Tempting Sophia

by Jessica Prince

  My head started spinning. All the what-ifs were driving me crazy and making me question everything. I couldn’t think straight.

  “Please,” I pleaded, interrupting her. “I love you with all my heart, honey, but please… don’t. Okay? I can’t think about that. I need time. I’m already a pretty big fucking mess and I just can’t go there right now. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Can you just be my friend and help me take my mind off how bad all of this hurts?”

  She looked like she wanted to say more, but thankfully nodded. “Okay. If that’s what you need.”

  “It is,” I insisted.

  “Then that’s what I’ll do. Whatever you need.”

  My shoulders relaxed with relief. “Thank you.”

  She picked her coffee back up and paused before taking a sip to speak around the rim of the cup. “But you know Lola’s not going to be put off so easily, right?”

  Oh I was more than aware. She was an Abbatelli, after all. But I was going to need a lot more caffeine before I could let my mind go there.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Dominic

  I felt like an ass standing in the lobby of our building waiting for Sophia to show up, but she’d given me no other choice. Lifting my arm to check my watch, I saw only a minute had passed since the last time I checked.

  I hoped she wouldn’t take much longer or I ran the risk of the coffee I’d purchased for her getting cold. There was no way in hell I could offer her cold coffee; that would win me no points, and I needed as many as I could possibly get.

  I paced back and forth, ignoring the curious stares from people walking past on their way to work. It only took another five minutes for her to show, but those five minutes felt more like an eternity.

  “Sophia,” I called out, moving quickly in her direction. To my utter surprise, she actually stopped and turned to face me. I stopped a foot away, unsure how close she’d let me get. Her face gave away nothing, a blank mask concealing everything from me. “I… I got you a coffee.”

  No emotion registered as she reached out and took it, mumbling a quick “Thank you.”

  I couldn’t take it any longer. Having been sick with fear all fucking weekend, I moved until only an inch of space was left between us. “Christ, baby. I’ve been going crazy. Are you okay? We need to talk. I’m begging you, please don’t shut me out.”

  “I appreciate the coffee, Dominic, but I can’t do this right now.” Her tone was so cold it sent a chill down my spine. She tried to turn and walk away. I couldn’t allow that.

  My stomach plummeted to the floor as I took her by the arm. “Butterfly, you have to let me explain—”

  She cut me off, pulling from my grasp. “Dominic, please. Stop. I need some space, okay? Can you just give me that?”

  “No,” I growled, her words like a knife through my chest. Space wasn’t what we needed. We needed to work this out or we’d never make it through.

  “Look, I needed this weekend to try and wrap my head around everything that happened Friday night. I’m not saying we won’t talk about this, but I just can’t do that right now. I need you to understand that.”

  I didn’t want to. Every fiber of my being screamed at me to fight. I couldn’t get rid of the foreboding feeling, the one telling me that space was a mistake. Unfortunately I couldn’t deny her what she wanted without making everything worse. “I don’t want to,” I admitted in a gruff low voice. “God, I don’t want to, but if you’ll promise me that we’ll actually talk this through, I’ll give you the time you’re asking for.”

  She sniffled and blinked rapidly as if trying to fight back tears. It was the first hint of emotion I’d gotten from her that morning. It made my heart race. “Okay,” she finally said.

  It wasn’t how I’d been hoping the conversation would go, but at least it was something. “I love you, Sophia. I want you to remember that while you’re taking time, okay? You’re the love of my life, butterfly.”

  Her throat bobbed on a thick swallow. All she gave me before turning and walking away was a nod. Standing in place and watching her get on that elevator without me was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do, but I forced myself to do it for her. No matter how much it hurt.

  And it fucking killed.

  My chest ached with every heartbeat as I waited for the next elevator. It had only been thirty seconds and already this space thing sucked.

  “You son of a bitch!”

  My head shot up at the sound of my sister’s livid voice coming through my closed office door. It crashed open and banged against the wall, revealing Lola in all her furious glory.

  Hell hath no fury like a pissed-off Abbatelli woman.

  “Hello to you too, shorty.”

  “Don’t you dare hello me, Dominic Abbatelli! Chelsea? Really? Have you lost your mind?”

  I shot from my chair and rushed around the desk, slamming the door closed behind her. “Will you lower your goddamn voice?” I gritted through clenched teeth.

  “Don’t tell me what to do!” she shouted. “You broke my best friend’s heart! Twice! Asshole!”

  With no other way to silence her, I clapped one hand over her mouth and used the other to draw the blinds over my office window to close us off from all my coworkers who’d starting gawking at the drama.

  “I’m not going to tell you again,” I warned. “This is my place of business. You want the real story about what happened, then you calm the hell down and stop shouting.”

  Her words were muffled against my palm, but I assumed whatever she was saying was less than friendly if the flames shooting in her eyes was anything to go on. I let her continue until she finally wore herself out about two minutes later.

  Then finally… “You finished?”

  She paused to give that some thought before eventually giving a short, clipped nod. Just as I removed my hand from her mouth, a pounding came on my office door before it was pushed open.

