Only thing he didn’t like was that she was keeping Collin away from him. The little boy had claimed his own special spot in Wes’s heart, and he couldn’t help but miss him. Sunday visits just weren’t enough. Sure, he understood her hesitance after Seth’s big mouth got in her ear, but he wanted to prove to them he wasn’t delusional about their place in his life or his place in Collin’s life. He knew he wasn’t Collin’s father. That honor belonged to a big idiot who was missing out on so many blessings by putting himself before his son.
“Your first patient is waiting in the coral reef room,” the nurse said as she knocked on his open door. “I’m pretty sure you’re looking at a sinus infection.”
“Thanks, Krista. I’ll be there in a minute.” Wes grabbed his stethoscope and headed that way, leaving the worry of Sophia and Collin for later.
•••
The November night was cool and crisp. The mud was icy and mushy. Sophia was frigid and prickly. And Wes was over it all by the time they’d crossed the finish line and received their sand-dollar-design finisher’s medals. If he’d cut her like the deadweight she was, Wes was fairly certain he’d have finished in the top three.
“Never again,” he muttered, wiping his cheek with the back of his hand, knowing good and well it didn’t help. They were both covered in mud from head to toe. Him, from maneuvering the obstacle course like they were supposed to. Her, from being shoved into the last mud puddle by Lincoln after he met up with them near the end, where he was standing guard.
“You’ve shirked the whole dang thing, Miss Priss!” Lincoln had yelled before giving Sophia a swift shove. The “puddle” was closer to the size of a small pond.
Sophia wrung the water out of her ponytail and huffed, bringing Wes’s attention back to the present. “Never again is right.” They were traipsing through the patch of woods that separated the obstacle course from the parking lot.
“It wouldn’t have hurt you to do the obstacles.”
Sophia stopped and hitched her hands onto her hips. “I ran the entire thing. No one said it was against the rules to go around the obstacles.”
“You do realize you added at least two extra miles by doing that?” Wes mirrored her pose, feeling right exhausted. He had run the course as directed and then kept backtracking to find Sophia so she wouldn’t get lost in the dark.
“We survived it, didn’t we? Well, almost. That big oaf has it coming to him when he least expects it. I don’t know why you’d even think I’d be into something such as this. I could have just made a donation and sat up on the bleachers at the finish line, with Opal and Josie and the other sane people. I’m not a mud kinda girl. . . .”
The full moon beamed through the tall trees, filtering ribbons of silver along her scowling face as she continued her rant. Even in such an angry state, Sophia was easily one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen.
She reached out and jabbed him in the chest with a finger while fussing on and on about nonsense. Before she could retract her hand, he grabbed it and pulled her into his arms.
Wes’s plan was to tell her to hush up already and release his hold on her, but when Sophia let out a gasp and melted into his embrace, that plan was all but forgotten. His lips pressed against hers, effectively ending her rant and his long pent-up need to kiss her.
Wes had come to understand a lot about Sophia—and the life she had endured—as they’d grown closer during the past four months. It had been a loud life that seemed to be too aggressive and cumbersome. Many of their late-night talks involved her sharing the trials she’d withstood with Ty. She often expressed how exhausted it had left her. Wes was determined to be the opposite in their friendship, their working relationship, and in this kiss.
He presented it with no force, simply placing his lips against hers and holding the caress in a gentle manner. When Sophia didn’t push him away or bite him, he brushed his lips from one corner of her mouth to the other and back again. Featherlight and slower than cool molasses.
The boisterous sounds of music and celebration beyond the trees seemed to fall away as his heart began pounding in his ears. It was scary yet invigorating. With shaking, gentle hands, Wes cupped her muddy face and deepened the kiss by a fraction. They were surrounded by a thick blanket of earthiness, yet her sweet floral scent was there, reminding him of how solid Sophia’s support had become.
Wes thought the room had tilted the night he first heard the beautiful melody of Sophia’s laughter, but that didn’t come close to what he felt as she parted her lips to invite him closer. The entire forest tilted and spun until it turned his life completely upside down.
Dazed, they broke apart when a voice boomed over the camp’s loudspeakers about something Wes was too boggled to catch. He stared at Sophia, trying to gauge her response to what he’d done. She looked as surprised as he was. Sure, it was something he’d pictured happening a time or two, but he never thought it would actually happen.
Whether to revel in the kiss or to feel guilty about it pushed and pulled against him as his eyes unfastened from her and looked around the shadowed space. He raked a hand through his damp hair and gathered several deep breaths.
“Sophia, I’m—”
“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry for kissing me.” Sophia jabbed a finger right over his heart in the very same spot that felt both good and bad for what he had just done.
The feeling reminded him of a runner’s high—exhilarating even though it took enduring a fair amount of pain to achieve it. He had spent the better part of the past month sorting through his feelings. Wes knew Sophia wasn’t Claire. Not once had he tried to find his wife in the feisty brunette. But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t sometimes catch himself picturing Luke through Collin, especially after Seth expressed his concerns about it.
As Wes watched Sophia ramble out another tirade with her arms flailing around, he knew in his heart that the concerns didn’t hold a light to the visceral need to have them both in his life. This time when he pulled her back into his arms, the kiss was planned. Slow and tender, the caress was meant to convey just how enamored he’d become with her.
He knew he loved Sophia and Collin for who they were, not for what they could never be. He hadn’t come to Sunset Cove with any hope of finding what he’d found. But here she was, standing before him in muddy clothes and enough sass to keep anyone on their toes. Wes knew—
A crackling sound whizzed through the air, followed by a loud boom, and the sky came to life in bursts of color. The unexpectedness of the fireworks seemed to give him a little push.
Wes released Sophia from the kiss and blurted, “I didn’t move here for this.” He took a step back as the forest lit in hues of blue and red. “I didn’t even like you when we first met.” He shook his head, feeling overwhelmed and knowing his perfectly prepared speech was coming out all wrong.
Sophia looked as confused as she had every right to be. “Okay.”
“No, it’s not okay. I didn’t want to want you, but—”
“Seriously?” Sophia growled and stormed off before he could finish.
“Wait! I’m saying it all wrong!” He hurried after her just as she set out into a sprint.