Sunshine After The Rain

Chapter Twenty-Two

Later on that day, Sophie had Justin, Ella and Lucas in the backseat of her minivan with Lily riding shotgun. Lucas had already contacted the realtor to let him know they wanted to show the kids the house, and he left the key beneath the front porch for them.

Sophie wasn't expecting Justin to jump on board with the idea. He'd been pouting in the backseat the whole way and still hadn't spoken a word to Lucas. The house also direly needed a little TLC, something Lucas seemed determined to give, but also wouldn't be a significant selling point to the children.

Still, she was excited to explore her future house now that Lucas had given her the green light. Now she could walk into each room and allow her imagination to embrace its future.

"You're going to make a right at the next road," Lucas spoke by her shoulder. He wasn't so close that it was meant to be seductive, yet Sophie still found herself thoroughly seduced by the way his fiery breaths lingered across the skin of her neck, causing her body to shudder.

Sophie sucked in a quiet breath, then took a right-hand turn, noticing Lily's eyes narrowed on her. She did her best to ignore her friend's watchful gaze and continued down the long driveway; the house coming in full view.

Unlike where they lived now, she wouldn't have to worry about her children ending up in the street, having their neighbor's angry dog show up out of nowhere, hearing her other neighbor's crappy taste in music.

The house was five miles away from town, close enough for Justin to bike to, and had no neighbor's.

"There's a drive-in movie theater somewhere in town," Sophie said, hoping to get some enthusiasm from the back seat.

"Those are for old people," Justin told her.

Lily turned around and glared at him. "Eff you. Drive-ins are awesome."

Sophie smacked her friend's arm. "Hey!"

"You'd think that because you're old," Justin fired back.

Oh, the age when you thought people in their late-twenties were old.

Lily gave him one last glare before she settled back into her seat, her eyes focusing on the house Sophie was pulling up to. "This place is massive, Soph."

Yes, it was massive. Larger than the house they lived in. But it also had more of a home feel than the other ever could. This was the life Sophie had always dreamed of having, and once the paperwork was drawn up and signed, it would be all hers.

Sophie stopped the car, put it in park, and killed the engine, then turned to see Lucas remove Ella from her car seat. She stepped out and walked over to the front porch, rummaging through the grass until she found the key.

As soon as the front door opened, Lily yelled, "I want Sophie to show me the upstairs," then grabbed her hand and led her up the long staircase.

Lily found the nearest room, pulled Sophie inside, and shut the door behind him. "Okay, what the hell's going on with you and sex-on-a-stick?"

It was no secret who her friend was referring to, and Sophie licked her lips and ran her fingers through her dark hair. "I don't know. Yesterday he admitted that he had feelings for me, but that he'd do nothing about it, and just felt like I should know."

Lily placed her hands on her hips and took a moment before responding. "And how do you feel?"

"I don't know," Sophie admitted as she shook her head, then walked toward the window overlooking the vast yard. "The only thing I know is that I can't trust my emotions at a time like this."

"You can't trust your emotions," Lily repeated, "but you can buy a house and become friends with your husband's baby momma."

She had a point, but there was an even bigger thing holding her back than her untrustworthy heart. "It doesn't matter how I feel about Lucas, because he's my dead husband's brother. He's my children's uncle. He's my father-in-law's other son. If I fall for him, it's like I'm asking to get my heart broken again, because he's right. We can never do anything about it. Once I am in a place where I can move on, I can't move on with him."

Sophie paced the large room and let out a heavy sigh. "If I let myself see him as more than just an incredibly good looking friend, it'll just make everything harder, Lily. I can't deal with that kind of heartbreak twice in a row.

"My husband's only been dead for two weeks. If I stand a chance at surviving and being happy, I can't set myself up for the hurt that comes with a love that can never be."

When Sophie stopped pacing, she noticed the sad smile on Lily's face. "What?"

"You said 'love'."

"It isn't love yet, Lily," Sophie explained. "But you know it would be. If I let myself fall for him, I will fall in love. That's just a fact. I mean, the man looks like he belongs in Hollywood, is built like a boxer, has the heart of a damn saint, would do absolutely anything for me, including rebuilding this house, and is just magically there whenever I need him. He showed up in my life when I was bitter and acting like a crazy person and still wants me. If he can fall for me at my worst, I don't doubt I could easily fall in love with his best, which is why I can't fall for him at all."

Lily gave her a slow nod, then crossed her arms over her chest. "There's just one problem with that, Sophie. You've already fallen for him."

Where Lily's shake of the head was slow and timid, Sophie's was a jerking movement, unable to accept the truth. Instead, she stalked to the other side of the room and opened the door, only to see Lucas on the other side, standing by the banister with his head hung.

"I just came up to let you know that the kids wanted to see the lake." Lucas' voice came out quiet and shaky.

It was the way he spoke that confirmed he'd heard most of what they said.

"Okay. I'll be down in a minute."

Lucas rubbed at the scruff on his face, then nodded before going downstairs.