CHAPTER SIXTEEN #2
She’s quiet for a moment, watching a sailboat glide past. “It wasn’t always bad. At first, he was charming. Ambitious. I thought his confidence was attractive.”
“What changed?”
“He discovered podcasts.” She says it so dryly I almost laugh. “Started listening to all these ‘alpha male’ influencers. Suddenly everything was about dominance and traditional gender roles and how feminism was destroying society.”
“Christ.”
“He decided that since I made more money, I was emasculating him. But also that I should do all the housework because that was ‘women’s work.’ The mental gymnastics were impressive.”
“How very modern of him.”
“The worst part was the bedroom stuff,” she says quietly, looking out at the water. “He…he refused to go down on me. Said it would ‘make him gay.’”
I nearly choke on my coffee. “He what ?”
“Yeah. Receiving was fine, of course. But giving? That was ‘submissive’ and ‘emasculating.’” She shakes her head. “I spent years thinking I was asking for too much.”
“What a fucking cunt.”
Sophia gasps, hand flying to her mouth. “Jack!”
“Sorry, I—” I ran a hand through my hair. “Cultural thing. We use that word more casually in New Zealand. Like calling someone a right bastard.”
“It’s just…that word here is…” She’s actually blushing.
“Did you know it’s one of the oldest words in the English language? Goes all the way back to Chaucer and Middle English. ‘Queynte,’ they called it.” I grin at her surprised expression. “Four years of literature courses at uni. Had to be good for something.”
“I never thought I’d get an etymology lesson on that particular word in the middle of the park,” she says, but she’s fighting a smile.
“It’s only shocking because people made it that way.
In Kiwi, it’s practically a term of endearment.
Over the ditch, the Aussies use it as a comma.
” I pull her closer. “But seriously, Soph. Any man who thinks pleasuring his partner makes him less of a man is a bloody idiot. And definitely, historically, a cunt.”
She laughs despite herself. “I’m still getting used to Kiwi cursing. You make it sound almost…scholarly.”
“Wait till you meet my sisters. Charlotte definitely uses it as a comma. She could make a sailor blush.” I kiss her temple. “For what it’s worth, last night was…you tasted incredible. Could’ve stayed down there for hours.”
Her cheeks flame again, but her eyes darken. “Very scholarly observation, Professor McKenzie.”
“I’m a thorough researcher,” I murmur against her ear. “Always happy to conduct more field studies.”
Now she’s definitely blushing. “Jack!”
“What? It’s true. Troy’s loss.” I grin wickedly. “Though I suppose I should thank him for being such a tosser. Led you straight to me.”
“Silver lining,” she agrees, then more seriously: “You really want us to come to New Zealand? It’s not too fast?”
“Nothing about us has been normal speed,” I point out. “Why start now?”
She leans against my shoulder. “Fair point. When would we leave?”
“I’m thinking the Saturday of spring break? Direct flight to Auckland, then connect to Queenstown. Back the following Sunday.”
“Nine days away with you.” She smiles. “Madison’s going to flip out. She’s already obsessed with your accent.”
“She’d better be prepared. Whole family of accents. My sister Lily’s is thick as thieves—she’s been living in Dunedin for her PhD.”
“The marine biologist?”
“That’s the one. She’ll love Madison. Probably drag her to look at tide pools and lecture about ocean conservation.”
“Madison would actually love that.” Sophia turns to face me fully. “This is really happening? We’re going to New Zealand?”
“If you want to.”
“I want to.” She kisses me softly. “I want to see where you grew up. Meet your family. Watch Madison experience something besides Troy’s broken promises.”
“Brilliant. I’ll sort the flights this week.” I pull out my phone. “What’s your middle name? For the booking.”
“Rose. Sophia Rose Mitchell.”
“Beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” I type it in. “Madison’s?”
“Madison Grace Bently ,” she sighed. “Though she’s been going by Mitchell at school. We haven’t done the legal change yet on the passport.”
I save the information. “I’ll send you the flight details once they’re booked.”
“Let me pay for—”
“Already told you, got points saved up. EMS conferences, went back and forth a couple times to move here.”
She eyes me suspiciously but doesn’t press. “Thank you. This is…this is amazing.”
“You’re amazing.” I check the time. “Shit. Promised Rodriguez I’d cover his afternoon shift.”
“I should get home anyway. Madison will be back soon and she’ll want every detail about last night.” She blushes. “Well, not EVERY detail.”
“Probably wise.” I stand, pulling her up with me. “Dinner tomorrow? After shift?”
“Ahh, can’t tomorrow. Tuesday?”
“Perfect. I’ll cook for you both. Madison likes Italian?”
“She likes everything except Troy’s green smoothies.” Sophia stretches up to kiss me. “Thank you for this morning. For dealing with Troy. For…everything.”
“ Tāku ipo, ” I murmur against her lips. “This is just the beginning.”
We walk back through the park hand in hand. The future suddenly seems full of possibility—New Zealand, meeting families, building something real together.
Three weeks until we fly. Three weeks until she sees the estate, meets my family, discovers exactly what I walked away from.
But watching her laugh as a dog chases a frisbee past us, feeling her hand warm in mine, I’m not worried. Sophia sees me—really sees me—not my family’s money or expectations.
Just Jack.
And that’s exactly who I want to be.