Not My Romeo (The Game Changers #1)(83)

She pouts red lips as she sits. “So cold, Jack. I expected it but thought you might be at least a little happy to see me.”

My teeth grind. I must have smiled, though, because she returns it.

“I knew you’d come. Aiden was very sweet, but you . . .” She laughs, the sound tinkling. “Well, we both know this was long overdue.”

I arch a brow. Did we? I would have been happy to never see her again in my life.

She takes a sip of her white wine, thoughtful, intelligent eyes watching me. I stare back, my face carefully blank. She’s the only daughter of wealthy, doting parents; status and power rule her world. I should have seen past the pretty face to the shallow girl underneath, but she seemed genuine when I first met her. Vivacious with an outgoing personality, she filled up the empty spots when I didn’t feel like talking. People gravitated toward her, her engaging laugh, the way she smiled, and I mistook it for sincerity.

“Indeed. You got me right where you want me.”

“I signed your papers,” she breathes. “I’ll never say another word about you.”

“You did.”

“Don’t you want to know why?”

I smile grimly. “I gave up trying to figure you out when you published that book, Sophia.”

“Money, of course. Half a million for that.” She pauses, her fingers drawing circles around the wineglass. “I was angry with you, Jack. I wanted you to commit to me.” Deep-brown eyes stare up at me.

“Yeah.”

“And then I met Rodney.”

“Heard that went south.”

She shrugs. “He isn’t nearly the superstar you are, but he kept me occupied. He wants me back, you know.”

“Good to have options.”

She flicks a strand of hair over her shoulder. “He’s not you, but I think he loves me.”

“Great. Lock him down. Isn’t that what you want? Marriage to a pro athlete? Money? The lifestyle?”

Her lips purse, her eyes remorseful. “I wanted that with you, but you never let me in, Jack.”

True. She never went to my apartment. I never took her to Lucy’s house. I never shared anything too deep. And I spent a year with her. There’s something not right about that, but I push it away.

“You’ve got serious commitment issues, Jack.” She sighs, brushing her gaze over my shoulders. “I imagine it’s hard and rather sad to never have the guts to fully commit to anyone.”

Her words sting because I hear the ring of truth in them.

A long sigh raises and lowers her slender shoulders. “Anyway, I wish . . . I wish we could have worked out.”

“Then why all the lies?” I snap. “Why do you want to talk to me, Sophia? You’ve gotten your revenge with the book. I didn’t think we had anything else left to discuss.”

She takes a long drink. With a shimmer of tears gleaming in her eyes, she raises them up to mine. “Jack, how can you be so immune to what we had? I loved you.” Her throat bobs, and a tear traces down her face. Seemingly embarrassed, she flutters her hands and dips her head as she reaches for tissues in her purse.

I inhale at those words. She threw them at me several times, especially those last few months, her face always begging me to return the sentiment, but I never did. I was good to her, I gave her my time and devotion, and I never looked at anyone else. I admit I might have come to love her, maybe, someday, if she’d been the person I thought she was.

Still.

Hearing her say I loved you makes me uneasy. She said I have commitment issues, and hell, she’s right about that, and part of me knows it goes deeper than just people betraying me and using my success for their own gain. All of my feelings of insecurity can be traced right back to Mama and Harvey. Love means making yourself vulnerable; it means giving power to someone to hurt you. Who needs that?

Was my inability to truly commit and love Sophia why she hurt me? No.

She did that herself; she made the choice. She’s shallow, and when something doesn’t go her way, she figures out a way to make it work.

I clear my throat. “Lies aren’t love, Sophia. You wanted to manipulate me when you left. You thought leaving me for Rodney would spur me to action. But it didn’t. And when that wasn’t enough, you hurt me. You knew how private I was.”

I think about Elena. She’s not a liar. She’d never do this kind of thing.

Sophia shakes her head, her throat bobbing. “I regret it. My family hates all the attention it garnered. Rodney hates it.”

Surprise ripples over me.

I sit back, frowning, trying to get a read on her.

She reaches out to touch my arm, and I pull back.

“What do you want?” I ask, my voice gruff. “Closure?”

She sniffs, dabbing at her eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe. It’s just we were together for a year, and you’d never had a girlfriend that long. I gave up on you too soon, Jack. I should have been more patient. I had to see you to see if . . . if . . .”

“What?” I say.

She winces. “If there was any feeling left for me? If maybe we could get past this and move on, maybe see each other sometimes.”

My mouth parts. “You’re joking?”

She bites her lip. Swallows. “No. I know you haven’t been seen with anyone since me—well, except for that video of you with some girl. I . . . I just wanted to . . .” She takes a deep breath and looks at me, longing in her eyes. “Jack, I still want to be with you.”