Wrapped in You (11 page)

Still, that didn't stop a girl from desiring everything she shouldn't.

“Are you telling me you want in on the project?” she asked, circling back to the real reason he called.

Liam blew out a sigh. “I honestly don't know. I don't want to put you in the middle, but I just needed to know what was going on.”

“You could move back,” she told him softly. “You could still work there, but live here with us.”

“I'm only thirty minutes away. Savannah isn't that far.”

Far enough when there was already a world of emotions wedged between the members of his family.

“So what do you want me to do?” she asked, glancing at her e-mails. None that couldn't wait until after the open house. “Do you want me to keep you updated, or do you want me to try to talk you into jumping on board?”

Liam's gentle laugh filled the line. “I have no idea. I guess I just don't want to be out of the loop. I've already lost Chelsea. I don't want to feel like my entire family is slipping away.”

Sophie's heart broke for Liam. He'd distanced himself from Zach after the accident, but Sophie knew Liam would never have left to begin with if he and Zach had been able to get out their anger and resentment toward each other. But once Zach had gone to prison, Liam hadn't tried to visit. Each brother had let the hurt fester, and now here they were, ten years later, and all of that pain was just bubbling below the surface.

One day, they were going to blow.

“Maybe if you could keep me updated. Just let me know the costs and where the guys stand? I'm not giving input,” he informed her. “I don't want to weigh in on this, but if I decide to jump on board later, and that's a big if, I don't want to be going in blind.”

Sophie smiled. Liam wouldn't be able to stay away. He'd want to be part of this, he'd want this as an outlet to feel closer to Chelsea, but he had to figure that out on his own. Every man wanted his ideas to be his own, so Sophie would let him draw his own conclusions.

Perhaps this would be the thread that sewed this broken family back together.

“I promise to keep you updated,” she assured him.

Perhaps some persuasion would accompany her updates when she checked in.

Sophie and Liam said their good-byes, and as much as Sophie tried to concentrate on digging into work, she couldn't get her mind off of the Sunset Lake property. Chelsea had had a vision, one that meant so much to her that she'd taken time to plan this out, to hold it close to her heart and not share it with those closest to her.

Chelsea had purchased the property she'd loved since she was a little girl. She'd always joked that she'd own it one day, but Sophie always played it off as a little girl's dream . . . She knew all too well how those dreams could be crushed in an instant.

Refusing to allow that one life-altering night to ruin her day or the current dream she was fulfilling for a friend, Sophie opted to focus on what needed to be done to help Zach and Braxton with the property now. She might not be able to do much grunt work, but she would definitely be with them through 100 percent of this journey.

Sophie glanced at the time on her cell and calculated how long it would take her to run a last-minute errand before the open house in a couple of hours. She liked to arrive early at the homes to make sure the staging was properly set up before potential buyers strolled through.

Chewing on her bottom lip, she shut her computer off, grabbed her bag, and headed out the door. She wasn't going to hide behind the awkward tension between her and Zach. This project was a huge undertaking and they were all in this for the long haul.

As she drove toward his house, she wondered just how well she'd be received, showing up so unexpectedly.

The bright afternoon sun kept Sophie's spirits high during her drive to Zach's house. A beautiful day usually helped to draw more people out to an open house, plus Sophie needed that extra boost of sunshine from Mother Nature. Anything to keep her mood high as she tried to tamp down the nerves.

Why was she so nervous? Was she afraid of facing Zach's grumpy attitude? That wouldn't be new. Was she worried he'd look at her with that angst-filled desire? Also not new. He might not even be home, and she'd been getting worked up for nothing.

Sophie's confidence level and her mood plummeted as she pulled into his drive and spotted a very leggy, busty blonde in killer heels strutting back across the lawn to the house next door.

The blonde threw a look over her shoulder, a smile on the woman's blood-red lips, toward Sophie.

Sophie couldn't put her feelings into words, because if she sat there and analyzed them too much, she'd be hurt. She had no claim on Zach. They'd shared a kiss. No, two kisses. But that was all. He'd made it clear there could be nothing else.

Yet there was clearly something else going on, whether he wanted to fess up to it or not.

That didn't mean he didn't have a thing going on with his neighbor, who Sophie seriously doubted just came to borrow sugar.

Killing her engine, Sophie shook her head and stepped from the car. After smoothing her green pencil skirt and tucking her hair behind her ears, she straightened her shoulders and made her way to his front door. She refused to feel inferior to a woman she didn't even know.

So what if Sophie didn't have silicone to fill out her shirt? So what if there was no way in hell she could ever wear heels like that with her limp? And so what if red lipstick made her look washed out and she always chose a sheer gloss? She was proud of who she was. That didn't mean she had to like someone so blatant sniffing around Zach.

Sighing, Sophie raised her fist and pounded on his door. She didn't care if he wasn't decent. It was the middle of the afternoon and his booty call schedule wasn't keeping Sophie from working on her ideas for Chelsea's home.

