Page 71 of Between Regrets and Promises

“Starting to?” I chuckle. “I’m surprised there isn’t a line down the block to get to him.”

“According to him, there’s a girl named Maddie who’s been quite relentless.”

I smirk, nodding. “Yeah, that’s Sophie’s little sister. She’s a handful.”

“How young are we talking? Legal, I hope?”

“Like Liam would ever touch someone underage? She’s twenty, but she’s innocent, though she doesn’t always act like it. She enjoys tormenting him as much as she can.”

She nods, smirking. “Good. He needs to be kept on his toes.”

“No shit.” I grab the door handle and step out of her car. “Well, come on.”

Serena follows me into the house, cackling. “Wow, love what you guys have done with the place,” she teases. It’s been a year since she’s been inside, but it hasn’t changed a damn bit.

It’s only after nine a.m., and I’m surprised to see Sophie isn’t on the couch. “Soph?” I call out as I walk through the house.

“Mason?” she shouts, rushing out of the kitchen and charging right at me. “Oh my God, you aren’t in jail!” She wraps her arms around me and squeezes hard.

I hold her to my chest, inhaling the top of her head that smells like sweet strawberries. Chuckling, I shake my head. “Nope.”

Sophie pulls back, looking into my eyes. “What happened? How’d it go?”

Before I can respond, she blinks and notices Serena behind me. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize you had company.”

Serena steps closer and smiles. “I’m Serena, his lawyer. It’s very nice to meet you.” She holds out her hand, and Sophie’s eyes light up.

“Wow, you’re very pretty.” Sophie smacks a hand over her mouth as she uses her other to shake Serena’s. “Sorry, that was a weird thing to say.”

“Definitely not the worst thing to hear on a Monday morning,” Serena teases. “Thank you.” They drop hands. “How are you doing, by the way?”

“I’ve been better, but I literally owe my life to Mason, so I’m damn grateful too.” Sophie looks as if I hung the moon, and by the smirk on Serena’s face, she sees it too.

“Well, you’ll be glad to know Mason’s case got dismissed, and he’s a free man,” Serena explains. “There was video evidence plus the witness statements. Yours helped too, Sophie. Thanks for being so honest.”

Sophie lunges for me again, and this time, I don’t care that Serena is watching and will give me shit for it. Once we pull back, I wipe away the tears on her cheeks.

“I was so nervous you were gonna get locked up or something. All these crazy scenarios were running through my mind, and I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if you were punished for something that was my fault.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I remind her. “But you don’t have to worry. Things will eventually go back to normal.”

“What do you mean?” she asks, studying my features. “Did something else happen?”

“I have to take a leave from work.” I shrug. “My dad thinks the press is gonna be on his ass, which means I need to lay low for a while.”

“Oh, Mason. I’m sorry.”

Before I can respond, Serena chimes in. “Perhaps he can use his time off to liven up the place.” She winks. “Help him redecorate or something.”

“Hey, it’s my bachelor pad,” I defend.

“Smells like one too,” she retorts.

Sophie giggles, and after a moment, I walk Serena out of the living room and tell her I’ll be in touch. She gives me shit but understands why I’m smitten with Sophie. She’s ragging me so hard, I nearly kick her ass out the door. But she laughs all the way to her car.

Once I shut the door, I lean against it and sigh. It’s already been a hectic day, and it’s far from over.

“Soph,” I say after we eat breakfast and finish off a pot of coffee.

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