Page 44 of Head Over Heels
Penelope smiled. “Evan and I caught Sophie and Ryder making out in the kitchen.”
“You bitch!” Sophie hissed. “You’re not supposed to say anything.”
“You never said that.”
“I did too!”
Maddie gasped, darting a surprised glance over her shoulder, and Sophie smacked her. “Stop looking at him.”
Maddie jerked her attention back to the table. “Really now?”
“They were going at it too,” Penelope said helpfully.
“We were not. It was just a kiss.” Sophie tucked her hair behind one ear. “To . . . um . . . cut the tension.”
Penelope laughed. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
“Shhhh!” Sophie gave her friends the evil death glare. “Be quiet. He’ll know we’re talking about him.”
Sophie glanced over. Now he watched her, but now there was amusement etched into the lines of his cheeks instead of concern.
Sophie growled. “Let’s change the subject. There’s nothing to discuss. We fought. We kissed. We talked, cleared the air, and agreed to be good neighbors. End of story.”
Maddie giggled. “Why did you let me set you up?”
“You gave me no choice,” Sophie exclaimed. She waved a hand. “Besides, it’s fine because there’s nothing between Ryder and me. I’m excited to go out with Bill. He seems like such a great guy.” Well, right now he seemed a boring guy, but that was because she compared him to Ryder.
But boring was good. Boring was very good.
Just what she needed to get back on the right track.
* * *
“So, Sophie, huh?” Charlie asked in his sly voice, the hint of a Southern drawl still present even after all these years.
Ryder jerked his attention off the woman driving him to distraction. “What?”
“You have the hots for Sophie.” It was a statement.
Charlie might be his boss, but they’d become good friends since he recruited Ryder from the next county over. Griffin and Charlie were his closest friends in town. But that didn’t mean he wanted to confess his fixation on Sophie.
He shrugged. “She’s my new neighbor.”
Charlie gave him a sly grin. “She’s a hot little thing.”
Ryder shook his head. “Not falling for that one.”
Charlie laughed. “You don’t think she’s hot?”
“I think she’s very hot, but if you were going to do anything about it, you would have done it a long time ago.” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw and glanced at her. God, she was bitable in that little tank top and shorts. This morning she appeared exactly what she was: sexy, wild, and fun.
“True,” Charlie said, his voice amused. “I never moved on her because she had too many ties and lived in Chicago. My dick’s not that big.”
Ryder rolled his eyes, still not falling for the bait Charlie laid before him.
Charlie continued, “But she’s here now, and with her leaving to go back home at some point, she might work quite nicely.”
Ryder knew when he was being played, but it didn’t stop the rush of adrenaline. Still, he played it cool. He raised a brow. “What would Felicia say about that?”