Back to You (10 page)

He knew Sophie wanted him. That fact was clear – the way she looked at him, the way she responded to him. But he also wondered if she was only interested in a quick summer fling. Maybe she just wanted to have a little fun with him, and then she would be on her way back home when the summer was over. John knew he wasn’t the type of man Sophie usually hooked up with – plane piloting, jet-setting, filthy rich CEOs who played golf, drank pretentious wines and wore designer suits. He was sure Marcus had been a decent guy, but he knew his type. It was the type who went perfectly with Sophie’s type – like jelly and peanut butter. He and Sophie, on the other hand, were more like oil and vinegar.

And he knew if he got involved with her, she would break his heart all over again. He didn’t want to give her that power.

“What’s with you, Dad?” Paige asked, pulling him back to reality. “You’re completely out of it.”

He smiled – his daughter was certainly perceptive.

“I’m fine, Paige,” he told her, topping his taco, “…just a lot on my mind.”

“Thinking about Sophie?” she asked, a sweet smile on her face.

He laughed. “You are too smart for your own good,” he said, not really answering her question.

“Sophie said she’d have me over tomorrow to do our nails, and maybe a movie,” she told him between bites, her voice cheerful. “Can I go?”

He didn’t have a problem with it. After all, he wouldn’t be there.

“Actually I’ve got baseball tomorrow night. I was going to get Jessica to look after you.”

Paige wasn’t crazy about Jessica, the girl next door – it wasn’t that she wasn’t nice, it was just that she was only two years older than her. “I’d rather Sophie look after me,” she said sweetly, in that way that usually got her what she wanted. “Besides, you could save some money. You wouldn’t have to pay Sophie.”

He laughed. “See. I told you… you
are
too smart for your own good.”

It seemed this weekend was going to be all about Sophie, which wasn’t a horrible thing, but…

“You should take Jesse somewhere to do some boy stuff,” Paige suggested. Now she was getting way ahead of him.

“Well… I do have baseball.”

“He could come and watch,” she suggested cheerfully.

John thought about it for a second – it would be fun to spend some time with Jesse. He could come to the game, and they could go for wings after. But he’d definitely need to talk to Sophie about it.

As he considered calling her, part of him was eager to hear her voice, and part of him was just plain scared.

Chapter 10

SOPHIE couldn’t wait for Paige to arrive. She had the evening all planned out; mani-pedis, gourmet pizza, a movie and popcorn – a real girls’ night in. It had been ages since Sophie had had one – since college, in fact.

As she lined an array of nail polish bottles in varying hues on the coffee table, she wondered if Paige would enjoy the evening – Paige certainly was a bit of a tomboy. She hoped she would.

She studied the makeshift nail salon set up in the middle of her mother’s living room, making sure everything was perfect.

“Wow… Sophie, prepared as always, I see,” Gloria teased. “You’ve got quite a set-up there.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to hang around, Mom?”

“And miss Bingo?” she said with a look of horror. “To even suggest it…”

Sophie laughed. “I’m sorry, Mom. You have fun.”

Just as Gloria was stepping out, she ran into John and Paige at the door.

“Hello, you two,” Gloria said, greeting them with hugs. “All ready to get your nails done, Paige?”

“Yes, it’ll be fun,” Paige replied, twirling a strand of her golden hair.

“How about you, handsome?” Gloria asked cheekily, turning to John. “Getting your nails done too?”

He laughed. “She’s not getting anywhere near me,” he told Gloria. “Jesse and I are actually going to have a guys’ night.”

“You’re not taking my grandson to unsavory places, I hope.”

John laughed again. “Uh… no… just a baseball game and for some wings after.”

“Mother…” Sophie chimed in “Leave the poor guy alone.”

“Hey, Snow,” he said softly, looking at her for a few seconds – it was always that second or third second that did things to her. “Paige is really excited about tonight.”

“Me too,” Sophie said cheerfully. “Stay for a bit.”

She invited them into the living room, and Paige wasted no time in exploring the contents of the mani-pedi extravaganza Sophie had set up.

“That is a
lot
of nail polish,” John pointed out, smiling in Sophie’s direction – that irresistible smile of his. “You’ve got about four different pinks there.”

“But they’re all different,” Sophie said a little impatiently. She never understood why men just didn’t get it. “Different outfits require different pinks,” she explained. “See this one,” she said, pointing to one of the bottles, “… is a soft elegant pink for a nice sophisticated outfit. And this one’s a bright fuchsia for the wild party outfit.”

