“I have to agree,” I said, glancing toward the kitchen opening.
Natty and Cole took a seat around the table, and Anthony’s gaze fell back to mine. I could tell there was something he wanted to tell me but was afraid to. My stomach tightened the more seconds that passed by without a word.
“The photographer came this morning for the house listing, but the agent already showed it to a couple yesterday.”
“How can he show it if it’s not listed yet?”
“He’s treating it as a pocket listing to gauge the interest.”
“And?”
“They loved your style.”
“That’s nice to hear.”
“They made an offer far above asking.”
My heart plummeted, and I quickly swallowed the lump in the back of my throat. Even though I knew this was coming, I guess I didn’t expect his move to be quite so final so fast.
“Did you accept it?” I asked.
“My agent said to give it a couple of days while he shows it to some other potential buyers.”
“Wow.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Bet it’s a relief that you’ll get it off your hands soon.”
Anthony slowly released his embrace and placed a soft kiss on my lips as I held in my tears. I never in a million years expected this. I looked down at the floor and dabbed the wetness away.
“Is Sophie actually about to miss a guy?” Natty laughed. “This is definitely a first.”
“Fuzz just flew into my eye,” I mumbled, plastering a smile on my lips.
“Right. Sure thing.”
Anthony shook his head and chuckled. “If you need anything, Facetime me.”
I nodded.
“And keep an eye out for a tweet on Wednesday around six o’clock.”
“Can’t you just text?” I asked.
“Nah. This is cooler,” Anthony assured me.
“I think it’s only cooler when there’s an element of surprise,” Cole joked, his brows raising.
“Besides talent, I’m not sure which brother was meant to be the rocker,” Natty grumbled. “Cole’s got way more swagger than your guy.”
“Not even.” I laughed as Anthony gave me one more quick kiss. “Should I be prepared to handle another flood of orders?”
Anthony just smiled and shrugged.
The thumping of the cane echoed against the kitchen floor, and I glanced over to see my dad coming into the kitchen, cane in hand.
He stood in front of Anthony and held out his hand. Anthony immediately took his hand in his and shook it.
“Thank you, son,” my dad said.
“Thank you,” Anthony said, glancing over at me.
“Treat well.” My dad smiled, and true happiness filled my entire body. No matter where Anthony and I ended up, he changed my family’s life forever, and I’d never be able to thank him for it.
“You have my word, sir,” Anthony said, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“We should get going or you’ll miss your flight,” Cole said, patting Anthony on the back.
“That’s not the worst thing that could happen.” I looked around the room and took in a deep breath as we walked Anthony to the door. I gave him a long, tight hug, recording everything about him deep into my memory.
“Thank you for everything,” I whispered.
“No need to thank me. Just come to visit.” He let me go, and the pain burrowed deep as I watched him walk away.
It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and I was down in my dad’s basement working on the signs. My fingers ached and my shoulders were so tense that I swore they were up to my ears, but I’d managed to crank out forty-five signs in the last ten hours. There was no getting around it. Natty was right. With the profit I make in a day’s work putting time into my own company, working at Loxxy and Island Bluff was starting to look like a really bad distraction.
I’d been up since seven this morning, and it was close to six o’clock at night. Time to start dinner and prep for Thanksgiving. Anthony had left on Sunday, and we’d managed to Facetime every day, but knowing that he was working in the studio, I didn’t want to call or text at the wrong time. I basically left reaching out up to him, but I had such an urge to talk to him, I couldn’t resist. I sank into the couch and reached for my phone, dialing his number.
Almost immediately, he answered and his face came into view.
“What’s up?” he asked, looking a little distracted.
“I miss you, and I’m exhausted. It’s a good tired though. I worked ten hours straight on my signs, but I loved every second.”
“Uh-huh,” he said, looking away from the camera.
“Should I call later?” I asked.
“No. Now’s fine,” he answered, his voice clipped.
“Are you sure? You seem kind of distracted.”
The camera pointed toward the floor, and I heard a woman’s voice in the background. My heart started hammering in my chest and fury blanketed every single cell in my body. Not even three days, and he had found someone to occupy his time?
“Hello?” I called into the speaker.
“Hey,” he said, bringing the camera back to his grinning face. “What’s up?”
“I’d say the same thing since you last asked. Why are you acting so odd?”
“Baby, I’m not acting odd. I think it’s just the distance.”
The woman’s voice echoed in the background, and my temper escalated even more. Anthony had never seen the steamed side of Sophie, and that was about to come out.
“Where are you?” I asked, feeling a tingling in my fingertips.
“At home.”
“Really? Can I see it? Every time we’ve talked this week, you’ve been at the studio.”
“Speaking of, I need to get back to it, so I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? And I’ll give you a tour. Love ya, bye.”
And he turned off the phone just like that.
The old Sophie would have sat around telling myself I didn’t need love anyway, but this new me wasn’t about to let that happen, especially over some groupie wannabe. There was absolutely no way in hell I was going to let women parade around his house without me being there. He was going to have the biggest turkey day surprise in the history of Thanksgivings.
