Fall Into You (Seasons of the East Coast #2)

Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

WILL

“ N ow you’re exaggerating,” Sophie calls from the living room, where she’s nursing Julian.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I sing out, then continue rinsing the dishes that have piled up in the kitchen sink.

When Sophie went to Julian after he started crying, I didn’t waste a moment. I know she doesn’t want me doing her dishes, but I also know that no one else has been doing them for her. And she deserves it.

She deserves so much more.

“Will, come on,” she replies. I love that there’s nothing she can do to stop me. “Helping me with the kids is one thing, but cleaning my house? You’re going to make your hand worse. Come on, stop it.”

“Okay. I hear you.” I smile, hoping she can hear it in my voice. “Come and stop me, then.”

There’s silence from the living room as I continue my task. Then, she finally speaks up. “I hate you.”

Two days ago, if I’d heard Sophie say that to me, I would have taken it at face value. But now, I can hear it in her tone that she’s playing along.

Just like I am.

Turns out, it’s not too complicated to get a woman to stop hating you. Just punch her scumbag cheater of an ex-partner and that’ll do it.

I silently finish washing the dishes and start humming to myself to pass the time. My knuckles are sore, but it’s not that bad. The warm water from the dishes is actually kind of soothing.

A dark cloud passes over me as I revisit the moment of impact in my mind. Even though Sophie thanked me for what I did, there’s still an ounce of guilt gnawing on my insides. Not for Matthew’s sake—absolutely not. But for jeopardizing the already shaky co-parenting relationship Sophie is forced to keep up with him. There’s nothing forcing me to see Matt in my day-to-day life, which means I don’t have to deal with the fallout. But I can’t say the same for Sophie. If he starts acting even more shitty toward her, it will be partly my fault.

But I couldn’t just stand there and let him keep degrading Sophie like that. The audacity alone was enough to light every vein in my body on fire. For Matt to try to slut-shame Sophie was bad enough on its own, but knowing all the cheating he did behind her back takes it to a whole other level.

I’ve stood by for too long as my parents brought Océane down. I can’t stay quiet anymore.

Should I have acted out in a violent way? Absolutely not. Grown men shouldn’t lash out with their fists. I’m sure I could have handled it in a better way. Rachel wouldn’t be proud of me for this one. But I guess I don’t have to tell her.

The hairs at the back of my neck stand; Sophie’s watching me.

I turn around and there she is, leaning against the doorway of the living room. She must have finished breastfeeding Julian, because her arms are crossed, and there’s a small smile on her luscious lips. Her eyes are still weighed down by whatever illness is plaguing her, but despite that, they hold that familiar twinkle that consistently tugs at my heartstrings.

“Why don’t you go lie down?” I ask her, eliciting a small chuckle from her. “Don’t be stubborn, Sophie.”

“I will, I will.” She narrows her eyes. “I just had to see this for myself.”

“See what?”

“The great William, womanizer and respected consultant, washing dishes for me.”

A rush of warmth floods my chest. The way she’s leaning against that doorway is tantalizing, leaning her head sideways and exposing her long, graceful neck. Fuck, how I’d ravage that neck with my lips and tongue if given the chance.

She may find this amusing, but the joke’s on her; I’d kill to be here washing dishes every single day.

I smirk, attempting to hide how flustered she’s truly making me feel. The last thing I want is to scare her away now that I’m somewhat back in her good graces. “Watch all you want,” I reply, turning back to my busy work. I purposefully clench the muscles in my ass to highlight it in my tight jeans.

I’m no idiot. I know what parts of me women like.

Sophie coughs, and I chuckle to myself silently. Either it’s a coincidence and she just happened to cough, or that little move affected her exactly how I intended. But I won’t give her the satisfaction of turning around to find out.

I finish cleaning the last dish and dry my hands, then finally face her again. “What’s Julian up to?” I ask her, closing the distance between us in a few steps.

“He’s playing on his mat.” Her eyes don’t leave mine as I get closer.

“Then go rest. I’ll watch over him.” I press one hand over her head on the same frame she’s leaning against, but I don’t get too close. It takes every ounce of willpower not to press myself against her. “Go.”

She looks up at me with her big blue eyes, threatening to drown me in them. For a moment, she doesn’t say anything. I try not to stare at her parted lips. The air fills up with static, making that space between our bodies painfully obvious.

She blinks once and nods. “Okay.” She then bends her head to pass underneath my arm and go back into the living room.

The moment’s broken. God, what I would give to peek into that brain of hers and just see what she’s thinking.

I follow her into the living room and get down on the floor next to Julian, who’s sitting up and grasping a toy. His eyes focus on me, intrigued by my presence. From the corner of my eye, I watch Sophie settle onto the couch.

“I’d shoo you away if I had more energy, you know,” she says in a soft voice before fluttering her eyes closed. She repositions her head on the cushion and drags a blanket up to her chin. “But …” Her breathing slows. I raise my eyebrows, waiting for her to continue, but no more words come.

I peer down at Julian, who’s still staring at me. “I think your mother just passed out,” I whisper to him. A small coo escapes his lips. “I’ll be right back, little man.”

I get back on my feet and silently tip-toe to Sophie, who is definitely asleep already. When I’m close, I kneel next to her and tuck a stray strand of golden hair away from her face. She doesn’t stir.

My heart tightens. Even while sick, she’s still just as beautiful—if not more—than the first moment I ever laid eyes on her.

That evening is still as vivid in my mind as if it had happened yesterday. Matt and I had waltzed into our usual bar, both antsy to shake off a rough week: roofing jobs for me, and university exams for Matt.

Immediately, my eyes were drawn to Sophie as she shook her hips on the dance floor. Her long, golden hair fell in waves around her supple shoulders; that little black dress hugged her curves in all the right places and revealed long legs I could just see myself getting wrapped in.

But it was her eyes that did me in. Wide and blue and bright, with a sparkle of life unlike anything I’ve ever seen, they beckoned me closer. Even though we were several metres apart, that first moment of eye contact with her made it seem like we were right next to each other. Like everything else around us fell away.

My legs turned to jelly, and in that moment, I was speechless, which turned out to be my undoing because Matt spoke up. “Dibs on the tall blonde.”

My heart sank as I looked back at Matt, who was watching her like a hawk. In that moment, I told myself it wasn’t a big deal. That woman was a stranger; I knew nothing about her. It wasn’t worth picking a fight with my best friend over who got ‘dibs’ over her. So I respected his choice and set my eyes on the other woman next to her instead.

She was cute, and if I had tried, I’m certain I could have connected with her. From what I learned about her from Sophie’s accounts later on, Avery is a truly wonderful person, albeit who cares too much about the well-being of others around her. But as the four of us danced, staying this close to Sophie became almost physically painful. It doesn’t excuse how I ditched Avery for another random woman I found at the bar, but it at least somewhat explains it. I just had to get away. Distract myself.

My coping mechanism of choice back then.

I still feel bad about how much I acted like a jerk toward Avery that night. I’d been so wrapped up in Sophie that no one else could have held my interest that night.

Knowing what Matt did with that chance sends daggers through my spine, setting my rage ablaze once more. But I take a deep breath to quell the flames. There’s no use pouring too much energy into being pissed at Matt. I am pissed, but I don’t want him to be the one living rent-free in my brain.

That privilege belongs to Sophie.