Page 38 of My Boss's Sons

Sophia beamed at Milo and tossed a piece of cookie at him. “Love you, too, Milo.”

Ava got out of her chair and planted herself on Milo’s lap. “Sometimes you open your mouth and remind me why I fell in love with you all over again.”

Lily looked up at the sound of her aunt and Milo kissing and pretended to gag. “Get a room.”

Noah had his gaze trained on Davis. “Anything else?”

Davis held up his hands and laughed it off. “If she wants a tattoo, let her get a tattoo.”

“Is it time for more swimming now?” Lily sighed. “There’s not enough swimming for this to be a pool party.”

Sophia nodded. “Go on. Stay out of the deep end and don’t play dead. Some people aren’t used to kids doing that to be funny.”

There was a knock on the back fence gate and I could see an old man’s head sticking over the top. He waved and let himself in. “Sophia, dear? I heard splashing and I came right over.”

Sophia rushed to meet the man and led him towards the chair Lily had just vacated. “Mr. Jimmy, I’ve got some friends for you to meet. This is Ethan, Noah, and Alex. Guys, this is my favorite neighbor and friend, Mr. Jimmy.”

“Are these the guys you played hide the sausage with, dear?” His version of a whisper might as well have been a shout. “You are a goddess if they are, because they arehot. I saw them through the window, honey, and I nearly tripped over my shower chair trying to get over here.”

Sophia turned a dark red shade and buried her face in the old man’s shoulder. “Mr. Jimmy…”

He glanced over and I watched him pretend to notice Davis for the first time. “Oh! Oh, goodness. Forgive me. I’m so old and I didn’t see you sitting there, David. Heavens, I can’t seem to go a day without sticking my foot in my mouth.”

“It’s Davis.” If looks could kill, Jimmy would’ve been a burnt spot on the ground. Davis pushed away from the table and looked at Sophia. “Can I speak to you inside for a moment?”

Annoyance soured my mood when Sophia didn’t immediately tell him to go to hell. She looked around the table and sighed.“Davis, there are guests here and Lily’s in the pool by herself. Can it wait?”

“No.” He took her by the arm and pulled her towards the house.

Sophia looked back at us and her relaxed posture had vanished. “I’m sorry, guys. Can someone keep an eye on Lily? I’ll be right back.”

Jimmy grunted as soon as they were inside. “If I was ten years younger, I’d wipe the ground with that asshole.”

Noah tapped his fingers on the table. “The only thing saving him is his daughter.”

Ava came up from kissing Milo and noticed Jimmy for the first time. “Mr. Jimmy! When did you get here? And where did Sophia go? And…Davis. Tell me he didn’t drag her aside to lecture her again. Or maybe this time he’ll be begging for her back again. It’s always one or the other.”

“Do me a favor and run inside shouting that I’m having a heart attack.” Jimmy smiled deviously. “That’ll get her away from him.”

“No way! I’m not putting that energy out in the atmosphere.” Ava stood up and fixed her hair. “I do suddenly have a hankering for something in the fridge, though. Maybe I’ll just go poke around and see what I can interrupt.”

Within thirty seconds of Ava going inside, Sophia came outside with Davis on her heels. “Just leave it alone, Davis.”

Noah snapped his arm out and caught Sophia as she tried to walk by. He tugged her into his lap and pulled her mouth to his. Her body instantly relaxed in his arms and when Noah let her pull away, she had a smile on her face again. Noah pushed her wet hair behind her ears and brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “Milo and Ava inspired me.”

Milo reached over and fist bumped Noah. “Right on.”

Amazingly, Davis still didn’t leave. He sat back down at the table and angrily tapped away at his cell phone. Lily had left Sophia’s phone face up on the table and I watched as message after message lit up her screen.

Sophia finally couldn’t ignore the sound of her phone vibrating and she stood up to grab it. When she saw what was causing the vibrating, she met Davis’ eyes and dropped her phone in a full cup of Lily’s milk. Then, with all of us watching in awe, she shrugged it off and jumped into the pool with Lily.

I looked over at Davis and smirked. “Shereallydidn’t want to talk to whoever that was, huh?”

32

***Sophia***

The sun was setting and Davis still hadn’t left. Lily was nodding off and it was late enough that the pool party was over. Mr. Jimmy had gone home after a long round of questions with the guys. Ava and Milo had disappeared to their room hours earlier and it was clear to every adult in the house what they were doing. There was a stalemate happening with the men in my life, though, and I had a clear winner in mind, but unless I kicked Davis out, I couldn’t be sure that the guys would outstay my ex-husband.

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