Page 56 of Bad Boys After Dark - Brett
Her father crossed his arms and said, “Can you ride a horse?”
“Oh my gosh, Dad.” Sophie rolled her eyes. Her father was an accountant, but his heart would always be on her grandfather’s farm, where he still helped out when he could. He’d been heartbroken when Sophie had left home for college and still held on to the hope that she might come back and settle down there ever since. She didn’t think she ever would, but she loved coming back for visits, and one day, when she had children, she’d like to spend more time there.
Brett shook his head. “I have never ridden, but that’s not to say I can’t, or I’m not willing to. And I’d put money down that if you give me a week, I’ll be roping cattle.”
“A man with no fear,” her father said with a slap on Brett’s back. “That’s what I like to hear.”
His gaze moved over their shoulders, and a spark of love rose in his eyes. Sophie knew that look so well, she wasn’t surprised when her mother pushed between them and looped her arms through each of theirs.
“Brace yourself, sweethearts,” her mother said conspiratorially. “Everyone wants to meet Sophie’s beau.”
“Mom, can’t you give him a chance to—”
“It’s okay, baby. I want to meet your friends,” Brett assured her.
Her mother turned toward her with a smile in her eyes and mouthed, Baby!
Sophie laughed. “Mom, please don’t make this awkward.”
“Me?” She pulled them toward the crowd. “Awkward doesn’t exist in this family. We have to find Nana and Poppi before Nana bursts from nosiness. When she heard you two were inside putting your things away, she wanted to charge up those stairs. But I told her, ‘Nana, they’re young, and they’re going to want some alone time. Besides, Sophie needs to butter up her beau with kisses before bombarding him with friends and family.’”
“Mom! Sorry, Brett. I haven’t brought a guy home since high school. I forgot just how embarrassing it could be.”
“Oh, honey, please. Remember that time you snuck all the way down the creek to kiss Mikey White?”
“Oh my gosh. Please put me out of my misery before it gets any worse,” Sophie pleaded.
Brett smiled and said, “I’d like to hear the creek story.”
“She was ten years old,” her mother said, “and it was at one of Nana and Poppi’s anniversary parties. She and Mikey snuck all the way down the creek because Sophie didn’t want anyone to see them. Well, what she didn’t know was that Lindsay, who had taken after me with her love of photography, was stalking them. You see, Sophie made the mistake of telling her younger sister that she was going to get her first kiss. And Lindsay, being the thoughtful girl she was, wanted to get it on film so Sophie would never forget.”
“Did she get the picture?” Brett asked. “Did you get your first kiss, Soph?”
“She got her kiss all right. And Linds got the picture,” her mother answered.
“It’s hanging by the stairs,” Sophie said flatly. “Screwed into the wall by my grandfather, because I’ve taken it down so many times.”
Brett laughed. “That’s adorable. So, what happened to Mikey White?”
“He’s gay and married to the man of his dreams,” Sophie said. “His one and only girl kiss is forever commemorated on our walls. And no, I did not turn him gay. If I hear that joke one more time I’ll punch someone. As if you could turn a person one way or another.”
“I think it’s adorable.” Brett reached behind her mother and touched Sophie’s back. “I just wish I were your first.”
“Oh boy, do I like you,” her mother said.
Her mother dragged them around the yard, introducing Brett as Sophie’s beau to friends and neighbors and explaining how she knew each one. Clare was Sophie’s second-grade teacher and Sophie babysat Bobby when he was a boy. Brett went with the flow, shaking hands and reciprocating embraces, and he was quick to reach for Sophie after he was released from their clutches. The way he reached for her, keeping her close, and the tender kisses he pressed to her cheek, or hand, or head in between each introduction made her warm all over.