The door jerked open. Zach's eyes darted to her, then behind her, then back to her.

“Not who you were expecting?” she asked, quirking a brow.

She had no idea how she expected him to answer the door, but shirtless with a pair of running shorts low on his hips hadn't crossed her mind. When she'd thought of him not being decent, she hadn't thought far enough ahead to an actual scenario . . . not that any image in her mind could compare to the real, beautiful vision.

That tattoo she'd seen peeking from his shirt scrolled up and over his taut shoulder. Ink over muscle . . . She'd never thought about it before, but this was a new level of sexy.

“Get in here,” he growled as he turned from the door.

“You look like you've had a rough night.”

The lady leaving the scene of the crime might have played a part in that, if Zach's messed-up hair was any indication. Sophie hated the thought of another woman raking her nails over Zach, but she was also realistic and knew he wasn't a monk.

By the time she stepped in and closed the door behind her, Zach grunted in response and disappeared down the hall. Sophie followed, assuming that's what her gracious host had intended.

As soon as she rounded the corner to his laundry area, she stopped short.

“Not one word,” he grumbled. “We've been up all night and I'm not in the mood for a snarky comment.”

Big, bearded, burly Zach cradled a puppy in one bulky, muscular arm and tried to wedge the tip of a bottle between the pup's little lips.

Sophie didn't know if she wanted to laugh at the image, sigh over the sweetness, or stand back and keep taking in the view. Yet again, the man continued to surprise her, and in the end laughter won out. Maybe he hadn't been burning up the sheets at all. Yes, this made her happy. No, she didn't care if that was childish.

Zach muttered a curse when the bottle didn't ease in. He murmured something sweet to the squirmy puppy. She'd never seen such a caring side of him. Nor had she seen him bottle-feeding anything at all before. Laughter bubbled up.

His eyes cut her way. “Stop laughing. You'll scare them.”

“I'm sorry,” she said, holding her hand over her mouth as she glanced down at a tired mommy lying on a very cushy pile of blankets while roughly six puppies nestled against her belly. “It's not you I'm laughing at. Well, it is, but not for the reasons you're thinking.”

Zach shifted his broad frame, muscles flexed all over the place. “I'm not in the mood for games.”

Sophie shrugged and leaned against the dryer. “On a good day you're not in the mood, so lack of sleep doesn't really change you much, does it? I laughed because I thought I'd just witnessed your booty call doing the walk of shame, but I find you in here nursing puppies.”

“My booty call?” Zach finally got the bottle into the puppy's mouth and the ball of fur stopped moving around. Apparently he was just a hungry little guy. “I'd never sleep with my neighbor, and I sure as hell wouldn't label it as a booty call.”

“What would you call an afternoon romp, then?” she asked, unable to help herself.

With a sigh, Zach pinned her with his heavy-lidded gaze. “Did you have a reason behind your visit? Because I'm sure you didn't come here to discuss my bedroom partners or what label I place on it.”

No, no she hadn't, and she'd gotten so far off track it took her a minute to figure out what she had come here for.

“I'm sorry I dropped in on you last minute and that you were up all night with your mama dog.”

“She's not mine.” He held the puppy up, stroked its golden fur, and gently placed it back down with the rest of the litter. “I found her in my bushes last night after I came back from your place. I'm looking for a home for her and the pups, but the pups can't leave the mom for six weeks. There's got to be someone who will take them all. I sure as hell can't.”

Yet he had. Sophie didn't think her heart could swell any more for this man at this exact moment. “Looks like you're the daddy for the time being.”

He cursed, raked a hand through his mop of messy hair, and propped his hands on his hips. “Then the vet couldn't get here in time for the delivery because she had an emergency, but a tech helped me over the phone with my questions. The puppies came, that little guy was too small, so I called back and was told to bottle feed it for a few days. I ran out this morning to get everything I needed and here I am. Now that you have the entire story, do you want to tell me what you need?”

Stepping toward him, Sophie smiled and tipped her head back. “You're a remarkable man.”

Zach lowered his brows. “That's what you needed to tell me?”

Still smiling, Sophie gently squatted down and ran her hand over the head of the beautiful Lab. Completely ignoring the slight twinge in her hip, she stroked the soft, golden fur and wondered how many times Zach had done something like this without a soul knowing. Because that would be his way. He'd play hero to anyone and anything and expect zero recognition. In fact, he most likely hated that she'd witnessed him being so selfless.

“I wanted to see those binders of Chelsea's, if you don't mind,” she said, throwing a glance over her shoulder. “I figured while you were working on the main renovations, I could be getting things in place and seeing what I can do to save money regarding the decorating and finishing touches. I know we're a long way off, but I have some connections, and with home sales, I'm always finding cheap buys of furniture and odds and ends.”

“They're in the living room. You can have them.”

Sophie gave the now sleeping dog one last stroke before she went to stand. That twinge earlier turned into a full-fledged shooting pain, and Sophie hissed as she froze before she could even stand.

