Page 60 of More than Fiction (Misty Springs #1)

Sophia

I sighed and clicked my pen as I stood behind the bar at Boomer's.

The clicking echoed in the quiet barroom. Devyn lifted her head from where she sat across the bar top, giving me a pointed look.

“Will you stop that?” she snapped before dropping her head back down.

I shoved the pen into my apron and began tapping the bar with my fingers instead.

“I’m so bored,” she groaned, her voice muffling into the crook of her arm. “Why can’t a couple of teams of hot hockey players walk in right now and leave me hundreds of dollars in tips?”

I barked a laugh.

“Well… since we’ve got all this quiet time to reflect on things, and since you brought up hot guys—” Devyn lifted her head again, her expression serious.

“Hold up, you brought that up just now. That was you,” I interrupted.

“Can I finish?” Devyn waved her finger in the air at me. “You got any new news regarding a tall, dark, and handsome boss guy who held you hostage in New York, bought you fancy clothes, whisked you home on his private jet, fought your ex, took you to pound town, and then gave you a dream job?”

I spent Sunday brunches with the girls trying to carefully downplay everything with Corbin—for my sake and theirs. There was no reason to get excited about a fling or express feelings that shouldn’t exist.

Instead, I fed them mimosas and redirected the conversation towards Devyn’s upcoming wedding, Lana’s shop, and Cassie’s latest gossip from the hotel—anything to take the attention off me.

They were my best friends—I wanted to spill everything, to let them in the way I always had. But this time, I couldn’t. Not when it wasn’t only my secret to tell.

They knew Corbin and I had been together in New York.

Devyn’s “you totally had sex” radar was apparently on high alert—and there was no dodging it.

But that was it, that was where the line was initially drawn between us, before I started working for him.

That’s where I kept it with my friends. They didn’t know about our hotel room encounter, and they didn’t know that just a few days ago, I was splayed out on his desk underneath him.

Devyn’s eyes narrowed on me before softening. “We used to tell each other everything, Soph. Why does it feel like you’re blocking us out again?”

I leaned over the bar, my hands falling on her hands. “I promise I’m not blocking you out, Dev. I just…. there isn’t much to tell. Corbin and I aren’t anything more than Assistant Editor and COO.”

“Really? Nothing?” Disappointment filled her voice.

“Really. Nothing. He made it very clear.” I tried to hide my disappointment by wiping at an already cleaned spot on the bar.

“Well, then, what are you doing? Landon’s gone. You’re not with anyone. Let’s get you out there!” she howled as she twirled around on the barstool. “I need time to vet this guy if you want to bring him to the wedding. So, chop, chop.”

Devyn and Sam settled on their wedding date: next September. Devyn had asked me to be a bridesmaid, along with Cassie and Lana, of course.

One of my best friends was going to be married, and I couldn’t be happier for her.

I sighed, trying to release the stupid part inside of me that was clinging to Corbin. “I agree with you. However, we can’t do anything about it right now. It’s not like Mr. Perfect will walk right through that door. So until then… tequila shot?” I asked with a grin.

“Oh God, yes.” She beamed back .

It was a tradition we’d done anytime it was toward the end of the night, and we had nothing better to do. My time working together with Devyn would be ending soon—though I hadn’t officially decided when I would quit Boomer’s—we may as well enjoy these fleeting moments together.

Though it almost felt like there was a tether tying me here, like this was my last lifeline, just in case. I tried not to dwell on that thought.

I poured each shot and grabbed the saltshaker and two slices of lime. We let out synchronized gasps after downing them, sucking the juices from our limes.

Paul peered his head out of the kitchen door. “I’m cleaning up. If anyone walks through that door, they don’t get any food. Do you hear me?”

“Gotcha, Paulie D,” Devyn said with a fake Jersey accent.

He batted the air with his hand before disappearing behind the swinging door.

“One more?” I asked, my eyebrows wiggling.

Devyn nodded enthusiastically.

I felt slightly buzzed as closing time drew nearer.

Devyn swept the floor, and I was cleaning glasses when the door opened, the bells breaking the quiet with a sharp clang. Our heads snapped toward the door.

I didn’t know who to expect. Landon? Corbin? A couple of football teams?

But it was just one person—someone I faintly recognized from a few weeks ago. He smiled at me when he walked up to the bar, and his dimples sparked a memory.

“Hey,” the stranger said casually as he sat at the bar.

“Hello. Can I get you a drink?” I asked.

“No, thank you. I um—I didn’t come for a drink.” He caught his lower lip between his teeth, his eyes searching my face.

