Page 82 of My Boss's Sons

I glanced over at Ethan and licked my suddenly dry lips. “Who is it?”

“It’s Sophia, you dick! What were you thinking? Tattoos are permanent! Let me up there so I can kick your ass!”

“Ma’am, please don’t grab the-”

“Let her up.”

Noah looked up from the book he’d been reading with a smile on his lips. “That worked.”

I stretched my legs out in front of me, doing my best to look calm when really I felt like there was a war happening in my stomach. “Thank fuck. I was starting to think she would never talk to us again. We can’t grovel if she won’t talk to us.”

“Think she’ll actually kick our asses?” Ethan turned his head to watch the elevator doors open after the door buzzed.

Sophia barely waited for the doors to open wide enough to let her through. She came flying out of the elevator like a batout of hell. Her eyes were wide and wild when she spotted the three of us relaxing in our living room. Her hair was tied up in some sort of bun and she was completely bare-faced. Her tank top was thread-bare and she hadn’t bothered putting on a bra before racing over, clearly. The cardigan she wore over that tank top was hanging off her shoulders and catching on her elbows. Her shorts were the silk pajama kind and on her feet were two different crocs that didn’t look like they fit her. They had to be Milo’s with how big they were on her. She was an unbelievable mix of chaos and sexy that threatened to tent my pants instantly.

Fuck, I’d missed her.

We were spread out on the couches, shirts off so she could see the new tattoos on our chests, and I felt a wave of satisfaction when her eyes softened and her body relaxed as she looked at us. Then, she shook her head and she was full of fire again.

“What the hell were you thinking?” She stomped over to Ethan and leaned over to rub at her name on his chest.

He winced and grabbed her hand. “Easy, Soph.”

She growled and smacked the new ink before going to Noah and doing the same. When he didn’t react, she kicked his foot and then came at me. “You. This was your idea, wasn’t it?”

I sat forward and nodded at the tattoo on her thigh. “I like tattooing.”

Her cheeks turned red but she turned away from me and I watched in horror as she wiped at her eyes and refused to look back at us. “I told you guys we were over. Why won’t you listen?”

I was on my feet and standing behind her in a beat. “We don’t want to.”

She spun around and shoved at my chest. When I didn’t budge she tried again to the same results. There were tears in her eyes as she finally looked up at me. “It won’t change anything. I don’t want to be with you.”

“Liar.” I bent forward so we would be eye to eye when I told her what I needed to tell her. “Even if you stick to that lie and refuse to be with us, I’ll never regret this tattoo, Sophia. You own us. You have since that first night. It seemed right that your name should be here.”

She stared at my hand over my chest and her breath caught. A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. “You don’t mean that.”

I grabbed her hand and held it over my chest. My heart was racing under her palm and I hoped she could feel it, so she’d know just how much she affected me. “I mean every word. I’ve been miserable without you. I’m sorry, Sophia. I promise you, if you give us another chance, I’ll prove to you that you can trust us again.”

Noah and Ethan stood beside us. Ethan brushed away her tears as they fell. “We don’t deserve you. We never have, not even before we hurt you. I want to try, though. I want to earn your trust and respect and…”

Noah cupped the back of her neck. “Love. We want to earn your love. I’ll never forgive myself for how I hurt you. I should’ve known better. I’m sorry that I failed so miserably, Sophia. I care about you so much and nothing else matters if I don’t have a chance at feeling your love. Even if you don’t want me now, I can wait. I’ll earn your love. Just tell me I have a chance, Soph.”

“You were so mean.” Sophia broke down finally and her body shook as she cried harder. “I hate this! I sound like an idiot over you guys. I can’t do this. I can’t walk into pain.”

Noah pulled her into his chest and wrapped her in a tight hug. “Don’t. We won’t be perfect, but we’ll never hurt you like this again, Soph. We’ll protect you and love you. Your family, too.”

“Why? Why didn’t you just stop and let me go?” She shook in his arms.

“Because we’re fucking crazy about you, Sophia. Ava said something that hit me like a bag of bricks.” Noah held her faceand stroked his thumbs over her cheeks to wipe away more tears.

“When she said you’re like your dad? That’s not true. I know that, Noah.”

“No, that was true for a minute there. That’s not what I’m talking about, though. She said that we didn’t deserve to stand in your sunshine. She’s right. We don’t. I can’t go back now, though. Being with youislike standing in the sunshine, Sophia. I don’t want to feel anything else ever again. I just want your sunshine.”

Sophia pressed her head into his chest. “What about your dad?”

I grunted. “What about him? He’s an asshole who’s lost everything. We won’t let him hurt us again.”

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