Fortune for a Week, page 16
He handed her the coffee and shrugged, a sadness knitting his brow. “I don’t know. I just feel as if I owe it to him.”
“Owe what to him?” she asked.
He studied her for a moment before saying, “Linc and I were like brothers once. We lost touch after his mom, Delia, passed away a few years ago. I feel like I let him down. Why don’t we take our coffee into the living room? I’ll light a fire in the fireplace.”
Sofia had so many questions, like how exactly he was planning to make things square with his dead friend. Hunt down Linc’s killer himself? The thought made her shiver. If Harris started poking his nose into places it didn’t belong, it could have far-reaching implications. No amount of Fortune money could keep him—or her kids, for that matter—safe from a murderer intent on not being caught.
The person had killed once, who knew if he or she had any compunctions about killing again to keep from being exposed. She was tempted to tell him that he needed to leave the sleuthing to the authorities, but the way he’d shut down the conversation made it clear he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
If she and Harris were going to build a future together, they’d have to revisit the conversation because it could be a matter of safety for her children.
They’d talk about it sometime, but not now.
She was getting ahead of herself.
As Sofia tried to put the thought of killers on the loose out of her mind, her gaze was drawn to the deep charcoal Chesterfield sofa in the living room. She hadn’t noticed it when they’d first entered the house, but there it was with its velvet upholstery, plush rolled arms and brass nail trim.
It was her dream sofa—for after the kids were grown. It gave the room an air of classic elegance, while the cognac-colored leather armchair across the room from it offered a more masculine touch.
Clearly, she and Harris shared the same taste in furniture, she thought as she ran her hand over the sofa’s tufted back.
“Have a seat,” he said. “It will only take me a second to light the fire. It’s gas.”
As Sofia sat down, she eyed the curated selection of books stacked neatly on top of the large coffee table that stood in the center of the room—books about art, architecture and photography, as if chosen for someone who appreciated luxury.
The whoosh of the fire starting made her look up. Rather than traditional logs, the base of the firebox was filled with shimmering clear-glass beads that reflected the blue light from the fire, creating a dynamic, sparkling effect as the flames flickered.
He sat beside her, close enough that their knees touched. “I mentioned I had another surprise,” he said, his voice soft and full of anticipation, unlike when they’d spoken about Linc. “Are you up for an adventure?”
“That depends.”
“Last night, I was serious when I said that sometimes you just have to stop overthinking things and take the leap. Let’s go to Paris, Sofia. I’ve already made arrangements—we’re here so I can pack a bag. Jacinta’s at your house packing a bag for you as we speak. I talked to her early this morning.”
She gasped. “You did?”
“Yes,” he answered smoothly. “Not only has she agreed to be on standby in case Dan and the kids need something while we’re gone, but she’s agreed to pick them up in Waco on Wednesday and keep them until we get back. I thought we could stay a week. You’re right—for your first trip, you do need to do more than a fly-by. Jacinta thinks I’m going to propose.”
He laughed, but Sofia was paralyzed. Was he really backing her into a corner?
“You didn’t tell her we’re already married, did you?”
“No, of course not.” He reached over and tenderly stroked her cheek. “But this could be our honeymoon, Sofia, and when we come back from Paris, we could tell people we’re married. We could just skip the details about the ceremony happening in Vegas.”
Honeymoon? She was still processing this impromptu Vegas wedding, and here he was, fast-tracking them to a life in which each card revealed seemed farther and farther away from what she wanted.
Clearly, he didn’t understand her as well as she thought he did.
“Whoa, slow down.” Her words sounded as if they’d come from outside of herself. Her breath hitched, and her heart galloped, the precursor to a panic attack. She tried to draw in a breath, but the air didn’t fill her lungs.
“This is…a lot.”
The smile on Harris’s face faltered. He looked at her, concern flickering in his eyes. “Talk to me,” he said gently. “Tell me what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours.”
Sofia set her coffee on the table, her hands trembling. “I can’t just leave my kids and go to Paris. I have clients—and responsibilities. I can’t just drop everything, Harris.”
He leaned forward, his expression soft but determined. “Sofia, it’s just a week. Jacinta has everything covered. She’s going to take care of the kids and ask Heather to reschedule your clients at the salon. You deserve this.”
He took her hand, but she pulled away.
“No.” Her voice firmer. “That’s not how I do things. I don’t just abandon my life to fly off somewhere on a whim. You’re thinking of Paris as our honeymoon, but you don’t seem to realize that I haven’t ruled out the annulment.”
“We said we were going to try and make things work.”
“I did say that, but I also didn’t say dissolving the marriage was off the table.”
“Sofia,” he pleaded, reaching for her hand, but she pulled away. “Trust me.”
And that was the problem.
How could she trust him when she didn’t trust herself? She had fallen hard for Dan, too, once upon a time. She’d trusted him. Look where that had gotten her.
Her voice was soft but resolute. “This isn’t real life, Harris. This…” She waved her hand around at the opulent surroundings. “It’s not my life.”
His face darkened. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying,” she replied carefully, “this is too much. You and I live in different worlds. Our lives don’t fit.”
