My Love - Bobby & Sophie: A Crossroads Novella (5 page)

One line: not pregnant.

Two lines: pregnant.

Wait. No. That couldn’t be right. Her stick had two lines.

Looking back at her stick, she confirmed that, yes, it did indeed have two lines. Then her eyes shot down to the paper she was still holding. Unfortunately, neither the pictures nor the words beneath them had changed in the second it had taken her to confirm that there were, in fact, two lines on her test.

The next test showed a plus sign and, beside it, a plus icon with the word pregnant, indicating that the t-shape meant she was pregnant. Her eyes moved to the last test, which actually displayed the word ‘pregnant.’

Her ears were ringing loudly and the pressure in her head increased like a balloon being filled with helium that was going to float away. The backs of Sophie’s eyes filled with moisture. She couldn’t seem to force herself to look away from the paper, her eyes glued to it in disbelief.

Two lines: pregnant.

Plus sign: pregnant.

The word ‘pregnant.’

When her phone buzzed loudly, she jumped with a start, almost falling off the toilet. Her heart raced as she picked up her phone and saw that it was a text from Bobby. She had no idea how long she would have stayed frozen in that exact position—holding the paper in her hands and staring at it like it was written in a language she couldn’t understand—if Bobby hadn’t interrupted her shock-induced paralysis.

She stared at her husband’s text for several seconds as she felt herself float back into her consciousness.

‘I’ll be home in ten. Remember, no panties.’

Keywords stood out to her as she tried to piece together what he was saying. Home. Ten. No panties.

Shit!

Sophie hadn’t even started packing for their trip. She stood and grabbed the boxes, stuffing the scary pregnancy sticks inside them before tossing them into the trash. She was halfway out of the bathroom when she stopped short. Turning back around, she bent down and retrieved the tests, boxes and all, from the trash. For some reason, throwing them away seemed…wrong.

A vibration buzzed against her palm and her eyes shot to her phone. One more text from Bobby had come through.

‘I have a surprise for you.’

Sophie almost laughed as she read the words on the screen. Well, she had quite a surprise of her own for him.

*     *     *

Bobby pulled up in the driveway and watched the headlights illuminate the garage door as it slowly rose. He clenched and unclenched his fingers around the steering wheel, caught his reflection in the rearview mirror, and did a double take, surprised at what he saw.

He was smiling.

It’s not like Bobby wasn’t a happy guy. He absolutely was. Normally, there were just no outward signs of his inner feelings. Honestly, he’d been totally unaware that he was grinning until he’d seen it in his reflection. Now that he relaxed his face, he realized he must have been wearing the unfamiliar expression for quite some time because his cheeks were actually sore.

After leaving Alex and Jason at Sloan Construction, Bobby had stopped by Elite Protection and nailed things down with Seth. He was surprised at how happy his emotionless, show-no-feelings twin had been. At first, Seth’s classic poker face was not giving anything away as he’d made it clear that Bobby wasn’t going to get any special treatment, that he would receive the same pay rate all the other guys had started at, and if he wanted to move up, he’d have to go through the ranks just like everyone else.

Seth must have been able to read, by Bobby’s reaction, how relieved he was to hear that. Once Bobby had told him that he wouldn’t have it any other way, Seth had relaxed and actually been somewhat animated as he’d filled Bobby in on exactly what his job would entail, which was basically different from assignment to assignment. But there were some universal expectations that were true across the board.

When Bobby had started at Sloan Construction, he
had
been given preferential treatment. Mainly from his dad, but also from Jason, who was serving as V.P. at the time. Looking back now, Bobby realized that it’d probably had less to do with the fact that he was family and more to do with the fact that they’d known they could depend on him. Once Bob Sr. had had his heart issues, some of the crew had left, moving on to perceived greener pastures, thinking that Sloan Construction wouldn’t be able to withstand their leader being out of commission. So Jason had not only been faced with stepping in and trying to run things, but he also had to quickly rebuild their manpower.

It wasn’t that Bobby hadn’t risen to the opportunity. He had. And he ultimately earned any of the nepotism he’d been afforded the hard way—through backbreaking work. But the thought of having to prove himself, to work his way up in a field he’d always been drawn to, was making Bobby feel more alive, more excited, than anything—other than the woman he was currently waiting on—ever had.

Bobby grabbed his phone and sent Sophie a quick text letting her know that he was here. She’d shot him back a smiley face emoji, which was her way of saying that it was going to be a few minutes. Sophie was a lot of things, but punctual was not one of them.

For a moment, he contemplated going in and seeing if he could move the process along, but he immediately threw that thought out and remained seated in the SUV for two reasons. First, Sophie hated feeling rushed and he didn’t want to start out their weekend on a bad foot. Second, Bobby knew that, if he went into his house, he’d delay their departure even longer than if he just waited in the car.

It was difficult for Bobby to keep his hands off Sophie under normal circumstances. Today was not normal. He’d been strung tight all day because of their Snapchat sessions. Not to mention the fact that, over the past few months, with her increased traveling, he’d missed her more than he’d ever known was possible to miss another person. Add both of those factors to the rush he was feeling about no longer being in construction and finally pursuing something he’d always been interested in, and he knew, the second he laid eyes on her, he wouldn’t be able to resist touching her, kissing her, taking every ounce of pent-up arousal and rush of adrenaline he was experiencing and focusing it solely on her.

