Page 176 of Between Regrets and Promises

Unspoken words linger between us, but my thoughts are interrupted by Liam climbing into the truck.

“Did you kiss her good night?” Mason quips.

“Shut the hell up and take me home,” Liam snaps, and it makes me wonder if Maddie’s now playing hard to get. I think she might actually have him where she wants him.

CHAPTER FORTY

MASON

The weekend comesand goes and so does Monday. When I drive home from work, my nerves get the best of me because tonight I’m willingly taking Sophie over to my aunt Sylvia’s house. She’s my dad’s sister, has zero filter, and can be obnoxious at times, but I love her, and she typically means well. Regardless, she’s going to spill all my business on her expensive floor, and Sophie will know everything about me by the time we leave, but I want that. I want her to know everything about me, and Aunt Sylvia doesn’t forget and won’t leave any stone unturned. She has the memory of an elephant, hence her bothering me about this damn dinner for the past few months. The unpredictability of it all is what makes me the most nervous.

When I walk inside the house, Sophie’s sitting on the couch wearing black jeans, boots, and a nice sweater. Though it’s only early October and the temperature hasn’t dropped significantly since summer, she’s been dressing in more fall outfits, which I love on her. As soon as she sees me, she stands with a grin. “I’m ready.”

“You look great,” I admire. I empty my pockets, placing my keys and phone on the coffee table. “I’m gonna change into some jeans, and then we can go.”

She gives me a nod and sits back down. I climb the stairs two at a time and quickly change.

When I come back downstairs, I shoot Sophie a smile and notice her mood’s dramatically changed. “Everything okay?”

She shrugs and hands me my phone. I look down and see a text message from Serena. I open it and read what she sent. Considering I have preview set up, I know Sophie saw it.

Serena

How are you and your girlfriend?

Without responding, I lock my phone and shove it into my pocket. That’s one text message I won’t be replying to, not now and not ever. While Serena means well, my relationship with Sophie needs to stay private. It’s something she and I share while we try to figure everything out. I can tell the text bothers Sophie, which concerns me since I’ve already explained our friendship several times.

“You have nothing to worry about,” I remind her as she stands and releases a sharp breath.

“I know.” She forces a smile, and all I want to do is change the subject, but luckily, Liam does it for me. He bursts through the door sweaty as hell from working out.

“Where’re you two going?” he asks, then takes off his shirt and wipes his forehead with it.

“Dinner with Aunt Sylvia.”

He snorts and lifts his eyebrows at Sophie. “Have fun. She’s nuts.”

“Shut the hell up,” I say.

“Hey, the fruit doesn’t fall too far from the family tree.” He chuckles as he jumps up the stairs.

“Don’t get me started!” I warn, then glance at Sophie. “Come on.”

She lets a real smile escape, which gives me hope that everything is going to be fine.

We drive across town, and Sophie tells me about her rehearsal today, and I’m so damn thrilled things are finally going better for her. It’s been a few weeks since she returned, and at first, it was rough, but she’s seemed to have worked through a lot of her emotional issues.

Though my aunt lives nearly thirty minutes away, it feels like I only spent five minutes with Sophie since we chatted the whole time. That’s one thing I love about her—time seems to fly by when she’s near. So many times I wanted to interlock my fingers with hers, but ever since she took my hand at the recital, I’ve been trying not to push my luck. We seem to finally be heading in the right direction, and I don’t want to jinx it. Each time we’ve made progress in the past, something happens, and she pushes me away. I want to avoid that this time.

We pull into the gated community where my aunt lives and park in her driveway. Sophie’s eyes go wide. “This house is gigantic.”

“Yeah, it is. She’s my father’s sister, remember? They’re all about appearances.” Sophie sucks in a deep breath, and I shoot her a wink. “She’s harmless, though.”

We get out of the truck, and I lead her up the sidewalk with my hand on her back. I look at the perfectly trimmed bushes, and before we make it to the door, it’s swinging open. Aunt Sylvia greets us with a charming smile, not a hair out of place as she waves her hand for us to come inside.

“I’ve been expecting you two lovebirds,” she singsongs, pulling me and then Sophie into a hug. Sophie looks around inawe at the high vaulted ceilings, chandeliers, and ridiculously expensive sculptures in the foyer. The marble floors are so shiny, I can see my reflection in them. Numerous political parties have been held here over the years, and I’m sure many more will be too. We enter the kitchen, and Sylvia has cooked enough food for a dozen people.

“Expecting a small army?” I ask, walking over to the counter where the gigantic meatballs, noodles, sauce, and homemade garlic bread are laid out.

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