An Act of Persuasion(82)

“Ben!” Her eyes widened in shock, but he could also see a gleam of answering desire.

“I can wait until we’re home. But that’s what we need to talk about, Anna. Home and where it is.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

He took a deep breath. It was a risk, and maybe he was pushing too hard and too fast, working against the advice Mark had given him. But it seemed to Ben that everything between him and Anna hinged on these months before the baby was born. They had to have their relationship defined and solid. Because after the baby was here and she had her family, she might not need him anymore.

“I want to know if you’re ever going to ask me to move in with you.”

Her jaw dropped and Ben decided that wasn’t the answer he was looking for.

* * *

THE DOORBELL RANG and Mark jumped up from his chair. He turned off the TV and jogged to the door. Deep breath first, then he opened it to three slightly unenthusiastic guests.

“Hi. Welcome. I’m glad you could finally make it.”

Marie gave Sophie a gentle nudge and the girl crossed the threshold as if she were doing so at gunpoint. Marie followed her, but turned quickly to watch Dom’s progress. He was using his walker today, which meant the arthritis in his legs was making walking a chore.

“Age is a bitch,” he said as he slowly made his way to the couch where he fell into the cushions with a groan. Marie propped a supporting pillow behind his back and hovered over him until he waved away her fussing. By the time she sat down, Mark could hear her slight wheezing. The two were definitely a pair.

But they were here. Finally. After many invitations—initially to Sophie alone, but extended to Dom and Marie when it was clear Sophie would not come to him alone—they’d consented to a group visit. It was a major advance as far as Mark was concerned. While Sophie had agreed to a few lunches and shopping trips, coming to his home seemed to cross a line in the sand she’d drawn.

A line Mark knew he had to erase. And the first step in doing that was to stop giving away home court by always going to her grandparents’ place. If you couldn’t beat the enemy on his terms, then you beat him on yours. A creed that had served him well during his years with the agency.

Not that Sophie was the enemy, Mark reminded himself. Just the prize.

“Sorry you’re having a rough day,” he said to Dom.

He pointed to the windows that overlooked the Philadelphia skyline. Dark clouds had rolled into the area and rain was threatening. “Humidity and rain make it worse.”

Mark considered suggesting that staying in Philadelphia through August and September wasn’t the best way to avoid humidity, but he kept his mouth shut. There would be no rocking the boat for this visit. The rocking could—and would—come later.

“Sophie, I thought you might want to see the room I had decorated for you.”

After their little adventure at IKEA, Mark hadn’t trusted Sophie to make the best calls regarding her room. Regardless of Anna’s advice to the contrary, he suspected Sophie would continue to let spite dictate her choices. Instead, he hired an interior designer and told the man exactly what he wanted—the most perfect room imaginable for a fourteen-year-old piano prodigy. Budget nearly unlimited.

The man understood and Mark was pretty happy with the end result. Not that his opinion mattered if Sophie wasn’t happy.

Evidently she wasn’t making a move, so Marie stood first. “All right, let’s have a look. This...apartment...is where you’ll be living for the foreseeable future?”

Mark could appreciate her concern. An apartment wasn’t a house and Sophie had always lived with a yard. “I think it’s for the best. I’ve never owned a home or taken care of lawn or anything like that so I’m not sure what I would even do with a weed whacker. Between starting the business and well...Sophie, I’ve got to be careful where I spend my time. It’s not like I need to worry about the correct school district for Sophie. And these units are all condos so I own this outright.”

Sophie, who had been looking out at the forty-story view of the downtown Center City, acknowledged that she was actually listening to the conversation.

“What do you mean you don’t have to worry about a school system?” she asked. “You don’t have to worry about anything with regard to me.”

“Come see the room, Sophie.” Mark hoped that once she saw the room, saw that he was serious about meeting her needs, she’d better accept him in her life.