Chapter 21
Sophia
“ A rgh. Why does he have to be so charming?” Sophia placed her face in her hands. “Am I crazy?”
Emma swirled her straw in her drink as she sat across from Sophia in a booth at Sal’s. One side of her mouth quirked upward, and she let out a chuckle. “What part are you asking about?”
Sophia gave her a flat look—one that probably gave away the fact that she was somewhat confused.
Once again, Emma laughed. “Meaning, are you crazy because his behavior bothers you? Or are you crazy because it doesn’t bother you enough?”
Another groan spilled from Sophia’s lips, and she shook her head. “Both.”
Emma shrugged. “Don’t you have your own sort of jealousy issues? I recall that you used your flirtatious behavior to get back at that guy when he first moved here.”
She covered her flushed face with her hands again. “Don’t remind me.”
“I don’t know,” Emma hedged. “I can see both sides.”
Upon Sophia’s confused look, Emma sighed.
“Honestly, it’s nice to know that he doesn’t want you to give your attention to anyone else. It shows how much he cares about you?—”
“Narcissists behave the same way, you know,” Sophia interrupted. “It’s the whole ‘if I can’t have her then no one can’ mentality.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “And do you think that Cameron fits that profile?”
Sophia hunched back into her seat with a sigh. She picked at the fries on her plate. “No. I think he’s got past scars that make it difficult for him to deal with the idea of losing me.”
“That’s my point. He might be obsessive, and while that can feel suffocating, it can also be reassuring in a… different kind of way.”
“I sense a ‘but’ coming,” Sophia hedged.
“But…” Emma drawled. “It’s not healthy when it interferes with your relationship. If it’s changing your personality and you can’t hang out with friends… if it puts you on edge and stresses you out… then maybe he’s not right for you.”
A pit opened up in her stomach like a black hole.
Sophia didn’t like the sound of that at all.
When Cameron had told her he loved her, she’d been so thrown off that she hadn’t responded.
It had been a couple days, and they hadn’t spoken of that moment—or anything intimate, for that matter.
He was giving her space, and she had appreciated it.
Now, she was missing him like a phantom limb. “You think we should break up.”
“I won’t say it’s not… concerning .” That said it all. Emma had noticed, and she was worried.
Sophia chewed on her lower lip, wondering if she could actually walk away from him. They’d shared so much with each other that she felt like doing so would break her more than what Brent had done.
Emma’s hand wrapped around hers, drawing her attention. “All I’m saying is that you need to have a long conversation about this. There needs to be ground rules—clear expectations. And maybe it wouldn’t hurt for Cameron to see a therapist. Honey, you could see one too.”
At that suggestion, Sophia balked.
Emma held up both hands. “Don’t shoot the messenger. Seriously, we all have traumas that we don’t heal from fully. Everyone could use a good meeting with someone who knows how to listen and point out the obvious.”
Sophia snorted. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
“I know I’m right.” Emma grinned at her.
“But to answer your question. No. I don’t think you need to break up with him.
Has he made mistakes? Sure. But has any harm been done?
” She shrugged again. “I mean, he hasn’t actually beaten anyone up, right?
For me? That’d be the line he couldn’t cross.
So, I guess you just have to decide where that line is for you. ”
Drinking in her suggestions, Sophia allowed her thoughts to wander. Emma was right. Cameron hadn’t really hurt anyone. He wasn’t controlling her—preventing her from leaving her home or spending time with friends. He was just… overprotective.
Geez, now it sounded like she was making excuses.
The best bit of advice Emma had given her was that bit about the therapist. Cameron could use something like that.
He hadn’t gotten over what had happened with his brother.
And if what her gut was telling her was correct, then Cameron would consider doing just that if only to ensure their relationship continued to strengthen.
She gave Emma a nod. “I like the way you think. I’ll talk with him tonight. ”
Sophia ran a few more errands in town after her meeting with Emma.
She wasn’t sure if she was delaying the inevitable when she decided to grab an ice cream and eat it in the park.
Bringing up therapy with Cameron had to be done with care.
She couldn’t imagine anyone would want to be cornered and told that they needed help.
She released a heavy breath, one that felt like she’d been holding since her coffee date with Emma. But then that air got caught in her throat as her eyes locked with a pair of familiar blues.
He was dressed casually, and he held a bag from the local bookstore in his hand. A slow smile stretched on his lips as they continued to stare at each other from about ten feet away. “Sophia, as I live and breathe.”
Heat immediately flooded her face, and she glanced away as if she could escape.
It had been four years since she’d seen Sam.
She’d met him the summer after that debacle with Cameron, and they’d hit it off—well, as much as she could with any guy.
He was the only other man who convinced her to go on additional dates, though they didn’t call them that.
Hangout sessions. No pressure for anything more. He lived in the city, and she was here. Sam would come to Copper Creek just to spend the weekend with her, and she’d kept him a complete secret from her siblings.
