Matchmakers Box Set: Matchmakers, Encore, Finding Hope (12 page)

“You went back to the house?” Carissa’s voice rose in pitch, and her eyes grew wide with her smile.

Sophia shook her head. “I just ended up there. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Can I get you something?”

“I’d really, really, really like a cup of water.”

“I can do that.” Carissa turned around to get the water and then back to Sophia. “Mary Alice says you’re going to her house tomorrow night for dinner with Dad.”

“Yes. He’s happy to have a good, home-cooked meal. And since he was stuck in my apartment with bad Chinese food, I guess I owe him that.” She sipped the water. It was refreshing, like being home with family, and she sighed. “Millie says you’re headed over to Emily’s to fix things up. Will you be okay?”

“Yeah. I’m really mad at her, and I just want to talk out what happened with her and that jerk and get the story straight. She owes me an apology, and I expect to get it and the full story. It’s the missing parts in life that make things all crazy.”

The statement zeroed in on the truth, and Sophia couldn’t form a response right away. She could only wish she’d been as wise as the young woman who stood before her.

“I guess I’d better head home.” She drank down her water and threw the cardboard cup into the trash. “Good luck with Emily.”

“Thanks.”

“What time do you think you’ll be home?”

“I don’t know, but shouldn’t be later than nine. I really need some beauty sleep.” She knit her brows. “I did want to ask you something. That’s why I texted you. I audition for first chair on Wednesday. Would you be there?”

The very question had Sophia gasping at breath. “At your audition? Are you sure? That’s nerve-racking enough.”

“I think it would be fine. I’d love to have you.”

Sophia smiled. Pride flowed through her and a joy like she’d never known. “I would love to be there for you.”

Sophia sank onto the front steps of her grandmother’s house. As her breathing and pulse slowed, she contemplated what Carissa had said to her at the juice shop. How could it be that the little girl she’d run away from was the one that had so much wisdom? Sophia reached for her neck. There was no scarf there, only the necklace her mother had given her and the scar that she’d hidden for so many years that really wasn’t so bad.

Warrior, she thought. How different would her life have been if she’d waited David out and not been so afraid of what had happened? She combed her fingers through her sweaty curls and gave it some serious thought. How horrible it all must have been for him. To find out he had a daughter and then the woman he loved left him without explanation. She was woman enough to realize that was only the start. Carissa couldn’t have been in the very best of ways when she banged on their door that day. How frightened must she have been?

Sophia thought of the little girl who’d looked lost and deserted. She was dirty, and her clothes were torn. For seven years she’d lived with that woman she wouldn’t even call her mother. What horrors had she witnessed in those seven years? It was no wonder she’d searched out her father.

What would it have been like not to know your father? Sophia had known her father, and she’d loved him and he had loved her. He’d read her stories and sang her songs while she sat cuddled on his lap. He had taught her to tie her shoes and ride a bike. Every night he’d tucked her into bed and told her he loved her. Not only did he love her, he loved her mother, too. One thing that she would never forget was the way they would look at each other and the way they would look at her. It had been devastating to lose them both. But never to have known them, or even one of them, that was unthinkable.

Then there was Mandy. Who was she really? Sophia surely would like to know. How had David come to know this woman and father her child? From the few things she’d learned about Mandy, they weren’t the kind of people that would ever have hooked up. But, obviously, they had.

These were all things she should have hung around and asked, rather than running away and staying away for ten years because she assumed she’d been pushed out of the picture. From what Carissa had told her, she’d never been out of the picture.

When her grandmother found her on the porch and said that she and Millie were going to the neighbor’s for dinner, she was grateful.

“You should come with us,” Katie offered.

“Oh, thank you. I really think I’d like a night in,” Sophia politely refused.

“Okay then. There are some leftovers in the fridge.”

“Thank you.”

Katie patted Sophia’s shoulder as she passed by her.

“He’ll be home soon,” she said softly as she walked into the house.

