Page 58 of Built for Mercy

I turned to Paulie. “Last fucking strike. You say it again and I’ll make you regret it.” He narrowed his golden eyes at me, clearly affronted, but I just turned and escorted Sophie out of the office.

She practically ran down the stairs to the main level.

“Sophie, stop,” I pleaded, wrapping an arm around her waist as I caught up to her in the middle of the empty dance floor. Her eyes were distant, unfocused, like she was seeing somethingthat wasn’t there—something long gone but still clawing at her. A shadow of something unspoken flittered across her face, tightening the corners of her mouth, making her throat work like she was swallowing down words she’d never say. Whatever she was thinking, whatever haunted her, it wasn’t just pain. It was a wound that never fully healed.

“What the hell was that all about?”

“It’s nothing, Mav.”

“Don’t do that. It’snotnothing. What happened between you two?”

She shook her head. “I really don’t want to talk about this right now, okay? Please don’t make me.”

Tempted to force it out of her anyway, I opened my mouth, but seeing her look so dejected and hurt made me pause. This wasn’t about me. I had to respect that she wasn’t ready to discuss that part of her past yet. “Okay,” I agreed reluctantly. I kissed her forehead before grabbing her hand. “I understand. But I’m still taking you to get something to eat.”

“No, I really don’t—”

“You’re not fighting me on this. We both barely ate last night, and I’m not accepting that you just had some fruit at brunch with your friend. Now come, and you can tell me about your morning.”

***

“I’m sorry you got caught up in all of this,” I said to Sophie as we sat down at a cafe around the corner from Midnights.

“Don’t be.” She flashed me a dazzling smile, the most genuine one I’d seen since I left her at my penthouse this morning. “I’m sorry it’s happening. You know the last thing I want is to interfere with that side of your life, anyway.”

I gestured to the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich before her. “Eat. Please.”

She rolled her eyes before picking the sandwich up and taking a hearty bite, chewing and swallowing before answering. “There.”

She looked thinner than she had a month ago. Not by much, but it was marginally noticeable in her shoulders and waist. Not like she had much weight to lose to begin with, but I hadn’t paid close attention to it until now.

It hit me then—her fire, her sharp tongue, the way she threw out challenges like she wasn’t afraid of anything. It wasn’t just confidence. It was armor. A distraction. Self-preservation. Because when she wasn’t fighting, when she thought no one was looking, her hands fidgeted, her body curled in on itself, like she was waiting for the next blow. Like she was used to holding herself together with sheer force of will.

And Paulie—Paulie had known exactly which buttons to push. Because he’d clearly pushed them before. Bullied her—her words. Made her feel small. And if she was this self-conscious now, after everything she’d accomplished, how bad had it been back then? What else had happened that she hadn’t said? What else had been done to her that made her so goddamn unsure of herself beneath that tough exterior?

I leaned forward. “Sophie, look at me.” She did, licking her lips and drawing my attention to them momentarily. “I know we have a lot to learn about each other, and it’s clear there are things you’re not ready to open up about yet. But you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and it has nothing to do with your weight. I’ll do whatever it takes to help make you feel beautiful in your own skin, but please eat.” I took her hand in mine, brushing my lips over knuckles.

Her doubtful eyes searched mine, hesitantly at first, before she sighed. She withdrew her hand, picking up the sandwich andtaking a large bite, then another. She ate like she was ravenous—like the night she crashed my date with Priscilla—and I slowed my own bites, my grip tightening around my fork as I watched her.

When Sophie finished, she sighed contentedly, sucking each fingertip with slow, lazy movements as though she was savoring every bite. A grin tugged at her lips, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I do feel a lot better now. Thank you.”

I dipped my chin in response. “Do you want anything else before we go?”

She shook her head, her waves bouncing with the movement. “I’m good.” She paused to take a sip of water. “You deserve to know, if this is going to get more serious between us.”

Thank God.

“When I was in my early teens, I was… not so thin. It’s that awkward phase as a preteen, where you haven’t shed all the childhood weight yet but your body is still developing, you know?” She groaned, then chuckled darkly as she toyed with the edge of her napkin. “Consequently, whenever my parents’ marital problems bled into our home life, I’d comfort eat. It didn’t help with the weight.”

Oh, shit.I sensed the direction her story was going.

“As you know, Paulie and I were neighbors, went to school together, attended the same family functions. You get the point. And everything was fine until the summer before high school. That’s when kids got really mean.” A heavy sigh fell from her lips as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “It made me binge more. They’d laugh in my face, whisper as I walked by, and at one point, even Paulie joined in. He was trying to fit in with everyone, and our friendship really took a hit at that point. We were just friendly with one another when we had to be, but I couldn’t get over the things he’d called me. What theyallcalled me. Care to guess what stuck?”

I felt sick to my stomach that this woman—drop-dead gorgeous inside and out—was the butt of a joke to a bunch of fucking entitled teenagers. And that Paulie was part of it. My throat worked up and down as sadness rooted in my gut. “Puff?”

A single nod from her as her eyes welled up with tears. “It started as calling me puffy, until they just called mePuff.It really sucked.” Sniffling, she dabbed her fingers under her eyes. “Then when my dad died, I no longer had an appetite. I lost all the weight, and then some. Everyone acted like they had never said those things to me. Never apologized for any of it, either, but then they wanted to be my friend for all the wrong reasons. No one cared about me, and I hated everyone and everything. I was grieving, and angry, and hurt, and humiliated.”

Silence fell between us, and I wasn’t sure if she would continue. She looked lost in thought, as if realization had just fallen over her.