Harper didn't think that the night could get any more fun but she realized soon enough when they arrived at the Ferris wheel. Quinton had taken her to the ticket stands to get a ticket for them and even as she had told him that she was going to pay for hers, he had refused.“Two tickets, please.” He grinned as she dropped the bills on the stand in front of the man serving the tickets.Harper frowned as she stared at him, wondering what was wrong with men and their huge egos about not letting ladies sort out their bills themselves. But she didn't question it because even though she felt that way, she secretly enjoyed it when people did things like this for her. As she looked toward the man on duty, she noticed the lingering stare he passed them while he sorted through their tickets which was taking longer than expected. They had a queue right behind them and even though Harper didn't appreciate cutting lines, Quinton had done that for her and the people on the queue hadn't even compla
“Well, this place is beautiful.” Joyce commented before taking a swipe out of one of the ice cream she had with her. She turned around and handed the one with the vanilla toppings over to a stunned Sophie.“I can't believe we haven't been here.” Sophie shook her head. Why had she believed Alicia when she said that they were having a small cook-out celebration?This that was happening before her eyes were more than a small event. Every where had one activity or the other going on. The dangling rides that had children screaming their lungs out and different game sections made it look more like a carnival than anything Alicia had called it.“I can live here every day,” she mused before taking another swipe of her Ice cream. Sophie loved noise. Silence infuriated her especially when it was awkward. “I'm going to get drunk tonight,” she continued, making Joyce glare at her.“You don't have any issues boiling you over, ma'am. I see no reason why you should drink tonight and don't you dare
Sophie could feel it in her bones the moment the kiss turned into something more than a kiss. An insatiable feeling. Something filled with urgency that she couldn't even begin to bring her mind to understand or think about. But before she could even allow herself to have that moment, Tyler was breaking the kiss and detaching his lips from hers.“What?” she asked him, her breath coming out in short pants. Her body had come alive and she could feel the peek of her nipples pressing against her cloth."I just,” Tyler sighed as he tried to control himself. “I just want to be sure that you are ready for this because I swear Sophie, if I put my hands on you again,” he allowed his eyes to meet hers before he uttered the next sentence."I don't think I have it in me to stop.” He told her.“I don't want you to stop.” She told him, biting her lower lips with her eyes fixated on him. He got the memo and God, if those words didn't send a message to his dick.Sophie didn't know how he did it but wi
“Should we answer it?” Sophie asked, her voice raspy and breathless as she stared up at her man with hazy eyes.“Are you asking if I want to stop this for even a second?” he raised a brow while his fingers traced the skin of her arm teasingly. “No, Sophie. I don't.” He added.“Then we will just ignore it,” she decided there and then because that was what they were going to do. There was no way she was going to ruin something that was going on so smoothly. And since Tyler had no intentions of getting off her just yet, she didn't either.“Let's get rid of this, shall we?” a teasing smile appeared on her lips as she tapped on his shirt. Tyler sent her a wink that made her cheeks flame red…or pink as the seconds went by. He attempted to get off her but she stopped him by swiping her tongue over the skin of his face, exactly what he wanted to do before the knock came at the door.Tyler let out a short hissy breath, cocking his head to the side to let her lick him off. Each tease on his fac
For some reason, when Sophie woke up the next morning, she was convinced that everything that happened the night before was a dream. That was until she felt a hand sinking into her core to fully wake her up for the day. Of course, Tyler had woken her up in his own special way.She had almost fallen asleep again after that but he had gotten her a cup of coffee to start her day after she took a shower. Sitting half up on the bed while sipping her coffee steadily, his other hand bunched around her waist tightly, Sophie felt like it was time to talk about things. Everything. Lack of communication would only pull a wedge between them and she didn't want that. Not not, not ever again.But before she could say a word, Tyler beat her to it.“Everything still feels unreal, doesn't it?” he asked, his fingers digging into her hair as he ran his fingers through the silky strand of it. Tyler wasn't sure but her hair was among the top things he loved about her.“Yeah,” she breathed before taking a
Sophie paraded the length and breadth of the room, preparing for lunch which Joyce had insisted on hosting. A little while ago, they had returned back to their hotel room to rest. Well, she had taken a short nap while Tyler had settled down to work. And when she peeled her eyes open a while later, the sight of him seated at the work table, just focused on working was so blissful that it made her heart thump.How had she almost let him go?How had she denied herself this…Bliss? She couldn't even begin to wrap her head around why she had held back from him in the first place. He made her happy, there was no doubt about it. He made her feel so special. She wanted to feel everything and more with him.“What do you think about this?” she asked as she held up the new dress she had selected from her closet, her eyes anticipating what he had to say.An already dressed Tyler looked away from his phone from where he was lying on the bed to stare at his girl. He had no idea about the dress she w
