“I don’t always see my bad choices before I make them.”
She nodded. “That’s understandable. But there are a few things you can start to practice that will lead you in the right direction.”
“Like what?”
“For starters, express your feelings. Whether it’s a good thing or bad thing, try to be open. Don’t lie or omit things that are on your mind. And that’s a task that’s easier said than done. For example, does this woman know how you feel about her?”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure I even know how I feel about her.”
Dr. Halpern smiled. “Are you sure? Very often, we tell ourselves we feel conflicted about someone or something because the thought of how we really feel scares us.”
Fuck. I dragged a hand through my hair. She was right. I was falling in love with Sophia, and not the kind of fall that happened slowly. I was barreling head over heels, hard and fast, and it scared the living shit out of me. It took a few minutes for that to sink in, even though it had been there all along. My head pounded, and my mouth felt like the Sahara Desert. I looked up at Dr. Halpern and discovered she’d been watching me mull everything around in my head.
Frowning, I said, “Fine. Maybe you’re not such a quack after all.”
She laughed. “I think we’ve had a good session today, so I won’t push you to discuss the feelings you have about this new woman. But loyalty is a two-way street, and it begins with honesty. Now that you’ve admitted what your heart holds, perhaps the next step is sharing it with the person who holds your heart.”
Chapter 22
* * *
Sophia
The last few days had been crazy busy. My father was back in town, and the legal team had been working twelve hours a day as we loomed closer to the bid-submission deadline. Some nights I didn’t finish working until almost midnight. And even then, the light was still on in Weston’s office when I left. Though that didn’t stop him from making his way to my bed when he finally called it quits.
This morning it felt like we’d barely fallen asleep, and now we were up again. The first light of the day streaked in through a gap in the curtains and sliced a ray of sunshine across Weston’s face.
He petted my hair as I looked up at him, chin propped up on my fist. “There’s a room key on the desk over there.”
Weston’s hand froze. “You want me to have a key to your suite?”
“Well, last night you woke me up about ten minutes after I dozed off. So I thought maybe you could just let yourself in.”
He grinned. “I’m pretty sure you just invited me to slip my cock inside of you while you’re sleeping.”
I play-slapped his chest. “I meant let yourself in my room, not my body.”
Weston leaned his weight to one side and rolled us. I was quickly on my back with him hovering over me. He pushed the hair from my face. “I like my idea much better.”
I smiled. “I bet you do.” We were both still naked from last night, and I felt him hardening against my thigh. “My father is leaving on an afternoon flight, so I told him I’d meet him downstairs at seven. Unfortunately, I have to jump in the shower now.”
He leaned in and kissed my neck. “Is there anything I can do to convince you to be a few minutes late?”
I chuckled. “There’s no such thing as a few minutes with you.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
I shook my head. “It’s definitely not. But it’s also the reason I’m about to go into the bathroom and lock the door.”
Weston sulked. It was adorable. He rolled to his back and blew out a frustrated breath. “Fine. Go. But don’t blame me if there’s a wet spot on your side of the bed when you get out of the shower.”
I wrinkled my nose and stole the sheet from the bed as I stood. “My side? Why don’t you make that mess on your own side?”
He tugged at the sheet I tried to wrap around myself. “Because it’s your fault there will be any mess to begin with. If you’d just give me five minutes, I could make that mess where it belongs—inside you.”
God, I had it bad for this man. What he’d just said was crude, yet I felt that mushy feeling in my belly, just hearing him say his cum belonged inside me. Romantic, right? But it was what it was.
I leaned back down to the bed and kissed his lips. “My father should be gone by noon. How about you meet me back up here for lunch at one o’clock, and I’ll let you make that mess anywhere you want?”
Weston’s eyes darkened. “Anywhere I want?”
Oh boy. That was a dangerous statement. But what the hell? I smiled. “Anywhere. Good luck concentrating today while you debate exactly where that will be.”
***
“You and the Lockwood boy seem to have made friends,” my father said.
It was just the two of us left in the conference room now that he’d rudely told the legal and accounting team to make themselves scarce.
Where is this leading? Dad rarely made observational comments that didn’t have a purpose. He treated people as pawns in a chess game. I shuffled a pile of papers to a neat pile. “We’ve found common ground. It’s not like we have a choice when we’re running a hotel together.”
“He’s not focused on running a hotel with you, Sophia. His focus is on your ass. I’m not dumb. I see the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is paying attention.”
I froze. “How does he look at me?”
“Like he’s a pit bull that hasn’t eaten in weeks, and you’re a juicy steak.”
I cringed—not because it wasn’t quite possibly true, but because hearing my father say it was wrong. The word juicy in any way, shape, or form—when related to me—sounded icky coming out of his mouth. Knowing lies were usually apparent on my face, I avoided eye contact by walking around the room and collecting empty coffee cups and plates left by the team.
“I think you’re exaggerating,” I said. “But…so what if he does? Weston is a nice-looking man. It’s not like I haven’t noticed that.”
I snuck a peek at my father’s face and found it stern. “Jesus, Sophia… Don’t even think about it. That man is beneath you. But in any event, perhaps you could—”
I cut my father off. “Beneath me? What does that even mean? Are there unwritten levels of people I’m not seeing? Perhaps that’s why you walked out on my mother. Was she not the same level as you?”
My father rolled his eyes. “Not now, Sophia. I have a flight to catch. We don’t have time for yet another argument because your feelings were hurt when your mother and I divorced.”
I shook my head and mumbled, not quite under my breath, “Unbelievable…”
Dad took his suit jacket from where it hung on the back of a chair and shrugged into it. “Anyway, as I was saying, the Lockwood boy is interested in you. Perhaps you can use it to our advantage.”
“To our advantage? Exactly what are you suggesting?”
“We’ve had this discussion before. And you’re a smart girl, Sophia. You know exactly what I’m saying. We only get one bite at the apple with this bid. It would be helpful to know what the Lockwoods’ offer will be so we can bid above it for the minority share.”