Shoot. He was coming right for her.
She cleared her throat, making sure she hadn’t lost her voice, even though at this moment it certainly felt like she had. “What are you doing in town?”
His smile broadened, and the natural charisma the man had seemed to melt some of the anxiety swirling within her.
Why she felt that anxiety, she couldn’t be certain.
She didn’t still have feelings for him. In fact, compared to how she felt about Cameron, they were non-existent.
If anything, she’d continued to spend time with him because he was familiar—comforting.
Sam took a seat beside her on the bench and, without a word, reached for her cone.
She gasped indignantly when he took a decisive lick of her treat. “Hey!”
He chuckled and leaned back on the bench, his legs sprawled out. “I’m visiting family.”
“Family?” She wracked her brain. “I didn’t think you had any family in town.”
With a shake of his head, he let out a sigh. “I didn’t. But apparently now I do.”
Sophia studied him. Apparently . Whatever that meant.
His eyes swept over to her once more. He wasn’t shy with the way his gaze raked over her body with appreciation. “You’re looking as good as ever.”
With a roll of her eyes, she settled back against the bench and took another lick of her ice cream.
“Looks like you haven’t changed at all. Empty compliments meant to get me to swoon for you?
” She hid a smile behind her ice cream. That was another reason why they’d never worked out. They were just too similar.
Sophia had expected him to laugh and toss a teasing statement to her, but when he didn’t, her happy expression faltered and she stared at him again. He looked utterly serious.
“What?”
Sam sat upright and turned to face her, a contemplative look replacing the easy smile he’d worn upon approach. “Do you really think that?” Was there pain in his voice? Or was she imagining it?
Her ice cream forgotten, Sophia stared at him right back. “What?”
“Do you really think that I gave you empty compliments?”
She forced a laugh, not liking the tension that had suddenly wrapped around them. The way they’d ended things had been clean. He’d wanted more than she did, but they were both happy to go their separate ways.
But looking at him now, she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been pretending. “Well,” she swallowed hard, “that was just the way we were with each other.”
His frown deepened. “I never said anything I didn’t mean, Sophia.”
A confession that should have given her goosebumps did nothing but put her on edge.
Guilt slipped past her defenses, and she suddenly didn’t feel hungry enough to finish her treat.
“Yeah, okay. But you can’t tell me that you were being serious when you said we were fated to be together.
” She said it flippantly. It was the only thing that popped into her mind from their interactions.
“I mean, you were always sweet, and you made me feel special, but?—”
He placed a hand on her knee, cutting her off, and she glanced down at the touch. His warm hand was a stark contrast to her cool skin, and she couldn’t drag her attention away until his words ripped her to the present.
“Sophia, I was in love with you.”
Her head snapped up and she flushed hot and cold all at once—not because she’d felt anything for him then or even now. She was embarrassed she’d blinded herself to the fact that his feelings ran deeper.
She choked out a laugh as if that motion alone would be enough to shatter the weight that was suddenly pressing down on her.
When he didn’t even do her the decency of cracking a smile, she stilled.
“You were not.” Her voice was flat, void of emotion.
And yet it almost felt like she was pleading with him to admit that she was right.
Sam lifted a hand and ran it through his hair with a heavy sigh. “I was.” He peered up at the sky and a ghost of a smile touched his lips. He didn’t meet her gaze when he continued. “You were the one who got away, Sophia. You were the girl I thought I might marry one day.”
She blinked several times, her head feeling dizzy. “But we were friends.”
This time he gave her a wry smile. “Yeah, we were.”
Then she poked him in the chest, her frustration edging her voice. “You said that it would be best if you stopped coming around.”
He shrugged. “What can I say? It was torture to be around you, knowing you didn’t feel the same.
” His eyes flicked to hers several times, and if she wasn’t mistaken, she thought she could see coloring flood his cheeks.
Was he embarrassed? “I don’t suppose anything has changed?
Seeing me hasn’t sparked something in you? ”
When she couldn’t find the words to say anything, he barked a laugh.
“No, I didn’t suppose it would.” He heaved another heavy sigh as he got to his feet, and as if against her will, she followed suit.
“I’m so sorry, Sam. I didn’t know.”
He cocked his head, his eyes delving into hers for longer than they should. “Nah, I think you did. I just think you weren’t ready. Or maybe you were, but your heart belonged to someone else.”
Her heart thundered at his words.
Cameron.
Maybe he was right. Over the last five years, she’d still thought about the guy who had managed to break her heart in less than a week.
He pulled her in for a hug and instinctively, she hugged him back. “It was nice seeing you, Sophia. Maybe we can hang out later this weekend?”
They started to pull away from one another, and she turned to tell him that might not be a good idea just as he moved to kiss her cheek.
The result was an awkward smooch that could only be described as what it felt like to kiss her grandmother. Before she knew what was happening, a blur of color tackled Sam to the ground.