Perfect Enough

Chapter Six – Sophia

Chapter Six

SOPHIA

The light knock on my office door caused me to glance up, and I saw my mother standing there.

“Sophia, how’s your day going?”

I leaned back in my chair. I knew what was coming. This past weekend was the charity gala for the dance scholarship my parents had started when I was five. It was one of my father’s favorite events to attend each year. My mother had tried her best to put on a strong front, but I knew she was hurting, just like I was.

“It’s going okay. How’s yours?”

She pulled out a chair and sat. “I was hoping to meet your new beau this past weekend.”

I raised my brows. Since telling my mother and Chloe I was dating Josh, they’d left me alone for the most part. Well, except for the occasional question here and there. “My new beau?”

“Yes. I must admit, I thought you’d want to show him off there.”

“He’s not something to show off , Mom. And besides, I’ve never brought a date to the gala. It was always Daddy’s thing to escort both of us.”

“Your father isn’t here anymore, Sophia.”

I leaned farther over the desk. “Yes, I realize that… Mom .”

She sat back in her seat and exhaled. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to work through my anger with your father, but it’s proving to be difficult. My emotions are all over the place. One minute, I’m beyond sad; the next, I’m so angry I want to punch something.”

Her admission threw me for a loop. Here I had thought she had been handling the death a heck of a lot better than I was. I knew how she felt though. I’d been angry with my father plenty of times since his death. He’d left us without explanation, after all.

“There is something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Every time my mother said that, I got nervous. Would it be about the dance studio? My father? Or another chance for her to grill me about my nonexistent boyfriend.

“Okay,” I said slowly, steeling myself for what would come.

“Your cousin Lori is getting married.”

I relaxed. “I know. Next weekend.”

“She told me today that your RSVP only listed one person.”

And this was why I should never let my guard down with my mother. Sitting up straight, I quickly thought of something to say. “Well, when I RSVP’d, I hadn’t met Josh.”

She waited patiently for me to keep going. When I didn’t, she asked, “And is he going?”

“To be honest, I haven’t asked him.”

“Well, why not? It’s been over a month now. I’m beginning to think you made this whole thing up, Sophia.”

I wanted to tell her I had , because she wouldn’t stop nagging me. But I couldn’t be cruel like that.

“I just kept forgetting. He might have to work at the fire station.”

She tilted her head and pointed to my cell. “Call him and ask.”

“Right now?” I asked in shock.

Nodding, she replied, “Yes. There’s no time like the present.”

“Why is it so damn important for you to see me with a man?”

“Watch your tone with me, Sophia.”

“But why? Has it ever occurred to you that I might be happy without a man? I know you can’t live that way, but I can!”

The moment the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to take them back. My mother’s eyes filled with tears.

She’d gone on one date already, and I’d judged her for it…but it wasn’t even a date, really. It was with my father’s best friend. He’d lost his wife a few years ago, and I knew there was nothing romantic between them. But even if there had been, I had no right to judge two lonely souls.

“The loss of your father has impacted me more than you will ever know.”

“Mom—” I started, but she held up a hand.

“We all cope with things differently, Sophia. I was lonely for many months before your father died. He pushed me away, and I hate myself for not seeing how unhappy he truly was.” She let out a bitter laugh. “I won’t apologize for seeking comfort in David’s company. He’s a friend of mine, and he knows what I’m going through. The only man I ever loved chose to end his life, and he didn’t even bother to let me know why I wasn’t good enough for him to keep living for.”

“Oh, Mom, I didn’t mean it the way it came out. I don’t think anything is wrong with you spending time with David. I don’t.”

She wiped a tear away, sat up straighter, and smiled. “Now…are you going to call your young man or not?”

I blinked at her a few times. The change in topic was so sudden that it felt like my head was spinning. “Mom, you just changed the subject like we were talking about the weather.”

Drawing in a deep breath, she said, “Sophia, please, can we speak about something else other than your father? I just can’t right now.”

I nodded and opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. After a few moments, I said, “Josh is more a friend than anything. He knows I can’t give my heart to anyone…not yet.”

“You’re just friends? I thought you said you were dating him? Oh, I hope you’re not pushing him away because of Drake. Sweetheart, not all men are bad. There are a few good ones, and the longer you stay off the horse, the harder it will be to get back on.”

