Breaking Free (14 page)

Sophie ate her lunch in silence and watched Max chase and be chased by the waves. And it was
so
peaceful. She could hear the men horsing around up by the house, and then Journey was blaring out of the speakers, but Sophie had a slice of heaven right here, no one disturbing her.

Max's head snapped up, and he focused on however much of Sophie he could see, then moseyed over to her and collapsed down on the blanket.

"You big goof," Sophie chuckled. "You're getting sand and water all over."

Max just laid his head on Sophie's leg and dozed off.

Chapter 17

Throughout the day, Tennyson's gaze sought out Sophie more times than he could count, but he didn’t approach. She appeared to want solitude, and he'd be the last person to rob someone of that. Though, that didn’t mean he didn’t want to check in on her.

"One more round?" Noah asked, shuffling the deck of cards they'd used for some poker in the past hour.

"I'm good. I think I've lost enough," Ash said. "We should start the grill. I'm getting hungry."

"You still eat like you did when you were a growing boy," Mom chided. "Lunch was only three hours ago."

"Who said I stopped growing?" Asher smirked.

Dad chuckled gruffly and patted Ash's stomach. "Not me."

Getting up from the table, Tennyson brought some dishes into the house, then returned with a bowl of food for Max. Sophie had already come up to get water for Max, and this was the only excuse Tennyson had to go see her. Unless he wanted his mother to grow suspicious, and he didn’t have any patience for that today.

"Anyone want to take a swim?" Steph asked.

Noah was pretty quick to volunteer. He didn’t seem upset whatsoever when Brooklyn wanted to go in, too.

Leaving everyone on the patio, Tennyson headed down the beach and let out a whistle to get Max's attention. It usually helped keep him calm if he wasn’t caught off guard by Tennyson.

Max growled softly but stayed down, and he quieted fast.

Progress
.

"Hey." Sophie smiled at Tennyson as he sat down next to her. "How's the family?"

"Doing their job of frustrating me," he said with an easy grin. He held out his hand for Max and got a huff and a nose-butt in return. It was enough, and Tennyson scratched Max behind his ear before setting down the food. "That’s a good boy. We're getting there."

"What's so frustrating with your family?" Sophie wondered. "It's clear they love you."

"And I love them, too." Tennyson got comfortable and leaned back, his elbows hitting the soft sand just outside the blanket. "It's just that my mother never got the memo about Ash and me becoming adults." Sophie laughed softly, brushing some sand off her smooth leg with the sleeve of her long-sleeved T-shirt. It was the only thing she wore with a pair of bikini bottoms. "Despite the fact that we're both almost forty, Mom never stops fussing."

"Aww, but you're her babies." Sophie chuckled and pouted. "She doesn’t want to let go. Sons and mothers—I've heard it's a special bond."

Like fathers and daughters?
Tennyson didn’t say that out loud, of course, but it still reminded him of how little Sophie had. Success was nothing if you didn’t have anyone to share it with, blood-related or not.

"Do you want more privacy, or can I crash here for a while?"

Sophie hugged her legs to her chest and smiled at Max. "You can always crash here."

Fuck, he wanted to kiss her.

A slight breeze swept through Sophie's brown hair, and she was laughing at something Max did. He'd flipped over his bowl, Tennyson noticed, quick to look back at Sophie. She'd never been more gorgeous to him than right this minute. There was barely any makeup to cover her natural beauty, she had the most adorable laugh, her body was filling out, she was dressed for comfort, and she looked genuinely happy.

While she was occupied grinning at Max, Tennyson took out his phone and snapped off a photo of her.

"Did you just take a photo of me?" Sophie widened her eyes. "My hair's a mess, I'm not wearing any makeup, and—"

"That’s exactly why." Reaching up, he brushed away a wavy tendril from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "You're so beautiful, baby."

The pink that spread across her cheeks only made her even more stunning.

*

By the time dinner was ready, there weren't many clouds left in the sky, and everyone brought the food down to the beach to enjoy the sunset. Tennyson and Noah got a fire started while bowls and plates of salads, meats, baked potatoes, and sides were passed around.

