Page 86 of Petals and Plot Twists
“You know what’s funny?” she eventually says. We’re sitting against the headboard, side by side, Sophie’s head resting on my shoulder. “It was a conversation with my mom that finally nudged me into accepting how I feel.”
“Your mom? Really?”
She yawns and snuggles a little closer. “Yeah. I was in the parking lot at this Thai place where I was supposed to have dinner with David, and she called. We talked about my dad a little, and I just—I don’t know. I think I had some things wrong in how I viewed their relationship—ways that impacted both how I view my mom and how I view myself. Also, she told me she always thought we were secretly in love with each other when we were in high school. So, there’s that.”
“I was in love with you in high school,” I say.
“I was so clueless, wasn’t I?” She tilts her head up and looks at me. “It makes me a little sad to think about all the time we lost.”
I lean down and press a kiss to her forehead. “Don’t think about it like that. We were still friends. Maybe we both had some growing up we needed to do.”
“But the kissing, Peter,” Sophie says. She lifts a hand to my cheek and guides my lips to hers. “We could have been doing so much kissing.”
I chuckle against her mouth. “Okay, true. We definitely missed out in that regard.”
“I’m hungry,” Sophie says when she finally breaks the kiss. “Think it’s too late for kung pao chicken?”
I glance at my watch. It’s just past eight, and I’ve already had dinner once, but I’ll eat again if it means eating with Sophie. “It’s never too late for kung pao chicken. You want to order in or go out? We could walk to the place from here, so either way, it’s pretty easy.”
She scoots to the edge of the bed and stands. “Order in, please. I’m exhausted and really want to put on pajamas and crash.”
I make quick work of ordering takeout while Sophie wheels her suitcase into the bathroom, presumably to change clothes, then I do my own lightning-fast change, swapping my dress pants for a pair of soft gray joggers.
Sophie emerges a few minutes later with her hair up and her face washed, dressed in leggings and the MIT hoodie I love to see her wearing.
“Sooo, I realize I didn’t exactly ask,” she says, “but if I promise to behave, are you okay with me staying with you tonight? Because I gotta tell you, this hotel isveryexpensive, and if I’m moving in a few months, I need to save every penny I possibly can.”
“What does behaving look like?” I ask as I reach a hand toward her. I’m sitting on the edge of the bed now, and she steps into the space between my knees, letting me wrap my arms around her.
“You know. Basic roommate stuff,” she says. “Keeping my clothes in one place. Not getting toothpaste on the bathroom counter. Pretending not to notice if you fart in your sleep.” She looks around the suite. “I’m happy to sleep on the couch.”
“I wasn’t sure until that last one,” I say. “But now I’m okay with it. You can absolutely stay.” She lifts her hands to my hair, fingers scratching gently against my scalp as I marvel for the millionth time that she’s actually here. That this woman is willing to movefor me.
“Hey, Soph?”
“Hmm?” Her hands still, and I tilt my face up to look at her.
“It’s important to me that you understand something.”
“Okay,” she says expectantly.
“If you want to stay in Serendipity Springs, I’ll stay with you. I’ve got a good job there. We could be happy there. I don’t want you to feel like the only way for us to be together is for you to give up your home.”
She holds my gaze for a long moment, her hands sliding down to my shoulders. “Here’s the thing, though.You’remy home. I’ll love living in Charlotte because we’ll be together. Besides, your job here is better—it’s your dream job. If we stay in Massachusetts, you’re giving up a lot more than I’m losing by moving. You’ve met Leonard Trowbridge, Peter. I donothave my dream job, but I think working with Gregory might become just that. This move is a win for us both.”
“You’re sure?”
She leans down and kisses me. “Absolutely sure.”
Over the next hour, we eat our kung pao chicken and talk our way through the basics of what the next few months might look like. A long-distance relationship won’t be fun, but it’s easier to wrap our heads around it knowing it will be temporary. Plus, so much of Sophie’s work is remote, she’ll be able to spend a good bit of time in Charlotte until her lease is up at The Serendipity and a job has fully materialized down here. And Valeria already mentioned the possibility of limited remote work for me, at least at first, so I’m sure she’ll be flexible as long as I’m in the office more than I’m not.
Together, we google the cheapest direct flights between Serendipity Springs and Charlotte. We search neighborhoods and price apartments and start lists of restaurants we’re excited to try together. When Sophie adds a Thai place to the list, I remember a comment from earlier that I meant to ask her about but didn’t.
“Hey, did you end up having dinner with David? At the Thai place?” I ask.
She quickly shakes her head. “Nah. I cancelled on him last minute. Which, I hated to do it, but I’d finally admitted to myself I was in love with you. I would have been a terrible date. Which is what I told him, actually. That I’d finally acknowledged my feelings and needed to go home and pack so I could come to see you and tell you as much.”
“You told him all that, huh? How did he take it?”
