“Can I ask you something?” she said.
I nodded cautiously.
“Why are you at the Walkers’ house so much?”
The question caught me off guard.
“I mean,” she continued quickly, holding up a hand, “I know you’re Lily’s godmother. I know Emma and Bill are basically family to you. But, Claire, you’re thereevery day.”
I felt my shoulders tense.
She went on gently, “It’s gotten so routine that the town stopped gossiping about it. Do you know how hard it is to bore this place into silence?”
That stung more than I expected.
“I’m helping,” I said defensively.
“I know,” Sophie said. “I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m saying that when people lose parents, or stability, they latch onto whoever feels safe. It’s human. You work with kids who do it all the time.”
I stayed quiet.
“And you love Emma and Bill,” she added. “That’s not a crime. But the fact that they’re Ethan’s parents? That partisweird, no matter how much you pretend it’s not.”
I looked down at my coffee, throat tight.
Sophie sighed and reached for my hand, squeezing it gently.
“I get it,” she said. “Truly. But if you’re crossing boundaries, without meaning to, it’s unrealistic to expect someone like Ethan not to do the same. Especially when he’s emotionally stunted and freshly back in a place that knows all his worst moments.”
I laughed weakly. “That’s one way to describe him.”
She pulled me into a brief hug. “If you’re going to keep the people you love this close, and with him in the picture,” she said quietly, “you’re going to need thicker armor.”
I pulled back, surprised.
“I don’t think Ethan’s going to change anytime soon,” she added. Then, almost as an afterthought, “And, by the way, I kind of agree with the dirtbag.”
I stared at her.
She immediately raised her hands. “I know, I know. Don’t kill me. You know I love you. But you’ve heard the same things about Brandon from your friends a hundred times.”
“That’s different,” I said.
She arched an eyebrow. “Is it?”
I stood to leave, my head spinning.
At the door, Sophie touched my arm. “You told me you forgave Ethan,” she said gently. “If you really had… his comment wouldn’t have hit this hard.”
I didn’t answer.
I just nodded once, stepped outside, and let the cool air hit my face.
The anger was still there.
But now it had company.
Chapter 45
