Live-In Position (35 page)

“Of course,” I smiled at her.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the stairs.

AFTER DROPPING VICTORIA off at school, my cell phone rang. Keeping my eyes on the road, I answered it without looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Long time, no speak, stranger,” Dominic said from the other end of the line.

“Hey, how are you?”

“I’d be better if you still talked to me.” I was hoping he was just teasing, but it didn’t sound that way.

“Sorry, it’s been pretty hectic. With a seven year old, things get a little chaotic.”

“I’m sure. Why didn’t I hear from you in Whidbey?” I had completely forgotten he had messaged me.

“Oh, I just didn’t have any time. Plus we left earlier than originally planned,” I tried to explain without too many dirty details.

“Well, then, how about this weekend? Care to join me for a night out with grownups?”

Oh, sweet bajeebus, Collin would kill him and me.

“I actually have a prior engagement this weekend. A friend of mine is getting married, and I’m in the wedding so there are rehearsals and –”

“This has nothing to do with Collin?”

“Excuse me?”

“You aren’t avoiding me because of him, are you?”

“No,” I squeaked out. “Why would that make a difference?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. You just seem to be avoiding me.”

“Honestly, I’m not. This is just the way it is for me right now.”

“Victoria’s at school now, right?”

Oh no.

“Um –”

“Good, then you can meet me for coffee.”

“I really have a lot I need to –”

“You aren’t getting out of this one. I’ll just come to the house if I have to.”

I wanted to scream and smack my head repeatedly on the steering column.

“Fine. Where?” I said as friendly as possible.

Dominic gave me the location of a coffee shop nearby. Arriving first, I ordered my coffee and sat at an empty table. He arrived about five minutes later. Once he took a seat, we fell into familiar conversation that revolved mostly around him. While he rambled on, I silently wondered what had ever been so appealing about him. Even after we realized dating wasn’t going to work out between us, why had I decided to continue to hang out with him? The moment my cell phone rang, I felt relieved.

“Sorry.” I grabbed my phone and answered.

“Hello?”

“Good morning, Sophia.”
God hates me. He is punishing me for being involved with the Antichrist.

“Hello, Dr. Bishop.” I realized the mistake as soon as it left my mouth.

“Why are we back to formalities?” Irritation and suspicion saturated his words.

“Umm…” I didn’t know what to say. “What can I help you with?”

“Is someone around?” he asked coldly.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Who?”

“I can’t do it right now, but perhaps I can –”

And because God didn’t feel his point had been made, he decided to show me how jealous the Antichrist can be.

“Back off, Collin, we’re having coffee. She’ll be through in twenty,” Dominic shouted and rolled his eyes.

There was no holding back the groan that escaped my lips.

“You’re with Dr. Erickson?” His voice rose, and the anger lacing his words were terrifying.

“Yes.”

“Are you on a date with him?”

“Of course not, Dr. Bishop.”

“Stop with the damn formalities, Sophia!” His heavy breathing had me too scared to say anything.
Did I drop the charade and reveal us to Dominic or did I keep our relationship a secret as agreed?

“Please tell me it’s not a date.”

“I already told you it isn’t,” I growled.

“I want you to leave now. I don’t want you around him.”

“You don’t get to dictate who I can associate with.” I glanced across the table and saw Dominic smiling proudly at the situation playing out before him. His face made me snap.

“And
you,
don’t you sit there with that look on your face. I am not someone you get to use to piss Dr. Bishop off. I agreed to meet you as friends, but you clearly just want to cause problems.” I pushed away from the table, grabbing my bag.

“Sophia, wait –”

I whirled around on him.

“Don’t.” I pointed at him. “Just leave me alone.”

Once outside, I took a deep breath.

“Did you leave?” Dr. Bishop’s voice was low and full of worry.

“Yes, but not because you demanded,” I snapped.

“I’m sorry I –”

“I need to go and calm down.” I hit the end call button and hurried to my car. I ignored all calls coming in from Collin for the rest of the day, knowing he would eventually find a way to get to me.

FRIDAY ARRIVED, AND Victoria and I were getting ready for the wedding rehearsal and dinner.

“Why can’t I wear the dress? I need to practice, don’t I?” Victoria had been arguing with me for the past ten minutes about why she should wear her dress tonight.

“Miranda wants it to be a surprise for tomorrow.” I looked at her with my brow raised and a curling iron in my hair. She huffed, knowing she couldn’t argue any longer.

“Fine,” she growled, stomping out of my room. I stifled my laugh.

