Back to You (3 page)

“Thanks, Mom,” Sophie smiled, opening the wrapper. “This is the perfect day for it. It’s so hot in here.”

And just as Sophie was enjoying her first lick, she heard a short playful knock at the solarium door.

“Come in,” Gloria called out, trying to set the box back to its rightful place in the packed freezer, but the flimsy cardboard box just wasn’t cooperating.

John slowly made his way through the solarium to the kitchen, a timid smile on his face.

And speaking of… hot.

All of a sudden, the place felt even stuffier. And Sophie had the urge to run to the ocean. She hadn’t planned to stare, but stare she did. The first thing she noticed was the messy hair and the scruff.

He smiled at her as he neared the table. “Hi Snow…” he said softly, a hint of a smile.

And then, she noticed the steely grayish-blue eyes. They were the same. And that slightly off-kilter smile – that was the same too, but she hadn’t remembered it being so sexy. And then she noticed the sexy worn plaid shirt, stretched by the lean muscles of his arms. Those were new – not the arms – the muscles. 

Damn.

“Um…,” she found herself at a loss for words. She was completely speechless, mouth opened, tongue hanging off her banana Popsicle. In fact, she was shocked her Popsicle didn’t melt right off its stick, right there, on the spot.

Chapter 4

JOHN smiled at both Sophie and Jesse. “Long time no see.”

“Uh-huh… yes… yes it has,” she agreed, all the while, wondering why she was behaving so strangely – not seemingly able to put a coherent sentence together. She could think of nothing else to say. She was frozen – from shock possibly.

It wasn’t just that he was gorgeous; it was just the familiarity of his face, which had instantly brought on so many memories. They were all fighting each other in her mind, and there was simply no additional space for something as simple as conversation. She was utterly useless.

Dreadful silence filled the yellow room. She was sure she was going to hyperventilate. She was certain he could tell – he was still smiling at her – a playful smile.

“Sit down, John,” offered Gloria with a wide smile. Oh… thank goodness someone had finally saved the day, Sophie thought, catching her breath.

“This is Sophie’s son, Jesse,” Gloria told John as he took a seat.

“Nice to meet you,” John offered with a smile and a stretched hand.

“Nice to meet you too, Sir,” said Jesse, the ever so polite young boy, shaking his hand.

“You look a lot like your Mom,” John observed, shooting a quick glance at Sophie who found herself blushing.

What was he doing to her? This was ridiculous. Yes, it was ridiculous, yet she couldn’t look away. She wanted to take in all the details of him – his beautiful eyes, the angle of his jaw, even the shape of his hands.

“Yes… lucky me,” Jesse said sarcastically. “The vampire look is really in these days,” he joked, referring to his alabaster skin and jet-black hair.

“I like it,” John said with a smile, shooting another glance at Sophie. Oh no… this isn’t happening, she thought, trying not to look at him. She looked at her mother instead, who wore a mischievous grin on her face, clearly enjoying every second of this painful, awkward moment.

“Maybe you can work on your tan this summer,” John suggested. “They’re saying it’s going to be a hot one.” 

“That should be interesting,” Gloria chimed in. “We’ll probably be too busy to enjoy it. And you’ll be working on my house, poor you.”

“Well, my guys will be working on it,” he clarified. “They’re the ones you should feel sorry for,” he added. “Make sure you give them lots of cold drinks.”

“Of course,” Gloria agreed, all smiles and gushing.

“It’s too bad we don’t live right on the beach like you, John,” Sophie said, finally summing up the courage to speak. “That cool breeze coming off the ocean is amazing in the summer,” she added, remembering the gorgeous property he grew up on.

“Wow, you have your own beach?” Jesse asked. “Maybe we should hang at your place.”

“Please do,” John urged with a wicked smile, not really looking at him, but at Sophie who was practically melting in her seat. “Anytime… you’re welcome,” he added, not taking his eyes off her.

“Uh…” Sophie shifted in her seat.

A smile slowly stretched across his face. Yep, it was the same smile she remembered, yet different – sexy.

“Your popsicle’s melting,” John pointed out.

