HOLDEN
After incredible sex with Sophie … again, I pour some wine, and Sophie gets up from the floor wearing Nick’s shirt with only two buttons done. She takes one of the glasses and kisses me hungrily.
“Didn’t get enough?”
“Of you all?” She grins. “Never.”
I’ll never get tired of living with her, and based on Gunner and Roman lounging in the living room, both smoking cigars and Nick getting the fastest shower ever, I know I’m not alone in that boat.
She fits here so perfectly, with all of us. She snuggles against my chest. “I’ll miss you at the office tomorrow.”
“You’ll get plenty of me when you come home … maybe even a one on one date.” I offer.
She beams. “I love it, and I can’t wait.”
I kiss her softly before Nick wraps himself around her, pushing her hair to the side. He kisses her cheek, and we end up ordering dinner.
The next day is hell. Waiting for Sophie to get home so I can take her out makes the day feel twice as long, especially when I can’t spend it with her, make jokes about random things we do. When I hear her finally get home, I wrap up another reconciliation of our books and head out to greet her.
She flops onto the couch, huffs, and lets her head drop back. A hard day. I know just how to fix that. I pour a little wine and bring it over to Sophie, sliding it into her hand. She tightens her hold on it, but when she lifts her head, I rub her shoulders and neck.
Sophie moans and sighs, leaning into my touch as her body relaxes. She sighs after a little and smiles up at me. I brush my fingers over her face, cupping her jaw. She smiles, and her eyes soften.
“Thank you, Holden.”
I kiss her forehead and smile. “Want to go to one of the street markets, check out the stalls, maybe find something to eat.”
“That sounds nice.” She nods.
“We can see some sights, maybe find a fountain to dance in.”
“Just like Friends?” She giggles. “For a long time, that was the only way I knew anything about New York.”
After a few more minutes, we get ready, then go to the streets. The crowd still muddles my head, but Sophie’s arm in mine is a gift. We find a few stalls, and Sophie gets a cute, thin scarf and has me try on sunglasses despite the fact it’s late at night. We get some fresh foods and then coasters that are wild mixes of color swirling together.
We laugh and talk about each other as we walk until we end up at a fountain. Sophie plays with her hair and looks around before turning and putting her feet in the water. I sit, facing the right way, my arm around her belly to keep her from actually jumping in.
We don’t need the police here.
“We should throw pennies in,” I murmur before kissing her temple.
“Why?” She leans against me, resting her temple against my shoulder. “I have everything I could possibly want and more than I ever thought I’d get.”
Warmth spreads through my chest until I can’t quite wipe the smile off my face. I kiss the side of her head. She sighs. “It’s beautiful here. The moonlight. The water. The lights. The market. It’s all great, Hold. Thank you.”
“You’ve been stressed lately,” I murmur.
“The wedding I guess and I’m worried about you guys working so much. Bella called me today to see what dress I’d be wearing, then, when I showed her, she gave me a list of things wrong with it, and so I have to get a new dress.”
“Well, you should have told me so we could do that.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I’ll take care of it.”
“We’re all willing to help.”
“I know.” She rubs my chest. “But I’d rather spend quality time with you guys … outside of changing rooms.”
I chuckle. We end up at a shawarma truck, and Sophie struggles eating it, but her eyes sparkle, and she laughs despite making a mess. I wipe her face then pull her close to lick the sauce off her lip.