We arrived to the rehearsal dinner amidst praise of how adorable and beautiful Victoria was with her curly red locks. She was beaming from the compliments and the attention. Miranda’s wedding coordinator, Beth, lined everyone up. Much to Lucas’ disappointment, I was not partnered with him. Beth ran us through the entrance twice and then the exit three times. When we lined up for the first exit, I met Benji’s cousin, Demetri.

“I’m Demetri,” he leaned down and whispered as we walked down the aisle side by side. Demetri was tan with dark hair and bright blue eyes. He was quite attractive.

“Sophia, friend of Miranda,” I whispered back.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He spoke in a normal volume once we made our way out of the church.

“No hitting on my bridesmaids,” Miranda teased as she and Benji walked by us. I laughed loudly and earned a glare from Beth. Covering my mouth, I dropped my head.

“You got in trouble,” Victoria sang, one person down from me. I stuck my tongue out at her.

“Your daughter?” Demetri glanced between Victoria and me.

“Oh, no, I’m her nanny.”

He gave a slight nod.

At dinner, Victoria wanted to sit next to Nessa, the little girl Miranda day-sat, so I was left with Lucas on my left and Demetri on my right. Miranda and Benji were a few people down but close enough for me to catch her grinning at my situation – if she only knew.

Lucas tried to make small talk for the most part, but Demetri was the type of guy who demanded attention. He would simply swoop in and take command of the conversation. It wasn’t too long into the dinner that I felt like maybe I should step away from the table so they could arm wrestle.

My head hurt, and Miranda’s constant wiggling eyebrows were enough to make me toss a piece of bread at her. I excused myself to go to the ladies’ room. Lucas and Demetri stood when I left the table. Once in the bathroom, I leaned against the wall and took a couple of deep breaths.

“I see you have some admirers.” Miranda couldn’t hold in her giggle.

“Zip it, you.” I lightly smacked her arm. “They are driving me crazy.”

“Well, if it were me, I’d be all over Demetri. That man is—” She stopped when she saw my gaping mouth. “What?”

“Miranda, that’s Benji’s cousin. You know the guy at the table that you’re marrying tomorrow?”

“Oh hell, I can still look, and Demetri is worth looking at.” She giggled.

We burst into loud laughter.

“I guess you’re right.”

“You guess?” She looked at me curiously. “Are you seeing someone and not telling me about it?” Her eyes narrowed, and I froze. “You are! Oh my god, who is it? Do I know him?”

I groaned. “Look, it’s complicated and I, well, it’s too soon to really talk about it.” I ducked into an empty stall quickly.

“Oh, no you don’t!” she shouted through the closed metal door. “Spill it.” She beat on the door.

“Miranda, really, I’m just not ready to make anything public yet.” I flushed and stepped out of the stall.

“I’m not the public, Sophia. I’m your friend.”

The door suddenly opened. “There you are! We are all waiting for you.” Rand looked back to me. “This conversation isn’t over yet,” she warned me with a smile before following her soon-to-be sister-in-law out of the ladies’ room.

I sighed in relief that we’d been interrupted.

When I returned to the table Lucas wasn’t in his seat. Demetri made sure to take the opportunity to “have me to himself.”
His words, not mine.

“Looks like we will be spending a great deal of time together tomorrow?” he grinned slyly at me.

“Yeah, I guess. I mean, for the wedding, sure.”

“Don’t forget about the reception,” he reminded.

“The reception?”

“Yes, we’ll have to dance with the bride and groom, of course.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess so.” I smiled small at him. He was a genuinely nice guy. Unfortunately for him, I seem to prefer cold, conservative Antichrists.

“We could practice now?”

I looked at him questioningly. He nodded his head toward a small cleared area where Benji and Miranda, her parents, his parents, and a few other guests were dancing.

“Um, I guess, but—” He didn’t let me finish. Taking my hand, he pulled me to toward the dancing couples and wrapped his arms around my waist.

Miranda smirked at me. I rolled my eyes. This wedding was going to be interesting.

C
hapter
T
wenty

-
ONE

EARLY SATURDAY MORNING, Victoria and I arrived to the bridal suite. The chaos within the suite was immeasurable. Nessa, the little girl Miranda took care of, was whining as her mother tugged and twisted her hair. Victoria sat in a chair while another woman twisted her hair around her head. Mrs. Murphy was a teary-eyed mess that couldn’t stop crying long enough for her makeup to be applied. Karen, Benji’s sister and maid of honor, and Mrs. Cramer were nitpicking every little detail.

