Page 74 of Spark
“Same goes for you, Junior,” Daniel said, striding over to his nephew. “You keep acting like a five-year-old throwing a tantrum, I’m gonna give you a time-out.”
“Sorry, Uncle Dan,” Chris muttered, his face turning as red as Matt’s.
“I’mnot the one you need to apologize to,” Daniel said, coolly.
He crossed his muscled arms, which were covered in tattoos below the short sleeves of his shirt, and waited with a predator’s patience.
Chris raised his head and gave Sophie an anguished look. “I’m sorry. But I meant it. I want you for my mate, Sophie.”
Damaris’s grip tightened on Sophie’s arm, strong and reassuring.
“We’ve only been dating for a week!” Sophie told them both, her voice shaking with anger and humiliation about being put on the spot like this in front of the entire family. “I’m not ready to make a decision yet.”
How could they do this to me? Now everyone’s staring at me. What are they going to say behind my back?
“I’m going to go see if Grandma needs help with anything,” Matt announced, throwing one last side-eye in Chris’s direction.
On his way out of the living room, Sophie overheard him snarl at Maggie, “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”
She shook her head vehemently, and even looked sincere about it. Maggie was a terrible gossip and loved matchmaking, but as far as Sophie knew, she didn’t have a mean bone in her body.
Sophie released a long breath and dared to look around the people gathered in the room. Some of the Swansons looked like they really wanted to know what was going on, but most of them gave her sympathetic smiles.
Athena was still pouting, as if being grounded made her the victim of a huge injustice.
“It’s gonna be okay,” Mom told Sophie.
Sophie wanted to believe her, but she couldn’t help feeling that her very presence here had stirred things up.
When dinner was served a short time later, the atmosphere around the huge dining table was tense.
Matt and Chris continued to glower at each other while Sophie sat between her mother and Athena. She kept her eyes on her plate and prayed for invisibility.
Someone must have informed Elle of what had happened because she didn’t look happy, and she pointedly avoided eye contact with Sophie.
While they passed the serving dishes around, there were some efforts at conversation about ranch business, but it all sounded fake and forced. No one mentioned the drama in the living room, but it hung like a dark cloud over the table.
The dining room fell silent as soon as the family began eating.
After dinner, while everyone was bustling around, clearing dishes and glasses from the table and starting the clean-up in the kitchen, Matt’s mom Annabeth touched Sophie’s arm. “Sweetie, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Annabeth Jones Swanson was a plump, pretty redhead who was normally bubbly and vivacious. Now, though, she looked subdued, her strawberry-blonde brows drawn together in a concerned frown.
“Sure.” With a chill of apprehension, Sophie followed her out of the kitchen, through the dining room, and down the long hall back to the now-deserted living room.
“Sophie, sweetie, I don’t know what’s going on right now, butpleasedon’t break Matt’s heart,” Annabeth begged. “He’s been so happy since you returned.”
The steak and grilled vegetables in Sophie’s stomach abruptly congealed into an icy, indigestible lump of guilt.
“I—I don’t want to hurt either of them,” she said, adding, “Even when they’re being annoying jerks, like tonight.”
Annabeth’s lips thinned in a small, wry smile. “That was not Matt’s finest hour,” she agreed. “Or Chris’s.”
Sophie felt cautious relief begin to seep through the icy mass in her middle. Could it be that Annabeth was actually taking Sophie’s side in this mess?
Annabeth destroyed that hope with her next words. “But, Sophie, Matt’s been in love with you ever since you first met. He missed you terribly while you were in Todos Santos. Please think about how long you’ve been friends, and all the good times you’ve shared together.”
Sophie nodded.