In an instant, Zach was at her side, his arms wrapping around her. “Don't move. Just lean against me.”

She had no choice. It was either lean on him or fall on her butt. She'd really like to save this outfit and her pride.

“Sorry,” she muttered, hating once again how her humiliation liked to rear its ugly head around him. “I just moved wrong, that's all.”

“If I help, can you stand?” he asked, his breath tickling the side of her face.

Sophie nodded and gritted her teeth as he slowly eased her up, taking her weight back onto his body as his arms remained locked around her.

They fit. As if clicking into place perfectly without even trying, they fit together like nothing she'd ever experienced. That hard, broad chest against her back had her practically melting into him. She'd never felt this level of desire with another man, certainly not the man she'd been in a relationship with for the past several months. She hated to compare the two, because they were polar opposites on the man-scope, but how could she not?

“Do you need me to carry you to the couch?”

Sophie closed her eyes. “No. Just give me a second.”

The pain in her hip had definitely lessened. The second she requested was purely selfish, purely for her own enjoyment. Sophie hated playing games, but she just wanted one more moment with his arms wrapped around her. One more moment not worrying about why Zach kept pushing her away. For right now, he was everything she needed, but saying so would cause him to close off even more and she needed him open, she needed him to be as raw and exposed as she was.

“Soph.”

That tone did amazing things to her body, her heart. Still, this wasn't what she'd come here for, and she wouldn't be throwing herself at him each time they came together. He wanted to distance himself from feelings he was obviously fighting, and she refused to be that woman who kept trying to gain his attention.

Which meant no more melting into his arms. She'd have to stand on her own two feet, no matter the pain in her hip. Damn it, that shooting pain came at the most inopportune times.

“I'm okay,” she assured him, easing away from the comfort of his embrace. “Hardly a twinge now.”

Pasting on a smile, she smoothed her hands down her simple silk blouse and pencil skirt before she turned to face him. Those dark brows were drawn in again as his eyes assessed her. This was the precise reason she refused to lean on him, to use her slight handicap as a crutch to gain more attention. She'd never be that girl.

“The binders?” she reminded him, hoping to pull him from the guilt he most likely flooded himself with. “I have an open house soon, and I need to get there early.”

Zach hesitated, then nodded. When he turned and left the room, Sophie exhaled a breath and applauded her performance and her self-control. It would've been so easy to use Zach's remorse to gain his undivided attention, but she wanted him to look at her and not see the night of the accident, not see the mistake he made or the year he spent in prison. She wanted him to look at her and see a woman. Not his sister's best friend, not anything other than a woman who was attracted to a stubborn, hardheaded man.

Glancing down at all the sleeping puppies again, Sophie crossed to the sink in the corner to wash her hands. While she loved animals, she didn't necessarily want to go to the open house smelling like a dog. Although a cute puppy sleeping on the living room rug would make for a picturesque setting and tug on some family's heartstrings.

She'd love to take a pup for herself, but she wondered how Flynn would accept a newcomer . . . probably not very well at all, considering he'd had the run of the house for years now.

By the time Sophie made it into the living room, Zach had stacked the thick black binders on the coffee table.

“Just keep them,” he told her, crossing his arms over his still bare chest. “If I need them I'll let you know, but it's going to be a while before I can focus on her designs and plans.”

Sophie crossed to gather the binders. “Thank you for not pushing me away on this project. Helping with this really makes me feel close to Chelsea. I'm just not ready to part with you guys just yet.”

She laughed as she reached for the binders, but Zach placed a hand on her forearm. Her eyes darted to his scarred hand moments before he snatched it away.

“What do you mean, part with us?” he asked, standing way too close for her emotional comfort.

She straightened and faced him. “I just meant that with Chelsea gone, you guys still have each other, and it's not like any of the Monroe boys are going to call me up to go shoe shopping or to go watch the latest chick flick.”

“Braxton might. He's a sucker for those damn movies.”

Sophie smiled. “You know what I mean.”

On a sigh, Zach nodded. “Listen, I know there's been tension between us. Just because Chelsea is gone, doesn't mean we're all not still friends.”

Sophie stared at those dark eyes, so intense and mesmerizing. The sprinkling of chest hair, the tattoo, and the random scar were spellbinding as well. But she had to concentrate on what he said . . . and then use his words against him.

“Are we friends, Zach? Because that's not the vibe I've been getting from you.”

He continued to hold her still with just his gaze as he raked a palm over his beard. The bristling sound against his hand had her trembling. She knew what that coarse hair felt like against her skin, her lips, and she craved more.

“We're friends, Sophie,” he muttered. “I've let you in about as much as I've let anyone.”

He'd let her in? In what? His house? Certainly not his life. Could one person be that closed off from the world? Other than Liam and Braxton, Zach really didn't have people deeply rooted in his life. His business didn't count. No doubt he even kept his employees at arm's length.