I never thought it would take so long to get prepared for a wedding, but holy heck if it didn’t take over six hours to get everyone dressed and ready for the drive to the church. Miranda looked stunning in a very crisp, classic white gown. I had a hard time keeping dry eyes at the mere sight of her.

We drove twenty minutes to the church and all huddled in one small back room waiting for our cue. The moment Mr. Murphy arrived and knocked on the wooden door, everyone grabbed their bouquets and did last minute hair and makeup checks. The wedding coordinator quickly lined us up, and Mr. Cramer took his daughter’s arm. It was already clear he wouldn’t have dry eyes by the time he walked her all the way to Benji.

The ceremony was beautiful, and even though both Miranda and Benji messed up the fidelity part of the vows, it was perfect. When they were pronounced husband and wife and Benji kissed his bride, we exited as we had been instructed and stood in the receiving line. Demetri seemed to be standing quite close, but I simply tried to make do with the situation.

When the last guest left the church, we were grouped together for pictures. Then the whole wedding party was ushered out into two limos. Miranda and Benji requested to have us driven to a couple of locations where they wanted to have pictures taken. Then the newly wedded couple was driven off to a few more places that were special to them. The rest of us were driven to the reception.

Once the bride and groom arrived, the DJ announced their entrance. We all entered with our partners. Taking our seats at the bridal table, I was so happy Miranda had chosen to have all the bridesmaids on her side and the groomsmen on Benji’s.

Dinner went smoothly, but I groaned internally once the dancing began. Mr. Murphy danced with Miranda. Then Benji and Miranda’s song started, and Benji tapped Mr. Murphy on the shoulder. Mr. Murphy turned and took Benji’s hand to begin dancing with him. Everyone laughed loudly. Mr. Murphy then patted Benji’s back and kissed Miranda’s cheek, placing the hand of his daughter on her husband’s. The start of the third song prompted the bridal party to join the bride and groom on the dance floor. Demetri was quickly at my side.

“Shall we?” he said smoothly with a pretty amazing smile. I nodded. He took my hand in his while wrapping his arm around my waist to guide me toward the dance floor. He spun me and pulled me quickly to his chest. His grin was so large that he almost looked boyish. The move earned us some clapping and whistles.

“You know you aren’t supposed to outshine the bride and groom, right?” I half smiled.

“Well, the bride is beautiful, but I’m afraid it’s not my fault that we make such an amazing dance team.” He dipped me and I gasped. When I was stable on my feet again, I laughed loudly.

“Okay, next time, give a girl a warning.” He smiled and we continued to dance. There was one moment, during one of the many dips to come, when his hand slid very low on my hip. I quickly readjusted its placement and cocked an eyebrow at him. We finished the dance, and with the last note I started to walk away.

“Wait.” I spun back around toward Demetri. “Will you dance with me again?”

“I need to check on Victoria,” I blurted.

“Later then?” He looked hopeful.

“Uh, sure,” I smiled and began looking for my little redhead.

“Victoria, Nessa, what are you two doing?” I tried not to laugh at the fact they had been caught with their fingers in the chocolate fountain. They both looked at me with wide eyes before bursting into giggles.

“That’s enough, ladies. Come on.” I motioned them away from the chocolate. They groaned in disappointment.

As soon as they were at my side, the DJ started playing faster tempo music. I grabbed both of their hands and pulled them to the dance floor with me. We goofed off and danced around. My feet started to ache from the heels so I kicked them off and danced in my bare feet.

The night went on with drinking, eating, laughing, and dancing. A couple hours into the reception, I pulled Miranda out to slow dance with me, but our dance was interrupted when Benji appeared for his bride. As I handed Miranda over, Demetri took me up on my promise.

“Hey there.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me much closer to him than the last time we had danced.

“Um, hi there.”

“I’ve been watching you all night.” As he spoke, his breath wafted over my face and I could smell the alcohol. “You are amazing with that little girl.”

“Her name is Victoria,” I corrected him.

“Mmm…” he mumbled and buried his head into my neck. I pushed him back a bit, and he looked down at me curiously.

“Demetri, you are a great guy, but I am seeing someone,” I blurted out. I knew it was ridiculous to be nervous about saying it aloud, but I still couldn’t get over the tingly feeling in my stomach as the words spilled from my lips.

“Oh.” His brow furrowed a bit. “I wasn’t aware.” He began to look around. “Where is the lucky man?”

“Oh, um…”

He cut me off. “He’s not here, is he?” He smiled knowingly. This bastard knew I didn’t have a date with me tonight. He was messing with me.

“No, he had a prior engagement to attend.” I frowned at him.

