Page 103 of Between Regrets and Promises

Then I remembered the incident was only a month ago, and it was too soon. Even though I’ve been burying my feelings for the past three years, I forced a smile and told myself it was to calm her down. Only half a lie.

But fuck it. She was never Weston’s. Won’t ever be Caleb’s.

Sophie ismine.

“Are you sure about this?” I ask, keeping focused on her. “Because if I kiss you again, I won’t have enough strength to walk away from you this time.”

When I see the tears in her eyes, I’m taken aback and worried I said something wrong. Then she smiles wide and nods frantically. “If you have feelings for me the way I have feelings for you, then please tell me. Tell me so I can stop second-guessing.” Her tone is pleading, and I hate to think I’ve caused her any pain in thinking her feelings were one-sided.

I step closer, pressing my forehead to hers as I cup her soft cheeks. Our breathing is the only sound in the room, except maybe the beats of our pounding hearts.

“I’ve felt something since the moment I met you. I acted on them, foolishly thinking I’d be able to walk away, but instead, I’ve been lying to myself. I knew being friends with you would be next to impossible, which is why I pushed you away the majority of the time. I didn’t want to hurt you, the pain I felt was my own doing, and I suffered knowing you didn’t deserve the burden of my past. When we met, it’d only been a couple of years since Emma’s death, and I was still dealing with it, but I knew then you weren’t just another girl. You made me think I could have happiness again,deservedhappiness again. But then the realization hit that you were Lennon’s sister, and Brandon was my best friend, and I convinced myself that crossing that line would only end badly. I only ever wanted you to be happy, which is why I tried to walk away. You deserved someone who could give you so much more than what I could at the time. Someonewho was emotionally available to love you the way you should be loved.”

“I wish you would’ve given me the chance to show you that you were enough,areenough, have always been enough for me.” She pushes against my chest slightly so our eyes lock. “You stood up for me in a way that nearly got you killed. I can’t imagine a better man for me.”

Her chest rises and falls as her words repeat in my mind. So goddamn beautiful. Inside and out.

“Kiss me, Mason.”

Sophie’s demand has me pressing our lips together in a white-hot kiss. My hands greedily explore her body as she moans into my mouth, our tongues twisting together in a dance of want and desire. My fingers find the curve of her breast as I growl against her lips, remembering every touch I felt from the very first time I tasted her. Everything about her feels perfect against me, and when her hand sneaks under my shirt, trying to lift it, I pull away and push her to arm’s length.

“Soph, wait…”

She meets my eyes, her mouth agape.

“I want to do this right with you. No frantic quickies on a bathroom sink,” I tell her.

“Well, that made it quite memorable for me, I must say,” she admits with a light chuckle as she smooths down her hair. “But you’re right. We should take this slow. Not jump into bed together. No sex. For a while. Like a long time. A year.”

My eyes widen. “Okay, I didn’t say that.”

Sophie rewards me with one of her sweet laughs, and her head falling back before meeting my gaze again. “I’m messing with you. But I like the idea of not rushing. We did things backward, and I want us to give this a real shot. If that’s what you were thinking…”

I close the gap between us, cupping her jaw as I slowly bring our lips together. “Dear God, please give me the restraint.”

She chuckles. “You know my father is a pastor, right? You might not want to be praying to God about having the willpower not to sleep with me.”

“Jesus Christ,” I mutter. “Go to bed, woman. Before I change my mind entirely.” I press a kiss to her forehead.

Sophie blushes, then laughs as she walks around me while I hold in a groan. Fuck, my dick is hard, and if it could, I’m sure it’d be cursing too.

“Good night,” she singsongs, looking over her shoulder as she licks her lips.

I smirk, knowing damn well she felt how aroused I was. Catching her eyes on my groin, I purposely adjust myself while she watches. “Good night, sweet Sophie.”

The day after Sophie’s dinner party, I kissed her good morning for the first time. It was Sunday, and it was just us the whole day. At first, I worried things would be weird or awkward, but nothing is with her. We watched Liam’s show and then laughed when we knew he’d be pissed we were continuing it without him. I made coffee and added in her creamer like always. Later in the afternoon, she snuggled up on the couch and read her book while I rubbed her feet. Then that evening, she left for a grieving circle meeting, saying that it was her lastone. She was ready to put the past behind her, and I wanted to support her in whatever decision she made.

That same morning, Liam left for a four-day trip, and I hadn’t bothered to tell him about Sophie’s and my newfound relationship. I hadn’t mentioned it to Hunter either, but he knew within a couple of days thanks to Sophie telling her sisters and of course, Lennon telling him. Not that I care, though. I’m ready to let the world know because after confessing my feelings to her and sharing my past, I’ve realized life is too short not to tell the important people in your life how much you care about them.

We spent the weekend and most of the week alone, meeting up for breakfast and coffee before work, then hunkering down together in the evenings. It’s complete bliss, being in our own little world. It hardly feels real because Sophie was always within my reach when we’d watch Netflix and talk about books, but she was never mine to touch.

There were moments when I held back even when the timing felt right, but I knew having secrets and not giving her my whole self wouldn’t be fair. I also tried to be considerate of her just being in a relationship, albeit a bad one, so I didn’t know if she’d want to date again. It wasn’t until she asked me to admit my true feelings that everything changed.

And every day I’m so damn thankful she did. It lit something inside me that made me realize I didn’t want to go back to only being friends with Sophie. I’ve waited long enough.

“Holy fucking shit!”

Sophie nearly jumps out of her skin when we hear Liam’s booming voice from behind us. I’m leaning against the kitchen counter with my arms wrapped tightly around her while she stands between my legs. I had my face in her neck, kissing the soft spot below her ear when his loud ass came barreling in.

---