"Sophie, huh?" Jack asks, shit-eating grin clear as day in his voice.
"Plot actually likes her?" Oliver sounds skeptical.
"Yeah," I breathe, a smile on my face. "She's... something else."
"Can't wait to meet this girl," Jack laughs, voice filled with genuine warmth. "Gotta be special to catch your attention, Father Callum."
"She is," I murmur, ignoring the good-natured barb and instead picturing her sweet face smiling at me while we watched the sunset. Just the thought of it warms me from the inside out. "She's going through a lot right now. I'm just trying to be there for her."
I don't want to reveal information that isn't mine to share. I don't want to gossip about her, even to my closest friends. They know Paul. They weren't there when the incident with Lauren happened, but I had told them, and they held a grudge against him. I know they would completely support Sophie and curse Paul out for her, but still, it's not my life to talk about.
Sophie's trust is sacred to me, as is all my friends', but her own trust was violated in a way that still makes me sick to think about. I will cherish her trust, honored to have it placed in me, and guard it with the utmost care.
"Jack, how are you and Samantha doing?" I ask, pivoting the attention away from me.
Silence. That puts me on edge immediately—Jack's never been quiet. He's always been the first to crack a joke, to give someone hell, to keep the mood from getting too heavy.
His silence now says more than any words could.
"Jack?" Oliver prods, his voice dipping in concern.
"We broke up,” Jack sighs deeply, and I can picture him scrubbing a hand down his face. "She was cheating on me. She said since pretty much the beginning."
"Damn," I mutter, wincing. "You okay, man?"
"Honestly? Yeah, I'm fine. It sucked, but it's whatever," Jack says, his voice sounding a little tense but not heartbroken. More irritated than anything. That's just how Jack operates—he compartmentalizes his feelings very fast. He never liked talking about emotions unless he was drunk, and even then, it was a slow leak.
"I just feel bad, the guy Samantha was cheating with had a girlfriend. Apparently, she had been away on deployment, came home early, and caught them in bed together."
"What the hell is wrong with people?" Oliver says, sounding disgusted.
"She works with me, so I'll be seeing her around. Hope she's okay. I mean, obviously, she's not okay. Seeing that after getting home from deployment, it's gotta suck ass..."
"Just glad you're okay, Jack," I tell him genuinely, knowing he's hurting but not letting us hear it. "Let us know if you need anything."
"You know we're only a phone call away," Oliver says, but then he follows it with. "Unless I'm elbow deep in someone's chest cavity, then you might have to wait a bit."
When I first met Jane, she reminded me so much of Oliver—with his deadpan delivery and complete sincerity in his words. Oliver has always been quieter, a little more nerdy, than the three of us.
When he does speak, he doesn't say anything he doesn't mean.
"That's a lovely picture, Doc," Jack teases, and it breaks some of the tension.
???
The three of us can just pick back up where we left off, no matter how much time or life has gotten in the way. Jack and Oliver moving to town really saved me in high school—the three of us were outcasts in different ways, magnets pulled together by unpopularity. We just gravitated toward each other and formed our own little friend group. Despite our differences, we seem to fit together well and just understand each other.
I truly miss them, and I can't wait for their next visit to Starling Cove, especially so they can meet Sophie. I think they'll like her instantly, and I know she'll like them.
It's a little crazy to think how fast this woman has burrowed herself under my skin. She's the first thought on my mind when I wake up, the last one before I go to sleep, and our constant texts have my cheeks hurting from all the smiling. I feel as though she's been a part of my life forever, not just these few short weeks.
That's how Iknew.
From the second the tone changed in her texts last night, when she suddenly couldn't come to the book club, I knew something was really wrong.
I had been trying to keep busy with the usual tasks until she walked through the door. She usually comes by early on book club nights, just to hang out with me before. That window of time, when it’s just the two of us in the golden hour light filtering through the storefront windows, has become something I look forward to all day.
When she walks in the door, a bright smile on her face, and I feel... whole.
