Her face softens and she kisses me softly. “You’re a good husband.”
“And you’re a good wife. Let's see how well you can order for your other husbands.” I wink.
“Roman might be testy when we get back. He only got a kiss on the cheek before I dashed out,” Sophie admits. “I felt so bad leaving you here on your own, but I want to pay for things and if I’m not clever about it, you guys will be able to distract me.”
I chuckle.
We order food to go and the waitress happily goes to get it. Sophie takes a deep breath of the air. “The sky is so blue here.” She smiles brightly.
“Is it just like you imagined it would be? As beautiful and magical?”
“Well, there is a severe lack of castles and beasts filling them. And not a single plate or fork has sung to me as of yet,” She teases. “but having all four of you with me makes anywhere perfect.”
I squeeze her hand and take a deep breath. I tell her about how I was afraid to travel before the army. I could handle boot camp. I could handle sergeants and generals yelling at me. I wasn’t afraid of the cleaning inspections or the weaponry. I was afraid of flying. I was afraid of making some kind of mistake in a country where I didn’t know the language.
Sophie asks questions, but never judges. She tells me how strong I am for overcoming those fears and tells me we don’t have to travel by plane if I don’t want to. We go back and forth, talking about ways we’ve changed since high school until our food arrives.
“I’m serious. I never would have talked to you guys if we were in high school at the same time, no matter how hot you all were,” She continues. “I was so dedicated to getting to college. My mom kept telling me how unreliable men were, how there would always be time for romance later and that it was more important for me to avoid distraction and get myself into college so I could support myself and neverneeda man.”
I nod.
Sophie bumps my hip. “Turns out she was right. I needed to score a job with my dad to get the men of my dreams and fix my mom’s broken marriage all in one go.”
“Really? So no exes of yours are going to turn up?”
She blushes and bites her bottom lip. “Honestly, I didn’tdothe breaking up.”
That shocks me.
“I always had one foot out the door. None of my relationships lasted longer than a month or two because they’d either get frustrated that I was so independent – not lying, that was a quote – or they’d say I had one foot out the door, that I couldn’t commit, that I wasn’t willing to make time for them, that I put school first,” She lists before shaking her head. “I was determined and ambitious.”
“You still are.”
“I’ve thought about quitting. I don’t think that qualifies as ambitious.”
“You have four husbands, planned a wedding – no matter how much help you got – in six weeks, and are thinking of quitting so you can do even more at home. Not just for us. I know that, baby,” I assure her. “No one would dare call you lazy or complacent. You have so much drive and if those guys couldn’t keep up or rise to the occasion, that’s on them.”
She hugs me all the way to the elevator. Then she stands on her toes. “You shouldn’t make plans for tonight.”
“Why?” I look at her seriously.
“Because I’m already struggling to leave your pants on right here in public after that statement.”
I chuckle. “You make me a better person, Sophie. You encourage me, make things seem possible, and support me. I’m lucky that you love me.”
She groans and attacks before we can get in the door. I drop the boxes of food to the floor as she kisses me hungrily, tugging at my shirt, pawing at me like I did that first time I tasted her. I cup her face between my hands and think of how far we’ve come. I think of all the nightmare-free nights, the acceptance I feel, how confident I am now, and how Sophie has been there every step of the way, loving me through each part of my growth.
I slip my hand under her shirt, eager to show her how much she means to me, how much she consumes me. I groan and pull her tighter so she can feel how hard she has me. Maybe she can feel my heart threatening to leap out of my chest too.
“Well, this is quite a delivery.” Gunner’s voice drags us apart. He picks up the bag with all the food. “Should I leave you two alone to fuck in the hallway with an audience?” He grins.
Sophie tucks her hair behind her ear. Gunner brings the food in, but I catch Sophie’s hand before she can follow. “So we’re okay, entirely?”
She kisses me again. “We’re so much better than okay. I love you.”
I’m quickly becoming addicted to those three words on her tongue.
SOPHIE