  “What the hell is going on? I’ve gotten five complaints in as many minutes that someone was down here screaming and cussing the place down.”

  I turned my attention from Grayson to Lola, saying, “Ask your fiancée about that. She’s the one who came in here guns blazing.”

  The sigh he released told me he wasn’t at all surprised. “Can you not shed blood in my offices, sweetheart? Last thing I need is the legal department on my ass this close to the wedding. I’d rather not be tied up dealing with lawsuits and shit when we’re supposed to be enjoying our honeymoon.”

  “But he—”

  “Nope, nuh-uh. I’m not going to referee an Abbatelli fight. I’d rather judge a bathing suit contest between my nana and her bridge club friends, and that’s really saying something because I’d rather gouge my eyes out than see that. Now, someone’s going to tell me what’s going on.” He held up his hand to silence us when we both opened our mouths at the same time. “And they’re going to use their adult voice while doing it.”

  “Dominic’s an even bigger manwhore than we thought and banged our dad’s girlfriend.”

  “So much for being an adult,” I grumbled before giving Grayson my attention and stating, “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

  “Then tell me!” she insisted. “Tell me why my best friend was damn near tears when she walked into our office this morning. If she’s wrong about everything she told me, then please, enlighten me!”

  “I didn’t know!” I shouted. “All right? I didn’t know, but she sure as hell knew who I was. I picked a woman up at a bar one night and took her home. I had no fucking clue who she was until after. The bitch majored in manipulation with a minor in gold digging, for Christ’s sake.”

  “Wait.” Lola gave her head a furious shake. “What?”

  I told them everything, how Chelsea sought me out in an attempt to hook two Abbatelli men on her lure. “She just wants our family’s money, that’s all. She knew I’d come back for Sophia. She’s been making threats, and I guess she finally decide
d to act on them.”

  “Dom, you have to tell Soph the truth,” my sister pleaded. “If she knew—”

  “You think I haven’t tried?” I laughed sarcastically. “She wouldn’t fucking hear me out.”

  She cried, “Well, try harder!”

  “Baby,” Grayson started to try and soothe his fiancée, but I spoke over him.

  “She needs space, shorty. She needs time. I have to give that to her. If I don’t, I’ll just push her further away.”

  I could see it written all over her face how badly she wanted to argue, but she knew as well as I did that I was right. “I hate this,” she finally said, stomping her foot like a child.

  “Yeah, imagine how I feel,” I deadpanned.

  “Damn, man. That’s some serious Days of our Lives shit. What?” he asked when we both looked at him strangely. “Mom and Nana love that show. It was impossible to live in that house and not catch bits and pieces.” He shrugged like it was nothing.

  “Well, as lovely as this has been, I’m going to get back to work. Please feel free to let yourselves out.” I went back to my desk and took a seat.

  Lola watched me like I was growing a horn out of my forehead. “So, what? That’s it? You’re just going to give up?”

  “Lola, baby. Just leave it be,” Grayson warned. I don’t know why he bothered; we both knew shorty didn’t do anything she didn’t want to do.

  “No, Gray. I’m not just going to ‘leave it be.’ He can’t just sit here and do nothing. He needs to win her back!”

  This was exactly what I didn’t need. The agonizing pressure I felt sitting on my chest was already bad enough without my sister wading into the mix. Fortunately Grayson took pity and attempted to rein Lola in without me having to say anything else.

  “And you need to stay out of it. Sophia and Dominic are both adults. You have to let them figure this out on their own. You know I love everything about you, sweetheart, even your overly aggressive need to help, but it’s not your place this time. I know it’s hard for you, but you need to step back.”

  Her face pinched in a rather unattractive pout. “But—”

  “Not up for discussion,” Gray said over her. “You’re staying out of it.”

  “I can’t just—”

  “You can and you will.”

  “You know, you’re really a pain in my—”

  “But you love me anyway, and can’t wait to marry me and make me the happiest man alive. Now it’s time to go. Let’s leave Dominic alone to plan how he’s going to win back his girl.”

  I watched in complete awe as he placed a hand on the small of her back and began guiding her to the door. She looked just as bewildered by her acquiescence as I felt. It was amazing, really. Grayson was like a crazy lady whisperer or something.

  As the door closed behind them, I had a whole new respect for my future brother-in-law.

  Now if I could just get Sophia to listen as well as he got my sister to, I’d be golden.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Sophia

  It had been two days since my run-in with Dominic in the lobby of our building, and I was no closer to finding the courage to sit down and hear him out than I had been that morning. The truth was I was terrified of what he had to say. I’d spun it around in my head so many times that I’d pretty much convinced myself that his explanation would only make matters worse, and I didn’t want that to happen. I didn’t want to go back to hating him. So I’d taken the coward’s way out and avoided him at every possible turn.

  He’d been true to his word, leaving me alone to try and get my head together. Unfortunately my need for time had seemed to backfire. The longer we went without talking, the harder I found it to open that line of communication.