He was still smiling at her in that way of his – laughing at her silently. “And you wear that one a lot?” he asked. “…the wild pink?”

Sophie sighed. “Never,” she admitted, looking slightly defeated. “I never go out.”

He smiled. “Well,” he said. “I’ll just have to take you out some time so you can wear the hell out of that.”

She laughed.

“No seriously, it’s a promise.”

She smiled at him – she liked the idea of him taking her out. “It’s a date, then,” she said, fiddling with the bottles of polish, not quite able to look at him. It didn’t take much to fluster her when it came to John.

Jesse finally made an appearance. “Hey, John. How’s it going?”

“Good. Looking forward to it,” John said, smiling broadly. “Are you ready to go?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“You get him back at a reasonable hour,” Sophie joked.

“I will. I’ll take good care of him,” John told her as they left. “You girls have fun.”

“You boys have fun too,” Sophie called out, but they were already gone.

Paige had selected the metallic sky blue, and as Sophie meticulously applied the polish on her fingernails, she thought the color looked really pretty on her; it matched the color of her eyes – the same steely blue as John’s.  Every time she looked at Paige, she could see John – the resemblance was so remarkable. People had said the same about her and Jesse but she didn’t fully agree. Although Jesse inherited her coloring, he had his father’s features. When she looked at her son, she was often reminded of his father and she didn’t mind that at all – a little part of him was with them still.

“So you and my dad have been friends, like, forever, right?!” Paige asked, sitting comfortably on the sofa.

Sophie smiled. Yes, it sure seemed that way. “Pretty much since we were small kids,” she explained. “But we grew apart when I went to university.”

“But you’re friends again now. That’s what counts.”

Sophie, smiled again, focused on the last nail on the pinkie finger. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Are you two more than friends?” Paige asked without hesitation. That question caught Sophie by surprise. She wasn’t sure how to answer it. She laughed nervously, plopping the wand back in the polish bottle. “Wow, you really get straight to the point, don’t you?”

“I like to be direct,” Paige said simply, blowing on her fingers. “It looks good. Nice job.”

“Thanks, your hands look amazing… very hip,” Sophie said, trying to change the subject.

But Paige would not be deterred so easily. “Well, are you more than friends are not?” she asked, “…because it’s okay if you are. My dad likes you. And I like you too.”

“Well,” Sophie said, a little flustered, “thank you.”

“Have you kissed him?” Paige asked cheerfully.

It was kind of a strange feeling having a conversation with an eleven year old girl – lots of questions, but no waiting for answers. Yes… she had kissed him, or rather he had kissed her. And she desperately wanted to do it again, but she wasn’t going to tell Paige that.

“Your dad and I,” she began, “we like each other a lot.”

“Well, duh,” Paige said, rolling her eyes. It was inevitable – the good old tween eye roll. “I know you like each other. He talks about you all the time.”

Sophie liked hearing that.

“What I don’t understand is why you’re not boyfriend and girlfriend,” Paige explained, in all seriousness.

The kid made a good point. But the answer was so very complicated, it could fill a textbook. “Are you ready to get your toes done?” Sophie asked, trying to distract her.

“Yep, can I watch TV while you do my toes?”

Sophie might have been tempted to say no, but TV would most likely protect her from this very nerve-wracking line of questioning. “Heck, yes.”

Sophie and Paige had a wonderful time; painting their nails, eating pizza on the sofa, watching a modern day version of
Cinderella
, and eating cookies, and cheese flavored popcorn. Sophie hadn’t binged like that since college – it felt so good to indulge.

Jesse and John came back at around nine-thirty. And from the looks of it, Jesse had had a glass of cola or two – he was practically jumping off the walls.

“Let me guess,” Sophie said. “Jesse had a Coke with his wings?”

“He had two,” John laughed. “He needed them to wash them down. That kid can really pack them in.”

“I know,” Sophie said, smiling at her son.

“He likes them spicy too.”

She knew that as well. Jesse had a taste for hot sauce, Indian food and anything spicy.

“You two had fun?” she asked.

“John is a really good baseball player,” Jesse told her

John laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t quite say that. We’re just a bunch of old geezers having fun.”

Sophie smiled. “Don’t say that.” He certainly didn’t seem like an old geezer to her.

“How ‘bout you two?” John asked. “You had fun?”

“So much fun,” Paige squealed, jumping off the couch. “Look at my nails, daddy,” she said, showing him Sophie’s meticulous work.

