Chapter Seven
CHAPTER SEVEN
For the rest of the morning Caleb couldn’t focus on anything other than the meeting with Sophia and Hattie. Of course he’d been stewing about all the things he should have said in the moment but hadn’t thought of until afterward. His mother had taught him and his brothers to be gentlemen, but Sophia had been pushing it. She had stuck a knife in a raw wound and twisted it all around. And to make matters worse, they would be working together on the new hard cider campaign. Up until this morning he had been excited about his new role and the possibility of making a connection with Sophia. Now, he was sitting in his office with his brothers, who’d met up with him for lunch. He could barely think straight, thanks to Sophia.
“What’s your problem?” Landon asked Caleb. “You look like you lost your best friends in the world.”
“And that can’t be true since we’re sitting right here,” Xavier said, grinning.
“I got blindsided,” Caleb said, his mind still whirling.
“How so?” Landon asked, taking a bite of his tuna fish sandwich.
Caleb put his fork down on the table and pushed his salad away. He didn’t have an appetite, which was unusual for him. “Well, when I walked into the conference room, Sophia was there,” Caleb said, remembering how thrilled he’d been at the sight of her.
“And wasn’t that a good thing?” Xavier asked. “I couldn’t help but notice the two of you dancing around each other at Northern Exposure. No pun intended.”
“Yeah,” Landon said. “I noticed it too. She’s pretty stunning.”
Caleb let out a snort. “Well, that’s over and done with. She made a big point to let Hattie know the details about the reality show. Of course it made me look like an idiot, but since when does the truth matter?” Bitterness infused his tone, and he didn’t bother to hide his emotions. He was tired of his good name and image being smeared.
“That’s not cool,” Xavier said, frowning. “You’ve been through it, little bro. And that’s all in the past. Part of being in Alaska means a new beginning.”
“That’s what I thought too, but it appears I’m destined to be remembered as the Love Rat.” Caleb clenched his teeth. He detested being linked to a ridiculous reality show. He’d auditioned on the advice of his now former agent, but instead of a stepping stone into the acting world, Caleb had earned himself a reputation as a Z-list reality star.
“At least they could have given you a better moniker,” Landon said, shaking his head. “Being compared to a rodent is such an insult.”
“Thanks, Landon. You always know how to cheer me up,” Caleb snapped.
“What? I’m on your side,” Landon protested, throwing up his hands.
Xavier wiped his mouth with a napkin and tossed his trash in the bin. “We realize that you got a raw deal, but as all three of us know from our recent experiences, life isn’t fair. And one of the football-isms that has stayed with me over the years is that when you get knocked down, you’ve got to get up.”
Caleb nodded. He did believe that he was moving past one of the worst times in his life, but every now and again something happened to remind him of the past. And his own foolishness. He hadn’t expected Sophia to be the one to drag him down.
“You’re right. I just need to focus on inheriting Yukon Cider and making the decision whether to stay and run the company,” Caleb said.
“I’m going to say it again for the record,” Xavier said, looking back and forth between Landon and Caleb. “Regardless of what my future holds with True, I intend to make a unanimous decision with both of you. We came into this as the Three Musketeers and that’s how we’ll finish it.”
“I hear that,” Caleb said, his soul feeling lighter just knowing that he and his brothers were going to tackle this inheritance issue as a threesome. Nothing else made sense.
“That’s a relief,” Landon said, letting out a deep breath.
Xavier’s engagement to True had made things a bit more complicated, but, thankfully, the Brothers Stone would make a final decision as a unit. Stay and run Yukon Cider or sell the company to the highest bidder. By the time the decision was made, Hattie would most likely be gone. It was a sobering thought. A quick look at his brothers’ faces revealed that they were thinking the same.
A knock on his office door dragged all three of them out of their thoughts.
“Come in,” Caleb said, half expecting to see Hattie standing at his door. She had a sweet habit of coming to check on her grandsons and bounce ideas off them. Sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder what might have been if they hadn’t left Alaska all those years ago. Would his parents have reconciled? Would he and his brothers have pursued different career paths? Maybe Red would have been a solid part of their lives.
When the door opened, Sophia was standing there, looking every bit as stunning as always. His pulse still raced at the sight of her. His tongue felt thick inside his mouth, as if he might not be able to get actual words out. He had no idea what she was doing here, since her job hadn’t actually started yet.
She fumbled with her fingers, moving them around in jerky movements.
“Caleb. Can I talk to you for a moment?” She darted a glance at Xavier and Landon. “Alone?”
She had to give it to the Stone brothers. As soon as she made her request, they scrambled to pack up their things and exited the room after saying a quick hello to her in passing. Once they were gone, she found herself wishing that she had asked them to stay for moral support. Not that they would be on her side, but she might need a buffer against Caleb. He was staring daggers at her.
She shifted from one foot to the other. He wasn’t going to make this easy for her, was he?
“I’m sorry to crash your lunch, but I wanted to clear the air. I didn’t like how we left things earlier.”
Crickets. All he did was give her a slight nod.