  The only silver lining in the whole mess was the fact that Lola and Daphne seemed to be standing back, allowing me the space to come to terms on my own without their constant hovering. They made it clear that they were both there for me should I need them, but other than that they’d left me in peace. It was surprising, to say the least. The only one I’d really confided in about everything was BigSpoon.

  He’s been my saving grace, talking me off the ledge by convincing me I wasn’t out of my mind for wanting to hear Dominic’s side of the story. He was my voice of reason, and I wasn’t sure what I’d have done without him.

  Our friendship and my growing respect for him were the only reasons why I didn’t wake up this morning dreading what was to come. The radio contest was officially over. I was going to announce BigSpoon as the winner and meet him in person for the first time, live on our show. It would be nice to finally put a face—and real name—to the person I’d come to consider a confidante.

  I got ready that morning, taking care to put extra effort in my appearance since the station hired a photographer to document the meet with Spoon so they could put it up on the show’s website.

  I’d been so busy scrolling through my e-mails on my cell phone as I walked through the lobby of Hart Tower that I hadn’t been paying attention to much else, so when I looked up and stepped toward the elevator, I came to a screeching halt just inside the doors.

  Dominic stood at the back of the crowded car, leaning casually against the wall. His face was tipped down to the phone in his hand so he didn’t see me right away, giving me just enough time to take in every inch of his handsome, chiseled face. Damn, he looks good.

  I was pulled from my stupor by the sound of someone clearing their throat. The noise caught Dom’s attention too, because his head came up and his eyes landed directly on me.

  “On or off?” one of the men in the elevator asked in annoyance. “You’re holding us up.”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, my cheeks heating with embarrassment at having been caught gawking. I moved into the car, my feet carrying me toward the back like they had a mind of their own, not stopping until I was standing right next to him.

  “Hi,” he whispered. That deep, velvety voice of his made goose bumps break out across my arms.

  “Hi,” I whispered back.

  We stood in uncomfortable silence for a bit, each of us staring straight ahead. I started to think that was all he was going to say when his breath suddenly skated across the skin of my neck as he spoke quietly in my ear. “How are you?”

  I turned my head, tipping it up to meet his amber eyes. “I’m… all right. How are you?”

  “Good.” He nodded. “I’m good.”

  Our pathetic attempt at menial small talk might have been laughable had my heart not been pounding so hard I worried it might burst through my chest at any moment.

  “That’s good.”

  More silence, then “You look beautiful.”

  My entire body heated from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. “Th-thank you,” I stammered, unable to meet his gaze. God, I missed him like crazy.

  As if reading my mind, he leaned back in. “I miss you, butterfly.”

  I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but the words lodged in my throat, making it impossible to speak.

  At my silence his face fell. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to push. I just had to get that out.”

  “It’s….” I swallowed past the lump and pushed on. “It’s okay.”

  “Have you—” The elevator stopped, the doors sliding open to let people off. Once we were moving again, he continued. “Have you had time to think?”

  He looked so worried, so uncertain as he hesitantly asked that question, that I found myself wanting to soothe him any way I could. My mouth opened and I answered before even thinking. “Tonight. We’ll talk tonight. Does that work?”

  His breath came out in a heavy whoosh, his entire frame seeming to slump in relief. “Yeah,” he answered quickly. “That works. Any time works, butterfly. You just tell me when and I’ll be there.”

  I inhaled deeply and nodded. “Okay, tonight. I just need to get through this stupid contest thing today, and then we’ll talk.”

  “The contest,” he mumbled to him
self. Something flickered over his expression but was gone before I could place it. I was just about to ask what was wrong when the elevator dinged and the doors slid open to his floor. “We’ll talk tonight, okay? No matter what.”

  My brow creased into a deep V at the tone of his voice. “Dominic—”

  He stepped off and turned back to look at me. “Tonight, Sophia. I’ll be at your place and we’ll talk.” He said it with a determination that I couldn’t understand before the doors closed, leaving me wondering what in the world just happened.

  “This is ridiculous,” I grumbled. We’d just entered a commercial break before the start of the final hour of Girl Talk, and it was finally time for me to meet BigSpoon in the flesh. The marketing and PR department had really pulled out all the stops in hyping this ridiculous competition, and as I watched the photographer walked around snapping pictures of the three of us, I couldn’t help but feel like a sideshow freak.

  “Sam’s practically salivating,” Lola stated. “He said ratings for the show have skyrocketed since we started the contest. And each update day since has had an even bigger boost. People are dying to know who you’re going to pick, and they can’t wait to see how you and this dude react when you see each other for the first time. He’s having Andrew stream it live on Facebook.”

  My eyes bugged out as I looked at Lola. “He did what?” I squeaked. The door between the studio and the booth opened and Andrew, our board operator, walked through with his phone in hand.

  “Hey, guys.” He waved awkwardly. “You about ready?”

  I turned to the window leading into the booth. The blinds were usually open, allowing our producer, Jerry, to see into the studio, but since BigSpoon would be coming in through there, they were drawn. “Jerry said to let you know the commercial break’s about over. I’ll just be back here recording.”