“I’m surprised you’re not interested.”
So was he. He’d twice offered to buy it from Daphne, hell last week he bought the building. But Working It Out was Sophie’s as much as it was Daphne’s. That Craig was trying to unload it without talking to her was causing his temperature to rise.
“All Day Fitness made her an offer last year…”
David set his jaw and directed his words to Craig’s reflection in the window. “Sophie is the majority owner. You can’t make these decisions without consulting her.”
“Well, you two sure got chatty,” Craig grinned, getting up from his chair. “Sophie is a silent partner. She’ll do whatever Daphne wants, and Daphne wants to sell. So we are selling, as soon as possible.”
David felt his breath escaping like steam from a teakettle. He just couldn’t hold it in. “Sophie bends over backwards for you both, and she never even gets a thank you.”
Craig’s smile widened. “You’re the one bending her over backwards lately.”
David’s blood boiled in his veins. He spun around and saw the smirk on Craig’s face. He grabbed Craig by the shoulders and slammed him into the wall behind him.
Compromising Positions Page 21