I screwed up my face at her analogy, considering Josh’s family owned a ranch. I wanted to tell her the truth. Tell her that Josh and I had never even met.

And I was about to…until she said, “You have to move past Drake and not be afraid to get back out there.”

“I’m not afraid to get back out there. And when I said we were friends, I simply meant we were friends before we started dating.”

She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Is the sex good for you?”

“Mom!” I cried out. “Did you really just ask me that?”

Shrugging, she said, “I want to make sure you’re happy, sweetheart.”

“I am, Mom. I promise you.”

She stood and smiled. “Wonderful! I’ll let Lori know you’ll have an answer for her by this evening, after you call Josh and ask him.” Before I could speak, she walked out of my office and quietly shut the door.

I let out a long breath. It was clear that my mother was laser-focused on me, now that my father was gone.

Glancing at my phone, I pushed it away. I’d talk to Josh later.

Pacing back and forth in my living room, I wrung my hands together.

“Why did you lie?” Chloe asked, the hurt evident in her voice.

“I didn’t mean to lie to you, and I was going to tell you. I just couldn’t find the right time to do it.”

“Um, a text that said something like, ‘Oh hey, by the way, I’m not dating Josh Shaw’ would’ve done it.”

“I am talking to him, so that counts.”

She rolled her eyes. “Through text messages. A month of texting a guy…you don’t find that weird, Soph?”

I stopped and looked at her, my hands on my hips. “No, Chloe, I don’t think it’s weird. We’re just friends.”

“And you haven’t wanted to hear his voice? For all you know, he has one of the nasally sounding voices.”

Pressing my lips together tightly, I tried not to laugh. I’d already thought the same thing one evening, when I questioned why Josh hadn’t ever pushed me to talk to him over the phone.

Chloe smiled. “You’re trying not to laugh because you thought the same thing.”

“Fine! I did think the same thing.”

Leaning back on the sofa, Chloe said, “Maybe he’s gay.”

Shrugging, I said, “I don’t think he is.”

“That will suck for you if he bats for the other team.”

I shot her a dirty look. “I’m not interested in dating him. I simply like being his friend.”

“Then ask him to go with you as a friend.”

Chewing on my lip, I looked at her. “My mother thinks I’m dating him.”

“And you’re too much of a coward to tell her the truth.”

“No, I just don’t want to hurt her feelings. If she finds out I lied to her, then she’ll think she’s the one who pushed me into lying.”

Chloe leaned forward. “She did, Soph.”

I rolled my eyes. “I know she did, but she’s still dealing with my father’s death. I don’t want to add stress to her life. It’s better to just explain everything to Josh and hope he understands. Maybe he’ll be working this weekend.”

“The sooner she meets him, the sooner she stops bugging you to meet him. After this weekend, you can tell her things didn’t work out and you broke up with him.”

I nodded. “That’s a good plan.”

Drawing a deep breath, I walked to the coffee table and reached for my phone. “It’s now or never.”

Me: Hi! Are you working tonight?

Josh didn’t respond right away, so I started to pace again. When he didn’t respond after ten minutes, I tossed my cell back on the coffee table, sat down next to Chloe, and started chewing on my thumbnail.

“He might be working and out on a call,” Chloe suggested.

Nodding at my best friend, I said, “That’s true. But my mother will be calling any second, and I don’t know what to say.”

Chloe sighed. “You’ve gotten yourself into a pickle, my friend. If she calls before he does, simply tell her you haven’t had a chance to talk to him because he’s working.”

I slouched down on the couch and groaned. “Why is she on my ass about this? She’s always been up in my business, but it’s gotten way worse.”

“Do you think she and David are platonic?”

Lifting my head, I stared at her. “They’re friends, Chloe.”

“Well, I’m just saying, maybe they’re friends with benefits. Sex is a great stress reliever, after all.”

“Gross. I cannot believe you said that about my mother. I have that image in my head now, and it will never disappear.”

My phone pinged with a text notification. Chloe looked at it and said, “It’s Josh.”

I reached for the phone and took a deep breath through my nose. I held it for four seconds and then released it for four. I had Josh to thank for that little trick.

Swiping my finger across my phone, I read his text.

Josh: I am. Just got back from a call. What’s up?

Me: Would you be able to talk? On the phone.

Josh: Yeah, sure. Is everything okay, Soph?

“On my God, is that the cutest thing ever that he calls you Soph too?!”

