6. Sophie
Sophie
“A strong woman looks a challenge in the eye and gives it a wink.” — Gina Carey
“ W hat is wrong with your door?” Grace asks behind the said door as she pushes it wide open.
“It’s broken,” I tell her on a yawn, pulling a hot pink chunky knit sweater I found at the local thrift store the other day.
“I can see that. Why is it broken?” She waddles inside, setting down her bag with painting supplies.
“Um, it got into a little altercation.”
“The door?” Grace raises an eyebrow.
“Mm-hmm. Well”—I flip the switch on my tea kettle and turn back toward her.—“technically, I did, and it protected me at the cost of its own life.”
Gracie frowns. “Wait, did you get attacked? What in the expecto patronum happened?”
I open my mouth to tell her all about the attack on my hockey I had to endure last night, but in that precise moment, my phone rings. It’s Fifi from the store downstairs. “Hey, Fifi.”
“Good morning, sweetheart. I have great news! Your couch and the side tables are here.”
“Already?” I ask, shocked at how fast it took her to get it in stock. Back in New York, I’d have to wait at least a month unless my sister-in-law called and scared them half to death to send it to me ASAP.
“Yep, it’s all here, do you want to pick it up today or should I store it for you?”
“One second, Fifi.” I pull the phone away slightly and address Grace, “The furniture is here already, Fifi is asking when we want to pick it up?”
“Oh, great! Tell her today. Luke is off and I’m sure he’s on his way here already anyway. That overprotective grump.” She rolls her eyes playfully.
She might think it’s too much, but I love how overprotective her husband is of her. It’s so adorable and after the way they lost each other and then found again, I can understand it.
I bring the phone back to my mouth. “Okay, we’re coming today.” I give my thanks to Fifi while Grace makes her own phone call.
“Okay, now that that’s all settled, let’s get back to your broken door.”
I try to wave her off, pulling out a mug from my cupboard. “It’s fine, he said he’ll get it fixed today.”
“He?” Gracie shrieks, blinking wildly at me. “Who’s he ? Who was here last night? Why don’t I know anything about it yet? And again, who’s he ?”
Hope Levine appears at the front door, followed by Joy and Joy’s best—and very, very pregnant—friend, Zoe, interrupting whatever else my best friend wanted to shriek about.
“Jesus, Gracie Bear, I could hear your screech all the way from the second floor. Did someone steal all your unicorn panties again? ”
“I’m not screeching!” Grace protests in that same high-pitched voice. “ She let some random man break her door last night.” She points to me.
They all stop dead, swiveling their gazes my way.
“To be clear, are we talking about her door or her door ?” Zoe asks. I met all of these amazing women the first night at Grace’s parents’ house and found out I had three new best friends instantly.
“That’s an excellent question.” Grace narrows her eyes at me. “Did any other doors get broken into?”
“I don’t know how I feel about that nickname for my vagina, if we’re being honest.” I pucker my lips. “And no, my other door did not get broken into. But he did break my TV as well, does that count?”
“Oh my God,” Hope gasps. “Are you all right? Did you call the police?”
“Oh, I didn’t have to call the police.”
“Why not?” Joy frowns and in that precise moment my front door swings open once again, and I nearly spit out—spray style—the sip of tea I just took.
You’ve got to be joking me. I barely hold in my laugh at the picture I’m seeing.
Luke is standing there, swinging the broken door back and forth, frowning as his blond companion—also known as Sheriff Hot Asshole—stands there with a scowl on his face, his arms crossed at his chest.
“Sophie, what the hell happened to your door?” Luke asks.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to find out,” Grace tells him. “Apparently, some asshole broke into her apartment last night and broke her TV as well.”
“Oh, yeah, a total asshole.” I roll my lips, trying really hard to rein it in as Sheriff Hot Asshole sends me a glare.
“What?” Luke shrieks just like his wife did earlier. “Did you call the police?” he asks me, but looks over to his friend who’s pinching the bridge of his nose so hard, I’m afraid he’s going to crack it in a second .
Oh God, I can’t hold it in anymore, I burst out laughing, clutching my stomach. “I didn’t have to call anyone,” I wheeze out, and the Sheriff Hot Asshole mouths to me, Don’t.
“Why?” Luke asks, his eyes back on me.
“I’m so lost right now,” Hope says, watching me like I’ve completely lost it.
“Because you see?” I’m still laughing so hard I have to wipe the tears off my face as I wave my hand at the grump. “He always shows up all by himself. No invitation needed. Oh God, I don’t remember the last time I laughed so much.” I try to catch my breath, fanning my face.