“Gorgeous,” he said, looking up at Sophie. “Nice job.”

“A hidden talent,” Sophie said shyly.

“You seem to have a lot of those,” John pointed out without elaborating.

She cocked an eyebrow in his direction.

“…cooking, decorating, writing, toe nail painting,” he clarified. “You’re a multi-talented woman.”

She smiled. “Thank you.” She had never thought of herself as multi-talented before.

“Okay, Paige,” he said to his daughter, his eyes still fixed on Sophie. “Get your stuff, sweetie. It’s getting late.”

As Paige ran outside, John lingered behind for a few seconds.

“Oh… and I almost forgot one,” he whispered in Sophie’s ear with a coy smile. “You’re a hell of a kisser too.”

And with that, she watched him go, wishing he could stay.

***

The crew was doing great progress on the house; the roof, landscaping, flooring and kitchen were all done.

They were just starting on the upstairs bath when Sophie walked in, naked under her robe.

To her surprise, Jimmy, Craig and John all greeted her with huge smiles.

“Oh… I didn’t know you guys were working on the bathroom,” she said self-consciously, hugging herself tightly – making sure they couldn’t see a thing. “I was going to take a shower.”

“Well, the shower’s out of commission,” Craig told her, staring down at her red-toed feet.

“I told your mother all about it,” John said. “I told her to tell you.”

She smiled. “Well, as you know, my mother can be pretty flaky sometimes.”

They both smiled.

“You can use the half-bath downstairs while we finish up,” John suggested, “except we might turn off the water later,” he was quick to add.

She sighed at his words. The half-bath didn’t have a shower, or a bath. This renovation was turning out to be a real pain in the rear. Jesse would probably not mind not being able to wash himself for two days, but Sophie was not of the same mind – the thought horrified her.

“Uh… can you not hire extra guys and get it done in half the time?” she asked, anxious.

John smiled. “Unfortunately, that’s not really how it works, Snow,” he explained. “Can you survive two days without a shower?”

“No,” she said simply. “I can’t.”

He looked at her, a hint of a smile on his face.

“Don’t you know me?” she asked, giving him a knowing look.

He smiled from ear to ear. “You can use my bathroom, then.”

“I – I guess…” she stammered. “Are you sure it’s not a bother?”

“Oh it’s not a bother at all,” he said with a hint of a smile. Although he was trying to hide his expression, Jimmy and Craig were not as successful as John – wide grins plastered across their faces.

“Don’t you guys have things to do?” John asked, hinting for the two of them to leave them alone.

The guys smiled at him – they weren’t stupid – they understood.

Just as Craig and Jimmy were leaving, Jimmy asked, “Hey boss, did you ask her yet?”

“Ask me what?” Sophie said, curious.

“Oh,” John said, hesitating. “We were just talking about going to ‘Old Whisky Jake’s’ next Friday. You remember that place?”

She did. She’d been there a few times back in the day.

“Sounds fun,” she said, trying to hide her excitement. She hadn’t been out in ages.

“And you did promise to take me out,” she pointed out. “Remember, John?”

He smiled. “I do. You make sure you wear that wild pink polish.”

Sophie smiled – she couldn’t believe how excited she was at the idea of going out with John.

Craig and Jimmy looked at each other with strange expressions.

“Were you guys not leaving?” John asked them, mild irritation evident on his face.

“Yes boss, we’re gone,” Craig quickly obliged, waving goodbye to Sophie who was still clutching her robe tightly.

“That should be fun,” Sophie said quietly, nervous again to be alone with John, naked under her robe.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

She was too. “I guess a shower’s out of the question right now.”

“You guess right,” he said, eyeing her from head to toe – his intense stare daring her to do something foolish.

She almost wanted to slip off her robe right then and there – just to see his reaction. She was aroused by her train of thought, and had to redirect it – fast. “Are you sure it’s not a problem, using your bathroom?”

“Seriously, it’s not a big deal,” he insisted.

“I was just wondering because of…” she hesitated, “of our… situation.”

“What situation?” he teased, probably knowing very well what she was alluding to – the simple fact that they could barely keep their hands off each other.

She worried that luxuriating in the nude in his home might not be the most well-advised plan. But on the other hand, she thought, a girl has to wash herself.

“Come over tonight, after supper,” he told her.

The thought excited her more than she could have imagined. Not only would she get a nice shower, but she would get to see John’s home.

She couldn’t wait.