Gripping the wheel, Sophie stared straight ahead at the tall fountain in the middle of town. “I’m busy with several projects,” she answered. “Surely you understand.”
Once again he said nothing for a moment.
“We need to talk,” she told him. “In person and not in a rushed setting.”
There. She’d gotten that out. She seriously hated confrontation, but staying with Martin any longer just wasn’t possible, and he deserved to know.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” he said, his tone low. “What’s going on, Sophie?”
“I’d rather speak in person. I’m showing a house this afternoon, but I’ll be home all evening if you’d like to stop by.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Sophie said her good-byes, not wanting to draw out the tension-filled conversation another minute. If Martin were in tune with other people’s feelings, he’d most likely pick up on the fact that they’d grown apart. Even before Zach’s bold step into her life recently, Sophie just wasn’t feeling a connection with Martin like she’d had early in their relationship.
On a sigh, Sophie grabbed her messenger bag and headed into her office. She’d showered and changed at the gym after her class, so she was ready to go. With her assistant still out on vacation, Sophie was running the place single-handedly and was doing quite well, if she did say so herself.
After letting herself in, she punched in the security code and headed straight to her office. She had a few phone calls to make, then an open house that afternoon on a newly listed property. She fully expected to receive multiple offers, which would hopefully drive up the asking price.
Just as she booted up her computer, her cell rang again. Glancing over, she was actually relieved to see it was Liam. Relieved yet curious, because he rarely called her.
Sliding her finger across the screen, she answered. “Hey, Liam.”
“Do you have a minute?”
Surprised at the intensity of his tone, Sophie eased back in her cushy desk chair. “Of course. Something wrong?”
“No. But I want this conversation to stay between us.” Now she was really intrigued. What could Liam have to discuss that was so private?
“I won’t say a word to anyone.”
Since the accident years ago, Sophie had always had a special bond with Liam. He’d been at the hospital with her and sat with her after her surgery. Even though he’d been patched up and hurting, he’d stayed by her side. Since that time, he’d call her, check on her and offer that silent support. She knew without a doubt that he would do anything for her, and the bond they shared over a tragedy could never be severed.
But Sophie had wanted to reach out to Zach after the accident. On that she and Liam disagreed. When Zach had been sent to prison for a year, he’d refused her visits. Once he got out, he’d been even angrier, more closed off than ever. More than once Liam held her as she’d fought back tears, and he never said a word. He understood her feelings, just as she understood his where Zach was concerned, but Liam never judged her.
And while Liam was very much closed off to the world, Sophie could always get him to open up to her.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine. I want to know more about this project my brothers are taking on.”
Sophie smiled. So, the brother adamant on keeping his distance is now interested. She truly hoped he’d get on board. Chelsea would’ve loved knowing her disgruntled siblings were working on a project in her memory . . . and a women-only resort and spa, no less. Chelsea was no doubt smiling down from heaven.
“Actually I want to know what’s going on with the property now. With the payments on the back taxes coming due, can you tell me what the next step is?”
This was an area Sophie didn’t want to get in the middle of. She didn’t want to play both sides, or all three, technically, with the Monroe brothers. Everything she was doing now was for Chelsea.
“When Braxton was home he and Zach did a walk-through of the property. They made several notes on what needed updating to get the place up to code. I’m not sure what the final numbers are. Zach was going to do some figuring before they looked at costs for the cosmetic work.”
Even thinking about the day of the walk-through, the turning point with Zach in the tunnel, got her flustered. She hoped her voice remained strong and steady because every single time she thought about that moment when he’d kissed her so passionately, she seriously felt like a puddle of emotions.
“Why didn’t you ask Braxton about all of this?”
“I didn’t want a speech on why I should be contributing,” Liam answered. “I’m still not sold on this project and it could be a huge failure. The only reason I’d want in is because of Chelsea.”