The ladies jumped out of their seats and rushed at their friend to wrap their hands around her. Joyce welcomed their affection as she allowed them to fawn over her. Even Harper wouldn't stop jumping around, making Joyce a little teary. Their love for her was exceptional.“I'm so excited!” Harper screamed before she lunged herself at her friend again.“God, Joyce.” Sophie pulled back a little. She didn't know when or how it happened but she suddenly had tears in her eyes. This was not the first time Joyce was announcing that she was getting married but something about her not wanting to wait felt right.“Don't cry,” Joyce's lips trembled when she saw the tears in her best friend's eyes.“This mascara is not waterproofed.” Willow sniffed as she pulled back too. She took a look at Sophie before taking the step to wipe her face.“I'm not crying. I swear, I'm not crying.” Sophie swore, making them laugh.“I thought you guys would be worried. Kind of like not expect this.” Joyce said as the
Alicia agreed to meet the girls that morning at her cafe. Sophie was running around the room, looking for what to wear for the appropriate visit. She didn't want to run late in any way. Harper seemed to have tuned in to the event as she had spent the whole of Sunday preparing and making plans while consulting the girls on what they thought.After slipping on the orange summer dress she didn't even know she brought with her, Sophie hastily packed her hair into a lazy bun that had tendrils framing her face. She didn't bother to do any make up as she just did her lips and applied mascara. Shoving her lip gloss and phone into the cute mini bag she was going with, she slipped her feet into the pair of sandals she wanted to wear.Tyler sat there at the work table watching them. She had been so excited about everything that she wouldn't put a pen down. He knew she was excited for Joyce but with the rate at which she was going, she was going to fall under stress if she kept it up. He didn't s
Tyler was nervous. He had been since he saw her in that beautiful dress at the hospital. He had known it was her opening night at the gallery and even though she wouldn't want him there, Tyler had gone anyway. He was proud of her. He was proud of everything she had done and became with or without him.But he needed her now and more than ever.He wanted her now more than ever and he was going to get her.She had looked seemingly unaffected by his presence at the hospital the night before but he knew it had touched her as he had touched him too. He hoped she would wear that dress she wore for her gallery opening. He also wished that she wouldn't. He wished she would smile at him when she arrived but Tyler was close to losing his mind. It was an hour after the arranged time yet she wasn't here. He had refrained from texting her so as not to appear too pathetic. He wanted her but he also had to play his cards right.When his phone buzzed in his pocket, Tyler took it out to answer the cal
Kristen folded her arms against her chest as she stared at Sophie. She wasn't complaining about having her in her house but Sophie could be exhausting. Especially in moments when she was this stubborn. And she was done, she couldn't deal with this attitude of hers anymore.“Do you need me to call Willow because I will. Oh, I know. Joyce would get here quicker than Willow would.” She tsked, eyeing the woman in pajamas lying on the floor of the living room to Netflix and chill.“You wouldn't dare,” Sophie barely glanced away from the screen of the TV as she grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl in front of her and poured them into her mouth. She munched cheerfully like she didn't have a worry in the world.When in fact, she did. She had a lot running through her mind but she would never say it.It was only a day after the opening of her art gallery. A day after she met Tyler at the hospital. A day after Harper's birth to Baby Ivan. It was the date night Tyler had scheduled for her
Sophie didn't get a breathing space that night as she wandered about, talking to her guests and the families of her featured artists. She had almost let herself go into worry about Harper but Joyce had handed her a glass of non alcoholic wine that had put her at ease.So, with a glass in hand, Sophie had wandered around in her gallery and attended to guests. The number of people that had turned up were more than she had expected but she was glad that she had enough resources to handle them. She had just finished selling off a beautiful glass piece to a man when Joyce pulled her aside for a break."Heard anything from them yet?” she whispered as Joyce pulled her away from the scene to a corner.“Not yet,” Joyce whispered back with a hiss. She was equally very worried but that wasn't what she wanted to talk about.“Okay, so what's going on?” Sophie asked when she saw the look on her face.“I just saw Jasper and Olivia.” Joyce confessed trying to look past her friend's shoulders toward t
