“Daniel, I?—”
“Don’t try and take it back now.” He turned and pressed a kiss against my wrist bone. “Please don’t explain it away.”
“Are you…”
“I love you too,” he said simply. “I realized when I was in Boston, or maybe a little before.”
That would explain the shift, the pressing weight on his shoulders. I had felt it because it wasn’t just my own feelings coming through the line but also Daniel’s…maybe Sophie’s.
Maybe Sophie.
“I’m sorry,” I rasped, squeezing my eyes closed.
A violent pounding on my front door was enough to startle me out of whatever emotional state I’d been backsliding into. Daniel looked just as surprised, and he reluctantly let go of my wrists when I dropped my hands away from his face.
“I can guess who that is,” I said, heading to the front door with him hot on my heels.
As expected, it was Sophie, still in her pajamas and her hair in a bun so lopsided it was about to fall off her head. Her sneakers were untied and she had all of her things clutched in one hand, the other raised to bang against the door again.
“You should be ashamed,” she said to Daniel, reaching behind her cell phone and pulling out a folded sheet of white paper, undoubtedly the note he’d left her before sneaking out to come over.
My curiosity got the better of me, and I plucked it out of her hand to read it before either of them could stop me.
Went to Finn’s. I won’t let him walk away from me again. Love you.
I traced my tongue across the front of my teeth and bit down hard, staving off a wall of tears that threatened the corners of my eyes. Folding the note into a smaller square, I shoved it into my pocket and stepped out of the way so she could come inside.
Sophie kicked her shoes off beside Daniel’s and aimed a dangerous look at him.
“Why should I be ashamed?” he asked, holding his hands up in surrender.
He loved me.
He loved me, and I wanted to put myself between him and Sophie because he didn’t deserve her scorn.
“For not waking me up,” she snapped. “For not bringing me with you.”
That was clearly not what he’d expected her to say, because the wind whipped out of his sails like someone had sliced a hole down the middle. Sophie breathed hard, her glare almost softening when she looked over Daniel’s shoulder and down the hall. She’d never been in my house. I was in love with her, and she’d never even seen where I lived. This whole thing was beyond fucked up.
“Hold on.” I rubbed my eyes, gestured vaguely toward the office. “I’m going to get a coffee cup and some cream for you. Daniel knows where to go.”
I left them in the entry, heading for the kitchen. Something about the two of them being together in my house was more overwhelming than admitting to Daniel I loved him had been. What would they think about me, or assume, based off whatever they saw? God, I was going to be fucking sick.
I pulled down a mug and added some milk to it, then caught up to Sophie and Daniel in my office. Daniel was back on the window seat and Sophie had her hands planted against her hips. She turned in a half circle, looking around the room. Blindly, I handed off the mug to Daniel, who poured half of his coffee into it and then set it on the floor next to our paper cups. Sophie finished her assessment of the office, turning to face me with glassy eyes.
“Pelt,” she said quietly.
“A good choice.”
Her jaw worked as she swallowed, and I pointed weakly toward the window seat. She sat down next to Daniel and folded her hands neatly on her lap. Her pajamas, I realized, had dancing strawberries printed on them.
“Are we losing you?” she asked, brow furrowed. “I thought—” She stopped herself, scratched her temple. “We just…at the store, and then…”
She didn’t need to use words for me to follow the train of thought.
Yes, it had only been days since I took her in the dressing room at the bridal store. Even less time since I’d fucked her raw for the first time while Daniel watched from the other side of the country. Less time still since he’d been home and the burden of an unspoken love had threatened to splinter my spine into a thousand bits of bone.
“Tell him,” Daniel prompted, giving Sophie’s forearm a squeeze.