Sophie swallowed the lump of remorse at the thought of how much they all missed the feisty, free-spirited friend and sister. There was a way to make her legacy live on, and Sophie desperately wanted all the guys on board.
“We’re all doing it for Chelsea.” Sophie eased forward in her chair, pulling up her list of e-mails. “Do you honestly think Zach and Braxton had their hearts set on a resort and spa?”
Liam laughed. “Honestly, with those two, knowing it’s for women only, I think that’s their draw.”
Sophie didn’t like the stab of jealousy that speared through her at the mention of Zach’s interest in other women. She knew he didn’t date much, knew he kept to himself. But he was a man, and there wasn’t a woman around that could deny his sex appeal. Between the beard, the broad, muscular frame, and his brooding attitude, he screamed alpha, and Sophie knew she was completely out of her element to even think they were on the same level.
Still, that didn’t stop a girl from desiring everything she shouldn’t.
“Are you telling me you want in on the project?” she asked, circling back to the real reason he called.
Liam blew out a sigh. “I honestly don’t know. I don’t want to put you in the middle, but I just needed to know what was going on.”
“You could move back,” she told him softly. “You could still work there, but live here with us.”
“I’m only thirty minutes away. Savannah isn’t that far.”
Far enough when there was already a world of emotions wedged between the members of his family.
“So what do you want me to do?” she asked, glancing at her e-mails. None that couldn’t wait until after the open house. “Do you want me to keep you updated, or do you want me to try to talk you into jumping on board?”
Liam’s gentle laugh filled the line. “I have no idea. I guess I just don’t want to be out of the loop. I’ve already lost Chelsea. I don’t want to feel like my entire family is slipping away.”
Sophie’s heart broke for Liam. He’d distanced himself from Zach after the accident, but Sophie knew Liam would never have left to begin with if he and Zach had been able to get out their anger and resentment toward each other. But once Zach had gone to prison, Liam hadn’t tried to visit. Each brother had let the hurt fester, and now here they were, ten years later, and all of that pain was just bubbling below the surface.
One day, they were going to blow.
“Maybe if you could keep me updated. Just let me know the costs and where the guys stand? I’m not giving input,” he informed her. “I don’t want to weigh in on this, but if I decide to jump on board later, and that’s a big if, I don’t want to be going in blind.”
Sophie smiled. Liam wouldn’t be able to stay away. He’d want to be part of this, he’d want this as an outlet to feel closer to Chelsea, but he had to figure that out on his own. Every man wanted his ideas to be his own, so Sophie would let him draw his own conclusions.
Perhaps this would be the thread that sewed this broken family back together.
“I promise to keep you updated,” she assured him.
Perhaps some persuasion would accompany her updates when she checked in.
Sophie and Liam said their good-byes, and as much as
Sophie tried to concentrate on digging into work, she couldn’t get her mind off of the Sunset Lake property. Chelsea had had a vision, one that meant so much to her that she’d taken time to plan this out, to hold it close to her heart and not share it with those closest to her.
Chelsea had purchased the property she’d loved since she was a little girl. She’d always joked that she’d own it one day, but Sophie always played it off as a little girl’s dream . . . She knew all too well how those dreams could be crushed in an instant.
Refusing to allow that one life-altering night to ruin her day or the current dream she was fulfilling for a friend, Sophie opted to focus on what needed to be done to help Zach and Braxton with the property now. She might not be able to do much grunt work, but she would definitely be with them through 100 percent of this journey.
Sophie glanced at the time on her cell and calculated how long it would take her to run a last-minute errand before the open house in a couple of hours. She liked to arrive early at the homes to make sure the staging was properly set up before potential buyers strolled through.
Chewing on her bottom lip, she shut her computer off, grabbed her bag, and headed out the door. She wasn’t going to hide behind the awkward tension between her and Zach. This project was a huge undertaking and they were all in this for the long haul.
As she drove toward his house, she wondered just how well she’d be received, showing up so unexpectedly.