Sophie tended to Max first, tying him to the piece of driftwood Tennyson sat down in front of, and then she plopped down with her own plate right next to Tennyson.

He liked that more than he could say, having her close.

"It's really gorgeous up here," Mom commented, looking out over the beach.

"I don’t know why we don’t spend the night," Noah said.

"Because we have meetings tomorrow," Steph reminded him with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but not until the late afternoon," Noah pointed out.

In the end, they all agreed they might as well stay. Tennyson's mother complained a little, saying they left all their stuff at the hotel this morning, but one night wasn’t going to kill her.

"Here you go." Sophie picked up her half of a grilled corn on the cob and dropped it on Tennyson's plate. She licked the melted butter off her fingers. "Did you want this, too?" She poked at the Italian sausage on her plate.

"Oh yeah, bring it over." On one of their publicity dates, they'd gone to a steakhouse and learned exactly what the other liked and disliked. It was his turn now, and he got rid of the foil pack of grilled vegetables he didn’t particularly like and the honey-glazed ribs he hated. "And, for you."

How people could add sweetness to marinade, he'd never understand. It could ruin a perfectly good steak, but Sophie loved it, so it ended up on her plate instead.

"That’s just…foul," he muttered.

She made yummy noises at him, which was fucking adorable.

Tennyson grinned then took a swig of his beer and observed their friends and family. Everyone was caught up in private conversations…except for his mother. Of-fucking-course she'd noticed Tennyson and Sophie's exchange.

Mom arched a brow at him but didn’t say anything, diverting her focus to the food instead.

It irritated him like hell. He was a grown man, for chrissakes. He'd led his own life since he went off to college.

"Who did the stuffed mushrooms?" Noah perked up.

"We did." Brooklyn waved a hand between herself and Sophie.

"Fucking amazing," Noah said with his mouth full.

Dad glanced over at Noah's plate. "You don’t have any meat on your plate, boy."

"I'm a vegetarian." Noah shrugged.

"LA people." Dad shook his head.

Tennyson and Ash shared smirks, and if one of them didn’t change the topic soon, Dad would force "back in the day" tales on them all.

"Is shop talk allowed?" Asher asked their mother.

"I suppose." She didn’t usually allow talk about film during dinner because it could get heated fast, but she didn’t want to listen to her husband's war stories, either. After forty-five years together, she'd heard them all—more than once.

"Great." Asher flashed a smirk and zeroed in on Sophie, which caused Tennyson's spine to stiffen. It was instinctual; he'd grown fiercely protective of her, and he didn’t quite know where his family stood yet. And that was only on the topic of simple friendship. "Before I flew up here, I saw your big scene with Claire, Sophie."

Tennyson narrowed his eyes at his brother. After he'd picked them up at the airport this morning and then dropped off their bags at the hotel, Ash had told Tennyson he was impressed. He'd even told Sophie that himself, something Tennyson hadn't counted on Ash to admit.

"I have two scripts for you," Asher told her. "They're smaller productions I'm in charge of, and we need to fill one part by the end of next week. You would be great for both, I think."

Well. That took an interesting turn.

"I, um…" Sophie was at a loss for words.

Tennyson gave his brother a nod in thanks, and Asher dipped his chin in return.

"Read them," Ash requested. "Let me know as soon as you can."

"Of course. Thank you, Asher," Sophie answered, visibly humbled.

*

It was past midnight when Tennyson got a minute alone with Ash. Everyone had gone off to bed, but Tennyson knew his brother always smoked a cigar after turning off the lights at home. Being here made no difference, and Tennyson stepped out on the patio and sat down in one of the loungers next to Ash's.

"I had a feeling you'd track me down."

"Can you blame me?" Tennyson chuckled quietly and stole the cigar, taking a few puffs from it. "You've gone from having no expectations whatsoever to offering her two parts."

Asher nodded once and accepted the cigar again. "Truthfully? I fucked up. I misjudged her."

