Chapter 3
THREE
CLIFF
It isn’t until I’m sitting in the passenger seat of Sophie’s car that I realize I’m a little light-headed.
I could blame it on the flight. But the flight from Fairbanks to Seattle isn’t even four hours. I also can’t blame it on the change in time zones. I only lost an hour.
No, as much as it pains me to admit it—and it’s a pain squarely between my legs—the reason my head is spinning is currently navigating the traffic out of SeaTac. Little Sophie Hart. All grown up.
And she looks… fucking incredible. Her long brown hair is pulled back into a ponytail on top of her head. It’s practically begging to be released, so the thick long locks can tumble over her shoulders.
Her eyes are still the most amazing shade of blue. Like the dark water along the Alaskan coast. How did I never notice they were that blue before?
As for the rest of her…
She may be sitting now, but I had a good look at her figure earlier when she met me at the airport. And she looks good. Really good.
I don’t remember her looking this good the last time I saw her. Oh, she was plenty cute. But she wasn’t breathtakingly stunning. If she was, I was too blind or dumb to take note.
Or, maybe she was too much my little sister’s best friend for me to give her the proper consideration.
Not that any of the thoughts I’m having about her right now would fall under proper.
“So.” She shifts lanes and casts a glance my way. “Are you excited about the wedding?”
“Mmm.” I shrug. “If Winter is happy that’s all that matters.”
“You’re not a fan of weddings?”
“I’m not a fan of marriage.”
Her lips form a perfect “O” and her cheeks pink up slightly. I mentally curse myself for making her feel uncomfortable, even though I appreciate the way she looks right now.
Flustered is a good look on Sophie.
I bet it would look even better if I was the one to get her flustered in bed.
“Fuck,” I mumble to myself. These are not the kinds of thoughts I should be having about my baby sister’s best friend.
It doesn’t matter how good she looks to me right now. She’s off-limits. I’ve always made my sister’s friends off-limits, just like I always made sure to keep my friends away from her.
Sibling code.
It’s just been a long time since I was with a woman. That’s all. And you’d have to be without a pulse not to notice how cute Sophie is.
Not just cute. Stunning.
And right now, she looks really annoyed with me. I sigh. I’ve gotten really bad at small talk in my years away from civilization. Oh, I still come into town a couple times a month. But only to get supplies. Never to chit-chat.
Still, Sophie is doing me a huge favor by driving all the way to the airport to get me and take me to the lodge. The least I can do is try to have a decent conversation.
“It’s not that I’m against the institution of marriage or anything.” I scratch my beard. “It’s just not for me.”
“Oh really?”
“Trust me. I know.”
Sophie shakes her head at me and mutters something about “men.” For the first time in a long time, I nearly grin.
“So, what about you?”
She spares me a glance. “What about me?”
I glance at her left hand and note that she doesn’t have any rings on her fingers.
Of course, that doesn’t mean anything. But if I was married to a woman like Sophie, I’d make sure everyone knew to keep their hands off by putting an obnoxious ring on her finger to scare off anyone before they could get any ideas.
“You haven’t decided to take the plunge?”
“Not exactly.”
I arch an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”
She shakes her head. “Would you mind if we made a couple of stops on the way to the lodge? Your sister had some last-minute errands she needed to take care of, and I told her I’d help.”
“By all means.”
I’m not much for running errands, but I wouldn’t mind spending a little more time with Sophie.
We don’t say much as we make our stops. I’m happy to play the part of the pack mule while she picks up a surprisingly long list of things. I do pick up a few things about the woman Sophie has become in the past years as we go from place to place.
For one, she’s become an entrepreneur. She calls it being a freelancer, but from where I’m sitting, she’s basically her own boss. That sounds like entrepreneurship.
Two, she’s a homeowner. She says the place isn’t much, but based on the way her eyes light up when she talks about it, I can see how proud she is to have done it.
And third, she’s a really good person. That becomes obvious as we make our sixth stop on behalf of my sister.
We pull into the parking lot of a grocery store, and she reads off the list of everything we need to pick up. With every item she adds, I shake my head.
“What?” She stares at me, her deep blue eyes piercing through some sort of layer I didn’t realize I had. “Do you think that’s too much?”
