Page 37 of The Do Over
She took one drink for the road—the bartender said she was welcome to since it wasn't alcoholic—but as she made her way through the small groups, she heard loud throat clearing and a man's voice.
"Thank you all for coming today. My late wife, Angel, would have been honored that so many people have gathered to support the breakthrough we have been making towards discovering better treatments for ovarian cancer."
It wasn't the message that stopped Sophie in her tracks. It wasn't that his voice was loud, and everyone stopped talking to pay attention, making it awkward for her to dip and leave. It was the person who had mounted the podium who made her slowly turn around and stare in shock.
Jack Williams. With his son, Aidan.
It wasn't a coincidence. It was real.
Three months since she saw him last, and he looked the same. She did not expect some drastic change, but…perhaps it was she who was seeing him in a new light. As the man, she developed renewed feelings for him, feelings that hadn't left. Feelings crept into her mind and sat there, taking over her thoughts.
She should leave.
To avoid the slim chance of her running into him later on, Sophie knew the safe thing was to walk away.
But she didn't. She stood as he talked about his late wife, as he spoke about the struggles he went through after she died from the accident six months after they found out she had ovarian cancer. He talked about the friends that brought him out of his shell—about Andrew and some other wonderful people whose names weren't mentioned.
Sophie stayed when he was done talking, her eyes followed him when he left the stage, and she sighed when she lost him, consoling herself with the fruity drink that had lost all appeal.
Then she felt a tap on her. When she turned and saw who it was, her eyes widened, and her breath caught.
"Sophie Davis," Jack said.
"Hi."
"It's good to see you. Really good to see you. You look…incredible. Amazing. You…" he took a deep breath, "I was an asshole. A coward."
She frowned. Where was all of this coming from?
"An asshole?"
"Yes," Jack said. "In Oregon. When I said that, I didn't promise you anything. When I didn't tell Bethany the truth, when I acted like what was between us was just...sex."
Sophie was distracted by Aidan hanging on to her gown, but only momentarily because she quickly scooped him up and kissed the top of his head. Their interactions might have been limited since she was busy with the wedding plans, but she liked the little guy.
"I see Aidan misses you too," Jack said, smiling a little. "I was scared too. Scared that I wouldn't be good for you. Scared that if I let you into my life, I would become a terrible parent to Aidan, that I wouldn't have time for him—"
"I'm not trying to take up space in your life, Jack," Sophie told him. "I wouldn't want to make you choose Aidan over me. Not now and not ever. All I wanted was for thethingbetween us, the feeling between us, to be acknowledged. And it hurt me when it wasn't. Aidan is your son, and I'm just—"
Jack surprised Sophie by swooping in and kissing her. It took her a moment before she sighed and let herself go, putting the hand that wasn't holding Aidan around his shoulder, not caring if anyone was watching them.
He didn't care either because he kissed her for the longest time, pulling away to look at her for a few seconds before kissing her on the forehead and her lips again. Sophie heard her heart beating as certain as the assurance in the kiss and felt the affection in every part of her body like it had always been there.
When they broke apart, Jack brushed his thumb over her bottom lip and smiled softly.
"I can't believe I waited months to do that. If I had known, I would have shown up at your doorstep. You're not justanythingto me, Sophie Davis. For the first time in two years and counting, you are the first person who has made me feel something real.
"You made me feel like I could hold on to the smile in my chest at the sight of you and Aidan, and it scared me. You made me want to worry so much about someone else that I would drop everything to ensure they were okay. I told myself it was college memories, but it's not."
"I felt the same, too," Sophie whispered. She called it deja vu, but it was falling again. Anew. Afresh. Even with their rocky start, she didn't have to wait long to know that what she felt wasn't fickle.
"And," Jack got on his knees. "Here's my apology for being an asshole back in college. It's not the best, I know, and I should have tried making amends years ago. But I'll keep trying, keep making amends for as long as you'll have me.
"Because I love you, Sophie Davis. I love you and want to be a bold man and take another stab at life because of you."
People had gathered around them at this point, and his speech was met with a loud ovation.
Sophie was stunned.