CHAPTER NINE

At ten o’clock, Sophia shut herself in her room and paced the floor.

She’d phoned Pablo three times. There was still no answer to her phone calls or to the fate of her career, which lay in his hands at the moment.

She looked out the window of her room and saw David’s car in the driveway. She scrubbed her hands over her face and through her hair before turning to her desk and sitting down. She opened her laptop and searched for his flight. It was expected around eleven-thirty. Throwing her head back, she took a deep breath.

“If I hurry, I can catch him,” she whispered to herself. “I love him.”

She’d said it aloud—admitted it to herself without hesitation. She grabbed her purse and raced down the stairs.

The house was quiet. Everyone had turned in for an early night. Out of courtesy, she wrote a note and laid it on the kitchen table.

Gone to pick up David. Will be back soon. Sophia.

Her hands began to tremble as she backed out of the driveway. What would she say to him? What would he think of her being there? She couldn’t think about it. She just had to do it.

She found a parking space and began to run through the parking garage and into the building. It was eleven fifty when she reached the furthest point she could go without a ticket.

For a moment, she thought of how he’d followed her off the plane. The path he had taken. She read the monitors and looked for the gate and the luggage carousel, though he’d have his with him. He’d only gone to the luggage carousel because he’d been following her. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Had she missed him? How would she find him? She hadn’t given it much thought. How would he know she…

“Sophie?”

She spun to see him, his luggage to his side, his cap tucked up under his arm. Her lower lip quivered as she walked to him. His eyes were light with sheer joy that she was there. The smile that crossed his lips told her that he missed her. When he dropped his hat and scooped her up in his arms, she knew he still loved her.

Not one word passed between them before he crushed his mouth to hers, and she pulled him tighter. Her fingers wound in his hair as his hands held the small of her back. She parted her lips and deepened the kiss. Her head spun, her knees grew weak, and she couldn’t let go. She didn’t want to let go. Never again. He was hers. He’d always been hers, and she knew he’d waited for her to return. She knew it all just from the power of his kiss.

“Sophie, I love you. I’ve always loved you.” He kissed her again.

She wasn’t sure her feet were on the ground, and her head kept spinning when he pulled back to rest his forehead against hers. “What are you doing here?”

“I missed you. I couldn’t be without you one more minute. I’ve missed too many of them,” she admitted breathlessly as she touched his face and breathed him in. “David, I love you, too. I’ve never stopped loving you.”

“It’s been a damn long time to love someone and not have them.” He pulled her close again. “Sophie, never leave me again.”

“I promise I won’t.” She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and held him against her.

“C’mon.” He grabbed her hand and his suitcase. “Where did you park?”

“I don’t know. Over there, I think,” she said laughing as he pulled her along.

Once they found the car, he threw his suitcase in the trunk, and each of them climbed in as quickly as they could. The instant the doors closed, he had Sophia’s face in his hands, her mouth pressed to his, and her hands on his chest. That was how it should have always been, she thought.

“You’re sleeping in my arms tonight,” he muttered against her lips.

“Yes.”

“I want to make love to you.”

“Yes.”

His mouth smiled against hers, and he started the car. “This is going to be the longest drive home.”

They drove from the airport enfolded in intimate silence. David squeezed her hand, holding it tighter, and she’d smile that smile he’d fallen in love with so many years earlier.

He’d been right. It was the longest drive.

The moment they reached the house, each of them flew from the car and into each other’s arms. The night was dark except for a few stars that spotlighted them in the driveway.

David held her tight to him, his hand tangled in her hair. He pulled her closer to him, placing kisses on her cheeks, her forehead, and then gently on her lips.

“You’re shaking. Are you cold?” he whispered.

“No. I’m nervous.”

“It’s not like we haven’t done this before.” He grazed a kiss over her lips.

“I haven’t…well, you were…”

David took her by the shoulders and eased her back to look her in the eyes. “You haven’t made love to another man since you left?”

