Color increased in the author’s face as she shrugged. “If you go for the blue-eyed, muscular type of guy.”
Considering Ryder had blue eyes and a nice array of muscles, Sophia figured she was guilty. It was best to keep her mouth shut.
“So, Sophia…if it’s not a date-date, then what exactly are you doing with my brother tomorrow morning?” Lea asked, curiosity sparking in eyes the same blue shade as Ryder’s.
“It’s a work thing,” she replied, frustrated to have the subject resurrected. “He’s taking me to the local college so I can see about getting some students to help with the sets.”
“Do your bodies know it’s not a date-date?” Elle asked, lazy smile on her lips. “I’m a people watcher. It’s great research for my books. So I’m pretty good at reading people, and, well, your bodies were definitely speaking an intimate language.”
“It’s because they have a history,” Lea said.
Interest sparked in the author’s eyes. “Oh, really?”
Phoebe nodded. “I believe it was a New Year’s Eve, several years ago.”
Elle pushed an auburn strand of hair behind her ear, and cocked her head. “No, what I was reading was something a lot more recent.”
All three women stared at her now. Great.
She sighed. “What?”
“You tell us?” Lea narrowed her gaze. “Did something happen recently?”
“And did it have anything to do with his weird departure from the restaurant the other day?” Elle asked.
Phoebe reeled back. “You saw that too?”
“Yep.” The redhead winked. “People watcher.”
“Well? Go on…tell me, what did you see? I wasn’t there.” Lea huffed.
Stuffing more cake in her mouth, Sophia continued to eat while the others filled the anxious woman in on her brother’s strange behavior.”
“He’s definitely still feeling you.” Lea grinned. “I was beginning to think he’d never feel anything for a woman again.”
Her heart squeezed. “What do you mean?”
A deep sigh filled the air. “Several months before that New Year’s Eve, Ryder came home from deployment a different man. A broken one,” Lea added, sadness deepening her tone.
“Did he lose someone over there?” Elle’s question echoed the one in Sophia’s mind.
Lea nodded. “I believe so. But, it wasn’t anyone from his unit. They all came back, thank God.”
“What made you think Ryder suffered a loss?” she asked, her chest tight at the thought of him going through that type of pain.
“He returned home with the same dark, devastated, guilt ridden look in his eyes that he’d had after our mother died,” Lea replied. “I asked him what happened, but he just shook his head and said he didn’t want to talk about it.”
The tightness in Sophia’s chest increased. She’d felt that way when her Nona had passed.
“I don’t know. I think it had something to do with a woman. But six months later, you came in with Brandi for the holiday, and bam.” Smiling, Lea slapped the table. “There was life behind his eyes again. Although, the past few years it’s been gone.”
“Not anymore.” Phoebe winked. “There’s definitely a spark.”
Elle pointed her fork at her. “Like I said, something has happened recently.”
“Oh my God.” Lea blinked. “Did you two go up in flames again?”
Sophia made the mistake of sucking in a breath while she still had a mouth full of cake. She began to cough, and tried not to think about going up in flames with Ryder.
