Page 64 of Spark
Chris sighed. “That wassupposedto be the deal. But as soon as things got hot and heavy between us, my damned cat informed me that it wants Sophie as our mate.”
The golden bubble of happiness that had enclosed Matt since last night popped like a balloon.
“Are youserious?”he growled with incredulity and rising anger. “Or are you just messing with me because Sophie spent the night?”
Instead of the smug, “I know I’m riling you up,” expression that Chris normally wore when he was teasing Matt, his friend sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping.
“I’m sorry, Matt. I know I’ve been saying that a lot lately, and this is totally rotten timing, but it’s true. My cat really does want to court Sophie…and after spending some time thinking about it, I do, too.” He looked up at Matt. “I’ve fallen for her. All I do when she’s not around is think about her. It’s making me crazy, because I know how you feel about her…and hurting you is the last thing I want to do.”
Matt stared at him in horror. His senses informed him that Chris’s declaration of having fallen for Sophie, and his contrition about the conflict that it was going to cause with Matt were both completely genuine.
How the hell am I going to be able to compete against Chris, who’s apparently really good at sex, and definitely has more experience than I do?
Things had been going so well with his courtship, too.
Doubts began to creep in, like mice behind the baseboards. Matt couldn’t help remembering that last night, Sophie had had to show him what she liked. Sure, they’d both ended up satisfied and having a wonderful time exploring each other, but now he wasn’t sure whether his lack of skills and experience in that area would count against him.
“So, we’rebothcourting Sophie now?” Matt asked, hoping against hope that he had somehow misunderstood Chris’s intention.
Chris nodded.
Matt crossed his arms. “And how are we going to handle this?” he demanded.
Am I going to lose both of my friends?He didn’t want to think about that possibility. But could he and his bear really continue to be close to Sophie and Chris, if she picked Chris instead of him?
If by some miracle shedidchoose him for her mate, what would Chris do? Chris had always been like a brother to him. Losing him…losingeitherof them…would leave a deep, bleeding wound in Matt’s soul.
Chris shook his head. “That part’s up to Sophie, I think. I’m sorry, Matt. I really am.”
“We need to tell her,” Matt said, turning back to the counter. He reached mechanically for the next egg. “As soon as possible. She deserves to know that things have changed between all of us.”
Chapter Twenty
Grizzly Creek Ranch
Saturday, June 16
When Sophie got home after having breakfast with Matt, her mom and Athena were sitting at the dining table, finishing up their coffee and what looked like Mitya’s famous blueberry pancakes.
Mitya himself was nowhere to be seen, but Sophie heard the shower running in the master suite.
“Good morning, Ms. Kiddo. How’d your big date go?” Mom greeted her.
Sophie could tell that Mom was working really hard to keep things normal and casual.
“It was great. Things went really well.” Sophie’s face heated. “As if you couldn’t tell by the fact that it included dinnerandbreakfast!”
Mom laughed. “Thanks for sending that text, by the way. You know I would’ve been worried sick if it had gotten late and you still weren't home.” Then her expression grew thoughtful. “And were you able to talk things out with Chris? You were both so upset the other day, I was really worried about you guys.”
“Yeah, everything’s fine now.”
Better than fine, thought Sophie, and just like that, her face went hot again.
“I’m glad to hear it, and I’m glad that you finally gave Matt a chance.”
“What do you mean ‘finally?’” Sophie asked, wondering,Did everyone except me know that he was interested in dating me?
Mom laughed. “Everyone knows that you’ve been his sun and stars since you were kids. I’m glad you two finally went on a date.”