The weight of her words settled between them, heavy and insurmountable.
“I’m sorry, Harris,” she whispered. “This is such a nice gesture, but I can’t. I need to go. Please take me home?”
The silence in the car on the way home was thick with tension. All she could think about was that he had assumed this would be fine; he’d taken it for granted, but he hadn’t asked her how she felt about it. Actually, he had. Last night, they’d talked about Paris, and she’d made her position clear, which meant he hadn’t heard her.
That made it even worse.
He finally broke the silence as they pulled up to her house. “Let’s talk about this. I want to make this work.”
“Really? Why? You think you have me all figured out, but you don’t even know me, Harris.”
He turned to her, eyes burning with sincerity. “I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
He thumped a fist over his heart.
“I’ll bet you didn’t know this about me,” Sofia said. “I’m not sure I want more children. I don’t want to be the reason you never have children of your own. Mostly, I don’t want you to grow resentful of me because I didn’t give you children.”
She let the words hang in the air before continuing.
“I’m sorry, but I have to ask about Amanda.”
“What about her?” Harris said thickly.
“You were ready to walk down the aisle and you didn’t know she didn’t want kids. How did you not know this about the woman you were going to spend the rest of your life with?”
“It’s not as if kids dominated the conversation. We talked about it. She lied to me and told me she wanted kids. I took her at her word.”
“Did you talk to Amanda about what she wanted, or did you just hear what you wanted to hear? Did you ask her why she didn’t want kids? Maybe there was a reason. Maybe you had a version of her in your head that you wanted to be true, and it blinded you.”
“Wow, that’s harsh.” His knuckles tightened on the steering wheel.
“I’m sorry,” Sofia said, “but if we’re even going to consider making this marriage work, we need to ask the hard questions and talk about difficult things. Because from where I sit, it sounds like you didn’t know Amanda as well as you thought you did.”
“You have no idea about that relationship,” he gritted out.
“You’re right, but I do know that you don’t know me well enough to say that you want to spend the rest of your life with me. Because, Harris, I wouldn’t mind being married again…someday. But next time, it’s going to last.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
On Wednesday night, Harris sat on his veranda, sipping a bourbon on the rocks and staring at the sunset and the long shadows the fading light cast across the lawn.
Sofia and the kids would’ve been home from Waco by now. He itched to call her but now wasn’t the time. She and Kaitlin and Jackson would have a lot of catching up to do after being away from each other this week.
He and Sofia hadn’t spoken since Monday afternoon when he’d dropped her off at her house after the Paris dispute. Before he’d left, he told her to call him when she was ready to talk.
And, well, here it was Wednesday evening, and there had been nothing but radio silence.
While he wasn’t upset with her, he did feel conflicted.
Maybe she was right? Maybe they were too different? He’d had a lot of time to think about it, and all roads had him coming back to how right they were for each other.
He hadn’t meant to come on so strong. He’d only wanted to shake her out of her comfort zone and get her to Paris. It had seemed like an exciting adventure. A chance for them to spend time together outside of Emerald Ridge. He’d gotten caught up in the romance of sweeping her off her feet and whisking her away.
Sure, a part of him had hoped to help her realize it was okay to let go a little. It was like coaxing someone to jump off a high dive for the first time. Sure, it was scary, but with him there, holding her hand, he’d hoped she could do it. In retrospect, he realized that it must’ve been a bit overwhelming for her to make that leap. He could see now that he’d pushed too hard, too fast.
That’s why he’d given her some space to breathe. Even though he hadn’t wanted her to feel crowded, Tuesday and Wednesday, while she was at work, he’d gone over to her house and finished building the tree house and balance beam for the kids. No matter what happened between Sofia and him, he would keep his promise to Jackson and Kaitlin.
She must’ve been picking up on his vibe because his phone sounded a notification and the incoming text was from her.
Harris’s stomach knotted as the selfie that he’d snapped of them glowed on his lock screen.
Hi, Harris. I hope you’re doing well. I’m home with the kids. Thank you for all your hard work on the tree house and balance beam. The kids are exhausted and having an early bedtime, which means they haven’t seen the beam and tree house yet. I’m taking Thursday and Friday off since they go back to school on Monday. I was wondering if you’d like to come over tomorrow morning for the big unveiling?
The next morning, Harris stood on Sofia’s deck, smiling as Kaitlin and Jackson raced around the yard, looking at what he had built for them. There were whoops of delight as they took it all in—the sturdy wooden platform nestled high in the oak tree, and the balance beam stretching across the lawn.
The beam sat low to the ground, but Harris had made it adjustable so it could be raised as the girl’s skills and confidence improved.
“Wow!” Kaitlin shrieked as she walked toe-to-heel on the apparatus. “I can’t believe I have my very own balance beam!”
Jackson followed behind his sister, his arms outstretched like airplane wings, trying to keep his balance.
“This is so cool,” he murmured, his concentration fierce as he carefully placed one foot in front of the other.
Kaitlin jumped down and ran to the tree house, where she climbed the wooden ladder, giggling as she pulled herself up onto the platform. “Jackson, come up here,” she called down, peeking out from one of the windows Harris had cut into the walls. “It’s like our own little fort!”