I tore up the stairs and marched into the living room, where my dad and Mary sat, watching a football game.
“I know this might seem a little out there, but I’m flying to LA,” I told them both, scanning my phone for flights to California.
“What?” Mary asked, her head turning quickly.
“Anthony’s up to something, and I’m not going to let him make a disastrous mistake.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I just am.”
My dad let out a deep sigh and folded his arms, glancing at Mary.
“I’m sure all the flights are booked. This is one of the busiest travel holidays of the year. Not to mention the ferry line,” Mary volunteered.
“I’ll stay on standby if I have to, but I’m not letting go so easily. It took me years to find one I liked this much, and if some floozy thinks she can take him away, think again. This is the new and improved Sophie.”
“I’m sure there’s been a misunderstanding. Why don’t you sleep on it, and we’ll deal with everything in the morning?”
I shook my head. “I’ve learned a lot these last couple of months, and I’m not gonna stand by and watch the life I want slip out of my hands.” I bent down and kissed my dad on the cheek. “I’ll be back in a couple of days.”
Mary sat back down, completely defeated and confused as I fled the scene and seized the day.
But reality quickly set in as I waited two hours for a ferry and sat in traffic for another hour before I finally drove into the parking lot at SeaTac airport. I’d picked up plenty of people here over the years, but never really had a reason to fly out. I followed the departure signs and found the correct parking garage, but that didn�
�t mean finding a place to park was going to be easy the day before Thanksgiving.
I crept between rows, braking when I thought I saw a sign of movement, only to be disappointed and continue up level after level of the parking garage until I reached the open-air top. I spotted one and stepped on the gas. I wasn’t going to be deterred. No way.
I parked and quickly made my way to the elevators, through the corridors, and up the escalator until I landed at the airline’s counter. The next flight was scheduled to take off in two hours at eleven o’clock at night. How many people were really dying to fly home at eleven o’clock at night?
“I’m sorry, Miss,” the Customer Service agent began. “The flight is fully booked. We can put you on the wait list, but it’s highly unlikely that a seat will become available.”
“Can you check the other airlines?”
“Absolutely,” she said politely. “I’m afraid we’re dealing with the same situation.”
“Okay,” I said softly. “Can you put me on the list?”
“Absolutely.”
I glanced at the clock behind her and handed the agent my identification and debit card.
It had already taken far longer to get here than I anticipated, and who knew what could’ve taken place since I last saw Anthony on Facetime? Women were sneaky.
“Thank you, Miss Bristol. We’ll let you know if a seat becomes available.”
“Thank you.” I took my cards and trudged to a waiting area.
The temptation to call Anthony was so hard to resist. I’d never seen that side of Anthony. Ever. He was always so thoughtful and kind. Who I saw staring back at me was not the Anthony I grew to love.
Love?
I let out a silent laugh.
Yeah, love.
I tipped my head back and stared at the ceiling tiles. Had I really fallen in love with him? I closed my eyes and imagined him in front of me, and my entire body ignited in a way that had never happened before for another man.
I opened my eyes and reached into my bag, pulling out my phone to see several messages from both Natty and Nick. I hit my voicemail and listened to the first one from Natty.
Whatever you do, don’t get on that plane. You got it? Stay put. Better yet, come back home now.
I rolled my eyes and pressed on the next voicemail.
Sophie, I know you think you’re about to save the world here, but come back down to planet Earth and become one with the rational Sophie we all know and love. Call me back now.
I clicked on the next voicemail, and it was Natty again.
I’m sorry about the tone of my other voicemail. I’ve just been panicking. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but call me right away. Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving, and I doubt Anthony meant for you to visit him like this.
Now it was Nick’s turn to sound calm and soothing.
Hey, not sure why you’re not picking up your phone. I doubt you already got on a flight, but maybe you did. Anyway, it would probably be best for you to give me a shout. Okay? Talk to you soon.
My word, they were persistent. I skipped down several voicemails and hit the last one from Natty.
Okay. So I’m just gonna say it. I guess it’s the only way. I’ll just come right out and remind you to do what Anthony told you to do last Sunday. LOOK AT TWITTER!
My blood froze. I’d completely forgotten that Anthony told me to look for a Tweet. How in the world could I forget? But why in the world would that help this particular situation? He was being shifty on the other end of Facetime and a woman was giggling in the background. Even Twitter couldn’t bail him out of that one.
I pushed my Twitter app and groaned in frustration at its request. Weren’t these things just supposed to work? I used Twitter so seldom, it must have logged me out. And of course, I didn’t remember my password. I clicked on the instructions and waited impatiently for the email to arrive so I could start over.
My phone rang, but this time it was Anthony calling.
Hmm.
Should I answer or let it go to voicemail while I try to square away this Twitter issue?
Might serve him right.
Show him who’s boss.
Rock star or not, it wasn’t right to do that to a person.
