Sophia stared at him. “Do you really think that’s going to work?”
Darren’s expression softened as his eyes moved over her face. “I think it can’t hurt to try.”
Over the next few hours, the two of them placed phone calls to everyone they knew, hiding in her room while the rest of the clan celebrated outside. A part of Sophia felt bad for ignoring her guests and focusing on her son, but the other part of her knew they understood. Not a single one of them was going to hold it against her.
She couldn’t tell if it made her feel better or worse.
All she knew was that the longer she went without being able to help Zac come back home, the more panicked she got. When she started to pace the entire length of her room, it was Darren’s warm embrace that stopped her. It was the feel of his arms, strong and steady around her shoulders, that anchored her— made her feel like everything was going to be okay.
Hours later, the Wilson clan began to trickle out, little by little, leaving Ian, Stu, Lily, and Ben behind. Sophia came out of the room, offering them all an apologetic smile, and burst into tears. Lily led her to the couch, draped a blanket over her shoulders, and handed her a mug of tea.
All of them stayed up late into the night, calling everyone they could think of.
When Stu pushed Ian out the door in spite of his protests, Sophia rose to her feet. Lily draped an arm over her shoulders and steered her in the direction of the apartment. There, she helped Sophia into bed, tucking her in and staying until Sophia’s eyelids grew heavy.
In the morning, when Sophia jolted awake, drenched in sweat, and with her stomach twisted into knots, she realized Teddy was licking her palm. Absentmindedly, she patted him and stumbled out of bed. In a daze, she changed out of her clothes, washed her face, and made her way down the hallway and into the main house. Her dad was already in the kitchen,nursing a cup of coffee, while Lily stood at the stove, stirring eggs around.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Ben and Darren in the backyard, removing streamers and folding up chairs. As soon as they stepped in through the sliding glass doors, Sophia offered them both a grateful smile. Darren’s entire face lit up, making him look like a little boy again.
It reminded her of the open and vulnerable look he’d worn the night they’d fallen in love—when it felt like anything and everything was theirs for the taking.
Sophia couldn’t look away from the sparkle in his eyes or the mischievous grin on his face.
Until Lily cleared her throat and handed her a cup of coffee.
She nearly spilled the drink all over the front of her shirt when her phone rang, and Zac’s name appeared. Sophia beckoned Darren over, and the two of them stood side by side as she swiped right. Once Zac’s face filled the screen, his face flushed with color and a frown hovering on the edge of his lips, Sophia’s heart dropped.
“Sweetheart, thank God you’re okay. We’ve been making phone calls all night—”
“Do you have any idea what you did? I’ve been here foryears, trying to build a name and reputation for myself, and in one night, you undo all of that.”
Sophia’s breath hitched in her throat. “Zac, honey, we were just trying to help—”
“They’re doubting my commitment to the program now,” Zac interrupted with a lift of his chin. “Because you had to call in a few favors and reach out to some of your contacts. I hope you’re both happy. At this rate, I doubt I’m going to be able to stay here.”
“We were just trying to help,” Darren told him with a frown. “Weallwere. You had us worried.”
“Thanks for nothing,” Zac grumbled, pausing to glower at both of them. “Everything I’ve done here has been undermined by what you did.”
Sophia clutched the phone tighter. “Zac, honey, we were just—”
“I really don’t want to want to know what you were thinking, Mom,” Zac interrupted, his expression tightening. “You just have no clue, do you? Imagine if I showed up at the bakery and started telling all of your customers that you were incompetent.”
“Your mother and I were trying to help.” Darren draped an arm over her shoulders and stood up straighter. “I understand you’re upset, but there’s no need to take that tone with us.”
Zac grumbled something under his breath, and his eyes tightened around the edges. “That’s just it. Neither of you get it. It feels like you were waiting in the wings to sabotage this for me.”
“Of course not.” Sophia’s stomach clenched, and her eyes filled with tears. “We just wanted to be sure you were okay.”
Zac pressed his lips together and didn’t respond.
Then he hung up, and Sophia was left clutching the phone with both hands. Darren pried the phone away from her fingers and led her out through the sliding glass door and into the lush green backyard. He pulled out two chairs and set them opposite each other.
Sophia sank into the chair and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’ve never seen him that angry before. He’s never going to want to speak to us again.”
Darren took both of her hands in his and squeezed. “He’ll get over it, Soph. Zac just let his emotions get the better of him. Don’t worry.”
Sophia searched his face. “Did we do the wrong thing?”
