Chapter Ten
CARTER
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here?” My question is directed at Tom when I slide into the booth across from him and Jordan.
“Yeah, man, it’s fine. Sophie has to be at the flower shop this morning anyway.” He brushes my concern off and flags down a waitress for a couple of coffees and a juice.
It’s Monday morning, and that means breakfast at the cafe, the New England Nook. It’s a tradition that Tom, Sophie, and I had throughout high school, and continued even after Tom graduated. Clearly, they kept it going after I left, bringing little Jordan into the mix.
It hasn’t changed a bit since I was here last, the round tables in the same position, memorabilia lining the walls from various state sports teams. For hockey, it’s the Boston Reapers, football has the New England Blue Coats, and baseball, it’s the Boston Pioneers. The tan leather booths along the windows, the same little carafes for syrup lining the end of the tables. It’s well loved, but not shabby by any means.
If Sophie had been here, I would have kept my distance, if only to give her some room to breathe after last night.
I can’t believe I kissed her. One moment, we were screaming at each other, and the next, my mouth was on hers, desperate for her touch. I hadn’t even planned on kissing her, but now that I have, she’s on my mind even more than she was before, if that’s even possible. All I know is no other woman has made me feel the way she makes me feel.
I want her back.
“How was the contractor meeting?” Tom asks once the waitress comes over with the coffee.
“Surprisingly well,” I say, almost laughing at the unintentional double entendre, “he’s drawing up plans and really, I think he’s the guy for the job. It looked like Sophie liked him, and he seemed to have an innate sense of what we’re looking for, and as long as his plans line up with that, I think we’ll hire him.”
“How come I didn’t know you were working with Aunt Fee?” Jordan asks, bewildered. I can imagine it would be hard to reconcile an NHL hockey player knowing your aunt. I love seeing the excited look in his eye when he discovers something new.
Tom grins and elbows him. “They’re going to save the rec center. And , did you know that Carter and Aunt Sophie used to date in high school?”
Jordan’s whole face lights up. “No way! Are you kidding? How cool would it have been to have Carter as an uncle?”
I can’t help my chuckle at his excitement. “Yeah, she’s always been pretty amazing. Ever since we met when we were seven. You never know,” I shoot him a wink, “I may still become your uncle.”
A throat clears behind me, causing Tom and Jordan’s eyes to jump up to the source of the noise. I can tell by Tom’s semi- guilty face that Sophie has decided to join us. Who knows how much she just heard.
Despite my light hearted tone, I almost hope she did hear me. Maybe she’ll realize how much that kiss we shared meant to me.
I turn around and give a slight wave. Based on the bright red hue of her face, I’m assuming she heard at least the last thirty seconds.
Welp, I guess I’m done tip-toeing. Not like that was going to be an option for much longer anyway, seeing how my old, long-buried feelings for Sophie Hartwell are coming back from the dead with a vengeance.
If only I could get her to listen to me for more than two seconds without her losing it.
“Hey, Soph.” Tom tries to sound nonchalant, but I hear the guilt underneath. “I thought you had to be at the shop this morning to get the morning orders done before it opened.”
“I did,” she says, playing with the strap of the bag on her shoulder, “but Kerry’s appointment got rescheduled and she was able to come in so I thought I’d try to catch you guys.”
“Come sit, Aunt Fee!” Jordan says cheerily, “We haven’t ordered yet.”
Sophie smiles tightly at Jordan, and awkwardly slides into the seat next to me. The close proximity gives me a prime view of the blush on her cheeks. She’s in a purple work shirt today, her deep auburn hair pulled half-up.
The waitress comes by and takes our orders, and Tom turns to Sophie. “We missed you at dinner last night. Mom wouldn’t stop going on about how you work too much and that’s why you had a headache.”
She had a headache last night? Was that… after? I turn my head slightly towards her and can tell immediately that there had never been a headache. Based on the way her eyes keep darting to me and the way she taps her fingers on the table like she’s anxious, she had faked it the night before.
I’m a master of Sophie-ology.
“Yeah, well, she’s the one who can’t stay out of the flower shop long enough for her arthritis flare-up to go down,” she mutters, and I wonder just how much Sophie has on her plate. She manages the Twin Rinks and helps at the flower shop, but I’m sure there’s more than even Tom knows. Sophie’s always been about helping people.
Sometimes it’s because she can’t tell anyone “no”, but most of the time it’s just her big, gentle heart calling the shots. Though based on our interactions, I don’t doubt she no longer has any issues telling people “no” if she needs to.
Jordan jumps in, “Aunt Fee, why didn’t you tell me you used to date Carter Williams? That would have made you my favorite aunt!”
“I’m your only aunt.” She scowls at him playfully, and then when he looks at her, still expecting an answer, she tosses her hair back over her shoulder. “I… forgot. Yep. I forgot I even went to the same school as him. So weird.”
