Then & Now (12 page)

This just wasn’t what she wanted at all.  She wasn’t even sure if she could make it to her door.  Hell, even if she made it to her door, to her room and into bed, she wasn’t so sure she would be able to sleep tonight.

“Are you okay?”  John asked sounding truly concerned.

She continued to nod without any perceptive of what was really happening.

“What’s wrong? Are you going to faint or something?” He wondered with a worried look on his face.  “Don’t okay?  I don’t want to make a big deal out of this or anything.”

Still nodding like some kind of bobble head, Sophia glanced out the window.  Here she was finally getting her answers of where he stood.  She had been trying so hard to find this out.  Refusing to give in, and cutting corners to keep him happy. None the less, it wasn’t enough.  She found herself wondering if this was really what she wanted, if being married to John was where she wanted her story to end.

“Sophia!” John called to her. “Stop nodding!”

“Sorry.  This is just so sudden.  I’m okay.  Fall will be great.”  She smiled with false sincerity.

Giving her a questionable look John smiled back.  “Okay, then.”

“Great! 
Just perfect!”  She couldn’t help think that those just could be her famous last words. 

Tristan Macklin sat behind the desk in one of his smaller stores completely irate.  Although he owned multiple stores, this was his first.  It was where it had all started.  The birthplace of his multimillion dollar company. And now it was smack dab in the middle of an embezzling scheme.  His own auditor had stolen over six hundred thousand dollars right out from under his nose.

Coming from
Stirling, Scotland to better his education in Environmental Science and Botany Tristan became more interested in the equipment that was used and the vehicles that transported them from one area to the other.  Which started his sports equipment store, ranging in everything from 4-wheelers to GPS systems. 

The store’s business took off from underneath him.  Before he knew it he was opening Macklin’s Motor Sports all over the western
United States.  He found himself opening a few stores in Scotland as well.  The money started rolling in by the millions and he could’ve cared less.

Which now he found to be where he went wrong.  He should’ve cared.  He should’ve been more careful, more aware.  His father always told him he was far too trusting and he had been too right about that.  Too busy playing with all the new toys that came in, Tristan didn’t give an ounce of notice to the business and now he was paying for it.

“Mr. Anderson could be anywhere by now, Mr. Macklin.”  An officer who was assigned to the case was saying.  “But we will find him.”

Releasing a heavy sigh, Tristan scratched his brow.  “No, I
donna think ye will.  He has been plan’ this for over a year.  He’s probably in Jamaica by now sipping Sangria.”

“Do they drink Sangria in
Jamaica?”  His best-friend Kyle Douglas asked half mindedly.

Shooting his friend a look, he got up from the desk and walk to the window overlooking the store.

“Sorry, stupid question.”  Kyle whispered.  Although Kyle was a good man, he was a bit of a Neanderthal.  Tristan just assumed it was from all of his bike blunders.  No one can roll, flip, or obliterate a machine better then Kyle.

The officer took a few more notes before he gave one more hopeful appeal, but Tristan knew otherwise.  Mr. Anderson was long gone.

He waved to the officer before closing the office door and regaining his seat behind the desk. “I think I’m going to have to take this one as a life lesson.”  He said mostly to himself. 

Nodding his friend started playing with a toy version of the new 4-wheelers that had arrived.  “So are you going to move someone up in the company or hire out?”

“In.  Anderson was out.  I need someone who has worked for me for a while and knows the company.”  He answered honestly.  “I just donna know who.”

While Kyle rattled off a few names, Tristan eye caught something just outside the window.  Not something, someone.  A perfect someone.  She wandered aimlessly through the store as if uninterested in the surroundings.

Jumping up from the desk, he watched her through the window.  Her ebony hair fell in a waterfall of ringlets down her slender back. Soft curves and long legs were barely covered by nice fitting shorts and a tight T-shirt that gave a tiny peek at a slender tummy.  He stifled a grown as he watched her weave around the floor models.