She let out a ragged sigh. “Caleb, I know you’re ticked off at me. And I don’t blame you.”
He folded his arms across his chest. It was the ultimate defensive gesture. Ugh. She had a battle on her hands.
“I got a little carried away this morning, so I came back to sincerely apologize. What you said earlier made me think about the fact that I wasn’t considering how your time on the show affected you. Judging by the look on your face, that experience hurt you.” Her chin quivered. “I know what it feels like to be hurt.”
“Hurt people hurt people?” he asked, quirking his mouth.
“Umm, I guess so. I want our working relationship to be a good one, so we need to clear the air. I need to set things right.”
“Go for it,” he said, leaning back in his chair.
“I talk too much when I get nervous. Hattie makes me nervous. Not that she’s not amazing and delightful, but she’s also a strong and successful businesswoman who has accomplished way more in her lifetime than I ever will. This opportunity to work for Yukon Cider is life-changing for me and my daughter. And that reality stressed me out.” She crossed her hands in front of her and began to twist her thumbs around. Was she rambling? Nerves had taken over; she hoped that she was getting her point across without sounding pathetic.
She inhaled a deep breath. “And somehow all this time before I met you, I thought of you as a character and not a living, breathing human being. I know how wrong that was of me, because now that I know you just a little bit, I can see that you’re nothing like the way you were portrayed. I sense that you’re a good person and I should have kept my lips zipped.”
Sophia noticed the instant his features softened. He was way less intimidating now.
“I like you,” she blurted out. Oh, now that the words had slipped out of her mouth, she felt a little squirrelly. Their gazes were locked, and she noticed a slight twinkle in his eyes.
A slow grin began to spread across his face. “You like me?”
Heat suffused her cheeks. “Don’t get all cocky about it, but I do. You’re kind and funny. You were supportive when we were trapped in the attic. I watched you with Hattie at the tavern, and you were so sweet with her. And you remembered my daughter’s name.”
“You’re definitely going to give me a swelled head.” He was more relaxed now, reverting back to the warmhearted version of himself.
She moved closer toward him, closing the gap between them in a few easy strides.
“So, you forgive me?” she asked, her heart thumping wildly in her chest.
“Tell me again how amazing I am and I’ll consider it,” he said in a playful tone. Something had shifted between them in the last few moments, letting Sophia know that Caleb was softening up toward her. Her chest loosened up a bit, and her pulse slowed down. Maybe she wasn’t toast after all.
“I think I’ve said enough for one day,” she answered.
Caleb stood up so that he was facing her, their bodies mere inches away from each other. He was standing so close to her that she could hear the sound of his light breathing. Her gaze found his mouth, and for what felt like the millionth time, she wondered what it might feel like to kiss those amazing lips. She suspected it would be some kind of wonderful.
“I forgive you, Sophia Brand. Everyone makes mistakes.” He leaned in closer. “And now that I know you like me…”
Her stomach was fluttering, and she almost felt like a teenager in the presence of her first crush. “You’re not going to let that one go, are you?” she asked.
“Nope,” he said, showcasing his dimples as he smiled. “I’m having way too much fun with it. I might just have a T-shirt made.”
Sophia giggled. She was so relieved that things were back on track with them. “I’d pay actual money to see you sporting a shirt like that.”
His lips twitched. “Don’t tempt me.”
“I should let you get back to work.” Although she could stand here all day and talk to him, they both had things to do. Today was Lily’s early day at preschool, and she didn’t want to be late picking her up. She had memories of being the last kid picked up at school, and she never wanted Lily to feel that way.
He reached out for her hand, taking it in his. “Thanks for stopping by. It means a lot to me that you cared enough to seek me out.”
“I owed you an apology,” she said, meeting his gaze head-on. He had the most beautiful eyes. They were the deepest shade of brown with gold flecks. Her insides were rejoicing at the way he was looking at her. Not with anger, but with admiration.
“And by the way, Sophia, I like you too. But I’m guessing you already knew that.”
Bam! His words were like a jump start to the heart. If she was being completely honest with herself, Caleb was a clear and present danger to her carefully curated world.
Ever since having Lily, she had constructed a life for herself based simply on the two of them. Men need not apply! She was good on her own. But that was then and this was now. Caleb intrigued her, and she wanted to peel back his layers. She wanted to see what was possible!
What was it about this man that caused her to get tongue-tied in his presence? She thought of a dozen snappy comebacks, but not a single word emerged from her mouth. So instead Sophia gave him a little smile and beat a fast path out of the room.
Even though she could feel his eyes trained on her as she walked down the corridor, Sophia reminded herself not to turn around. DO NOT TURN AROUND.
Play it cool.
Just as she reached the stairs, Sophia gave in to temptation and glanced over her shoulder.
Caleb was leaning against the doorjamb with his arms folded. She could see his grin from all the way down the hall.
No matter what she’d thought before about possibly getting involved with Caleb, Sophia now knew with a deep certainty that she wanted to explore things with him, no matter where they led.