Hanging On (14 page)

No. It was better to stop thinking like that.

Late as usual, Sophia was the last one to arrive at the spa. Drew awaited her in the lobby, sunglasses twirling between his thumb and forefinger, a slow grin lighting his face.

He wore his usual light blue jeans, slung low on his hips, and a charcoal Sensual Secrets T-shirt. Ice-blue eyes perused Sophia with false casualness.

He didn’t have to meet her gaze for her to recognize the heat there, but he did. “Ellen said you’re always late.”

She knew where this was going. “You find this ironic.”

“I know the punishment for tardies. I’m just thankful you were never my teacher.” He closed the distance between them but stopped short of actual contact.

“Me, too,” she agreed. “Otherwise, my plan to fantasize about your hands all over my body while I’m getting a massage would be highly unethical.”

Color rushed to his cheeks, fanning the flames in his eyes, and his lips parted. “My house isn’t far from here. How about we skip this thing and you won’t have to pretend it’s me touching you?” Her legs and lungs stopped working. Thankfully, her knees froze instead of collapsing. Sparks arced the tiny distance between them. His lips were inches away, and she ached for that kiss.

“Sophia! You’re finally here.”

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Drew rolled his eyes at Ginny’s timing, and then turned to her with narrowed eyes. “Isn’t there some kind of Food Network Challenge you should be at?”

She twisted her lips at him in distaste, a graphic expression that would never mar her sister’s serene face. “My assistant, whose ego was already over-inflated, went into the catering business and got his own show, leaving me high and dry on the competition circuit.” Their sparring was lighthearted. The two of them behaved very much like siblings. Sophia never saw Ginny take pot shots at Sabrina like this, though she did fire some shots at Ellen. She liked to see Ellen wrestle with her inner dominatrix.

Stepping behind Sophia, Drew enfolded her in his arms. She stiffened in shock before relaxing into his possessive embrace. God help her, she liked it. “You plan to exact your revenge by stealing my girlfriend?” She stiffened anew at that title. There was no way she was going to relax now. “You own half of the show, Gin. I’m not letting you have Sophia, too.” She hadn’t known Ginny owned half of his show. She hadn’t known a show could be owned. Carefully peeling away Drew’s arms, Sophia stepped away from him.

“Sophia?”

Her name was a loaded question, filled with all sorts of messy, emotionally loaded innuendo. She pasted on the biggest smile she could, which was quite pitiful by any standard. “Sorry, Drew. This is a girl thing.

I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She expected Ginny to stick her tongue out at Drew in a victory gesture, but all she did was look from Drew to Sophia and back again, concern wrinkling her brow. “Are you two still fighting?” With a brief shake of her head denying Ginny’s asked and unasked questions, Sophia turned to follow the attendant through the door into the women’s changing rooms. Knowing hesitation would only fuel Ginny’s probing questions, she didn’t hang around to hear them.

Ginny joined Sophia before too long. Sophia knew the fact they had joined the others in comfortable chairs to await manicures wouldn’t stop Ginny from asking.

“If you’re not still fighting, what’s wrong?” Ginny had settled into her chair and was thoughtfully perusing nail colors. “Lesbians avoid nail

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polish,” she informed her specialist. “Just make them look good without the chemical paint.”

She didn’t have to repeat the question because Ellen took up her cause.

“I thought things were going well between you two. Not everyone has the balls to go at it in my den with a roomful of people downstairs who know exactly what you’re doing.”

Sophia busied herself with choosing her color. She liked bold, vibrant colors that contrasted with her naturally olive complexion. From the corner of her eye, she saw Sam and Amanda exchanging glances. With her curly blonde hair and changeable olive eyes, Amanda looked much like a feminine, pretty version of Jonas. Her curvy build attracted her husband’s attention in eighth grade, and it never wavered.

Samantha’s hair was darker, with auburn highlights that shone brightly in the sun. She was taller than Amanda, and she had a boyish, lanky build.

Sophia didn’t know Sam, who spent much time traveling, as well as she knew Amanda, who lived locally. Both of them had no scruples about following Ginny’s lead.
Christ.
Lara wasn’t there to keep Ginny in line.

Sophia wasn’t going to get out of this.