Tom and I look at her blankly. “You forgot?” Tom’s tone is amused, and she just shrugs, a smirk appearing on her lips. Even though I know it’s not true, that she didn’t really forget about me, something primal rises within me, bristling at her words.
Just then, our food comes, and we all eat in silence before I feel like getting a little payback.
“It’s good to see you again today, after our meeting yesterday. You know, I think it went great. I’m convinced this contractor can really give this place the kiss of life. What are your thoughts, Sophie?”
I watch, barely holding back my shit-eating grin as Sophie turns so red, I might have thought she was choking if she didn’t take a deep, measured breath. Even her ears are burning as she finishes chewing the bite she had brought to her mouth. I’m not so easily forgettable after all, am I Sophie ?
Is she remembering how I explored her mouth with my tongue? Or the little noise she made when I gripped the back of her neck?
I know my dick’s been remembering it.
Repeatedly.
Finally, she swallows the bite, and clears her throat. “It was solid. Don’t get me wrong, it was really lacking in certain areas, but nothing that can’t be fixed with some coaching later on.” She takes another bite of food, while maintaining a calm facade and completely avoiding eye contact.
Well, bend me over and fuck me sideways. The girl’s got bite. I think I’m really going to enjoy this different side of her.
The silence is charged with tension as we all finish eating. Sophie keeps her eyes on her plate, and I can’t stop mine from constantly wandering over to her.
“So… um.” Tom looks between the two of us, trying to figure something out before he ushers Jordan out of the booth. “Jordan, I think it’s time to head out and leave these two to their, uh… business discussion.”
“Bye, Carter! Bye, Aunt Fee!” Jordan calls, scooting out of the booth.
“Bye, Jordy,” Sophie says, smiling fondly at her nephew.
“Cya, bud.” I wave a hand.
As soon as they round the corner, Sophie whirls on me. “What are you doing here?” she snaps, narrowing her eyes.
“Um…” I look between her and my plate, “eating breakfast?”
“No, you know that’s not what I’m asking. Why are you here, with my brother and my nephew on Breakfast Diner Monday?” Her voice is a half whisper, but harsh all the same. Almost as harsh as the finger she jams in my chest. “And don’t think what happened last night is going to happen again.”
A dopey grin appears on my face. “Do tell, Angel. What happened last night?” Her nostrils flare at the mention of her old pet name. The one I gave her when we were in first grade because in her pristine white dress on the first day of school, she looked just like an angel.
Instead of answering me, she flags down the waitress.
“Can I get the check, please?” Her voice is ten times more polite than it was a second ago.
“Mr. Williams picked it up when he got here, honey,” the waitress smiles at me and I give her a small salute as she heads to her other tables.
A feral noise leaves Sophie as she turns back to me. “You know, it’s too late for you to come in here, trying to save all the relationships you left behind. You had your chance after the accident, and you made it perfectly clear where your priorities lie. We needed you. Tom needed you. I mean, I get that you couldn’t make it out here right away, but you didn’t even show up for the god damned funeral .” Her last words have me flinching back. “You’re acting like you suddenly care, but you’re going to pick up and leave the second whatever PR you’re hoping to get from this comes through. You chose to leave us, and we were doing just fine without you.”
With that, she moves her napkin from her lap to her now empty plate, gives me the coldest look I’ve ever seen from her, and scoots out of the booth. Cool, calm, and collected, she walks gracefully towards the door of the cafe and leaves me behind, dumbstruck.
Obviously, I broke up with her all those years ago. I had to. My dad… I had to keep her safe. The only way I could do that was to make my dad think I wasn’t interested anymore.
This anger that I’m seeing in her though, it’s more than that. Doesn’t she understand I did what I had to do for her ?
Fuck. She doesn’t realize that.
I told her Dad dragged me away that day, but I never told her why I stayed away. I hadn’t wanted her to know just how bad things got with him. How much he controlled me. Scared me. He used the threat of her parent’s livelihood—the shop—like a knife in the side, forcing me to stay in line. He was powerful in town, he had the means to get them closed down. More than that, he threatened her .
Tom knew. I had to tell him after the accident. He had to know why I never showed up. We both knew that Sophie finding out what my dad was capable of was not safe for her back then. She would try some way to go against him, and lose. Instead, the secrets just piled up… and I almost forgot just how badly.
From her point of view, I’m an asshole who just up and left the second bigger and better things came along.
When I came to town, I didn’t think it would be easy for things to just go back to the way they were, but I never anticipated it would be this difficult either. It’s not that way for her. Not when there’s so many unresolved issues and unanswered questions.
There’s only one thing to do. I need to tell her everything. Every threat, every extortion, every reason. And maybe, just maybe, I might stand a chance to win her back at the end of it.