"Most people have." Tennyson gazed out over the ocean. In the darkness, he could only see the white foam of the waves that crashed in. "I did the same. What changed it for you—the last scene?"

"At first, yeah." Asher nodded slowly. "Don’t get me wrong, she's done a great job the entire film. Otherwise, she would've been replaced by now. But she wasn’t really given a challenge until this scene." That was true, which Tennyson had pointed out to others in the past. Sophie had mostly been playing herself. "And she blew everyone's mind at the studio. You should've seen Peter." Ash laughed. "That bastard was shocked."

"Did he say anything about her performance?" Tennyson hoped there was a chance Peter Pierce could step up and be there for Sophie, though he doubted it.

"No."

Figured
.

"Was there a second of all?" Tennyson asked. "You said it was the scene—at first."

"Oh. Yes, meeting her." Asher shot him a rueful grin. "She's a doll. Maybe an immature one, but she'll get there. She's great with Max."

Tennyson nodded and looked down at the ground, smiling to himself. "That she is. Though, I wouldn’t call her immature. Naïve—she's young." So young. "But she's got a good head on her shoulders. She just got her priorities wrong for a while."

Asher hummed. "And you two are only friends?"

Tennyson gave Asher a sideways look, only to glance away and sigh heavily. He didn’t have to lie to his brother, but he didn’t know what to say. Of course he and Sophie weren't only friends, though whatever they had was temporary.

The shell must break before the bird can fly
, the quote said, and Tennyson believed in it. Sophie was right on the edge of that cliff, ready to disembark. He wouldn’t stand in the way, nor hold her back.

"Is it serious?" Ash asked quietly.

Too serious for how briefly Tennyson would have her, he wanted to say. He'd been in denial regarding the depth of his feelings for her, but he'd deal with that on his own. At times, it felt as if she were his, and it was bittersweet. Their differences hadn't changed, after all. They were going in opposite directions once this film was wrapped.

"For the moment," he answered eventually. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Asher inclined his head in understanding. "Got it. I'll ask about Brooklyn instead. Is she single?"

Tennyson was grateful for the change of topic, and he cracked a wry grin at his brother. "A single
mother
." He knew Ash had never wanted children.

Sure enough, Asher winced. "She doesn’t look old enough to be away from her child. Thirty, tops."

Tennyson wasn’t sure how old Brooklyn was, but he knew her daughter was living with Brooklyn's mother during this production. "I believe Maliah is around ten." Standing up, he clapped Asher on the shoulder. "I'm off to bed. Thanks for the talk, little brother."

Back in the house, Tennyson walked silently across the darkened living room, knowing Noah and Steph were occupying the two couches. The guest room down here was where Tennyson's parents slept, and then there were three more rooms upstairs. Sophie and Brooklyn had offered to share, and Tennyson had been okay with that until his parents had called it a night.

Sophie knew better now, though. She was in Tennyson's bed, where he wanted her, as he crept inside the room and calmed Max down.

"Yeah, it's just me, buddy," he whispered, patting his head. The room was dark, though the moonlight was enough for Tennyson to see Sophie's sleeping form in the bed.

Or was she asleep? She wasn’t making her cute sleeping noises, so when he slipped under the covers in only boxer briefs, he kissed her gorgeous face and smirked.

"I know you're awake."

She pressed her lips together to hide her smile, but it broke free after a few seconds and she pounced on him. "Hi." She settled on top of him, her hair fanning out like a curtain around their faces.

"Hi, beautiful girl." He moved his hands down her deliciously naked body. Only a flimsy thong was in the way. "How come you're not dressed? I might take it as an invitation."

"Sorry, I already have plans." Sophie grinned salaciously and began kissing his chest. "Unless you wanna sleep…?"

"Fuck that," he grunted. Never in his life had he felt more sexually worshiped than when Sophie sucked him off, and it was an act she initiated often and seemed to like.

Hell, sex with Sophie in general was out of this world. Unlike previous experiences. Satisfying beyond words. She let him be rough—even encouraged it—and she made him feel younger.