Chapter Eight
The bright afternoon sun kept Sophie’s spirits high during her drive to Zach’s house. A beautiful day usually helped to draw more people out to an open house, plus Sophie needed that extra boost of sunshine from Mother Nature. Anything to keep her mood high as she tried to tamp down the nerves.
Why was she so nervous? Was she afraid of facing Zach’s grumpy attitude? That wouldn’t be new. Was she worried he’d look at her with that angst-filled desire? Also not new. He might not even be home, and she’d been getting worked up for nothing.
Sophie’s confidence level and her mood plummeted as she pulled into his drive and spotted a very leggy, busty blonde in killer heels strutting back across the lawn to the house next door.
The blonde threw a look over her shoulder, a smile on the woman’s blood-red lips, toward Sophie.
Sophie couldn’t put her feelings into words, because if she sat there and analyzed them too much, she’d be hurt. She had no claim on Zach. They’d shared a kiss. No, two kisses. But that was all. He’d made it clear there could be nothing else.
Yet there was clearly something else going on, whether he wanted to fess up to it or not.
That didn’t mean he didn’t have a thing going on with his neighbor, who Sophie seriously doubted just came to borrow sugar.
Killing her engine, Sophie shook her head and stepped from the car. After smoothing her green pencil skirt and tucking her hair behind her ears, she straightened her shoulders and made her way to his front door. She refused to feel inferior to a woman she didn’t even know.
So what if Sophie didn’t have silicone to fill out her shirt? So what if there was no way in hell she could ever wear heels like that with her limp? And so what if red lipstick made her look washed out and she always chose a sheer gloss? She was proud of who she was. That didn’t mean she had to like someone so blatant sniffing around Zach.
Sighing, Sophie raised her fist and pounded on his door. She didn’t care if he wasn’t decent. It was the middle of the afternoon and his booty call schedule wasn’t keeping Sophie from working on her ideas for Chelsea’s home.
The door jerked open. Zach’s eyes darted to her, then behind her, then back to her.
“Not who you were expecting?” she asked, quirking a brow.
She had no idea how she expected him to answer the door, but shirtless with a pair of running shorts low on his hips hadn’t crossed her mind. When she’d thought of him not being decent, she hadn’t thought far enough ahead to an actual scenario . . . not that any image in her mind could compare to the real, beautiful vision.
That tattoo she’d seen peeking from his shirt scrolled up and over his taut shoulder. Ink over muscle . . . She’d never thought about it before, but this was a new level of sexy.
“Get in here,” he growled as he turned from the door.
“You look like you’ve had a rough night.”
The lady leaving the scene of the crime might have played a part in that, if Zach’s messed-up hair was any indication. Sophie hated the thought of another woman raking her nails over Zach, but she was also realistic and knew he wasn’t a monk.
By the time she stepped in and closed the door behind her, Zach grunted in response and disappeared down the hall. Sophie followed, assuming that’s what her gracious host had intended.
As soon as she rounded the corner to his laundry area, she stopped short.
“Not one word,” he grumbled. “We’ve been up all night and I’m not in the mood for a snarky comment.”
Big, bearded, burly Zach cradled a puppy in one bulky, muscular arm and tried to wedge the tip of a bottle between the pup’s little lips.
Sophie didn’t know if she wanted to laugh at the image, sigh over the sweetness, or stand back and keep taking in the view. Yet again, the man continued to surprise her, and in the end laughter won out. Maybe he hadn’t been burning up the sheets at all. Yes, this made her happy. No, she didn’t care if that was childish.
Zach muttered a curse when the bottle didn’t ease in. He murmured something sweet to the squirmy puppy. She’d never seen such a caring side of him. Nor had she seen him bottle-feeding anything at all before. Laughter bubbled up.
His eyes cut her way. “Stop laughing. You’ll scare them.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, holding her hand over her mouth as she glanced down at a tired mommy lying on a very cushy pile of blankets while roughly six puppies nestled against her belly. “It’s not you I’m laughing at. Well, it is, but not for the reasons you’re thinking.”