And Bobby knew that once would not be enough with her. It wouldn’t even begin to take the edge off his desire for her. It had always been that way with Sophie. Since their first kiss on their very first date, he’d wanted more, like an addict who was always feening for his next hit.

For a while, he’d thought that his unquenchable craving was due the fact that, ever since middle school, Bobby had had a serious thing for Sophie Hunter. Even during elementary school, he’d always thought she was cute. Whenever she’d come over to Bobby’s house with her brother, Nick, who was best friends with Jason, he remembered that she’d follow him around, talking nonstop about girl stuff. She’d tell him about a new dress she’d just gotten, some drama that had been going on with the girls at their school, or what grade she’d received on her spelling test. He’d loved hearing her ramble on and on. Not because he cared about what she was saying because he usually wasn’t even paying attention. No, Bobby remembered, even when he was as young as ten years old,
loving
the sound of Sophie’s voice.

And not just her voice—he also loved her larger-than-life facial expressions. Everything Sophie was feeling was displayed on her face. Maybe he’d been drawn to her like a moth to a flame because, although Bobby felt things
deeply
, he’d never been good at expressing himself. If self-expression were an Olympic sport, Sophie would have walked away with the gold, hands down, even when she was eight.

But then, when Bobby was in eighth grade and Sophie had started sixth, everything had changed. He stopped just
enjoying
the time he’d spent around her and started
looking forward
to it and even being
disappointed
if a day went by when he hadn’t seen her smile, heard her laugh, watched her brow furrow in concentration, or smelled the sweet scent that was uniquely Sophie. He’d thought about her constantly. Sophie Hunter had consumed Bobby’s thoughts every second of every minute of every day since he was thirteen years old.

Unfortunately, it had taken him over a decade to act on those feelings. Part of that was because, even though Bobby had never been at a loss for female companionship, he had never really been the pursuer. Since he could remember, girls had just always been available and more than willing to do whatever Bobby had wanted. He still attributed a lot of that to the trail his four older brothers had blazed by making the Sloan name legendary by the time he’d made it to kindergarten. Seth was the mysterious, brooding, strong, silent one. Riley was the wild bad boy. Jason was the town’s Romeo, or Casanova, depending on who you asked, and Alex was the charismatic playboy. Following that lineup had been a panty-dropping no-brainer.

He’d gotten the distinct feeling that all the girls he’d ‘dated’ in middle school and high school had cast him in whatever role they’d wanted him to be. They hadn’t seen
him
or wanted to be with
him
. They’d just been happy to be with a Sloan brother, and because Bobby was quiet, it had made it easy for those girls to invent what or who he was. Which had been fine with Bobby as a teenager. He hadn’t wanted them to see the real him. And he’d still gotten laid. A lot. And he never had to let anyone in. His role in those girls’ lives had had a lot more to do with them than it ever had with him.

Every girl except Sophie. From the time she’d started following him around in overalls and pigtails, when she’d look at him, he’d felt like she saw him. Which had naturally scared the shit out of him.

Bobby’s phone dinged with a text that read,
‘Almost ready.’

His lips turned up at the corners in amusement. Sophie’s text might have seemed like just a friendly update, but Bobby knew better. That was her version of a ‘do not disturb’ sign. Under normal circumstances, her warning would have been a necessary evil. Usually, he would be heading into their house any second to expedite their departure. Not tonight.

No. Tonight, Bobby would wait, semi-patiently, for his wife. The alternative being his going into that house and delaying their trip by at least a few hours.

A
fter fifteen minutes of waiting, Bobby was just getting out of the SUV, thinking maybe he should stretch his legs in the hope that some of the blood that had rushed to his midsection would disperse, when the door leading into the house opened and a flash of blonde hair, shimmering in the overhead light, fanned out as Sophie appeared for a moment. She made brief eye contact but then turned around and bent over at the waist to pick up the overnight bag she’d set down beside her. The innocent movement caused her ass to shoot up in the air on display and forced a whole heap of not-so-innocent thoughts to begin racing through Bobby’s head. Her ass was round and firm, causing Bobby to instantly swell beneath the zipper of his jeans as his mouth watered.

After stepping out of the driver’s side of the car, Bobby met Sophie at the garage door that led into their house in two long strides. His fingers wrapped around the handle of her bag and he pulled it away from her, careful not to let his hand graze hers. If he felt her soft, smooth skin, he knew the tiny thread of control he was exercising would snap and he’d push her up against the wall and take her. Hard.

Seeming to be completely unaware of his hormonal war raging just below the surface, Sophie smiled as explanations began pouring out of her mouth. “Thanks, baby. Sorry I’m late. I’ve had the craziest day. It just got away from me. Have you ever had one of those days where you’re focused on your work and you think a half hour, maybe an hour has passed, but you notice the time and several hours have flown by? That was my day. Before I knew it…”

The sound of Sophie’s voice warmed him from the inside out, spreading through his veins like a shot of whiskey on a cold, snowy day. He was only half listening as he moved to the back of the SUV, popped open the tailgate, and set Sophie’s deep-purple overnight bag beside his plain, black one. It wasn’t that he was intentionally ignoring her because he didn’t care about what she was saying or because he thought what she was saying was boring. In fact, it wasn’t even something he consciously did. It just happened whenever she started one of her long-winded speeches. It had been that way since they were kids. Bobby instantly relaxed at the sound of her voice.