Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 84000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Everything okay?”
She doesn’t answer. Based on her pallor, there’s every chance she genuinely didn’t hear me. She heads out the door, phone already pressed to her ear.
“Is she okay?” Avril asks.
I glance over at the door Sophia just went through. “I’m not sure. She’s got stuff going on with her family.”
“I like her,” Poppy says.
I nod, because of course she does. “She can handle you two, that’s for sure.”
“Anyone dating you has to be able to handle us. You seem serious about her,” Avril says.
“I’m serious about everything. Haven’t you been telling me that your entire life?”
“True, but—”
“I’m just going to check on Sophia.” My chair scrapes the floor aggressively as I stand. I mutter an apology for the disturbance to the table behind me before going to find Sophia.
But when I follow her path through the doorway, she’s not there.
Eventually, I try outside. She’s there in the freezing cold, her phone clamped to her ear.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Her eyes are brimming with tears, panic strewn across her face.
I want to tell her we can figure this out—I can fix whatever’s wrong. I just need to know what we’re dealing with.
“I won’t even be able to get there. It’s Thanksgiving. There’s no way I can get a flight.”
“You need to go home?” I ask. “I can get us a flight.”
She grabs my shirt like she’s worried she might fall if I’m not there to steady her. “You can?”
“Absolutely. We can leave now if you want.”
“Okay,” she says into her phone. “I’ll call you back.” She hangs up. “It’s my dad. They think he had a heart attack. He’s on the way to the ER now. Oliver called me on the way. I just—”
I scoop up her hand. “Let’s get your coat or you’re going to freeze to death. I’ll send for my driver and tell my sisters we’re leaving. We can be in the air in thirty minutes.” There’s doubt in her eyes. I don’t know where it’s coming from. “What is it?”
She scrubs her free hand over her face. “I’m just not in a good place with my dad at the moment. I don’t want to do more damage by turning up when he’s not expecting me or… I’m not even sure I want to see him.”
“We can make those decisions on the way to Cincinnati. If you’re there, you don’t have to see him, but you can be a support to your brothers.”
She nods. “Okay. You’re right. I should be there.”
“Good. I’ll go tell them we’re leaving.”
“Oh, I don’t want to pull you away from celebrating with your sisters. You stay. I can—”
“You’re my wife, Sophia. I’m coming with you.”
She doesn’t argue.
SEVENTEEN
Worth
I click Sophia’s lap belt into place and take the seat opposite her on the plane. She’s barely spoken since we left the restaurant. I can see her mind whirring, the pain in her eyes. I want to make it better.
But how?
“This is all so expensive, Worth. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
“No repayment required. There’s no way you could get to Cincinnati quickly on Thanksgiving without flying private. I’m only happy I could help.”
“I still don’t know if I can see him.”
I want to reach for her hand, but I don’t want to make her feel any kind of obligation to return my affection. Not now, when she’s confessed to feeling like she’s in my debt.
“You don’t have to see him if you don’t want to. But you can be there for your brothers and your mom.”
“Yeah. Maybe. I just don’t want him to die.”
My insides clench. Fuck, I wish I had the power to make time stand still. I can’t bear the thought of her hurting as much as she is.
“He’s in good hands,” I say. “The best.”
“If he’s going to die, I want to have said my piece to him first.”
I leave space for her to tell me what exactly her piece would be, but she doesn’t. She just stares at her lap.
A member of the crew comes over and offers us something to drink. “Coffee,” I say. “For two. And something sweet to eat.”
Sophia offers me a small smile. “Thank you. I didn’t know I wanted exactly that until you said something.”
“You have two brothers, right?” I ask. I want to keep her out of her own head and distract her. I don’t want her to torture herself.
She snaps her eyes up to mine and nods. “Yes. Noah and Oliver.”
“Who’s the oldest?” I’m asking inane questions, but anything to keep her mind off what might be happening in Cincinnati. I hope we make it there in time for her to see her father. We don’t know yet how serious this heart attack was, though I’m sure the doctors are doing everything they can. At least he’s in a hospital.