“Jesus Christ…” Sheriff sighs as all eyes go to him.
“Callum? Did you forget to tell me something?” Luke asks in that protective voice of his like I’m his little sister. Oh goodie, they would get right along with Vassar. But also, I kind of like it.
“Nope, I didn’t forget at all because I wasn’t planning on it in the first place,” he informs Luke in that drone voice of his.
I sigh, Callum…such a handsome name wasted on such a grump. Shame.
“For your information, I was very much dragged here against my will. Just like last night,” he informs me.
“Wait!” Hope puts up her hands. “ You were the asshole who broke into her apartment and broke her TV last night?”
“Can we stop with the name calling? I was just doing my job, and the TV was an accident.”
“What’s all this commotion about?” A new voice sounds from behind the men as bright orange peeks through, followed by an array of colors.
Julie Owling is here. And she is my second favorite person after Grace in this town because I’ve never met someone with so much peace and kindness living inside them that it radiates through her skin, energizing everyone around her.
She also happens to own an amazing non-coffee coffee shop, Sip of Love, in town and is married to Luke’s best friend, Griffin Owling with who she is expecting a baby .
“Callum? What are you doing over here?” She looks him over once before handing the drink carrier to me.
“Trust me, I’m asking myself that very same question.”
“Julie! You are a life savior with your concoctions,” I tell her mid-sip through my lavender matcha that she won me over with on the very first day in Loverly Cave.
Clearly, I was drinking the wrong kind of lavender stuff before, because ever since I moved to LC, my life’s definitely got a whole lot more colorful.
Julie smiles brightly at me. “I’m glad you love it! I brought all of your favorites. Sorry, Cal, I didn’t know you’d be here since you avoid social gatherings like the plague, so you get nothing.”
“Wait, how do you know my Sheriff Hot Asshole?” I ask her and Julie freezes, blinking up at me.
“Oh, for fucks sake!” Callum groans, tipping his head back.
“You know my name now, can we move on from that stupid nickname? And you”—he points to Julie—“forget what you just heard! We are not—” He stops, pursing his lips.
“There is no we ! I’m not hers and she’s not mine, so erase that moment of your life this instant! ”
“One second here,” Joy interrupts. “You broke her door—possibly plural—and her TV and she didn’t even know your name before?”
“What the fuck does that supposed to mean? I only broke the front one.”
“No, he slept on the couch. There was no breaking of any other doors,” I tell her.
A second of silence and then…
“What?”
“He slept here?”
“He slept where?”
“What kind of best friend keeps secrets like that?”
“Man, this is one fun painting session.”
“Huh?” Julie’s eyes volley between all of us. “Callum! What in the sweet rosemary is going on here?”
“Jacob, you slow duck! I told you we needed to hurry here. They already started having fun without us!” Alec, Hope’s husband and Luke’s brother, cries out from the hallway.
“Hey, guys, what did we miss?” The two newcomers grin wide, the blond Viking-looking one of them holding a small yellow duck under his arm.
“It’s freaking illegal how hot all of your men are,” I say with equal parts disgust, envy, and appreciation as I take the last sip of my matcha, sitting on the floor of my apartment, leaning against the wall and enjoying the view.
“Tell me about it,” Zoe groans in sympathy, sitting one person over. She’s the only other single woman in this group apart from me, and I’m glad at least someone understands my pain.
I’ve been around handsome guys before. Heck, my brother is one of them—although that’s different—but there must be something in the Loverly Cave water to make these males on another level.
They are all tall, muscular, tatted up AND they all wear their baseball caps backward!
I mean, this is practically illegal. Not to mention, Alec and Jacob sat us all down on this floor, against the wall, handed us drinks and got to work on sanding my kitchen themselves, telling us they got it handled.
Men still do that? I don’t remember the last time someone had done anything this nice for me. Heck, even bought me a cup of coffee!
“Zoe, you’ve been here a little longer, are there any other men like that left in here?”
“Our age? Unfortunately, no,” she answers cryptically.
I raise an eyebrow at her, wondering what’s that all about and which not-our-age guy put that dreamy look on her face.
“ Quack, quack ,” Franchesca, Joy and Jacob’s pet duck walks in front of us, and we all watch her strut around the apartment. A pet duck! I want one!
Joy sighs. “Franchesca! Get back here before someone makes an omelet out of you. Seriously, Jacob, what were you thinking bringing her here? ”
“What?” he asks, all innocently. “Do you see those sweet eyes? I couldn’t leave her all alone in the house. You know she has separation anxiety.”