“That’s not it.” I clear my throat, suddenly feeling awkward being on the spot. Even though it’s just Sophie.
Just Sophie. There’s no just about her.
I clear my throat and shift in my seat uncomfortably. “I was thinking it’s really good of you to do all this for Winter.”
“Oh, this. It’s nothing. I’d do way more for her. Just like I know she’d do anything for me. She’s like a sister.”
A flicker of guilt shoots through me. Winter is my sister, and I dragged my feet about coming for the wedding. Not because I didn’t want to be there for her. I’m just… more comfortable in the home and life I’ve made for myself.
“You two were a lot closer than my college roommate and I were.” I grimace. “He used to leave his dirty underwear all over the floor.”
“You lived with Winter long enough to know she’s not a neat freak by any means. But she never did anything like that.” Sophie wrinkles her nose. “But, she adopted me. Do you remember that first Thanksgiving?”
“I do.” Winter had been so excited to get Sophie involved in our family’s holiday festivities, she’d forgotten to tell any of us that she was bringing a guest until I accidentally walked in on her getting ready to take a shower.
I’m not sure which of us was more embarrassed.
But after we got past that, everything was good. She became a regular fixture in all of our holidays. Up until a few years ago.
“She made me feel like family.” Sophie smiles sadly. “All of you did. I’ll never be able to thank your mom enough for everything she did to include me. I… I wish I would’ve told your dad how much I appreciated him, too.”
A heaviness settles on my chest at the memory of my dad. He was a good man. The kind who didn’t say “I love you” much, but showed you in a thousand ways.
I wish I would have told him how grateful I was for him too. But he passed so suddenly, none of us had the chance.
“Winter really appreciated your support when he died.”
“Like I said, she’s my family. I’d do anything for her.” Sophie gives a sad little smile. “Besides, unfortunately, I know what it’s like.”
She does. She knows more about loss than any person should. Orphaned at five, she was raised by her only grandma. A grandma who passed away a few weeks before her freshman year of college.
And my sister, being the good person she is, made sure Sophie always felt like she was included and part of our family from the start.
I should say something to Winter while I’m here. Like our dad, I’ve never been good at words. But unlike our dad, I haven’t been around to show her that I care about her much either.
Sophie and I barely say more than a few words as we make our way through the grocery store.
As she bends over to pick up a pineapple, I find myself admiring more than the way Sophie fills out a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt.
There’s an efficiency about her that’s admirable. A sense of confidence I didn’t see all those years ago when my sister brought her home for the first time.
Sophie has grown into an intriguing little package.
“Where should I put these?” I ask, holding up the bags as we exit the store.
She winces as she looks at her car. “The trunk might be too full after that last stop. The backseat?”
“Copy that, boss.” I open the backseat, and a Target bag spills out. “Oh, shit.” I place the bags I’m carrying inside and reach for the renegade bag.
I pick up an oversized package of batteries and a bottle of vitamins. Prenatal vitamins. I frown. I guess I’ve heard of women taking them even if they aren’t pregnant.
I pick up the last item. A tiny pair of white shoes.
I hold them up to Sophie. “These look like they’re a little too small for you.”
Her cheeks flush. “They’re… for a friend.”
Once again fighting the foreign impulse of grinning, I drop the shoes in the bag and straighten up the backseat.
“I bet you aren’t much for babies either.”
“Nope.” I close the door and slide into the passenger seat as she eases back behind the wheel. “They’re okay for other people.”
“But you’re not interested?”
“Not even a little.”
“Surprise, surprise.” She shakes her head, and if I’m not mistaken, there’s a flicker of disappointment on her face. “The guy who doesn’t want to get married doesn’t want to have kids either.”
I give into the urge to chuckle then. It sounds a little rusty to my ears at first. But then it’s as easy as breathing.
“I have my reasons.”
“And those would be?”
I lift a shoulder. “My reasons.”
The amusement falls from her face, and I don’t feel much like laughing myself anymore.
“Ready to head to the lodge?” she asks.
I nod.
Oddly enough, for the first time in a long time, I find myself looking forward to being around people. Especially if Sophie is one of them.