She looked down and saw the sticky treat melting right on the table, not to mention her fingers. She had completely forgotten about it – how completely embarrassing.

“Oops,” she said meekly. “You’re right,” she mumbled as she got up to go throw the melting Popsicle in her mother’s vintage apron sink.

She grabbed a cloth, and proceeded to wipe the table. All of a sudden, all eyes were fixed on her, and the kitchen was dead quiet.

“A little distracted?” her mother asked.

Shifting gazes, and smirks all around the table.

Oh geez, she wondered if her son could tell she was hot for this unkempt but incredibly sexy guy sitting at the table – how mortifying.

“So your Mom tells me you’re an editor at a food magazine,” John said matter-of-factly,
finally
easing up on her.

“Was…” she clarified. “Was… I was let go,” she reluctantly admitted.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said softly, sounding genuine. “Are you looking for another job?”

That was a good question. She hadn’t really considered it. She had decided to let her passions lead the way. Marcus’ estate had set her and Jesse up comfortably – she could afford to take a little pause.

“No,” she told him, her eyes downcast. “In fact, I was thinking of possibly working on a book for a while.”

“You mean you haven’t done it yet?” he asked. “You always wanted to.”

Sophie smiled at him, impressed he would remember such details. But of course he would. John had always been curious about others – never self-centered.

“Actually, it’s not a novel,” she explained. “It’s a cookbook… meal and lunch ideas for kids using yummy healthy ingredients.”

He smiled. “That’s exactly what I need. All my daughter eats is grilled cheese sandwiches.”

“Actually, that’s the case with most kids,” she told him. “That’s exactly the reason I’m writing it.”

“It’s a great idea,” Gloria chimed in. “She should really do it, don’t you think, John?”

“Absolutely,” he agreed. “And I’ll be the first to buy a copy.”

“That would be nice,” Sophie said, gazing at the wall. She couldn’t quite look directly at him – whenever she did, she lost her words.

He was being so sweet – just as he had always been.

“Well anyway, what about you,” she said attempting to change the subject. “Where do you work?”

“I’m a contractor. I do renovations and landscaping,” he told her. “Doing a little work for your Mom too.”

“John has his own company,” Gloria boasted. “He has his own equipment, his own truck,” she went on. “He has six employees,” she added. “He’s doing quite well for himself,” she noted, beaming at John, who seemed a little uncomfortable.

You don’t have to sell me on him, Mom. His amazing eyes are doing that all by themselves.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Sophie said simply. They locked gazes for a second until Sophie turned away.

A few seconds of silence followed.

“Well, I should get going on the roof,” John said, standing to his feet. “My guys will be here any second.”

“Don’t hesitate to come in for drinks, or anything you need,” Gloria insisted, “…and your men too.”

“Thank you, Gloria,” he said as he readied to leave the kitchen.

“Sophie will walk you to the door,” Gloria offered with a cheeky grin.

Mother!

Sophie reluctantly made her way to the solarium with John, feeling at odds with her own body.

John slipped on his work boots. “It was nice to see you again, Snow.”

She couldn’t believe he still called her that. “Same here.” It certainly had been.

“You’ve changed…” he said plainly.

“Really… how?” How had she changed?

He didn’t bother to reply. “Are those yours?” he asked instead, pointing at the five-inch heel Mary-Jane pumps littering the floor.

“Yes. Why?”

“Wow…” he said, picking up the shoe and inspecting it closely, sliding his long finger down the length of its heel. “And you can walk in these?”

“Yes,” she scoffed. “I walk in them all the time,”
for your information.

“Amazing…”
he mused, smiling. “You’re still such a girl,” he offered with a wink. That wink was powerful – she couldn’t believe the effect it had on her.

Then he looked at her with a curious smile. “Come over to my truck for a second.”

Her heart began to beat a little faster. “Why?” she asked, intrigued. What could he possibly want?

“Just come,” he said.

He waited patiently for her as she fiddled with the straps of her Mary-Janes pumps and put them on.

He was still smiling at her when she was finally wearing them both. “Done?”

“Yes, sorry,” she said meekly. “These shoes take a while to put on,” she explained as she followed him out.

