Chapter 32
It’s not a ruse if you have an excuse for the deception.
Flynn
I rub a hand down my face as I listen to Gary give me an update on all of our current projects. The summer is always busy on Smuggler’s Hideaway, but this summer is exceptionally busy and I’m exhausted.
Although, the exhaustion might be the result of spending the past week avoiding Sophia while living in the same house as her. I’m a fucking wimp and I hate it.
But what else can I do? I can’t lose Weston. He’s my only family. He was there when my mom died and my dad left. When all of my other friends were too busy with sports or school to be there for me, he forced his parents to allow me to live with them so I wouldn’t be alone.
But ending things with Sophia doesn’t feel right either. She brought the sunshine into my life. She makes me laugh when I’m down. She brings passion to my nights.
Fuck. This is an impossible situation. I can’t blame Sophia for running away when she was eighteen since I have the hankering to run away now.
Can you come to the brewery? I am concerned with the rafters.
I frown at the message from Paisley. If it were any other of Sophia’s friends, I’d assume the text was some lure to get me to come to the brewery. But not Paisley. She doesn’t involve herself with reckless schemes.
On my way.
I grab the keys to my truck and storm toward the exit. “Sorry, Gary. We’ll have to resume this later.”
“You weren’t listening anyway, boss.”
He’s not wrong. I flick two fingers at him in goodbye.
I make sure to drive the speed limit to the brewery. The last thing I need is Weston pulling me over for speeding while I’m on my way to the brewery.
I haven’t spoken to Weston since last week either. I expected him to call me out for missing poker night but apparently, he didn’t go either. Instead, he went out fishing with his dad. Usually, they invite me on their fishing trips.
I rub a hand over my chest when it begins to ache. I’m being torn in two directions and it fucking sucks. And hurts.
I don’t want to lose my only family, but I don’t want to lose the woman I’m falling for either.
Damn it! I pound my fist on the steering wheel and the horn goes off. Several people on the sidewalk stare at me. I wave at them in apology. I need to get my shit together.
I park in front of the brewery and Chloe rushes to me.
“Good you’re here.”
I glance around. “Where’s Paisley?”
“She’s inside. She can explain the problem better to you. All I know is I’m scared. The roof is creaking and making an awful racket.”
Shit. I renovated this roof five years ago. It shouldn’t be causing any problems.
“Lead the way.”
I follow Chloe into the brewery’s restaurant and up the stairs. I study the roof as we walk but I don’t notice any problems. But the worst problems are usually those you don’t see until you open up the walls.
“In here.” Chloe motions me into a room. “I’m sorry,” she says and I spin around.
“Sorry about what?”
Her response is to shut and lock the door.
“I told you I don’t want to talk, Chloe!” Sophia shouts but she keeps her gaze concentrated on her computer screen.
“It’s not Chloe,” I say.
Her head whips up. “You,” she seethes. “What are you doing here?”
She has dark circles under her eyes and her face is pale. Fuck. She’s hurting. And it’s all my fault.
“I got tricked.”
She drops her face into her palms. “Stupid girlfriends who can’t keep their noses out of my business. Just they wait. I will think up the most epic prank and they will suffer.”
“If you pull a prank, the entire island will suffer.”
She glares at me. “I wasn’t speaking to you.”
I shrug. “I’m just saying no one wants a repeat of the great fish episode. Except maybe Sammy.”
“I said,” she grits out. “I wasn’t speaking to you.”
“It’s going to be a long day locked in this room together if you don’t speak to me.”
“Oh really? Like the past week when you completely ignored me?”
I wince. Sophia hates to be ignored. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I had a lot of stuff on my mind.”
“You had a lot of stuff on your mind?”
I nod.
“You had a lot of stuff on your mind?”
I nod again, although I’m starting to think her words are a trap.
“Never mind. I’m not doing this here.” She motions to the door. “Unlock it.”
“I can’t unlock it.”
She rolls her eyes. “Fine. I’ll handle it.”
She marches to the door and my gaze drops to her ass bouncing as she walks. I had to fall in love with a woman who’s sexier when she’s mad? I couldn’t fall for a sweet, soft woman who bakes cookies as a hobby?
I shake those thoughts away. I’m not in love with Sophia. Not yet. Anyway.
“You can come out when you’ve straightened each other out!” Chloe yells from the other side of the door.
“You can’t keep us in here!” Sophia yells back.
“Maybe not but the desk we placed in front of the door will.”
There’s scraping before an object hits the door. Sophia’s friends aren’t kidding around.
“I’m sorry, Sophia. I voted against this tactic,” Paisley says. “But I was outvoted and Chloe stole my phone.”
I guess there isn’t a problem with the rafters after all. Good to know.
“You’ve been moping around for a week,” Nova says. “Enough already! Life is too short.”
Sophia rears back as if her friend slapped her. Since Nova’s mom died when they were in high school, she kind of did.
