Page 73 of My Boss's Sons

He pushed me away with a laugh. “I said don’t settle, woman! I’m going to have to turn you down, no matter how much you might want me.”

“Good. It’s got to be good for your ego to finally be the one rejecting me.” I laughed and then pushed off the truck. “Want to play ball with us?”

“I have a date, actually.” He sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Lily’s teacher introduced me to her sister and she asked me out for coffee.”

I groaned. “Davis, no. If you make things weird with Lily’s teacher, we’re going to have to switch schools.”

“I’m not going to make things weird! Why do you think I’m going to make things weird?” He pulled something out of his pocket and then proceeded to perform a magic trick that produced a plastic rose. “Not weird at all.”

“Davis. You can’t be a dentist who performs magic. People will think you’re a serial killer.”

“I bet Tasha likes it.”

“I bet Tasha runs.”

Davis glanced over his shoulder at the sound of a truck coming down the road. “I bet Tasha…”

I glanced over at him when his words trailed off. “What? You bet Tasha what?”

“Is that who I think it is?” Davis turned to me with a concerned look on his face. “Shit.”

Seeing Alex’s truck in my driveway wasn’t something I thought I’d have to see again. No amount of distraction was going to ease the deep ache that formed in my chest when I watched the doors open and the guys step out.

I blinked away a rogue tear and stiffened my shoulders. I wasn’t going to let them hurt me again. “Get Lily inside.”

Davis whistled. “Glad it’s them and not me this time.”

58

***Sophia***

Irounded the back of Davis’s truck and cut the guys off at the end of my driveway. I couldn’t let them back into my space. With my hands on my hips, I shoved all of my emotions as deep as I could get them and stared at them as they walked closer.

They each looked older somehow. I expected more of the same angry expressions, but what I got was three men who looked shell-shocked and sad. It deepened the chasm in my chest but I didn’t trust them. It didn’t matter how sad they looked. They were Anderson men.

“Soph… Can we talk?” Alex gripped his hands in front of himself, looking every bit the part of the kicked puppy.

“The time for talking was a week and a half ago.” I kept my voice level, refusing to show them anymore of my pain. “I think y’all should just go.”

“We were wrong.” Ethan moved closer. His hair was even wilder than normal, as if he’d been tugging at it. “We messed up.”

I nodded. “Yeah, you did. I don’t see why it matters now, though. You made your decision.”

“We made a decision based off of lies, Sophia.” Noah was quiet but his voice shook with conviction. “We didn’t know. He’s ourfather. We-Ithought I could trust him.”

I wrapped my arms around my waist and shook my head. “And what? He just magically came clean suddenly? He was so trustworthy when he was accusing me of sleeping with him but now you’re not sure? Or do you still believe that part and not the rest? You’ll have to excuse me if I’m confused; there were just so many allegations.”

“Mom found things on his computer. It was all bullshit.” Alex reached for me but I backed away. “Please, Soph. Let us explain.”

“Don’ttouch me.” I balled my hands into fists and glared at them. “So, you still didn’t believe me? Your mom had to show you proof that I’m not a lying whore? Fuck you.”

“We deserve that.” Ethan gripped the back of his neck and ducked his head so he was eye level with me. “Dad was convincing. It wasn’t that we thought-”

“I’m sorry. I’m going to be honest with the three of you. You coming here like little boys who just found out Santa isn’t real is not doing what you want it to. You fired me.Youcalled me vile!” Scowling at Noah, I took another step backwards. “If it was just you believing your father over me, I might’ve been able to at least look at you three again, but it wasn’t just that. You let him ruin my career. I have a daughter to take care of and you threw me out of that building like I was lower than trash. You didn’t care about me. You didn’t care about Lily.”

“I’m fucking sorry, Sophia!” Noah reached out and took me by my wrists but withdrew like I’d burned him when he looked down at my arms. “Fuck. I’m sorry. I… I’m not like him. I would never hurt you like that. I didn’t mean to grab you.”

A cold chill washed over me. “You don’t have to be like him to hurt me just as deeply. You think he’s the one who hurt my wrist. Why?”

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