The Billionaire's Runaway Bride (9 page)

“What kinds of problems?” Sophie asked, sincerely interested. Gardening was, after all, her one passion. Besides Jason that is, she told herself.

“Well, I tried to create a hosta garden last year underneath an old oak tree. My grandchildren have a swing hanging down from one of the branches and I thought we could make a nice sitting area. But the hostas look just awful,” she said.

Sophie nodded knowledgably. “Little holes all over them?” she asked.

“Yes!” Elizabeth replied, leaning forward. “Do you have the same problem?”

“Not anymore,” she said. “They are from slugs.”

“Oh no!” Elizabeth said, her hand going over her heart in distress. “I hate slugs. How on earth do you get rid of them?”

Sophie considered her words carefully, knowing that some solutions might offend people. Gardeners could be a very opinionated lot. “Well, there are chemicals you can use which poison the slugs. Unfortunately, the birds then eat the slugs and get sick. But if you put out several bird houses, the birds will take care of some of the slugs,” Sophie explained. “And some birds consider slugs to be a delicacy so they eat more.”

“How nice!” Elizabeth said, nodding her head. “Then we’ll have more bird songs,” she laughed, thrilled with the solution.

Sophie smiled, delighted that she’d found someone she could genuinely connect with. “Well, that will only eliminate some of them. I’ve also had success by putting beer into small, hidden cups. The slugs like the smell and then slip in, can’t get out,” Sophie explained, her eyes twinkling with glee at getting rid of the awful pests.

“What a delightful idea!” Elizabeth said.

“What is so delightful?” her husband, Brad asked, standing next to his wife and Jason, his coffee cup in his hand.

“Slugs and beer, dear,” Elizabeth said, taking a delicate sip of coffee and waiving her husband to be quiet. “Nothing to concern yourself about,” she explained and turned back to Sophie. “What about rabbits? Do you have any ideas on how to keep them from eating everything in sight?”

But Brad was having none of that mischief and spoke up, nudging his wife on the arm with humor and a twinkle in his eye. “What are you thinking about doing with my beer, woman?” he said brusquely but Sophie could tell he was only teasing his wife. “Slugs and beer don’t work, if you don’t already know that.”

“Exactly,” she teased right back. “Sophie has given me the perfect solution for two problems that have been the bane of my existence.”

“What on earth could be your problems?” he said, putting an arm around her shoulders. “I thought the day you married me, all your problems disappeared.”

Elizabeth just rolled her eyes. “Brad, my love, you are delusional. And Sophie has explained a wonderful way to get rid of that awful brew you keep bringing into my house and the slugs which are eating my hostas.”

Brad’s teasing was gone. “What are you going to do with my beer, woman?”

“I’m going to feed it to the slugs, of course,” she said.

“Over my dead body,” Brad replied with emotion.

Elizabeth reached up and kissed him on his cheek fondly. “If that’s what it takes, dear,” she said.

Sophie couldn’t help but laugh. They were a very fun couple and obviously in love for a long time.

Elizabeth turned back to face Sophie, obviously dismissing her husband. “Sophie, what were you going to say about rabbits?”

Sophie looked from Elizabeth to Brad nervously, then up to Jason who just raised his eyebrows, but there was laughter hidden behind his eyes. His look gave her encouragement. “Well, you can soak red pepper and tobacco in some water, then spray the mixture on the leaves. The rabbits won’t eat anything with that solution on them.”

“Really?” Elizabeth asked, amazed.

“Yes, but you have to put it on almost daily initially. The mixture comes off easily, especially after a rain.”

Her eyes were alight with curiosity and enthusiasm for the solution. “And it won’t hurt the soil?”

“Oh, no,” Sophie stressed. “In fact, putting a ring of crushed eggshells around your hostas will also slow down the slugs but the eggshells give the soil nitrogen which produces stronger leaves with a deeper color. Although the eggshells aren’t as effective as the beer at deterring the slugs. They don’t like crawling over them, but they just burrow underneath and still find their hosta treasures.”

Elizabeth looked at Sophie as if she were ten feet tall. “Where on earth did you learn these things? I thought the only way to deal with these awful pests is through the commercial, chemical products.”

Sophie shrugged her shoulders but knew she was glowing with pride. First Jason’s comment about Evelyn and Jocelyn being jealous of her hair and now Elizabeth looking at her with respect for her gardening knowledge. It was a heady night. “The commercial products work much faster and are more effective, but they hurt the environment. Besides, the organic treatments use things we usually discard and therefore, help everything involved.”

“It sounds like you probably have a very beautiful garden,” Elizabeth replied, admiration shining in her eyes.

“Well,” Sophie said reluctantly, “We have a gardener who has very specific ideas on what he wants done with our landscaping,” she said, looking down at the floor. But then perked up, “But sometimes I’m learning to sneak in a dig or two,” she laughed. She missed the sharp look Jason gave her at that comment.

“Perhaps you could come over one day and give me some additional advice?” Elizabeth asked, her tone hopeful.

Sophie’s eyes brightened at the invitation. “I would love to!” she said. “As long as you don’t mind me getting a little overwhelming. You can just tell me to be quiet and I’ll drop the subject.”

Elizabeth laughed with her. “I think a passionate fellow gardener is exactly what I need,” she said. “Brad, I believe it is time for us to leave,” she said, noticing that all the other guests were preparing to head for the door as well. “Sophie, Jason, thank you for a lovely evening,” she said and took Sophie’s hand in hers, squeezing it slightly.

“It was a pleasure to have you,” Sophie said, really meaning it. The night didn’t seem like such a trial simply for the last half hour with Elizabeth.