He let her lead the way, and walked slowly behind her. She teetered on her heels, wobbling all the way on the cobblestone walkway and struggled to get to her destination.

And finally… they made their way to John’s huge black pick-up truck.

“Well, here we are,” he said, a wide grin stretched across his face. “…finally. I thought we’d
never
get here.”

“So what is it? Did you want to show me something?” she asked, curious, still wobbling on her heels.

“Nope,” he laughed. “I just wanted to see you walk in those shoes.”

Jerk.

Yep… she remembered this John all right – the same Johnny who ruined her yellow Sunday dress. Apparently, he hadn’t changed a bit.

“Oh nice… Johnny,” she sneered, a sheepish smile on her face. “Well… you got me.”

“That was priceless,” he laughed. “Those shoes are a lot of work.”

“Well, I’m glad I could amuse you,” she scoffed, turning back on her heels towards the house, having as much trouble on the way back.

“Don’t kill yourself now,” he yelled out.

She bit her bottom lip and rolled her eyes, a flicker of anger rising.

When she finally made it to the door, she stood watching him get some stuff from the back of his truck – a beast of a thing.
Figures
, she thought… he had always wanted to drive a big truck. 

***

John found himself more than a little distracted, but thankfully his men kept him on track, and there wasn’t too much work for him to do since he was mostly overseeing the job.

He had to make a conscious mental note to watch the road as he drove back to the city for supplies. His mind was full of Sophie. He had been very surprised by his reaction to her. He had fully expected to still be angry; those heated emotions had never left him. But when he saw her face … he had softened. He couldn’t help himself – she looked so beautiful and sweet, sitting next to her son. Unexpectedly, his anger made quite the disappearing act. 

She had changed; she seemed to have become the woman she had always wanted to be – classy as hell – most probably too good to be hanging around the likes of him. She hadn’t spoken much, but he had noticed that she spoke differently, with more sophistication than she had when she was younger. And unlike him, she had seen the world. Better her than him, he reckoned.

And those shoes…

And what was most surprising to him, was the fact that he was almost certain she had been even more affected by him, than he had by her – if that was possible. The woman couldn’t speak for crying out loud – that had to mean something. John had had enough experience to know when a woman was affected – and she had definitely been. He smiled recalling the whole scene – it was delicious… simply delicious.

And that tattoo, barely noticeable under the sleeve of her blouse, a sharp contrast to her conservative outfit – how he would have loved to know what that was all about.

And God… she was still beautiful. Those lips. And those huge dark brown eyes of hers… but there was still so much sorrow in them.

The sadness had been there when he had last seen her. And he could still see it in her, in her eyes. He wondered if there had ever been some happiness in them, at some point in her life, maybe when she had her son, before her husband died and her world was crushed again. It seemed so unfair to John – tragedy had hit her twice, and he felt hopeless to help. There was nothing he could do, as much as he wanted to. He had been useless before, and he felt just as useless now.

Lost in his thoughts, John realized that staying away from Sophie, as he had told himself he would, would be a lot more challenging than he had first imagined.

***

Sophie stretched under the quilted covers of her childhood bed, staring into the darkness, eyes wide open.

She considered getting up to make herself an herbal tea, which she sometimes drank when she was feeling particularly too awake. Lately, her insomnia had mostly been caused by work-related worries; deadlines, editorial projects – her mind working furiously on concept ideas into the wee hours of the night. But tonight, she found herself awake for an entirely different reason.

Why had he gotten under her skin? It was amazing this power he suddenly had over her. She had been the one with the power when they were young awkward teenagers. Now she was the one acting like a self-conscious teen.

Why had she been so nervous? It had been so surreal, so strange. Maybe it would have been less so if he hadn’t been so… gorgeous. He had said she had changed. He’s the one who had changed; gone was the insecure, awkward young man. And here was this gorgeous, confident man who looked like he belonged in an ad for… for what exactly, she didn’t know – something sexy. She had often thought about him, but he had been more like a blurry indistinct vision. It was hard to believe it had been over twenty years. And now he was real… all too real.