“Apparently, we’re not as discreet as we thought we were. Also, there’s that hickey you gave me the other day.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t the hickey you gave me?”
Sophia chuckled. “Fair enough.”
Darren stood up and pushed his chair closer, his silver-gray eyes full of hope and joy. “I’m actually glad she knows because I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you this. I’ve really enjoyed sneaking around the past few weeks, but—”
“I get it. You don’t think we should continue. It’s too complicated.” Sophia’s heart sank, but she pushed the feeling away. “Maybe it was a heat of the moment thing or something. I don’t know.”
Darren’s eyebrows drew together. “Is that really what you think?”
Sophia exhaled. “No, but isn’t it what you think?”
Darren shook his head. “Not at all. I know that things didn’t work out between us the first time, and I’m sorry that I never took my share of the blame for that. The truth is, that day you told me that you wanted to leave, I panicked.”
Sophia’s heart sputtered and stopped. “You did?”
“I didn’t want you to leave. I wanted to fight for you, for us, but I didn’t know how. And I thought it would be easier and better for all of us if I let you go. We were drifting apart, Soph, and I knew it, too, but I didn’t want to stop it. Or I did, but I didn’t know how.”
Sophia’s blood was rushing in her ears.
It felt like she was in the middle of a dream, but she didn’t want anyone to wake her up—not when Darren was finally telling her the words she needed to hear.
“I didn’t know how either,” Sophia whispered, leaning forward in her chair. “I didn’t want to leave you, Darren.”
“I didn’t make it easy for you to stay. I’d been keeping you at arm’s length for so long that I think I forgot how to let you in. And I let myself forget that you and I were in it together. I was so wrapped up in my own stuff and missing Zoe that I let us fall through the cracks. I’m sorry.”
Tears spilled down Sophia’s cheeks, and her heart swelled to twice its size, making her chest feel like it was too small to carry all of it. “I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have walked away. I should’ve tried harder.”
Darren took both of her hands in his and looked into her eyes. “I want us to give our relationship another shot, Sophia. You were right to walk when you did. It was the wake-up call I needed to make a few changes in my life. I’m not going to keep you at arm’s length anymore.”
“And I’m not going to bottle things up anymore,” Sophia added in a whisper-soft voice. Her heart was full, and it felt like she was floating on a cloud. “I want us to be together again, Darren.”
“This isn’t exactly what I had in mind for our reconciliation,” Darren joked, his eyes impossibly bright and endless. “But it’ll do. At least it’s better than having Teddy trying to wedge his way in and lick us.”
“You’ve got some serious competition,” Sophia teased. “Especially since I formalized the adoption papers for Teddy this morning. He’s my guy now.”
“Your number two guy.” Darren wrapped his arms around her waist and hoisted her up, setting her gently down on his lap. “Teddy and I can learn to share.”
Sophia linked her fingers over his neck. “You, sharing? This Igotto see.”
Darren puffed his chest out and waggled his eyebrows at her. “I’ll have you know that I’ve done a lot of soul-searching since wedivorced. And a lot of getting to know myself. You know, grown-up kind of stuff.”
Sophia giggled. “Are you just saying that to impress me?”
“Is it working?” Darren gave her a quick peck on the lips and drew back to look at her. “I could go on and on.”
When he pressed his lips to hers again, fireworks exploded behind her eyelids. She leaned into the kiss, inhaled the familiar scent of him, and sighed. The doors to the kitchen burst open, but Sophia didn’t pull away, and neither did Darren.
Until Zac cleared his throat.
Reluctantly, Sophia climbed off of Darren’s lap and rubbed her flushed cheeks. “Sweetheart, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the airport?”
Zac swung his gaze back to hers and scratched the back of his neck. “I was, but I wanted to stop by here first and say goodbye.”
Sophia took a step in his direction, and her brows furrowed. “We said goodbye this morning.”
“It felt rushed,” Zac explained, frowning. “I wanted to see you again and tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