The guests slowly filtered out of the house, leaving only Evelyn and Jocelyn who lounged in the living room, enjoying another glass of Jason’s wine. “Lovely night, Jason. I think it was a huge success,” Jocelyn said, sidling up to Jason and plastering her voluptuous curves against his. “You were very charming,’ she said and kissed his cheek.

Sophie stood beside one of the sofas, her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she observed her husband and stepsister. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking but she was glad when Jason disentangled himself from her arms. “I’m glad you think so, Jocelyn,” he said but put his arm back up on the mantle, then looked across the room at Sophie. “Thank you for your help, Sophie. Elizabeth was quite taken with you.”

Evelyn laughed but it came out sounding slightly malicious instead of humorous. “Yes, Sophie. All that talk of bugs and dirt. Jason finally found a use for you, didn’t he?” she said, leaning back against the cushions.

Sophie was deeply hurt but refused to look at Jason for fear that he would be laughing along with the two women. She knew he thought her a blue stocking but seeing any kind of smile, even a smirk, would just hurt too much.

“Good night, ladies,” she said with as much dignity as she could muster under the circumstances. “Good night, Jason.”

She walked slowly out of the living room but as soon as she was out of sight, she ran up the stairs, wanting to put as much space between herself and the two vicious women as she could. It wasn’t fair that both Evelyn and Jocelyn could be so beautiful and have so much luck in their lives and get all the wonderful men too.

Since when did she start thinking of Jason as wonderful again? Sophie pulled off her hated brown dress, tossing it onto the floor, then kicking it for good measure. She wished she could wear those colors. But the words of her father were too strong in her memory telling her that colors on a redhead were promiscuous, plus the haunting words of Evelyn the few times they’d gone shopping together where she explained that muted colors were probably best for her hair color.

Sophie remembered the day her father had brought Evelyn home as his wife. She’d been away at boarding school for the spring semester and had come home for spring break. She hadn’t really minded when she arrived home to find that her father was off on his honeymoon. She’d been sixteen at the time and had been relieved that she wouldn’t have to hear his lectures on her behavior or hair color. But the day she was packing to return to school, he’d arrived with Evelyn in tow. Sophie had been fascinated and excited about the beauty and doubly thrilled when Jocelyn peeked out from behind the newlyweds. A mother and a sister, all in one day had been a wonderful surprise.

It wasn’t until the summer break that Sophie had been able to have a conversation with Evelyn and Jocelyn since she’d had to catch her flight back to school only a half hour after she’d met her new stepmother and sister. But she’d spent the rest of the school year fantasizing about what the summer would be like with a mother and a sister in the house. She’d been so optimistic that her father would mellow, that he wouldn’t get angry all the time and call her awful names.

But the day she’d arrived back from school had been a devastating blow. She’d walked into the house only to be told that her father, stepmother and stepsister were taking a month long cruise around the Caribbean. It was hard during that month since her father had never taken any kind of vacation with her, ever.

Once they’d arrived home, Sophie had been just as upset and counted the days until she could leave for school again. Evelyn had indeed come back and had changed everything in her father’s home. She’d taken Jocelyn and Sophie out shopping which had been an extremely painful experience. Whereas her father made outright comments about her appearance and limited his criticism to her hair and how the color was a sign of her sinful nature, Evelyn and Jocelyn finished the task of completely destroying any kind of self confidence she’d had. Their criticism was much more subtle, more insidious.

There were worse comments but Sophie finally learned to tune them out just as she had her father’s lectures. Her only saving grace was that her father hadn’t left his fortune to Evelyn either. Being a woman, she wasn’t worthy of the full amount. She did receive an allowance but that was determined by Jason and not a standard amount set forth in her father’s will.

What was it about Jason that her father had trusted him to the point of leaving his entire fortune to him? What had Jason done for her father? Or not done? It was an odd choice, she thought as she brushed her hair and got ready for bed. She rushed through her nightly ritual as her mind raced with questions and the hurt she’d tried to banish from her mind.

She slipped between the covers only moments before Jason entered the room. She’d already turned off most of the lights but there was enough for him, she knew. There had been many nights during the last few months of their marriage when she’d lain awake until the early hours of the morning, then listened to him change for bed.

She slept on her side with her back facing him and when he slid into bed beside her, she tensed, ready for him to pull her over to him. Sophie wondered what she would do if he touched her but when he simply turned out the light, she was disappointed.

And angry, she realized. She slept fitfully and woke up more exhausted than when she’d gone to bed. But it was Saturday morning and she was in a fine rage. It was only seven o’clock so she quickly showered and changed into jeans and another shirt, this one in cream that came down to her knees. She pushed the sleeves up to her elbows, mentally preparing to do battle with Jason.

She found him in the breakfast room, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper. “Good morning,” he said as soon as she walked in.

Sophie held her tongue while one of the servants poured her coffee. “Thank you,” she said and waited the long seconds while the man left the room.

Jason had been watching her the whole time. “I can tell you have something on your mind,” he said, setting down his newspaper and giving her his undivided attention.

She considered all the issues she was angry and settled on the greatest. “I can’t do this,” she said, pushing the tears back. “I want out of this arrangement.”

Jason pushed his cup back, looking at her across the table. “I see. Didn’t we have this discussion just three days ago?” he asked. She could see the anger forming on his own features but refused to be intimidated.

Sophie pushed the coffee away, her stomach was already in knots because of the confrontation and she couldn’t fathom putting anything in it. “No, you discussed them and then laid down the law. But I’m not going to live like this.”

“Like what?” he demanded, but his tone didn’t go up even one octave. “With every possible servant at your disposal? With all the money you could possibly spend and every credit card available? What more do you want, Sophie?” he asked, the sarcasm barely in control.