“This is a fire hazard,” I holler through the door.
“There’s an emergency exit via the window. You’ll find a rope ladder, a fire blanket, and all other necessities in the box under the window,” Paisley explains.
“I’m out of excuses,” I tell Sophia.
“Whatever. I have a ton of work to do.” She marches back to her computer and sits in front of it.
“You’re going to ignore me all day? You’ll never last the whole day.”
She logs back into her computer. “I took lessons from the best.”
Two can play at this game. I dig my phone out of my pocket and begin scrolling through my messages.
“There’s water in the refrigerator but you’re shit out of luck if you want coffee,” Sophia murmurs to her computer.
Someone’s gotten better at giving the silent treatment since she was twelve. When she was a pre-teen, Weston couldn’t count to ten before she’d explode.
“Water’s fine.” I grab one from the fridge. “Do you want one?”
“I’ve got coffee.”
I finish my messages and emails pretty quickly. I don’t spend too much time on boring admin stuff. I’m usually working on-site supervising my crew or doing a walkaround at a new site with clients. Sitting still is not my thing.
I shove my phone in my pocket and make my way to the window. I check the joints and make sure the lock works before opening it.
“Ready to escape already?” Sophia teases. “I thought Flynn Ryland could handle tougher circumstances.”
“I’m checking the supplies in case of a fire.” And trying not to feel itchy with boredom.
“I’ll tell Paisley you found it necessary to double check her work. Should be a fun conversation.”
If Paisley handled this, there’s nothing to check. The woman is thorough and meticulous.
“You can use one of the computers if you want.” Sophia motions to a desk on the opposite side of the room from her.
I prowl to it and sit down. I last for about ten seconds before I’m up and moving again.
Sophia growls and the sound hits me in the groin. My cock doesn’t give a shit Sophia’s mad at me. He wants me to strip off her clothes and lick every inch of her curves.
He’s made it clear what an idiot I am every night for the past week. Trying to sleep with a raging hard-on for the woman down the hall who you can’t touch isn’t fun.
“Stop pacing.”
“I don’t enjoy being caged up.”
“Neither do I but I’m being calm about it.”
“I’m calm.”
She rolls her eyes. “Calm? You’ve slapped the desk five times.”
I realize my hand is raised and ready to hit the desk for the sixth time. Crap. She’s right.
“How the hell are you handling this better than me?”
“Excuse me?” She glances up to glare at me. “Oh, right. I forgot. I’m just Weston’s little sister. I’m too delicate to handle confrontation.”
“I never said you were delicate.”
“No. You just ignored me for a week after speaking to Weston.”
“I’m not ignoring you. I’m figuring things out.”
“Figuring things out?” She jumps up from her seat. “You promised me – promised me! – you wouldn’t let your friendship with Weston ruin our relationship.”
I flinch. “Weston didn’t handle learning about our relationship very well.”
She guffaws. “And this surprised you? You’re his best friend. You should know he doesn’t react well when he doesn’t get his way. Don’t you remember when Dad told him he wouldn’t pay for motorcycle lessons? Weston wasn’t giving up. He spent the entire summer working evenings as a lifeguard after working all day at the hardware store to pay for the lessons. My brother is pigheaded.”
“He’s also my best friend.”
“Trust me. I know. I’ve spent a decade watching you run away from me because you were afraid of how Weston would react.”
I can’t deny it. “He’s my only family.”
“He’s your only family?” Tears well in her eyes. “What about me? And my parents?”
“Weston is a brother to me.”
A tear escapes down her cheek and she wipes it away with the back of her hand.
“I understand Weston means the world to you, but guess what? You are my world. If you’d let me, I’d give you everything you’ve ever wanted. Love, acceptance, family, a place to call home. All you have to do is reach for it. I’m here.”
She reaches out her hand, but I can’t take it.
“Weston gave me an ultimatum. Him or you.”
The tears are flowing down her face now. “And you chose him. You didn’t fight for me.” Her shoulders drop. “Maybe you should leave.”
“I didn’t choose him. I didn’t choose anyone.”
Her eyes flash with pain. “I love you, Flynn, but I don’t like you very much right now. Please leave.”
What? I freeze. Sophia loves me? How can she possibly love me? I put her through hell this past week and she still offered me the world.
Fuck. I love her. She’s my sunshine. My laughter. My world.
“I…” I trail off. I don’t know how to tell her I love her. I’ve never told anyone I’ve loved them before. And I still haven’t dealt with Weston. I can’t declare my love for her until her brother accepts us together.
“If you won’t leave, I will.”
Sophia doesn’t wait for my response before rushing to the window and pushing it open. She throws the rope out before climbing out.
I hurry after her. “Sophia, wait! Don’t hurt yourself.”
I peer out of the window but she’s already gone.
What have I done? I’m an idiot. I’m going to lose both my best friend and the love of my life.