Harris had half expected the kids to place ownership on the new play structures and he was pleased by how well they were sharing them. He watched them with a sense of pride that ran deeper than he’d expected. They were such good kids. Harris’s heart twisted as he realized how much he would miss them if things didn’t work out with Sofia. His gaze wandered to the bed-swing where they’d made love on Sunday, and a mixture of sadness and longing tugged at his insides.
How can I make this right?
He knew the only thing he could do was to be here for Sofia and let time run its course. The ten-day agreement officially ended today. Even though the original plan had been interrupted, he wasn’t going to ask her to extend it.
“They love it,” Sofia said, coming up behind him. Her voice was soft and a little hesitant, but the gratitude was clear in her tone.
“I’m glad they do. It was a lot of fun putting everything together. I don’t get to do projects like that as much as I’d like to.”
“How did you learn to do all this?” she asked, making an all-encompassing gesture that included the deck, beam and tree house.
“It all started in high school shop class and it became a hobby. Some people paint, some play tennis and golf. I like woodworking. But I do like golf and tennis, too.”
“If you ever need a recommendation, you’ve got one.”
Kaitlin popped her head out of the tree house and shouted down, “Mr. Harris, are we still going horseback riding today? You promised if I didn’t ride the ponies at the fall festival, we could ride horses when I got back from Daddy’s house.”
Harris glanced at Sofia. “I did promise that, didn’t I?”
“Harris, you don’t have to.”
“I don’t like to break promises,” he said.
Sofia inhaled, and even though she didn’t move, Harris felt her take a step away from him. “It’s sweet of you to offer, but…”
She trailed off and he sensed that she was about to say, It’s not in the budget.
“It would be on the house, of course,” he preempted.
Sofia squinted at him. Even though she didn’t mention it, he knew she was wondering why.
“Aaron Walsh and I have done business in the past. I can call in a favor.” Before she could protest further, he quickly added, “It wouldn’t cost a thing, and it would be a nice way to spend the afternoon. How about it? I think the kids would love it.”
Playfully, she swatted him on the arm. “You are too persuasive for your own good.” Their gazes caught, and for a moment, it felt like things were shifting back in the right direction.
She looked away and murmured, “Too persuasive for my own good.”
“Do you ride?” he asked, trying to get the conversation back on neutral ground.
Her pensive look transformed into a grimace. “Me? No, I’ve never been on a horse in my life.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything. You can take a lesson, too.”
Sofia raised an eyebrow and started to speak, but he beat her to it. “You might as well. It’s available to you, but it’s up to you.”
She studied him for a moment, a look of gratitude on her face. “Thank you, Harris. I know the kids will have such a good time.”
In companionable silence, they watched the children play for a while longer, their laughter filling the morning air. Eventually, Harris cleared his throat. “I got a call from Cathy Henderson’s office this morning,” he said, keeping his voice neutral. “She’s back from vacation. She offered us an appointment for Monday morning at eleven o’clock. What do you think?”
Sofia’s smile faltered, a flicker of sadness crossing her face. “I think we should talk to her,” she said quietly.
Harris’s heart squeezed in his chest. He nodded, trying to keep his own emotions in check. “Okay. I’ll confirm it with her assistant.”
* * *
At Walsh Equestrian Estate, the kids were virtually vibrating with excitement as they geared up for their first riding lesson. Harris watched as the trainer helped Kaitlin onto a gentle mare, her face lighting up with pure joy. Jackson was already in the paddock astride an Appaloosa.
Sofia looked a little unsure, her gaze darting from one child to the other. She had been quiet after he’d brought up the appointment with the lawyer, but what was there to talk about? He didn’t want it, but she did and he’d promised that he would grant her the annulment at the end of their time together if she still wanted it. He would follow through and see what was involved in getting an annulment so they could weigh their options.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she murmured as she watched another instructor approaching with a beautiful chestnut Morgan.
“You’re going to be great,” Harris assured her.
“I’ll trust you,” she said.
Her words were bittersweet.
Finally, he thought. But it sort of felt like it was too little too late.
After she was astride the horse, Aaron Walsh approached. “Harris, good to see you, buddy. Can I have a word?”
Sofia and the kids were already immersed in the lesson. Harris nodded. “Sure.”
Aaron walked along the edge of the paddock away from the lesson. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something,” he said, his tone low. “It’s about Linc.”
Harris’s chest tightened at the mention of his old friend. “What about him?” he asked, his voice careful.
Aaron hesitated, his gaze shifting downward at his dusty boots before gazing over Harris’s shoulder rather than looking him in the eyes. “I didn’t think it was anything at the time, but I saw Linc arguing with someone at the park. Not sure of the exact date…maybe late July? It was not long before he…you know. Anyway, I wasn’t sure if I should even mention it.”
Harris’s pulse quickened. “What do you mean? What kind of argument?”
Aaron shrugged. “I couldn’t hear them, but it looked heated. You know, Linc was always a pretty calm guy, but that day he seemed agitated, and the other guy—well, I didn’t get a good look at him. It was from a distance, but he didn’t seem very happy either.”
