Page 35 of No Mistake

Kelly got up to fetch the coffees she’d left by the door. Handing one to Sophie, she sat back down.

“If Chloe is anything like you, she’s tough and smart, and they’ll find her.”

Sophie took a sip of the latte, thankful to have a friend like Kelly.

“What can I do?” Kelly asked.

“You’re here. That helps. I don’t feel so alone.”

“You’re not alone. I’m here. Dex, Ryan, the whole team. We’re all here for you, whatever you need. I hope Ryan didn’t just drop you and run?”

“No. I told him to go.” Sophie sighed. “I needed some space.”

“Do you want me to go? I understand.”

“No. I’m glad you’re here. I needed space from him,” she admitted, keeping her focus on her drink.

“From Ryan? Did he upset you? Because, you know, I’ll kick his ass if he did.” Kelly’s voice was light. Ryan and Kelly were like brother and sister. Together with Dex, the three of them had a closeness she secretly envied.

“No. It’s me, not him.”

“Look, tell me to mind my own business, but I get the feeling there’s a little something going on between the two of you.”

“No, there isn’t. We’re just friends.”

“Are you sure about that? Your face tells a different story.”

Sophie swallowed. Chloe was her best friend, but Kelly came a close second. Kelly knew Ryan, knew her history, knew about Mark. Maybe it would be good to talk.

“Ryan’s hot and, yeah, I liked him the first time I met him. But we’re doctor and patient, and in all these years that I’ve been treating him, he’s never shown any interest. Things started to change a few months ago.”

She told Kelly what happened, starting when she’d asked him for that first favor, to the kiss, to the flowers, dinner, and then what happened in LA.

“I wasn't thinking straight, it was a mistake. I’m worried about Chloe. I had wine. Of course, he rejected me. It’s Ryan. What the hell would he see in me? You know the women he goes for.”

“Are you kidding? God, he would be the luckiest man alive to have you.”

Sophie looked away, embarrassed at the compliment.

“Sophie? Come on, you don’t seriously think you’re not good enough for him?”

“I don’t have a very good history with men, especially Navy men. You know that,” Sophie said.

“I know. But the past is not always a representation of the future.”

Sophie raised her eyes at Kelly. “Claire said that, didn’t she?”

Kelly was still seeing Claire, a therapist helping her to work through her ordeal of being held captive by terrorists.

Kelly grinned. “Yeah she did, but she’s right. This doubt you’re having, even you must see that’s Mark talking.”

“Maybe. But what if some of what Mark said to me was true? Hell, I couldn’t even make coffee right for him.” She recalled him throwing the mug at the wall behind her once, then storming out to get coffee where “women knew how to make coffee.”

“I know you, Sophie, and from what you’ve shared with me about Mark, I wouldn’t believe anything he said.”

Sophie sipped her latte, wanting to believe her.

“Sounds to me like Ryan’s got it bad,” Kelly said gently.

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