“Son of a bitch. Sasha?” He guesses.
“Miles isn’t taking it well at the moment. He doesn’t want to see Sophie right now, but I’m betting he’s going to send her a text or try to call her.”
“On it.” Roman agrees. “Thanks for the heads up.”
“I’ll be home soon. Just leaving the hospital.”
“Drive safely.”
It should be an easy request. Driving is muscle memory with only small bits of me needing to pay attention, but at the same time, I can’t quite stay focused on the road. Not when I think of Sophie, how upset she’s going to be.
I don’t know if she’s going to tell us that we’re all done. I don’t know if she’s going to panic and run. I don’t know if she’s going to fold. I don’t want her to. I want her to trust us, to let us make decisions together.
Italy proved how well we all work together, how good we are for one another, and all I can hope is that this test doesn’t break us. When I get home, I sit in the car for a long moment, looking at the house.
Bella made me feel handsome, made me feel wanted, but Sophia does so much more. She makes me feel understood, good enough, warm, and she deserves the same. I’ll defend her against her father and anyone else who comes at her.
Just like Roman, Nick, and Gunner will. As much as she belongs to us, we belong to her. I’m sure of it. I can’t imagine them feeling any differently than I do. Mornings aren’t mornings without Sophie humming in the kitchen. Work isn’t the same without her sweet reminders and random memes.
Hell, I can’t imagine a life where I don’t have her in my bed, curled up against me, at least once a week. Sighing, I go inside, ready to deal with the fallout – at least I tell myself I am. Roman sits at the kitchen table drumming his fingers on the wood just in front of Sophie’s phone.
I arch an eyebrow, and he nods. “Two already.”
Two texts. Fuck. “Do the others know?”
“Gunner’s not home yet. Nick knows. Apparently, Miles texted him. I’m sure Gunner will be home soon enough with his own story.” Roman nods.
“And Sophie?”
“She’ll be out of the shower in the next five minutes. We can’t hide this from her, Hold. She doesn’t hide things from us.”
“I know.” I sigh, then sit at the table as well.
The silence stretches as we ponder our own thoughts. Sophie comes downstairs, wrapped in only a towel, and smiles at both of us. She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip, then sits on my lap, gently pressing a kiss to my lips.
I try to return it without letting anything slip, but when she draws back, her brows furrow. “What’s wrong, Holden?”
I rub down her back. It would be so easy to distract her. To put this off, just a little bit more. I kiss across her throat, and her hands rub over my chest. The smell of her cherry blossom shampoo clings to her. I lick some beads of water off her shoulder, and she shivers.
“Bambina,” Roman says, much closer than he was. He pats my back, and I force myself to release Sophie. At least I got one more taste of her.
Her eyes flick between us, and then she goes pale. “Holden, tell me.”
“Your father knows,” I admit. “Sasha was there when I went to visit. She outed us entirely … all of us.”
“Oh god.” Sophie wraps her arms around her chest, keeping the towel in place. “Where’s my phone.”
“Let’s not look at that.” Roman puts it in his back pocket. “Give your dad some time to cool down, and then we’ll take this on.”
“Together.” I agree.
Sophie looks between us and chews her lip. “He’s mad?”
“Right now,” I whisper. “That’s not forever.”
“If you need time … we’ll give it to you.” Roman says as if I could possibly argue with him now.”
She swallows. “Thanks. I … I need to think a little.”
She kisses both our cheeks, then returns to her bedroom without looking back. Roman and I share a long look, and he shrugs. “We knew it was going to happen.”