“Jesus, how long have you been planning this?” Nothing would surprise me with Josie.
She shrugged. “The day she moved in, she came over to ask me if I had any milk. I invited her in and she tripped, and when she got all embarrassed she began rambling – I’m sure you know what I mean by that – and with all the honesty that came out of her mouth, and the vulnerability that fell from her, I knew you would love her as much as I did.”
I raised my brows. “How the hell did you know I would love that about her?”
She put her lunch down and stared at me. “I know a few things about you, Michael. Number one – you loved your mother more than most sons love their mothers. And your mother used to ramble like that. And, number two – some woman broke your heart so badly somewhere along the way that you don’t trust women anymore. It was always going to take a woman who bared her heart easily and spoke with blatant honesty for you to even consider trusting her and letting her in. Sophia is that woman, and the minute I saw it, I had to make it happen, because if there’s one thing I want to see before I take my last breath, it’s my sister’s child happy.”
I sat back in my chair as if some unseen force had shoved me back into it.
Fuck.
I’d forgotten my mother rambled like Sophia. How the fuck could I have forgotten that? And everything else she’d said was so damn true. I’d just never realised it or put it all together. What I did know, though, was that Josie was a smart woman.
I leaned forward again, and placed my elbows on the table. “So the night you sent me over there for gravy powder was a set-up?”
She scoffed. “Do you think an old woman like me doesn’t know how to make gravy from scratch? My boy, for a smart man, there are times you are easily manipulated. I only hope Sophia works that out.”
I chuckled. “I have no doubt she will,” I muttered.
She drank some of her drink. “Bring her to dinner soon. I’ll cook you roast with gravy.” The woman winked as she said gravy, and I shook my head as I laughed.
Jesus, I could see how this was going to go down, and I wasn’t convinced it was safe to bring the two women in my life together.
But a man never said no to his aunt. “I’ll bring her over on Sunday.”
She smiled at me, and I couldn’t be anything but grateful for her.
Without Josie, I wouldn’t have Sophia.
* * *
As I was leaving Josie’s, my phone sounded with a text.
Sophia: You have no idea how wet I am for you, handsome.
Fuck.
Not the kind of text I would have expected from her, but more than fucking welcome.
Me: I see you’re enjoying the ball.
Sophia: Every time it vibrates, I imagine it’s you in there.
Me: Jesus.
Sophia: Oh, is this getting you all hot and bothered?
Me: You’re not even sorry, are you?
Sophia: Not in the slightest. Gotta run…like, literally, cause that shit is amazing.
I shoved my phone in my pocket and adjusted myself. My dick was hard now, just thinking about how wet she’d be for me tonight.
* * *
I was on my way to pick Sophia up from work when she rang to say she’d finished early and a work colleague had dropped her at home. However, she asked me to drop into the supermarket to collect a few items, and while there, I ran into Magan in the car park as I was leaving. She stood a few cars away from my bike with her head in her hands, sobbing. She didn’t hear me approach until the very last minute when she abruptly lifted her head out of hands and stared at me, her mascara-stained face a mask of bewilderment.
Fuck.
Dealing with teenagers was not something I was equipped for, but she looked like she was in desperate need of help. “Do you want me to call Sophia for you or take you home?”
Her eyes flared for a moment in what seemed to be surprise. “No,” she said, her voice catching on a sob. Her hand flew to cover her mouth as if that would stop her from falling apart again.
I watched as she gulped and tried like fuck to get herself under control but she failed and a moment later the sobs began again. Not being able to help myself, I took the few steps between us and pulled her into my arms. I was surprised as hell when her arms wrapped around me and she sobbed even harder against my chest. We stayed like that for a long time until finally her crying subsided and she pulled out of my embrace.
Looking up at me, she said, “Sophia’s lucky to have you.”
“Why?”
“Because even though you guys have just gotten together, you seem to be the kind of man who would always be there if she needs you.”
“Yeah,” I agreed because it was true. And then I pushed for more. “Are you gonna tell me why you were crying?” Fuck knew if this was the right course of action, but I was concerned for her.
She started crying again. Looking up at me through tears, she said, “My boyfriend…” A sob caught in her throat and she stopped talking.