With a heavy sigh, she gave them something. “Drew and I are not fighting. We have plans for mind-blowing sex tomorrow and Monday.” Ginny chimed in next. “He called you his girlfriend, and you gave him the cold shoulder. That’s obviously a sore spot.” Selecting a subdued peach, she handed it to her manicurist. Apparently, she had changed her mind about lesbians eschewing nail polish. “Drew’s not a cheater, if that’s what you’re worried about. He gets around, but honestly. When he wants no stings, he makes it clear beforehand. If he called you his girlfriend, he meant it.” Sophia hoped the massages were private.

Amanda studied her curiously. “He’s really cute, Sophia, but I thought you were already seeing someone.”

Even as pressure built at the back and top of her head, Sophia affected nonchalance and waved away her concern. “I don’t do relationships. I have lovers, affairs. Entirely stringless.”

All the pairs of eyes turned to Sophia, not only those of her supposed friends, but those of the manicurists as well. She wondered if they knew exactly who they were talking about. She hoped this didn’t end up on the
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Internet or some trashy TV pseudonews show. Drew already had enough publicity from that front. “I am not his girlfriend.” Silence greeted her vehement announcement. Sabrina was the first to break it. “But you’ve agreed to not see other people. That’s a commitment people in a relationship make.”

Nausea churned Sophia’s stomach. She fought the beginning of a migraine. “Can’t we talk about your wedding? Aren’t there dresses to complain about or flower arrangements to discuss?” Ellen finally got the message. She had witnessed several of Sophia’s meltdowns. “Sure,” she said a little too enthusiastically, “let’s talk about how the neckline needs to be lower on my dress.” Sabrina gasped, her big brown eyes growing saucerlike. “It already shows most of your cleavage.”

“Honey, that’s the only hope I have of deflecting people’s attention away from my massive thighs. I’ve got a wicked set of breasts, and I intend to use them.” Ellen’s dry declaration produced some laughter and succeeded in changing the subject.

Sophia rested her head against the back of the chair and closed her eyes.

The chatter faded to background noise, and her nausea subsided.

* * * *

Drew watched as the pretty, petite manicurist buffed his nails. Due to the demands of his show, manicures were something in which he indulged every week. Nobody wanted to see close-ups of a cook with dirty nails handling food. It tended to detract from the visual attractiveness of the dish.

His mind, however, was a million miles away. Sophia had seemed glad to see him. She had been close to accepting his invitation to return to his house for an afternoon of steamy sex. Then Ginny interrupted. Sophia stiffened at his touch. Did she have a problem being touched in front of Ginny?

“I don’t want a manicure, either, Drew, but I’m not scowling about it.” Jonas’s voice broke through, interrupting Drew’s puzzled thoughts. He looked up suddenly, focusing on olive-green eyes that were laughing at him.

“If you don’t want a manicure, why are you getting one?”

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Sabrina’s lanky husband shrugged, a gesture of surrender. “Wife says, husband does.”

“You do everything she says?” Drew found that difficult to believe.

Sabrina had always been on the bossy side, but he’d never seen her try to boss Jonas around.

“Absolutely.” He grinned. “Every successful marriage is built upon a few simple rules. Doing what your spouse says is just one of them.” Ryan, even taller and lankier than Jonas, threw in his support. “It’s the most important one. ‘Yes, dear’ is the most important phrase to learn in a marriage.”

A deep laugh came from behind Drew. Ty added his opinion. “You also need to learn ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘Prettier than who? I only notice you.’” The three married men in the room laughed. Drew looked at them one at a time. Two weeks ago, he would have felt sorry for the poor bastards, and now he was jealous. At long last, Drew understood why it would make a man happy to repeatedly bend to the same woman’s wishes. Sophia had only to ask something, anything, and he would move heaven and earth to make it happen.

“It does work both ways,” Richard added quietly.

Drew started before leaning back to look at Jonas’s quiet brother-in-law sitting unobtrusively on the other side of Ty. He hadn’t noticed Richard.

“Both ways?”

Richard smiled widely. “Happy spouses make for happy homes. If you keep her happy, she’ll keep you happy.” Jonas’s groan came from behind Drew. “Drew, do not ask him to be more specific. Rich and I have an unspoken agreement to never talk about his sex life.”