My eyes shot to Devyn as she stood behind him, pointing at his back and fake-humping the broom she was holding.

I tried to shake my head nonchalantly, my eyes widening at her to stop.

“You never called,” Dimples said, returning my focus to his face.

“Called?” I asked, confused .

“Yeah,” he said through a shy smile. “A few weeks ago, I left my number. You never called.”

His walnut eyes were warm, like an inviting mug of hot chocolate, precisely what a frigid day like today called for.

Flurries danced on strong gusts—the first snow of the year. Too light to stick, they swirled through the air, a sure sign winter was closing in.

Just a few days ago, we’d been basking in an unusually warm afternoon—classic Midwestern weather, always keeping you on your toes.

I thought for a moment, recalling the night the hockey teams invaded the bar—the night Landon got the jump on me and almost drove Corbin to assault him.

“Oh, right.”

Like I was ever going to call. I was a mess. My life was a million different ways from fucked. The last thing I needed was to introduce a new person into the fray.

“I thought I’d come in here, hope you were working again, and give it another shot.”

I was thinking about how to say no—running through the excuses in my mind, trying to pull out the one that seemed the least pathetic.

“She’d love to!” Devyn interjected before I had a chance to respond.

My wide eyes shot toward her.

What the hell was she doing?

Dimples turned to Devyn, then back to me. “She thinks you should,” he teased, tossing his thumb behind his shoulder at her.

“I do. I really do think you should.” Devyn giggled, then proceeded to fake make-out with the broom behind his back.

My throat tightened, and I cleared it nervously. “I don’t… I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Just one drink,” he offered, his sweet smile nearly melting my heart.

“Yeah, just one drink,” Devyn mimicked from behind him.

I gave her a death stare.

“I’m going to go clean the bathrooms now, toodles!” She scurried down the hallway, dancing with her broom along the way.

“I don’t even know your name. ”

“I’m Will,” he said, holding his hand out for mine.

“Hi Will, I’m—”

“Sophia, I remember.”

I placed my hand in his.

His hand felt nice—warm and gentle—nothing like the charged electricity that amped through my veins when Corbin touched me.

I didn’t know if I should consider that a good or bad thing.

“Look, I’m going to say that I won’t take no for an answer, even though I will very much take no for an answer.” His soft eyes sparkled in the dull bar. “I just want to get to know you.”

“So sweet, Will. She’s in. She’ll meet you on Wednesday. Here at six, early date, no weekend commitments,” Devyn yelled from a distance, her head sticking out from the hallway along with the broom bristles.

Will stood up, wrote something on a napkin, and slid it over to me. “Here is my number again. I’m going to leave while you pseudo-agreed to come. Text me if you change your mind though, and I’ll leave you alone from here on out.” He walked away with a wink and a dimpled grin.

As soon as he left through the door, I turned to face Devyn.

She yelped as I chased her down the hallway—shutting herself in the bathroom and throwing her weight against the door, holding it closed.

“I’m just doing what’s best for you! He’s super cute!” she yelled through the wooden door.

I stopped pushing and rested my back against the slab with a sigh. Maybe she was right. What reason did I have to say no?

Devyn didn’t realize I was still there and pulled open the door, causing me to crash to the floor, taking her with me.

We laughed as we lay there, semi-buzzed on the bathroom floor and struggling to get back up.

“I’m going to kill you, Dev,” I threatened through my laughing tears.

“You love me. Besides, you need this. You seem sad again. I don’t want sad Sophia back.” She jutted her lip out as we faced each other, still sprawled out on the bathroom floor.

Gross, sure. But the room was starting to spin, so it felt safer to stay put .

Devyn stood up, extending a hand to help me. “Besides Soph, the best way to get over someone is to reverse-cowgirl someone else.”

I accepted her help, standing in front of her, I placed my hands on her tiny shoulders. “There will be no reverse-cowgirling.”

She shrugged, and we both fell into another fit of laughter before walking back to the barroom to finish cleaning.

I felt a little uneasy about this date, considering just a couple of days ago, my boss was inside me while we had forbidden-but-incredibly-hot sex in his office.

But reality came crashing back, the way it always did whenever I let myself think about Corbin and me—cold and unforgiving, like the tile floor in the ladies’ room at Boomer’s.

I swallowed hard, like forcing spit down my throat could act as a balm to my aching heart.

The thought was quiet and still in my mind, but the weight of the truth sliced through me like tiny, piercing daggers.

Corbin and I just weren’t meant to be.