"I can't help if she's outside when I get home or she popsby to share with me stories from her day. What am I supposed to do, Grant? Ignore her? Tell her to go away because her father doesn't want her to get any ideas about the two of us?"
She scoffs, grabs the towel off the chair, and wraps it around her body.
"You're right. I appreciate that you are so good to her. She adores you. It's just?—"
"It's fine, Grant. Message received."
"It's just—Hazel is my whole life."
I watch as her shoulders relax and her head falls forward.
"I know."
She walks toward the bungalow, and I can't stop myself from following her, wanting to touch her, to hold her next to me. I'm overwhelmed with a need to comfort her. Instead, I brush my fingers down her arm to get her attention.
"I really do appreciate everything you do for Hazel. I know she adores you."
Sophia turns to face me. Her eyes hold mine for a minute, like she wants to say so much more to me. "I adore her, too."
She breaks her gaze, walks inside and over to the couch, and folds up the blanket draped over the arm. "I'm pretty tired, and I know you are busy. I've got an early day tomorrow, too."
"Right. Ok. Yes. I better get back to the house, too. Hazel. Sleep."
That's such a bullshit thing to say when she knows I've been over here almost every night since she started staying here.
She locks the bungalow behind me, making it obviousthat nothing will happen between us tonight. I didn't come over here thinking anything was going to happen. In fact, I was pretty adamant that cooling off on being with her was the best thing for us right now. But nothing has felt worse than walking away from her, knowing she won't be in my arms tonight.
thirty-seven
. . .
Sophia
Blair's officeat Tangerine Talent still has that new-paint smell, but she's already made it feel like home. Oversized photos of her biggest clients line the orange-colored walls, and there's a bar cart in the corner that I suspect sees more action than her actual office.
"He said you should 'cool off'?" Jess air quotes, settling deeper into the plush armchair by Blair's desk. "What does that even mean?"
I shrug, trying to appear more casual about it than I feel. "Apparently, since I'll be shooting at Honey Pine next week, it's a good time to…" I make air quotes. "'Create some space.'"
"Men," Blair mutters, pouring herself a glass of wine. "They get scared the minute things start feeling real."
"I'm not sure that's what this is," I say, but even I can hear the doubt in my voice. "He's just being practical. Hazel has after-school rehearsals, too. Our schedules will be crazy."
"Oh, how are rehearsals going?" Stella asks.
The mention of Hazel makes my chest tight. "She's amazing.Sure to be the star of the show." I pause, swallowing hard. "She asked me last week if I was going to live with them forever."
"Oh, honey." Blair sets down her glass.
"And that's exactly why he's pulling back," I say as the realization hits me fresh. "It's not just about us anymore. Hazel's getting attached, and that terrifies him."
"But isn't that a good thing?" Jess asks. "The three of you seem so natural together."
"Maybe that's what scares him most." I stand, needing to move. "He seemed irritated the other night after they spent the day at the science museum. Hazel kept inviting me to things, and he kept cutting her off, uninviting me. Maybe he doesn't think I'm good enough for her."
"I'm gonna stop you right there," Jess says. "Fuck him. If he's going to be a scared little bitch, then he doesn't deserve you. All of us see how you treat Hazel and how much she adores you. He's blind if he doesn't see how lucky he is."
"Men," Blair says again, but softer this time.
