Chapter 22
Ashton
MILO: Who’s the girl?
ME: What girl?
RUPE: The one keeping you in Laandia.
LAVINIA: I saw pics of Basher with the group so he’s not your reason for being there this time. And Fen says she’s super busy.
MILO: I ask again—who’s the girl?
ME: There’s no girl!
FENELLA: What do you call Sophie then?
MILO: Aha!
I like that I share my friend group with my sister, but there are times like this that I wish I could leave her out of the group chat.
RUPE: Who is she?
FENELLA: Sophie Laz. He spent all week with her
LAVINIA: isn’t that who you ran over with Fen’s car?
ME: I didn’t run over her
LAVINIA: Did she hit her head? Because she should hate you, not hang out with you
FENELLA: she definitely doesn’t hate him
Damn Fenella. What am I supposed to say now? Contradict Fenella, or ask to know more?
Does Sophie like me?
Stupid question. A blind man would be able to see the way she looks at me when she doesn’t think I see. And now that Fenella has seen…
I send a text to Fenella privately.
ME: stop telling them things
FEN: Maybe they can help me figure out why you’re being such an arse
ME: I’m not an arse, I’m a nice person. At least I’m trying to be.
FEN: You’re trying to lead Sophie on, and that makes you an arse. I know you’re doing what Dad said, but you need to stop. She likes you.
I like her.
But I don’t text that.
I don’t tell her what it was like to wake up and find Sophie curled up beside me, one hand clutching the blanket like she was trying to pull it up, the other resting on my leg.
I don’t mention how much I liked listening to her read to me.
How much I missed not seeing her, even though it was only for one day.
I don’t want to tell Fenella any of that, because that means I’d be admitting it to myself.
I’m not admitting anything to myself, least of all anything about Sophie.
FEN: She says you play games. She reads to you.
ME: I fell asleep when she was reading to me. And then she did too.
FEN: You take naps together! You sound like a couple
ME: We’re not a couple.
FEN: I have naps with Silas on the weekend.
ME: That’s because you’re exhausting.
After my nap, I run into town. After that, I hang out with Gunnar for a while.
We go to the gym, we have dinner with the king. I drink some very nice wine.
We don’t talk about Sophie or Stella, or any of the Laz family. Duncan doesn’t join us for dinner, which is a good thing.
It’s a nice evening, but something feels off.
Maybe it’s the thought of Sophie, a few floors above, entertaining people I don’t know. Talking about books. Laughing and having fun without me.
If it’s possible to have fun talking about books.
Sophie seems to think it is.
But being under the same roof, and not being with her is a strange sensation. I know it’s a big castle, and my feeling like this might be a prelude to a jealous snit, but there’s something pulling me to her.
I shouldn’t want to go to some stupid book club meeting, but I do.
So after dinner, I make my excuses, and I climb the stairs to Sophie’s room, with a quick stop to mine first.
I’ve made the trip so many times in the last few days, my footsteps should be etched into the stone floor.
The sound of laughter greets me, and I push open Sophie’s door without knocking.
A group sits in a semi-circle before the fire, with Sophie in the middle on the couch.
I count five out of the six castle cats in the room, lured by comfortable laps or the scent of the cheese platter on the coffee table.
The group is younger than I expected, and there are two men.
Is one of them Martin?
The thought that he is here with Sophie, has me pushing open the door. “Hello?” I call over the next burst of laughter.
“Ashton!” If Sophie was able, she would have jumped to her feet. Instead, she sits upright and looks over at me with the biggest smile on her face.
The smile does something to my stomach. Something… pleasant.
“You came,” she says, and motions me inside. “Everyone, this is Ashton Carrington. He’s the one I told you about who’s never been to a book club. I told him to stop by to see what goes on.”
“We’re almost finished with our discussion,” one of the women says with a rueful smile. There are four women—three with grey hair and one who looks the same age as Sophie—and two men. One sits close beside one of the women, and I’d guess married couple.
“I’d be fine bringing him up to speed,” another says, giving me a playful wink.
“I brought my copy of the book.” I wave the orange hardcover at the group. “But I have to admit, I didn’t quite finish it.”
I read three chapters of the book after I bought it this afternoon. I thought that was a good start.
“You… where did you get a copy?” Sophie stammers.
“There is a bookstore in town,” I remind her with a smirk.
“Yes, but…” she shakes her head, still smiling and very flustered. “Sit down. This is Pat and Michael—” Married couple.
“Laura and Nancy and Beth and Eric.” Sophie points to each in turn. Laura was the playful smile, and Nancy was the first to speak. “Everyone, this is Ashton.”
“Yes, you mentioned that.” Laura grins at me. “I know your sister.”
“I’m not sure if I should apologize—”
“Definitely not to me. Fenella bought that yellow monster of my husband’s.”
“You had the Charger.” I glance apologetically at Sophie as I sit across from her.
“Still no idea why he would buy such a thing, especially now that it’s caused all this trouble.” Laura frowns at Sophie’s foot propped on the table.
“It was an accident,” Sophie says. “It was no one’s fault, and especially not the car.”
“I’m okay if you want to blame the car,” I tell her. “It’s not my car.”
“Sophie tells us you race cars,” Eric says.
For the next few minutes, it’s clear that Sophie has told her friends many things about me. I field questions, make small talk, and watch Sophie’s smile grow as I behave myself. Her cheeks are pink, and her eyes shine in the light of the fire.
She looks happy.
And as I lead the discussion back to the book, it’s clear that my being there has made her happy.
Seeing that makes me feel good.