“I’m sleeping with his sister,” Richard said, an evil light glimmering in his friendly brown eyes. “We’ve been together for seventeen years, but talk of anything more than kissing brings out his big-brother instincts. It gets messy, but Amanda doesn’t make me sleep on the couch for kicking her brother’s ass.”

Ryan made a knowing noise. “He’s the same way about Ellen. Very brotherly.”

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The dripping sarcasm wasn’t lost on anyone. Jonas’s mouth twisted in disgust. “Ellen tells me enough, Ryan. She doesn’t censor anything, no matter how much I beg. I don’t need that from you, too.” Before Drew could ask, Jonas held up a hand. “Don’t even think about getting technical about Sophie. She’s like a little sister to me.”

“Remind me to keep you away from Vanessa,” Ty said dryly. “It sounds like you have enough sisters.”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Drew said, addressing Jonas, but avoiding actually looking at anyone. “I think she just dumped me again.” Ryan’s carroty brow rose. “You think?”

Drew’s scowl returned. “She’s hard to read.”

“That’s a dominatrix thing,” Ryan said. “It’ll get easier the better you get to know her. It took me about six months to crack Ellen.” The manicures ended. As a group, they made their way to the pedicure chairs. Drew sank into the cushion and neglected to acknowledge the way the woman massaging his foot used her eyes to throw invitations his way.

“Did you ask her to give up her submissives?” A question like that from Richard shocked Drew.

“I wish this was a completely different discussion,” Ty said. “I saw the Tigers play at Comerica Park yesterday. Good game. My boss thinks I was sick.”

“No, she doesn’t,” Jonas, who was married to Ty’s boss, said.

Drew closed his eyes and answered Richard. “No.”

“Why not?” Ryan asked. “That’s the first thing I made Ellen do before we got serious. She made like it was painful to let them go, but I could tell she really wanted to be with just me.”

“I don’t want her to give up her submissives,” Drew said. “I can’t play that game with her. She needs them. And, truthfully, I like to watch her work them over.”

“What, then?” Jonas said. “Sophie’s pretty clear about what she wants and doesn’t want.”

“I don’t know.” Drew opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. This male-bonding afternoon wasn’t supposed to turn maudlin, but he needed information about Sophia that she didn’t seem inclined to provide about herself. Most women couldn’t wait to spill their life story. Sophia seemed to pretend she didn’t have one. “I waited for her in the lobby. Things were fine.

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I was joking around with Ginny, and Sophia just…changed. She stiffened up and pushed me away. Then, she disappeared into wherever they keep the women.”

“Joking?” The tone in Jonas’s voice left no doubt he was frowning.

“About what?”

The pedicurist pressed a point in Drew’s foot that momentarily stole his breath. He glanced down at her, and she smiled up at him in a way that dared him to make a big deal out of it. “Did that hurt?”

“A bit,” he said, ignoring the warning. “Just be careful.” Sighing, he turned his attention back to Jonas. “Ginny came out to take Sophia back to where Sabrina is. I grabbed Sophia and accused Ginny of trying to steal my girlfriend.”

“Well,” Ryan said, “there you go. She’s not your girlfriend.”

“Yeah,” Ty added, giving up on a sports-related conversation. “When she’s still sleeping with other people, it’s not an exclusive relationship.” Drew resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “She agreed to not see them when I’m not part of the action.”

His proclamation was met with silence.

“I’m okay with it as long as I get to play, too,” he added. “Sophia doesn’t have a problem with that. I think she was willing to let them go until I told her I was okay with her keeping them.”

“I’m amazed she gave you that much,” Jonas said quietly. “But Ryan is right. She’s not your girlfriend.”

“We’re not seeing other people.”

Jonas leaned forward, reached out, and squeezed Drew’s arm. Sympathy blazed from him. “You have to take it slow with her, Drew. She’s been through a lot. The fact she’s agreed to have any kind of a relationship with you at all is significant. I’ve never seen her do that with anyone before. Go slow, and be patient.”

Drew glanced over, meeting Jonas’s eyes. Unspoken words told Drew that Jonas wasn’t going to say more about Sophia. Drew also understood the look to mean he did have a significant chance with her if he followed Jonas’s advice.

“And don’t use the
G
word,” Ryan added. “Let her get used to the idea first.”

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