Zach shifted his broad frame, muscles flexed all over the place. “I’m not in the mood for games.”
Sophie shrugged and leaned against the dryer. “On a good day you’re not in the mood, so lack of sleep doesn’t really change you much, does it? I laughed because I thought I’d just witnessed your booty call doing the walk of shame, but I find you in here nursing puppies.”
“My booty call?” Zach finally got the bottle into the puppy’s mouth and the ball of fur stopped moving around. Apparently he was just a hungry little guy. “I’d never sleep with my neighbor, and I sure as hell wouldn’t label it as a booty call.”
“What would you call an afternoon romp, then?” she asked, unable to help herself.
With a sigh, Zach pinned her with his heavy-lidded gaze. “Did you have a reason behind your visit? Because I’m sure you didn’t come here to discuss my bedroom partners or what label I place on it.”
No, no she hadn’t, and she’d gotten so far off track it took her a minute to figure out what she had come here for.
“I’m sorry I dropped in on you last minute and that you were up all night with your mama dog.”
“She’s not mine.” He held the puppy up, stroked its golden fur, and gently placed it back down with the rest of the litter. “I found her in my bushes last night after I came back from your place. I’m looking for a home for her and the pups, but the pups can’t leave the mom for six weeks. There’s got to be someone who will take them all. I sure as hell can’t.”
Yet he had. Sophie didn’t think her heart could swell any more for this man at this exact moment. “Looks like you’re the daddy for the time being.”
He cursed, raked a hand through his mop of messy hair, and propped his hands on his hips. “Then the vet couldn’t get here in time for the delivery because she had an emergency, but a tech helped me over the phone with my questions. The puppies came, that little guy was too small, so I called back and was told to bottle feed it for a few days. I ran out this morning to get everyth
ing I needed and here I am. Now that you have the entire story, do you want to tell me what you need?”
Stepping toward him, Sophie smiled and tipped her head back. “You’re a remarkable man.”
Zach lowered his brows. “That’s what you needed to tell me?”
Still smiling, Sophie gently squatted down and ran her hand over the head of the beautiful Lab. Completely ignoring the slight twinge in her hip, she stroked the soft, golden fur and wondered how many times Zach had done something like this without a soul knowing. Because that would be his way. He’d play hero to anyone and anything and expect zero recognition. In fact, he most likely hated that she’d witnessed him being so selfless.
“I wanted to see those binders of Chelsea’s, if you don’t mind,” she said, throwing a glance over her shoulder. “I figured while you were working on the main renovations, I could be getting things in place and seeing what I can do to save money regarding the decorating and finishing touches. I know we’re a long way off, but I have some connections, and with home sales, I’m always finding cheap buys of furniture and odds and ends.”
“They’re in the living room. You can have them.”
Sophie gave the now sleeping dog one last stroke before she went to stand. That twinge earlier turned into a full-fledged shooting pain, and Sophie hissed as she froze before she could even stand.
In an instant, Zach was at her side, his arms wrapping around her. “Don’t move. Just lean against me.”
She had no choice. It was either lean on him or fall on her butt. She’d really like to save this outfit and her pride.
“Sorry,” she muttered, hating once again how her humiliation liked to rear its ugly head around him. “I just moved wrong, that’s all.”
“If I help, can you stand?” he asked, his breath tickling the side of her face.
Sophie nodded and gritted her teeth as he slowly eased her up, taking her weight back onto his body as his arms remained locked around her.
They fit. As if clicking into place perfectly without even trying, they fit together like nothing she’d ever experienced. That hard, broad chest against her back had her practically melting into him. She’d never felt this level of desire with another man, certainly not the man she’d been in a relationship with for the past several months. She hated to compare the two, because they were polar opposites on the man-scope, but how could she not?
Wrapped in You Page 10