“So technically, you are free tonight?” I opened my mouth to argue, but he spoke first. “Well, since he wasn’t smart enough to attend, with you looking this amazing, it’s my gain,” he smiled and nuzzled back into my neck.

I shoved at him again, but he held on tighter.

“Demetri, let go,” I hissed at him.

“Just relax,” he mumbled.

“Get off of me!” My voice had risen.

“The lady asked you to let her go.” My head snapped as Demetri’s head popped up from my shoulder.

“What business is it of yours?” Demetri spat.

“Let. Her. Go. It’s the last time that I will say it calmly.”

“Get the hell out of here,” Demetri replied, quiet yet stern. I noticed his grip on me loosening. I slipped out of his arms and stood between the two of them.

“Both of you need to stop,” I whispered harshly and looked around to make sure that we hadn’t drawn attention to ourselves, only to find that people were watching. “This is Miranda and Benji’s day. Don’t ruin it!” I glared at Demetri first and then turned to Lucas. “You got it?”

They both nodded but eyed each other down. I shoved at Demetri to get him moving along and then turned to Lucas.

“Thank you for your help, Lucas.” I smiled sincerely.

He shrugged. “Yeah, don’t worry about it.” His lip tugged up on one side, but not enough to become a real smile. He walked away, right out the door.

I scanned the room for Victoria and found her and Nessa dancing at the edge of the dance floor with a few other children that attended the wedding. I looked back to where Lucas exited and sighed before following him. I found him leaning against the side of the building.

“Hey,” I said softly. “You alright?”

He shrugged. I walked over and stood next to him.

“What’s going on?” I nudged him with my elbow.

He shook his head.

“Come on, we’re friends, right?” I looked at him with a friendly smile.

He sighed heavily. “Friends, huh?” The question sounded like it was the worst title I could have given us.

“You don’t want to be friends?” I bit my lip.

Lucas readjusted so that he was facing me. “I just, I guess, seeing Benji and Miranda has really made me realize how lonely I am.” His head dropped, and he kicked a small rock with the toe of his shoe.

“Ah, I see.” He looked up at me. “Lucas, you’re a great guy. I’m sure that she is out there. You will find her.” I faced him and patted his arm once.

Before my hand could drop back down, Lucas grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. I gasped loudly and tensed up. When I realized that he was just hugging me, I relaxed.

“I really wish you were right,” he whispered.

“I am. She’s out there,” I whispered back.

We pulled back from each other but remained in a small friendly embrace. That was when I heard the throat clearing from behind us. Turning around, I dropped my arms from Lucas.

Oh, Jesus Christ…more like, Antichrist.

“Miss Ashwood,” he stated coldly with his hard emeralds blazing at me.

“Dr. Bishop,” I responded, but it sounded more like a question.

He nodded to Lucas with a glare and entered the reception.

“Who is that?” Lucas asked.

“Victoria’s father,” I groaned and started to walk back in.

“Oh, so he’s your boss.” Lucas followed me.

I groaned again.

When we got inside, I saw Dr. Bishop speaking to Miranda and Benji. I stopped and watched him for a moment. Then he moved over to Victoria. At first, she was excited to see her father, but then he said something and her face fell. I walked toward them.

“But I don’t want to go yet,” she whined with watery eyes.

“Victoria, it’s getting late and you are going to see your mother tomorrow morning,” he tried to reason with her, even though his voice was a little harsh. “Collect your things, please.”

She stomped her foot and then spotted me.

“Sophia, do I have to go? Can’t I leave with you?”

Before I could answer, Dr. Bishop quickly answered for me.

“Miss Ashwood may have other plans this evening.” Victoria looked at him with confusion on her face. My mouth dropped open. “Now, please collect your things.”

“Daddy—”

“Now, Victoria,” he said sternly.

Victoria’s shoulders hunched forward and did as she was instructed.

“I can take her home,” I muttered.

His hard eyes focused in on me.

“I don’t want to ruin any plans you may have with your…friend,” he spat out the last word.

“Oh, really?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

Dr. Bishop didn’t say anything. His eyes remained hard and his lips tightly closed.

“I’ll take Victoria home,” I snapped and followed after her.

Victoria and I grabbed our purses and shoes and said goodbye to Miranda and Benji before we headed out. The walk to the car was quiet. My mind was spinning.

I get that Lucas and I hugged and that it could look bad, but is that really what he thought of me? Apparently, the answer was yes.

My disappointment in Dr. Bishop’s assumptions turned into anger. It was an anger that grew stronger during the drive back to the house.