Her mother tapped a fingertip to the top of the ring, apparently catching her. “Seems that man has been your anchor in the last few months. Simply do the same for him.”
Sophia gazed at the ring, remembering all the times it had reminded her that God was her anchor, just as Wes had wanted it to. But her mom was right. Somewhere along the line, Wes himself had also become an anchor for her. His attentiveness and persistence had aided in her regaining her appetite, potty training Collin, and cutting enough apron strings to allow him to go to preschool. She wasn’t blind to the fact that most of the dates they’d been on had been for her benefit more than his.
Last week’s date flickered through her mind, lifting the corners of her lips.
“What’s that smile over?” Lucy nudged her leg.
Sophia bit her lip to suppress the smile. “Just thinking about Wes taking me to the Harvest Dance last week.”
“Still can’t get over the two of you making the paper.”
“Well, the man certainly knows how to cut a rug.” Sophia gave up and grinned even wider, reminiscing about how he dipped her and kissed the tip of her nose. It was playful, but the newspaper captured an image of it that looked much more than that. “He took me to the dance because the rumor mill said I was in hiding with bruises and a sprained wrist from Ty.”
Sophia had taken Collin to see Ty in Columbia during his team’s bye week. In all actuality, it had been one of the smoothest visits they’d had so far, except when it came time to leave. Collin fell to pieces, and not having any power to make that particular hurt any better for her baby, Sophia started crying as well. As they loaded up to begin the trek back home, Ty had reached into the car to give her a hug. Unfortunately, the paparazzi pictures that surfaced the following day made it look like his arm was in the process of punching her instead of embracing her.
Wes showed up at her door, demanding she put on her halter-top maxi dress to show off her bruise-free arms and shoulders and go out dancing with him. That date was all for her, even though Wes would never admit it.
“Well, the pictures definitely debunked that rumor. Baby, you were glowing at that dance.”
“Yes, and that was Wes being my anchor. Now I need to figure out how to be his.” Sophia stood. “Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need luck. You just need to pay attention to your intuition.” Her mother winked before wrapping Sophia in a reassuring hug.
•••
Sophia listened to her intuition, giving Wes the space Seth had advised, even allowing Saturday to skip by when Wes didn’t answer her call. She figured if he needed her, he would have picked up. But by Sunday afternoon, she was about to come out of her skin. It wasn’t a “want to” but a “need to.” She needed to see him.
Sitting on Opal’s deck in a floppy sun hat and oversize shades with the Sand Queens, a wave of déjà vu swept over her. She was even wearing black yoga pants and a black top. “We’ve already lived this scene not too long ago.”
“Yes, but this time it’s you who’s trying to figure out a way into the vampire’s lair.” Opal tucked her lightweight cardigan around her, stretching the fabric over her baby bump.
Sophia reached over and smoothed her palm over the taut ball and spoke to it. “Little Cole, your momma is a Froot Loop. Just warning you.”
Opal playfully shoved Sophia away. “No more than you are.”
Josie straightened in the wicker chair where she was slouching. “Someone is in the kitchen.”
All eyes darted that way.
“When are the cookies getting here?” Sophia asked as she watched the curtain over the sink flutter before the shadow disappeared. Her patience had worn so thin that she wasn’t above storming over there and going toe to toe with Seth to get inside that house.
“Linc is on the way back with them now,” Opal answered after checking her phone. She set it down on the table and kicked her feet into a vacant chair, the glitter of her bright-green toenail polish catching in the late-day sunshine.
Sophia crossed her arms and slumped in her chair. “Ugh. There won’t be any left by the time that big oaf gets here.”
“Momma made two batches for that very reason. One for Linc and one for the plan.” Opal flicked her wrist dismissively, sending a tinkling sound ringing out from her bangle bracelets.
That brilliant plan was to draw the brothers out with a phone call promising fresh-baked cookies. And not just any cookies, but Opal’s mother’s award-winning loaded chocolate chip cookies. After Linc delivered the goods—one full container and one holding only crumbs—he disappeared inside, claiming that he needed to eat something salty to balance the cookies. Opal called and left a message, and in less than ten minutes, the guys took the bait.
The back door of Wes’s beach house swung open and produced a man on a mission. The breeze played through his caramel locks as he bounded down the deck stairs two at a time.
“It’s always a treat to see your handsome face, Wes,” Opal commented as soon as he stood beside them on her deck. The large umbrella over the table shaded his face, but he seemed to be just fine. Sophia was relieved to see no trace of dark circles.
“You can look all you want, just so long as you hand over those cookies.” He held his palm out and waggled his fingers impatiently until she placed the container in his hand.
“Wait a minute,” Josie spoke up, something she rarely did. “You’re not Wes.”
Sophia had already figured that out, but it was fun seeing her friends make the same mistake she had on Thursday. She bit her lip to hold back the smile.
“Who are you and how’d you know that?” Seth quirked a thick eyebrow.
“For one, you’re mouthy. Wes isn’t. You also have a tiny mole on the top of your left cheek. Wes doesn’t.”
Seth touched a fingertip to the beauty mark. “Ain’t you observant?”
Opal giggled. “That ain’t definitely confirmed you’re not our Wes.” She hitched a thumb in Josie’s direction as she stood up. “Josie’s an artist. She’s all about detail.” She laced her arm around Seth’s and beckoned him toward her door. “Sophia whipped up some of her homemade hot chocolate to go with the cookies. Let’s go inside and have some.”
Seth followed her in like a starved puppy, perfectly distracted—as was the plan.
Sophia snuck away and let herself in the back door at Wes’s. The house was quiet and each of her tiptoed steps seemed to echo as she peeked inside every room on the first floor. When they all came up empty, she left her hat and sunglasses on the couch and moved upstairs. As soon as she hit the second-floor landing that opened into a quaint sitting area, movement out on the balcony caught her eye.
She walked over and quietly eased open the French doors. Wes made no indication he’d heard her except for scooting over in the canvas hammock to make room for her. She glanced at the rocking chair on the other end of the balcony, where it swayed beside a small table that held a lone coffee cup. After debating a long minute, she chose to accept his silent invitation and managed to settle beside him without tossing them both out of the hammock.
From the corner of her eye, Sophia inspected him as slyly as possible and let out a sigh of relief when she found him looking as perfect as ever in a pair of wrinkle-free lounge pants and a plain gray T-shirt. His bare feet were casually crossed at the ankles. No stubble on his chin and his hair was combed. The only thing amiss were the faint shadows underneath his hazel eyes, which were trained on her as she moved her attention up. She waited for him to call her out on staring.