I sat back in my uncomfortable seat and started to log on to Twitter right when I heard a group of girls squeal behind me. It didn’t take long before the entire terminal was abuzz. I glanced over at the airline sales counters and saw all eyes plastered toward the door in front of me. The group of teenagers ran right past me and made their way down the ramp to the door. I stood up and craned my neck to get a look at what was going on, but I couldn’t see anything.
My puny Twitter feed finally popped up on my screen, and I started scrolling down to find something—anything—from Anthony. I barely followed anyone, so why this was so difficult I couldn’t fathom.
“Sophie,” Anthony murmured from behind.
His voice made every single cell in my body ignite, but I didn’t believe my ears until I looked up slowly to see a crowd of people circling around me, watching and waiting for something to unfold.
If Anthony was here, how was he Facetiming me from California?
“Sophie,” he said again, this time a little more playful.
I stayed staring straight ahead.
“Yes?” I answered, the embarrassment beginning to descend over me.
“I heard you were going to fly to LA.” He walked around the bench of seats and stood in front of me, looking out of this world gorgeous. People’s camera phones were going off left and right.
“You heard right,” I said, my eyes locking on his.
“What brought that on?” he asked mischievously.
“Nothing.” My voice was about two octaves higher than normal. “Just missed you.”
“I miss you too. In fact, I’m fairly certain I love you.”
I stared at him, stunned, as a group of women gushed behind him about how lucky I was.
He held out his hand, and I reached for it, feeling the firmness in his grip as his fingers wrapped around mine, pulling me up.
“I’m fairly certain I’m in love with you,” I replied.
His smile deepened, and he pulled me into him, staring into my eyes.
“I take it you didn’t read Twitter.”
I shook my head, sinking my teeth into my lip. “Nope.”
He pulled out his phone and held it out in front of me. My eyes searched the screen until I found his tweet.
Home Sweet Home. Maybe I’ll convince my girl to move to LA, but until then my new pad. Maybe she’ll help decorate it @SophieBristolDesigns
“You’re not selling?” I whispered.
“I’m selling, but I’ve bought a new place.” He slid his arm around my waist and pulled me with him. Nick was waiting at the escalator and grinning.
“I had to drive him. He was too rattled, thinking you were on a plane to LA.” Nick smiled. “But I think you two need some time. I’ll take your car home, Sophie.”
“I can’t trust any one of you.” I laughed, pulling my keys out of my purse. “But thank you. I’m on the very top floor of the parking garage in the Alaska terminal.”
“No problem. Anthony’s hosting us all for Thanksgiving tomorrow, so I’ll be sure to get my payment then. He hired a chef, who’s been cooking for him all day. What’s her name?”
“Marty,” Anthony supplied. “Marty the chatty chef.”
“I bet she is.” I said, rolling my eyes, feeling the embarrassment wash away as we rode up the escalator.
After all, I wasn’t going to let the man of my dreams slip away. Our family had already learned that lesson once, and once was enough for a Bristol.
Four Months Later
“Is the sky always this blue here?” I asked Anthony, blocking the sunshine with my hand. I was sitting lazily in a chaise on his deck in Malibu, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
“And the water,” Anthony said, taking a seat next to me, “always spar
kles.”
“I’m amazed at the sandy beaches. They’re so different from the rocky ones on Fireweed.” He handed me a pair of sunglasses that I immediately slipped on. It didn’t even occur to me to pack a pair. Traveling the world wasn’t exactly something I was used to. Okay, not the world. Just California.
But same difference.
“Are you glad I made you come to Malibu?” he asked, his voice the same sultry melody I’d fallen in love with many times over.
“Completely.” I sighed and let the warmth penetrate my bones.
“Natty said it snowed on Fireweed this morning.” I sighed again. “Is this what relaxing is like? I can sigh as many times as I want?”
“Whatever floats your boat, babe.” He smiled and took my hand in his. “But this is long overdue.”
“Well, I’m a complicated woman,” I teased. “But I feel very confident with the staff I have in place to take care of all the orders while I’m away. That’s the only reason you pulled me away.”
“You’re a complex woman full of everything I’ve ever wanted.” The look in his eyes intensified, and I felt a rush of need wash over me. Even after four months of almost living together, all it took was a sly look from him, and I was his all over again. It was like the first day I’d met him, minus the overwhelming nausea that led me to insult his music while being over-intoxicated. I knew those sparks had meant something back then, but the promise they held scared me. I let out one last sigh, and Anthony chuckled.
“What’s got you smiling?” he asked, touching my chin with his thumb.
“Just thinking how we first met at Natty and Cole’s.”
“You know what’s funny?”
“What?”
“It feels like I’ve known you forever, Sophie. You’ve just become a part of me that I can’t live without.”
“Maybe it’s because we kind of bumped into each other off and on when we were kids.”
Anthony looked out over the ocean and took a deep breath in. “I think it’s beyond that. I think this was designed.”
Tangled Love on Pelican Point (Island County Series Book 3) Page 21
