Chapter 29
Sophia
“ Y ou’re shaking! What’s wrong?” Emma rubbed her hands up and down Sophia’s arms.
“Everything. Nothing. Gah, I don’t know.
” Sophia’s eyes sought him out, searching for the man who had just laid his heart on the table.
It couldn’t have been easy for him to confess any of that to her, especially after she’d turned him down so many times.
She couldn’t believe he’d said any of it, and right now, she didn’t know how to respond.
“What happened?” Emma tried again. She was giving her husband a nervous look. “Do you need me to take you home?”
Sophia’s eyes landed on him then. The man who had managed to steal her heart and had kept it locked away all this time. His eyes met hers, and for a moment she thought he might charge right back over here to kiss her. She glanced at her friend as if she were her lifeline.
The worst part about that idea was that she wasn’t completely against it.
Her cheeks heated, and she tore her eyes from her friend. “Cameron.”
“What about him?”
The warmth in her body spread like wildfire. “He wants me back.”
This time, Emma looked for the topic of their conversation. When her eyes landed on him, they bounced back to Sophia. “Okay? Is that a bad thing?”
Sophia covered her face with her hands. “No.” She shook her head. “Maybe. I don’t know, Emma. We weren’t any good for each other?—”
“Why, because he had a jealous streak?”
“Because he beat up his brother for trying to kiss me.”
By the hesitant look in Emma’s eye, Sophia could tell she didn’t exactly feel that was a bad thing.
Sophia gave her friend a pointed look.
“Okay, okay.” Emma laughed. “It wasn’t his brightest moment. But seriously, you said yourself that he’s getting better. You’ve been watching him like a stalker over the last month. He’s going to therapy. He’s not intervened on any of your dates. Would it be so bad to give him another chance?”
Shoulders slumping, Sophia forced herself to not look in his direction again. “What if things go back to the way they were? What if he can’t control himself and I’m the trigger?” Her voice lowered into something more pitiful. “I don’t think my heart could take having him only to lose him again.”
When Emma didn’t seem to have anything to say, Sophia gave her a questioning look.
Finally, her friend spoke. “That’s a risk, for sure.
But let me ask you something. Do you want to live your life in what-ifs?
Because I have a doozy for you. What if he’s your soulmate and this is the last chance you have to keep him before he moves on with someone else? ”
The pain that ripped into her chest at that question made Sophia breathless. She glanced over to Cameron, and then her blood ran cold. The reason Emma had asked such a thing was standing right there next to Cameron.
The girl was beautiful. She had long legs, a tiny waist, and blonde hair that fell to her lower back in waves. She was Sophia’s opposite in almost every sense of the word. And Cameron was smiling at her like he used to smile at Sophia.
No.
Sophia’s hands balled into fists. Her own latent jealousies were attempting to break through the barriers she’d put into place with all her own hard work at therapy and strengthening her prayer life.
She couldn’t let Cameron slip through her fingers.
Emma was right. Cameron had been doing a lot to improve himself.
He’d gone to lengths that she hadn’t even expected—like when he’d apologized to his brother.
What if she lost her chance with him out of fear?
“You guys have been apart long enough,” Emma said. “Maybe now that you’ve put some water under the bridge, you’ll be ready to try again.” Her friend’s words resonated with Sophia somewhere in the back of her mind. “No one is perfect, Sophia. Cameron’s been trying. That’s all you can hope for.”
“What if… we’re just too toxic… together?” Sophia voiced the concern without thinking.
“And what if you’ve both learned enough that you can build each other up instead of imploding?”
Sophia couldn’t help but laugh at Emma’s description and the way the visual popped into her head.
“He’s seeing a therapist—on his own—without the promise of getting you back, I might add. That has to count for something, right?”
Sophia nodded absentmindedly. The more she watched Cameron with that girl, the more that pain in her chest ached. She needed to do something, or she was going to lose him. Maybe not today, but one day he’d finally decide he couldn’t wait for her anymore.
Emma nudged her. “Then go tell him that you feel the same. Tell him that you know it won’t be easy, but you guys can do it right this time.”