Looking at Chloe, I asked, “Do you mind not reading over my shoulder?”

“Actually, I’m heavily invested in this now. I’m not going anywhere.”

A warning sound came from my mouth, and she eased back but still hovered, waiting.

Before I could reply, my phone rang, and Chloe and I both screamed.

“Answer it, Soph!” Chloe cried out. “Put it on speaker.”

I tapped the green circle and said, “Hi!”

“Hey, is everything okay?”

Chloe and I looked at each other and silently sighed. His voice was far from nasally sounding. He had a deep voice, but not too deep. It was one of those voices you hear in romance audiobooks that make your knees weak.

Chloe hit me on the arm.

“Yes! Sorry. Um, this is just weird,” I said with a chuckle.

“Your voice is as beautiful as you are.”

Chloe dropped to the floor, and I almost laughed.

“Your voice is very…um…”

“ What ?” Chloe whispered.

“Masculine.”

I closed my eyes as Chloe covered her face and groaned.

“Masculine? I don’t think anyone has ever told me that before.”

Another nervous bubble of laughter slipped free. “I’m sorry, Josh. You have a nice voice as well.”

“So, what’s up? I’m guessing it must be important if we’ve taken this next epic step in our friendship.”

“See!” I mouthed to Chloe. “Just friends!”

She rolled her eyes and pointed to the phone.

Clearing my throat, I said, “I have a huge favor to ask you, Josh. I mean, it’s a big one.”

He laughed, and I bit down on my lip. That laugh caused parts of my body to tingle that I hadn’t even known could tingle.

“Ask away, Soph.”

Lord, the sound of my name coming out of his mouth made me wish Chloe wasn’t here.

I started talking. Fast. “My mother won’t give up on meeting you and my cousin is having a wedding this weekend, and it just so happens to be in Hamilton, at the country club there. I RSVP’d for one a number of weeks back, but that was before I got myself into this mess. And I promise you this will be the only time. I’ll tell my mother we broke up afterward, and she should give me a few months’ reprieve. But if you’re busy or working or something else–”

“Count me in.”

Chloe jumped up, a hand over her mouth.

“Are you sure?” I asked, looking at her with wide eyes. She started to jump around like a child, and I waved my hand for her to stop.

“I’m positive. I’m off this weekend, so it’s not any trouble at all.”

I smiled, relieved. “Thank you, Josh. So much.”

“If I do this for you, will you do something for me?”

My heart felt like it froze in my chest. Dear God, please don’t let him be like all the other men out there.

“It depends on what it is,” I answered cautiously.

“A fireman’s ball is coming up in a few weeks, and I don’t have a date. I’ll be forced to take one of my cousins if you say no, and it’s a small town, so all the guys will know it.”

I laughed. “Well, we wouldn’t want that.”

“No,” he replied. I could hear the smile in his voice. “We wouldn’t. Of course, strictly platonic. I’ll get a hotel room for you here in Hamilton so you don’t have to drive home late.”

Chloe put her hands to her heart and dropped back to the floor.

“I’d love to attend with you. I’m guessing it’s formal?”

“It is, so I hope that’s not a problem with a dress.”

I waved my hand, even though he couldn’t see me. “Not at all. I just attended a charity gala my father and mother cofounded years ago, and I have a dress. I have a closetful of formal gowns, actually, so it won’t be a problem.”

“Great. And for the wedding?”

“Oh, I’m just wearing a dress I picked up a few weeks ago. It’s not formal, yet it’s not casual. But I mean, it’s just…like a wedding-type dress. You know?”

Chloe stood and made a grab for the phone. I pushed her away and muted the speaker. “What are you doing?”

“He meant how should he dress for the wedding.”

My eyes widened. I unmuted the call. “I’m an idiot. You meant, what should you wear?”

“Yeah.” He chuckled.

“Um, it’s at the country club, so a suit if you have one?”

Another low laugh came over the phone, and I tried like hell to ignore how warm my entire body felt.

“I’ve got one or two lying around.”

Some sort of alarm went off.

“Soph, that’s the alarm. I have to run. I’ll call you tomorrow?”

“Yes. Okay. Sounds good. Be careful!”

“Will do. Later.”

The phone disconnected, and I turned to look at Chloe. A wide grin appeared on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest, slowly shook her head, and said, “Friend, my ass!”