Page 26 of Reckless Flames

As I sat at the breakfast table, sipping my coffee and mulling over the day ahead, my phone buzzed with a reminder of my plans with Madi. A knot of guilt tightened in my stomach. I knew I had to postpone, given that the stalker might now know that I was at Ben’s and could conceivably be watching for me toleave, but the thought of letting my sister down, especially now, weighed heavily on me.

With a heavy heart, I dialed her number, rehearsing my apology in my mind.

“Madi, hey, I’m really sorry, but I need to postpone our plans for today,” I began, wincing at the disappointment that was sure to follow.

“What? Sophie, we planned this weeks ago!” Madi’s voice came through the line, tinged with frustration and hurt. “You know how much I was looking forward to this.”

“I know, I know, and I’m really sorry. It’s just... Things have been a bit crazy over here.” I tried to explain, keeping the details vague to avoid unnecessary worry.

“Crazy how? Sophie, you’re my maid of honor. I need you here,” she pressed, her voice rising with each word.

The guilt intensified, mixing with a sense of helplessness. “I promise I’ll make it up to you, Madi. It’s just... There’s a lot going on right now that I can’t really get into over the phone.”

There was a pause, and when Madi spoke again, her voice was softer, but the undercurrent of disappointment was still there. “Fine. But we need to talk about this, Soph. In person.”

“I know, and we will. I promise,” I assured her—a promise I couldn’t afford to break. My relationships with my family, and especially my sister, were some of the most important in my life.

After we hung up, the silence of the room felt oppressive, and I went back upstairs to work on my book. If nothing else good came out of all this, I should at least end up with a really good outline and some completed chapters.

The tension from the day seemed to dissipate as Ben, Caleb, and I gathered for an impromptu family game night, something Ben insisted on to bring some normalcy back into our lives. The room was filled with the soft glow of lamps, casting a warm, inviting light over the coffee table, where Ben was already setting up the board for Monopoly.

Caleb was bouncing excitedly beside him, eager to get started. The sight of them together, so natural and at ease was heartwarming. It had surprised me at first what a great father Ben actually was. He had always come across as kind of the alpha male type, so to see his interactions with Caleb entwined with tenderness had shown me a completely unsuspected side of him.

“Alright, guys, what’s it gonna be? Who’s going to go bankrupt first?” Ben joked, his eyes twinkling as he looked around at us.

Caleb chimed in with the enthusiasm only a child could muster. “I’m gonna buy all the railroads!”

I couldn’t help but smile at their banter, the atmosphere light and filled with the kind of easy laughter that had been scarce these past few days. “I think I’ll give you a run for your money on those railroads, Caleb,” I teased, taking a seat and pulling it closer to the table.

As the game progressed, the competitive spirit grew, but so did the camaraderie. Ben was a master at balancing the cutthroat nature of the game with gentle encouragement for Caleb, guiding him with subtle hints and playful nudges.

“Watch out for Sophie, Caleb. She’s got her eye on Park Place,” Ben warned, a mock-serious expression on his face as he cast a sidelong glance my way.

I feigned indignation, “Hey, I’m just playing by the rules. Can’t help it if I’m a property magnate in the making.”

In these moments, in the playful accusations of cheating and the strategic battles over virtual real estate, I saw a future flickering on the horizon—a future where fear and danger didn’t loom so large, where the connection between Ben and me could be explored without the shadow of a stalker threatening to darkenit. With any luck, we might be nothing more than a man and a woman giving a normal relationship a shot

As the evening wore on, the game ended with Caleb declared the triumphant, albeit slightly bankrupt, winner. The joy in his eyes, mirrored by the pride in Ben’s, was a beautiful thing to witness.

“Sophie, you didn’t stand a chance against the master,” Caleb boasted, his chest puffed out in victory.

I laughed, ruffling his hair. “You got me this time, champ. But watch out, I’ll be coming for the title next game night.”

Ben’s gaze met mine over Caleb’s head, a silent message passing between us—a message of hope, of potential. In the simple, joyful interactions of the evening, the complex web of our emotions seemed less daunting, the connection between us a steady flame that refused to be extinguished by the darkness of our circumstances.

Following the promises of a rematch, Ben carried Caleb off to bed, the boy’s laughter echoing through the house—a scene of domestic bliss that felt both achingly distant and tantalizingly close.

As I picked up the game pieces and put them back in the box, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of something warm and hopeful swelling within my chest. The laughter, the playful competitiveness, and the unguarded moments I’d shared withBen and Caleb had woven a new thread into the fabric of our relationship, one marked by an intimacy and connection that felt both profound and real.

My thoughts moved on to Madi and her wedding preparations. I had promised to help her with the wedding favors, a task we’d both been looking forward to, a chance to bond and share in the excitement of her big day.

I knew that making amends would require more than just rescheduling our plans; it would require a genuine effort to reconnect, to be present for her in the way she needed me to be.

With a renewed sense of purpose, I reached out to her, arranging a time to meet and talk, to truly listen to her concerns and to share my own. It was a commitment to not just the duties of a maid of honor, but to the bonds of sisterhood, to the shared history and love that had always been our anchor.

Chapter sixteen

Ben

---