Page 35 of The Do Over
CHAPTER14
THREE MONTHS LATER.
Three months later.
"I need your help," Jack said as soon as Andrew opened the door to his house. He had taken the next available flight—as soon as his mind was made up—knowing he could only get what he wanted from one person.
"Sure," Andrew ushered him in, "come on in."
The interior of the house had been decorated in the fairytale-vintage style, like their wedding, and Jack could see that his best friend was indeed doing everything to make the woman he loved happy.
Which was something that had been haunting him for the past three months. Almost immediately after returning to Miami, Jack knew something was missing. Something that wouldn't be the same, no matter how much he tried to move on with his life.
He sat on the sectional couch while Andrew took the single armchair opposite him, folded his hands, and crossed his legs.
"So, tell me. What's troubling you? Oh, wait. Can I get you anything first? Emily is teaching me how to be more hospitable, so…water? A drink?"
Jack shrugged.
"I'd ask for something strong so I can tell you the truth, but it would just be acting the coward. I'll take water, thanks."
"Oh, oh," Andrew tutted as he got up. "This is something serious, then. Don't tell me you're considering selling the law firm because I will end you."
Jack shook his head as his friend headed to the kitchen. There was a hole in the wall, so he could see him getting a bottle of water from the fridge.
"I'm not selling the firm. I love my job, and where would I get money if I sold it?"
Andrew returned with water and handed the bottle to him before resuming his seat.
"Money? You have a trust fund. “Your biological Dad, whom you never met, up and left you an absurd amount of money when he died.”
You're a billionaire, my friend. Financially, you've won the jackpots of all jackpots!"
It was true, but Jack had never gotten around to accepting that he had more money than he knew what to do with. Angel, his ex-wife, was a minimalist. Their house was moderate for a small family; they had two cars and went to places that average-income households would go to.
Besides, he didn't know that he had a trust fund until he was twenty-five, and that was because he didn't know his birth father, who owned one of the big three pharmaceutical companies in the country before he died. But that wasn't his point.
"It's Sophie," he blurted out after a swig of water.
"Sophie?" Andrew's brows furrowed. "What about Sophie?"
"I think… no, I know I'm in love with Sophie. When I saw her for the first time at your parent's house, I thought it was because of what we had in college—you know how we dated, and I stupidly ended things with her."
Andrew nodded.
"Mhmmm."
"Yeah. But the two weeks that we spent together, even when we fought, I—I was scared of letting how I truly felt show. That's why I went against everything she said, everything she did. I think a part of me thought that if I made it so that we never sat down to have a casual conversation or we never had a good, ordinary time, I could pretend," Jack confessed.
"But returning to Miami, knowing that she could be anywhere close to where I stay, made me confront the things I couldn't say that I was scared of bringing someone into my life after Angel. That I thought I wasn't going to measure up after spending over two years pushing everyone away. There was also the fear that I would be a terrible parent to Aidan if someone came into our lives or the person would be a bad influence on my son."
"But Sophie is good with him," Andrew said the words that needed to be said.
Jack nodded.
"The few times, especially when he was sick, that I saw her with him, it made me vulnerable. Aidan is seldom comfortable with anyone, but he is with her. And it's not a matter of her job because nannies are trained to make children feel safe and comfortable. No. It's…everything."
He couldn't find his words. He knew it in his heart, but the words couldn't string together meaningful sentences.
