Page 73 of Sugar Baby
“Of course,” she says and takes Carter’s hand, leading him away.
I watch Cain watching her leave, and it triggers something deep inside him, enough to bring tears to his eyes that he lets roll down his cheeks.
It hits me in the guts so badly that a soft moan escapes my lips.
I lunge forward, flinging my arms around him, trying to comfort him when I know it’s useless. Trent hesitates, but then he does the same.
I can’t help the tears that prick my eyes at the pain and sorrow that our flesh and blood has endured. I let them fall, and I don’t even care.
ChapterForty-Two
Carter
“This has all got me thinking,” Sophia says as we walk away from the triplets.
They have a lot to figure out amongst themselves, and I hope they do it for their own sake and Sophia’s as well.
“What’s that?”
She leads me in the direction of the lake. I think this is her preferred place on the grounds. That is confirmed when she says, “I love it here. It’s so peaceful.”
“Mm.”
We sit on the soft grass of the shore, looking out over the still, blue water mimicking the blue sky up above us, free from clouds. She shades her eyes, thoughtful about her next words. She knows what she wants to say but is mindful of how to ask. If I didn’t already know how sweet and caring she is, this would have shown me. I think I have an inkling of her question but will leave her to ask in her own time.
“I hate that Cain grew up the way he did. I feel like such a cow moaning about my life when he had it so much worse. Did you… what was it like for you growing up?”
“Fine.” I don’t know what else to say. It’s not something I talk about with anyone, mainly because there is no one to talk about it with.
“Fine? That usually means not fine,” she chides me gently.
“Or it means it was fine,” I point out.
She rolls her eyes. “Fine doesn’t make me know you any better.”
“Be more specific then.”
“Okay,” she says slowly. “Did you grow up in a nice home with loving parents? Do you have siblings? If so, are they male or female, alpha, beta, or omega? Whereabouts did you grow up? Was it in a pack or just with your parents?”
I chuckle as I take in her thorough inquisition about my childhood. “I did grow up in a nice home with loving parents. I don’t have any siblings, and it was in a remote part of Scotland that you have probably never heard of within a small pack, especially considering the size of your father’s.”
“Oh, lovely!” She exclaims. “I always wanted to go to Scotland. I’ve been all over Europe, but never there.”
“I’ll take you one day. You can meet my parents before you jump on that train and ask me.”
She giggles. “Well, it’s only fair.” She chews her bottom lip. “Do you think they’ll like me?”
I smile tenderly and stroke her face. “They will love you.”
“Do you?”
Narrowing my eyes, I play dumb. “Do I what?”
“Love me, and before you say, well, it depends, I want a yes or no answer.”
I press my lips together at her determination.
“Yes, I love you, Sophia Quinn. I wouldn’t want to mate with you if I didn’t.”