Her legs moved of their own accord. Sophia flexed her fingers and shook out her hands. She could do this. Her eyes narrowed in on the way the girl touched Cameron’s forearm. It was an innocent enough touch, but Sophia knew what the girl was trying to do, and she wasn’t going to stand for it.
Sophia sidled up beside Cameron and wove her fingers between his before turning and smiling at the blonde. “Who’s your friend, Cameron?”
The girl immediately took a step back and blushed as her eyes darted to the way Sophia held Cameron’s hand. “Um… hey. I’m Amy.”
“Hi, Amy. I’m Sophia.” She leaned into Cameron’s arm and rested her cheek against his shoulder. “I haven’t seen you around here. Are you new?”
Amy shook her head. “Just visiting a friend.” Her focus darted up to Cameron. “It was nice meeting you.”
Sophia watched with a smug sort of satisfaction as Amy hurried away. But that smugness disappeared the second Cameron whirled on her. She’d anticipated the irritation she might find in his gaze but was surprised to find amusement instead.
“What was that?” Cameron demanded.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sophia said airily. “I just wanted to come over here and tell you something.”
His hand tightened on hers and he pulled her against him with his other hand at the small of her back. “And what is that?” he murmured near her ear, giving her all kinds of shivers.
Her words died in her throat as the reality of her situation settled on her. This was utterly terrifying—to return to something that had been both exhilarating and painful all at once.
Cameron tsked. “Don’t tell me that you came over here to interrupt my conversation with that lovely young woman because you were jealous .
” Thankfully, there was teasing in his tone.
Unfortunately, it did nothing to make her feel better about what she’d been caught doing.
He pushed her just far enough away to meet her eyes.
“Sophia, talk to me,” he urged. “Don’t toy with me. ”
Her heart did a triple backflip at the intensity with which he stared at her.
She swallowed thickly and shook her head.
“I’m not toying with you.” Her cheeks warmed with embarrassment.
“And while I’m not making excuses by any means, perhaps a little bit of jealousy is needed in some situations.
” She pinched her fingers together with a grimace, then held her breath as she waited for his response.
He watched her for what felt like an eternity and then threw back his head and laughed before pulling her against him.
His voice hummed in his throat, and she could hear his own wildly pumping heart.
“I’d have to agree with that,” he growled against her ear.
“You have no idea how good it felt to know that you were jealous enough to lay your claim on me.” His fingers traced up and down her spine, and she shivered involuntarily.
“It’s been torture to keep my distance while you spent time with other guys. ”
She winced. Of course he’d struggled. His jealousies were more deeply rooted than her own.
Part of her wondered if Sam had finally managed to tell Cameron the truth, but that would be a conversation for another time.
She tightened her hold on him and exhaled.
“I love you,” she said against his chest. “I think a part of me has loved you for as long as you’ve loved me.
” She craned her neck so she could look at him fully.
“And for the record, none of those guys I spent time with came close to comparing to you. The feelings I have for you are otherworldly.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “I know.”
“You do?” she asked breathlessly.
“Yeah. I started to see the difference in the way you talked to them versus the way you talked to me. Maybe it’s a little stuck up, but I knew you still cared for me. What we have? It’s not easy to come by.”
“No, it’s not.” She smiled at him, loving this feeling she had while being in his arms. Then her smile faltered, and the concern replaced his own peaceful expression.
“What’s wrong?”
Sophia sighed, looking away. “What if?—”
Cameron gave her a loving squeeze. “Don’t do that. Don’t for a second believe that we’re going back to that place. I won’t let it happen.”
The hope he offered her flared to life brighter than she expected.
“I won’t risk losing you, Sophia. I want you to know that every single day you give me a chance, I’ll make sure it’s well-deserved. I’m not fixed by any stretch of the imagination. But I’m working on it.”
Tears sprang to her eyes, and she flung her arms around his neck as she rose on her toes to kiss him.
Somehow, she knew this promise would stick.
Maybe it had been their time apart and the boundaries she had put into place when it came to his anger problems. Maybe it had been the fact that they’d both had to grow up and humble themselves to figure out what they needed.
They might be a terrible match, but they were also perfect for one another in so many ways.
His lips crashed down over hers, with a desperate need. In that moment she let herself fall into him and the possibilities of what their future would hold.