Page 54 of Please Save Me

And honestly, under any other circumstances, it wouldn’t be. The church wasn’t a real job; it didn’t pay me, and it just took up my time. It’d be like Lucian quitting playing video games or Mason quitting reading. Our lives would go on as normal. They’d just have a little extra time.

For all intents and purposes, Sophia was my boss on top of everything else. I kept her farm running, and now I’d have more time to do that. Shouldn’t this be a good thing?

“Look me in the eyes and say that,” she ordered.

I wanted to oblige her, but my gaze felt like it weighed a ton, making it impossible to lift. Her bare feet padded on the wooden floors before her perfectly manicured toenails came into view.

She placed a hand on my chin and forced me to look up. Her acrylic nails scratched my cheeks as she refused to break eye contact.

“Say it again.” Her grip tightened. “If you can say it while looking me in the eyes—I’ll believe you.”

My stomach bottomed out.

“Soph, we’ve been together for three years, when have you ever known me to lie to you?” The key word in that wasknown.

She arched a brow and wiggled her shoulders. One of the pink silk spaghetti straps on her pajamas slipped off, and I fought the urge to slide it back into place.

“For the last three years, you’ve never fought me when I asked you to look me in the eyes.”

I chewed on the inside of my lip as I slowly shook my head. Why couldn’t she just believe me? Secrets were like kinks; everyone had at least one, and they weren’t for everyone.

The look of betrayal on Sophia’s beautiful face felt like someone slapped me.

“Look, I’m used to being around sketchy things,” she confessed.

I almost laughed at her. “You grew up in a wealthy suburb in Portland.”

The strangest thing about her childhood was the fact she had two moms.

“Yeah, but one of my moms has a job that I can’t really get into…. I just know it’s helped me recognize whenshadythings are happening.”

I tipped my head to the side. “Heather’s a nanny.” And as far as I knew, Victoria wrote horror novels.

“It’s not Heather,” Sophia confirmed. “And I can’t really get into Victoria’s day job.”

My chest went tight as it felt like a tornado swept through my brain, clearing my mind of any coherent thoughts I could have had. What type of job could Tori have?

“Is it related to Seb’s job?” I wasn’t sure if Sophia knew it or not, but Seb’s line of work definitely fell into dubious territory.

Sophia’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks as she focused on me. “How do you know Seb’s job is sketchy?”

My blood ran cold. Was that something I wasn’t supposed to know? Or was I just not supposed to know the details of it?

“He, uh, he told me a little bit about it.” I played with the hair at the nape of my neck.

Sophia’s gaze intensified like she was dissecting me. “He’s not supposed to tellanyoneabout his job. It’s a need-to-know basis type of thing… So why didyouneed to know?”

Sophia's question hit me like a freight train, sending a jolt of panic through my veins.

Because I was his prime suspect.

My attention flickered around the room, looking for anything I could use to change this conversation. All I found were reminders of the life we had built–family photos—a mess from the kids that we’d never got to pick up the night before. Lucian’s boots were in the middle of the living room because he liked to piss Sophia off by not putting them on the shoe rack. One of Mason’s books rested on the coffee table. It was a beautiful life, but one Sophia and Lucian made with someone they knew nothing about.

Sophia stepped closer, and I fought the urge to step back.

This wasn’t the way I wanted to start my day. That’s when I noticed the line of ultrasounds stuck to the fridge. My shoulders fell as I realized I had an excuse.

“I need to start making breakfast. Mae gets sick if she’s up too long without eating.”

---