Page 36 of The Do Over
Andrew was there to help him. He got up from the chair and went to sit beside Jack, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I have something to tell you too."
"Which is?"
"I was the one who suggested that you two stay alone. We could have roomed you with the others, but I knew that Sophie could bring out the part of you that had been buried underyourshell, and you'd do good by her," Andrew said.
"Unfortunately, when I realized that you two were having difficulty getting along and Bethany, whom you had a brief fling with, was coming in between, I thought I had made a mistake. That's why I told Sophie to forget about you. That sleeping with you would be a big mistake."
Jack exhaled heavily.
"Maybe you were right. If I didn't…I hurt her, Andrew. And I don't think I can ever forgive myself for walking past her that night and not saying anything. Or pushing her away and saying to her that I didn't promise anything."
"If you think you love my sister, then you should show it."
"How? I don't think she'll take me back, and you know she deserves better."
"Of course she does," Andrew agreed. "She deserves someone who doesn't make her feel like a second option, which is why you will do your best to convince her that there is no Bethany. That there is no one else."
"How do I do that?" Jack was lost. Every scenario he ran in his head over the past three months had failed before he could execute them.
Andrew had a mischievous grin when he rubbed his hands together.
"That's why you have me. I might not be a good host, but I know my sister."
CHAPTER15
MINGLE.
Sophie readthe text on her phone and glanced around the room.
Mingle.
How was she supposed to mingle when she did not know anyone? Andrew and Emily had invited her to a charity event in New York, and since it was close to four months since she saw them last, she agreed. They sent the ticket and all, asking that she meet them at the venue.
But when she arrived, they were a no-show. The text she got was Andrew explaining that something had come up and they wouldn't be able to make it. They asked that she mingle and find someone, this felt like a blind date, most likely Emily's doing, and they set her up with one of Emily's infamous friends.
Oh well.
She couldn't just leave, could she? She spotted a hole-in-the-wall bar on the hall's East side and headed for it. When she arrived, Sophie looked at the drinks on the menu, selected a fruity one, and sat on the chairs provided, grateful that something was keeping her fromcompulsorymingling.
She had gotten halfway through her drink when two women approached the bar and ordered drinks. They were conversing, and she caught the tail end of the conversation—
"I heard his wife died two years ago," one of the women, a brunette and the taller one of the duo, spoke. "It's weird that a man like that hasn't remarried, especially with the number of women flocking around him."
The second woman scoffed.
"He knows they are after his money. And none of those women want to take care of a toddler. It's a shame, though, because I hear the boy is a sweetheart."
"I heard he's a handful," the brunette disagreed. "My friend, a nanny, worked for them for a month. Aidan, I think that's his name, chopped off her hair while she was sleeping."
Aidan.
Sophie frowned. It was the name of Jack's son. And Jack had lost his wife, too, over two years ago. Were they referring to him?
She shook her head. It was just a coincidence. Aidan was a reasonably common name. It was Jack's fault that he had been on her mind lately, creeping into her thoughts without permission. The first month after Andrew's wedding had been a continuous struggle of trying to put him behind her, going on random dates that always ended terribly.
Two glasses of whatever fruity thing she ordered later, and Sophie decided she would bail out on the event. She would do her part to donate and quietly leave, although the chances of anyone noticing that she had left would be slim to none since no one knew her, and it looked like everyone had their little circle.