She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “David, you’re the only man I’ve ever been with.”

“But Pablo?”

She shook her head. “I may have tried to replace you with him, but our relationship was never like that. Pablo has never been my lover.”

Her words tugged at his heart.

“I thought…”

“I know what you thought.” She touched his face. “You’re the only man I’ve ever loved, the only one I’ve shared myself with.”

He pulled her closer, feeling her body tremble against his. “I’ll take care of you. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. For us to be a family.”

“I know.” She lifted her head and met his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

He put his finger over her lips to stop her. He wasn’t ready for conversation. Not now. He needed to hold her, to love her, to feel her once more.

With a playful smile, he pulled her by the hand to the back door.

He took her mouth with his, feeding the fire burning deep inside of him. With their arms locked around each other, they stumbled through the kitchen and crept up the stairs to her room.

It was dark except for the cascade from the street lamp outside her window.

David wandered kisses over her face and down her slender neck. His name was a whisper on her lips, and it drove him wild. He could have her dress off her in a heartbeat, but he wanted to caress her and hold her until she had completely melted.

Her skin was just as he’d remembered it. Soft and scented of rose petals. Her pulse pounded beneath his lips as he placed kisses down her throat.

He skimmed his hands up her sides, reached behind her neck, and slowly opened the zipper to her dress. He slid the soft, cotton material from her shoulders and watched as it pooled in the lamplight at her feet. Her body was exposed, and he felt her tense under his touch.

He stood still for a moment, waiting for her to relax, wanting her to savor every moment of their lovemaking. She took a little breath and then unbuttoned his shirt, the soft light turning her features to molten gold. She slid her hands under the fabric and over his skin, and his own heart hammered in his chest.

Moving slowly, he unhooked her bra and let it fall to the ground atop the discarded dress. Beneath his hands, he felt her shudder as he touched the scar on her throat then gently he kissed it.

“I love you,” he whispered. “I love everything about you.” He kissed her neck and, inch by sweet inch, worked his lips down her breast and took the tip into his mouth.

Sophia gripped her fingers in his hair. He knew she hadn’t felt the heat that vibrated through her since his mouth had last trailed over her body, and he wanted to make it special for her. She arched against him as his hands slid across her skin. It wasn’t going to be easy to hold back.

He pulled her toward the bed, covering her mouth with his once more. Would he ever get enough of the taste of her? He lowered her to the cool sheets, then unbuttoned his pants and slid them to the floor. Her unwavering eyes captivated his.

Sophia was back, and she was back for good. She’d never let him touch her if she hadn’t planned on staying. That’s how Sophia was.

With gentle fingers, he pulled the silk panties down her legs. He drank in the sight of her body. It was still perfect. His body quickly reacted as he lowered his body next to hers and focused on her, and not his own burning needs. He touched her skin with his fingers. The scar that ran from under her arm to the top of her hip had his attention as he ran a gentle touch down her side. With kisses just as tender, he kissed her stomach, crossing over the scar that ran from side to side. He’d never been afraid of her scars. What could have been had always caused more fear in him. What would life ever have been for them all without Sophia in it?

He shifted and rose above her. He felt her tremble, but only a moment later, her hands roamed down his back.

“David…” Her whisper of his name drove him mad as he slid inside her. She moved against him.

God, he could lose himself right there. He wanted to take her. He wanted to plunge against her in a violent storm, washing away the ten years he’d missed of kissing her, touching her, and loving her. But he needed to be gentle with her.

“Sophie. I’ve missed you. I’ve missed this.” His kiss heated against her mouth, and she moaned against his lips. “I haven’t touched another soul since you,” he whispered in her ear as her fingers dug into his skin. “I haven’t wanted to. It’s always been you. Only you.”

“David.” The quiver in her voice told him she was spilling over. He’d driven her to the very edge where heaven and earth melded together and the sky spun. He felt her shudder beneath him, and a moment later, he tumbled with her.