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“He’s her best friend, so she can do whatever she wants. Why should I care?”
Helen squeezed her lips together and hit me on the shoulder. “Both of us know that it’s hurting you. You care about her a lot. Would you like it if she started dating someone else?”
Helen flashed me a deathly gaze, and I eventually said, “It’s okay if she…d-dates… someone…” “Okay! Of course, I won’t like it if she dates someone.”
“Then do something!” “But what should I do?”
“Think about it. How can I know everything?” she asked, turning her attention back to the sauce.
I groaned and looked at Sophie, who was still chatting to Levi.
I really didn’t like that guy. He ate the sandwich I made with bread and butter! And he attempted to take my Sophie.
Wait…
Did I just say she was mine?
Awesome! I’m officially going mad now.
I heard him ask her, “So, where will you go after you give birth?” “Um…” She paused. “I still don’t know.”
“Oh. You can come to stay with me in Tampa,” Sophie said with a smile. “I’ll see.”
No way am I letting her go anywhere!
Helen said, “Dinner is ready, Sophie!” cutting off her talk with Levi.
She said farewell to him before ending the call.
I exhaled in relief and sat down across from her. Helen put the plates of spaghetti in front of us, and I started eating right away since I was so hungry.
I was thinking about what Helen had just said. What should I do? Does she even care about me? I have been mean to her.
Will she kiss me back if I kiss her?
No. She let me touch her, but that doesn’t imply I can kiss her. Take charge.
What if Levi takes her away from me? I tightened my grasp on the fork at that notion. “Liam…why do you look so mad?” Her words brought me back to reality.
“Y-yeah?”
“What happened?”
Your goddamn best friend occurred! Who the hell told him to come back?
“Nothing.” I smiled tightly at her. “Then why aren’t you eating?”
“Sure,” I answered as I started eating. I could hear Helen chuckling softly behind me.
I ate swiftly and quietly for the rest of supper. After I finished, I washed my dish and put it away before leaving the kitchen.
Am I attempting to stay away from her? Maybe… Aargh! Please assist me!
I don’t know why, but I thought of Nat’s name. I was ready to leave when Sophie stopped me and said, “Are you going somewhere?”
“Uh…yeah… I’m going to see Nat. Do you want to come?”
She grinned and said yes. “Yes. Just give me a minute.” She raced back up the stairs.
A few seconds later, she came back with her hair in a ponytail. “Let’s go.”
We went outside to my Mercedes, got in, and then I cranked the engine and sped away.
. . . “Brother!” I collapsed on the floor in his study in a dramatic way. “Help me!” He stepped back in shock, his eyes getting bigger as he realized what I had done. “Why the hell are you doing this?” he said.
I knelt down in front of him and put my hands together. “Please help me. Do something. I don’t want to lose her.”
(A/N: Don’t worry, Liam, I’ll marry you if you lose her. *grins*)
“Help you with what? And lose who? And first of all, get up!” he said.
I got up with a sorrowful look on my face and wiped away the artificial tears that had formed in my eyes.
Nat put his arms over his desk and leaned on it. “Exactly what happened?” I asked. “I don’t know either.”
He looked at me with a blank gaze, which made me laugh. “Well, I…Sophie…she…um…”
He yawned. “Are you going to say it or not?”
“I don’t want to lose Sophie,” I said.
“Who says you’re going to lose her?”
“She has a guy best friend who keeps flirting with her. I think he likes her, and he might take her away too.”
“Where do you want to take her?”
I moaned. “Take her away” means “make her fall for him, and then she will leave me.”
He hummed back. “What do you want me to do?”
“Are you getting back at me for all the times I bothered you?” I whimpered again in despair.
He laughed and shook his head. “It’s funny that you’re so confused for the first time.”
I frowned. “Stop making fun of me. It’s not funny at all.” He laughed again. “Of course.”
I attempted to bribe him. “I’ll send you on vacation with Alley if you help me. I’ll pay for everything and won’t bother you for a whole month.”
He said, “Bribing me won’t work.” I complained. “Please help me!”
He raised his voice in anger and said, “You are not telling me what you want!”
“Get Sophie to fall in love with me…”
He arched an eyebrow at me and asked, “What happened to the playboy now?” “He died a long time ago.”
“Did you sleep with anyone while Sophie was at your house?” “No,” I said honestly.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.” I clenched my teeth. “I swear I didn’t.” He nodded. “Good.”
I groaned and ran my fingers through my hairrink my hair back. “I think…um…I…I think…I am falling in…love…with her.” I closed my eyes hard and scratched my temples, recognizing that I had finally said how I felt.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” I thought he would be startled, but he already knew it.
“What?”
He looked up at the sky. “It’s clear you love her, Liam.” “Oh…” I said softly, not knowing what else to say.
This feeling is so strange… it’s sinking inside me. Being in love. It’s really strange.
What if she never feels the same way about me? What if she goes away? What if I truly screw up, and she starts to despise me?
I sat down in the chair in front of the desk and put my head in my hands.
“Are you really crying?” Nat asked. “No,” I said softly. “I’m just scared.”
He took my head out of my hands and forced me to look at him. “Don’t be so scared. Trust yourself. And if she leaves you, we’ll kidnap her and make her marry you, okay?”
I laughed and hit his hand. “I’m not making her marry me or anything.”
He grinned and messed up my hair. “Don’t worry, brother. She won’t be able to resist your charms…unless you start acting like a jerk like you did when she told you she was pregnant.” He rolled his eyes.
“Oh, for God’s sake, I freaked out!” I said. “You even hit me.” “You deserved it.”
“Yeah… whatever.”
I stood up to depart, and he said. “Don’t be scared, brother. Just be yourself.”
I hugged him with a smile, which surprised him. Before he could respond, I drew back and softly kissed his cheek, which made him wrinkle up his nose in disgust. “Eww…” He wiped his cheek, yet there was a faint grin on his lips.
I said farewell to him with a laugh and went.
Sophie’s point of view:
Liam stood at the door of Alley’s bedroom and asked, “Do you want to stay a little longer? I’m leaving, by the way.”
“No. It’s fine.” I said goodbye to Alley and Saffron, who were seated on the bed, and then I followed Liam out of the room.
He held my hand as we walked together, and a faint grin spread across my face. He was staring ahead so happily that he didn’t see me blushing.
This guy made my heart race. And I wasn’t unhappy.
He opened the door for me, got in, and then closed it before getting in the driver’s seat.
“Liam…”
He looked at me and said, “Yes?”