It had been exactly two weeks since the whole episode with her father. With the help of her friends, Sophie had gotten back on tracks with her dream art gallery. She had channeled all her emotions into setting up the perfect gallery she wanted.In two weeks, she had set up the podium and given the place the taste it deserved. Countless times, Joyce and the rest of the girls had dropped by to help her set up. And when she wasn't setting up, Sophie would lay down on the floors of the place and imagine what her future would be filled with.In everything she had pictured, there had been Tyler. It has been more than a while. Since the day she had ordered him out of her hospital room, she hadn't heard back from him. Although she felt extremely bad for treating him that way, she'd been hurting too. She hadn't wanted to see him. Now, she didn't know.She missed him. She missed everything about him but that wasn't the topic for the day. It was her gallery's opening night. Her friends had he
When Sophie got the call from Willow asking her to come to the police station the morning after the day she was released from the hospital, her mind had conjured up different thoughts that she didn't think were appropriate. Willow had sounded calm yet very worried. Like she was very close to killing someone off which had made her extremely worried.Kristen had driven her to the police station because she hadn't been strong enough to drive. Although she had been properly taken care of in the hospital, her wound hadn't completely healed off and her body still sometimes ached her. She still couldn't believe that someone had almost succeeded in killing her.The thought still paralyzed her whenever she thought if it. What if the bullet had gone straight to her heart? What would have become of her? So many if's and possibilities always left her paralyzed.“You are going to be fine,” Kristen had told her repeatedly before she walked into the police station. Everyone around her seemed to know
"Congratulations, Tyler.” Willow shook his hand when they stepped out from the court. His smile was wide, big yet very much incomplete. This had been his dream for the past few years; To put Manuel and Andy away for good.It had been simple yet very difficult.But Willow had made it happen. She had gathered all the obvious evidence she could find and made him set up a meeting with Adelaide on the guise of getting her to confess to what she had done alongside Manuel and Andy. His half-brothers were very smart and intelligent but one thing they all had in common was their pride at their winnings which always led them to gloat and talk about everything they weren't supposed to.All it had taken were a few bottles of drinks to get them put behind bars. Now, he had custody of the little girl he was starting to call his.“No, Willow. You made it happen,” he smiled genuinely at her and she smiled back with ease. Willow was a beast when she was in court and that much was apparent. She had pu
Joyce pushed past the crowd in front of her when she sighted Harper and Willow waiting ahead. She had almost lost her mind when she had gotten the call from Harper telling her that Sophie had been involved in an accident. Joyce had thought that Sophie had refused to pick her calls or answer any of her texts because she was trying to give them space.She knew Sophie and she wouldn't put that past her.But the call from Harper had almost destabilized her. Already, she and Nick were already planning on returning back to LA after being in New York for close to a month now but Harper's call had sped up the whole process.“Slow down, baby.” She heard Nick say behind her. She knew that if it wasn't for the bags he was juggling, he would have rushed toward her. Joyce finally got to where her friends were standing and without any warning of some sort, she plunged them into a hug. Well, that was if Harper's large baby bump allowed her to hug her properly.“Joyce,” Harper pouted as she struggle
Tyler hummed as he flipped the pancake on the pan. It was late into the afternoon yet he hadn't had anything to eat all day having been busy. Taking Adelaide and his half brothers down had been a lot harder than he thought and everything was messin with him more than he thought it would.He barely had any time for himself to breathe and do all the things he needed to do. As if that wasn't enough, Tyler had had to deal with Giovanni when he went to the office the other day for an official meeting. The beast of a man had barged until his office without knocking to talk to him, being all rude to everyone around.Tyler hadn't been surprised when he saw him. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Giovanni De Luca figured out who he was. He had played enough and to him, he thought that he had taken more than enough time to figure him out.Too slow.“Well, this is late,” he'd said when he walked in, leaning back into his chair as he gazed up at the man. “Let me guess, somebody tipp
When Sophie opened her eyes, everything seemed fuzzy and out of focus. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision, but everything remained hazy and indistinct. Slowly, she became aware of a dull ache in her head, and she realized that she must have hit her head during the accident. She tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness washed over her and she slumped back down onto the bed. Everything was a blur, both literally and figuratively. As she struggled to regain her senses, the memories of the accident began to come back to her in flashes. She remembered the screech of the tires, the sickening crunch of metal, and the blinding pain that had followed. It was all a blur, but slowly the details were starting to come into focus. She tried to sit up again, this time with more success. She took a deep breath and looked around, trying to get her bearings. Where was she?It wasn't until she finally registered the antiseptic smell that came with hospitals and the white walls that