“Sure do,” he responded.
“Ever hire a woman?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
“Want to?” Soph got a kick out of their sparring. This was what she was missing all her life.
“Depends,” he told her.
“On what?” Elianna’s question was skeptical.
“How good you are under the hood.”
The expression that lit up her sister’s face couldn’t be described as anything other than predatory. “The best.”
“Come by tomorrow morning, and we’ll see about that.”
“Seriously?” The woman seemed to be genuinely shocked he would even give her a chance.
“Be there by nine or don’t bother showing up at all,” he told her firmly.
“Deal!”
“Now, are we done? I’d like to have my woman alone for a while.” He didn’t even pretend to hide his meaning, which flushed her cheeks fire engine red.
“Riiight,” she winked at them. “Lunch tomorrow, Sophie girl?” Her smile was infectious.
“I’d really like that.”
“See you guys tomorrow!” She waved, climbing into her little jeep and speeding out of the parking lot.
Watching as her sister cruised away, she told Nox, “I really like her.”
“I’m glad, baby,” he murmured kissing her thigh, making her giggle when his light beard tickled her skin.
“Now, will you take me home, Nox?” Her voice was husky as she asked him.
He helped her off the top of the car and into her seat before rounding the hood, and they were on the road again. With the windows down and the wind in her hair, Sophia’s mind cleared of all the bad in her world.
The betrayals.
The lies.
The hurt.
Replaced by the love she felt for Nox and his affections for her which he gave so freely in return.
Nox watched Soph covertly out of his peripheral vision as he drove. She seemed more at ease with herself than she ordinarily was. He’d been worried when he told her about everything the week before.
Her sister.
Rebecca being arrested.
He had been concerned she wouldn’t be able to handle it. That she would break down. He was incredibly glad she proved him wrong. He was proud of her. In the few months they’d been together, she’d grown from this sweet, shy girl into a woman ready to take on the world.
They stopped on the way home for dinner, grabbing burgers and fries from the BBQ place by their house. Everything was quiet for once, and Braxton no longer followed them everywhere they went. Levi had stopped showing up with bruises all over his face, or he was getting better at hiding them. He still couldn’t get his little brother to talk, and it was making him crazy.
Taking everything inside, they decided to sit in the living room. He turned the TV on to some funny rom-com that had Soph giggling almost immediately while they ate. If he did one good thing in his life, it would be to keep the magnificent smile on her face till the day they died.