Page 4 of Sleeping with the Frenemy

“And here I thought you two missed me so much that you’d be nice to me for at least a day or so,” Sofi said as she got up and began gathering the pillows and sheet from the couch.

Abuela Fina exclaimed, “Ay bendito. Of course we missed you.” She rushed Sofi and wrapped her in a hug.

Meanwhile her mom rolled her eyes. “Melodramaticas.” As a trauma nurse for over twenty years, her mother was an expert at maintaining a level head. It was something she’d obviously gotten from her dad since Abuela Fina was the most over-the-top person either one of them had ever known. Sofi was nowhere near as dramatic as her grandmother, but she wasn’t as zen as her mom either.

“Let me go to the bathroom and then I’ll help you clean,” Sofi told her mom.

Mami waved her off. “We don’t have much. Besides you have important things to do today, one of which is to find out what is happening with this new apartment you were supposed to get.”

She’d get around to that, but her mom was right. That was only one of the things she had to do and, compared to number one on her to-do list, it was the easiest. “Are you sure you don’t need my help?” she asked.

Mami gave her a look that told Sofi she knew exactly what she was doing. “Go take care of your business,” she said. “You’ve put it off long enough.”

“Fine,” Sofi huffed before she stalked off to get ready for the day. Which was how, an hour and a half later, she found herself standing outside the last place she wanted to be—El Coquí.

Sofi took a deep breath and stepped through the doors of a place so familiar to her that it had basically been her second home. Except just like every facet of her life at the moment, it was just different enough for her to notice and feel awkward.

She’d been one of the main people helping when Kamilah gave El Coquí its facelift, despite her aversion to physical labor and getting dirty, yet somehow she’d completely forgotten everything they’d done. It was still bright, loud, and chaotic, but in a totally different way. In a way that was supposed to be welcoming, but just kept reminding Sofi how much had changed.

Liam spotted her first. He stood behind the bar holding multiple bottles in his hands. He gave her a thorough once-over and quirked one brow at her. Kamilah had always possessed the ability to interpret his looks as if they were captions on a TV. Sofi didn’t usually have that gift, but in this instance she knew exactly what he was saying.Well, well, well. Look who we have here.Followed quickly by awatch yourself. He opened his mouth to say something Sofi couldn’t hear at such a distance and suddenly a head popped up right next to him.

Kamilah stared at her with wide eyes, her jaw practically resting on her chest.

Sofi took a few steps forward. She had no idea what to say, so she went with her usual snark. “Do I want to know what you were doing back there?”

Liam crossed his arms. “Is that really the first thing you’re going to say to her after a year and a half?”

“Seven months,” Kamilah muttered just loud enough for them to hear.

“What?” he asked.

Kamilah cleared her throat, still eyeing Sofi warily like she was a gator sunbathing in her backyard. “It’s been a year and seven months. A little more than that actually.” The pain was evident in her voice. Her eyes started to glisten.

Sofi felt like she’d been kicked in the chest. She’d always known that her distance had hurt Kamilah, they’d been so close for so long, but she’d assumed most of the pain had been on her end. Looking at Kamilah now, she wasn’t so sure. “Hey, girl, can we talk?”

“For sure,” Kamilah said immediately. She moved forward, but Liam’s arm shot out to block her.

“Mila,” he murmured, turning her away and pulling her close. He lowered his head and started whispering in her ear.

Kamilah was nodding and murmuring back.

Sofi was struck by the image they made. The way Liam was hunched over her and wrapped around her as if to cover her and protect her with his very being and the way that Kamilah leaned her weight against him but also met his gaze steadily. They were very obviously in love but not only that, they were a unit.

Sofi ignored the sting of jealousy she felt. She’d told herself long ago that being salty was not a good look for her and she wasn’t going to do it anymore.

Kamilah lifted onto her toes and planted a kiss on Liam’s lips effectively ending their conversation. “I’ll be fine,” she told him. “Just lock the front door for me so I don’t have to worry while I’m in the office.”

She walked out from behind the bar and motioned for Sofi to follow her to the office in the kitchen.

Sofi couldn’t help but note the confidence in Kamilah’s stride. She used to come across like one of those small dogs that always shook with nervous energy, but she now exuded a comfort in her own skin and the confidence of a woman secure in her place. It was almost emotional to see. Sofi rubbed a hand on her chest absently.

Kamilah stopped right past the swinging doors that led to the kitchen. “I forgot to ask, do you want something to drink before we go into my office? I have some jugo de parcha that I made yesterday.” She knew that Sofi loved passion fruit.

“No. I’m good. Thanks,” Sofi said, feeling even more awkward. Since when did they talk to each other like this? Like polite strangers who were still trying to figure out what the other one wanted.

“Okay. Then I guess we can just head in.” She opened the door to the office that used to belong to her father.

Sofi sucked in a breath. She was used to it being a dark and windowless place full of heavy furniture, including a huge desk, perpetually cluttered with papers and that housed an old-ass computer. It was completely different now. While there were still no windows, the office was bright. Gone was the dingy tan paint on the walls. In its place was a crisp white with the exception of the far wall which was covered floor to ceiling in a tropical print wallpaper featuring different kinds of huge leaves in various shades of green, bright hibiscus flowers in coral, orange, and cream, and golden yellow pineapples. All of the heavy dark furniture was gone, leaving a long but simple white desk in the middle of the room with a brand-new computer and no clutter. There was a built-in storage unit against one wall and a small seating area featuring two wicker chairs along the other.

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