Although she seemed out of her element, she took her time looking at each dirt-bike.  Bending over to get a better look at the newest model, Tristan was able to get a lovely glimpse of her beautiful bottom.

“Excuse me.  I think there’s a customer who might need my help.”  He announced as he rushed past Kyle and out of the office.  Finding her quickly, he kept his eye on her gorgeous little behind while he came up next to her.

“Can I help
ye with something?”  He asked hoping his accent might score him some points.

She turned and nearly brought him to his knees with her amazing green eyes.  They reminded him of the hills of
Scotland.  So deep and earthy he couldn’t speak at first.  Then she smiled making the problem worse.

“No. I’m waiting to pick someone up.”  She said in the most angelic voice.

“Oh?  Anyone in particular, or will a Scot work for you?”  He asked with a wicked grin.

She blushed and turned away, causing him to stuff his hands into his pockets to hide his unyielding desire for this unknown beauty.  When she glanced back at him the blush had yet to fade.

“Do you work here?  I haven’t seen you before.”  She asked with a voice slightly lower than before.

“Kind of.”

Dipping her perfect eyebrows she repeated. “Kind of?”

He smiled, but said nothing further.  It wasn’t because he wanted to be mysterious or because he didn’t want her to know that he was the owner.  He said nothing because she was
so adorable with her face scrunched up in confusion.  Heaven help him, he couldn’t resist; he had to know this woman.

Regrettably,
there was one major obstacle about to get in his way.

Sophia bit down on her lower lip trying not to giggle like an idiot. He had to be one of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen, and it didn’t hurt that he had an accent.  Maybe it is his sexy rolled r’s or his smile, whatever it was it had the power to make her contradict everything she believe in relationships. Even though her fiancé was somewhere in the store, all she could think about was what the man before her looked like naked.

Turning from him once again, she hoped he didn’t notice the red creeping up her cheeks.  She needed to get away from this devilishly handsome Scot and find the man she should be thinking about with such erotic force.  Surprisingly she couldn’t find the strength to do so.

“Sophia!” Jumping at the sound of John’s voice beckoning her from across the store, she winced at her reaction.

“I’m guessing that is who
yer waiting for?”  The man before her asked, allowing his smoldering accent to drape over her.

She nodded as John called to her again.

“Lucky man.”  The Scot said with a sexy hum to his voice.

“Sophia I’ve been—Mr. Macklin! I didn’t see you, sir.”  John exclaimed.

Caught off guard by the name, Sophia took a double take to the man before her.  He was her fiancé’s boss.  Not just an immediate manager but the owner himself.  The same man who had John and the rest of the staff stressed out of their mind, just because he was coming to the store.

Taking in the dirt on his shoes, the modest style of his
clothing and his casual hair cut she would have never guessed that he was a multi-millionaire.  He seemed too laidback to be worth so many zeros.

“John.”  Mr. Macklin greeted.  “Does this lovely creature belong to you?”

John gave her a quick glance as if he wasn’t sure what his boss was talking about. “Yes.”  He answered slowly.

“Sophia.  Sophia Rhodes. It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Macklin.”  She introduced herself slightly annoyed with her
fiancé.

“I should’ve known ye would have such a beautiful name.”  Holding out his hand to her, Mr. Macklin smiled with a quick wink.
“Tristan.  Please call me Tristan.”

She took his hand and was surprised by her reaction to this simple gesture.  Holding her hand gently, he gave it one small shake never taking his eyes off of hers.  His deep ocean blue eyes lingered on hers for a short moment off setting her response even further.  She was enchanted by him. 
Somehow caught in an unrealistic hold that he had on her.  Something that she couldn’t explain, nor wanted to, past between them before he gave her one last earth shattering smile then turned his full attention on John.

“How long have
ye been working for me Mr. Hunter?” Tristan asked placing both hands behind his back.

“Five years, sir.”

Giving one short nod, he glanced back at Sophia before saying.  “I’m moving one of my field guys in for the night auditor position, which has opened a position that ye have once asked for.  Are ye still interested?”

Sophia half expected John to scream his answer in a hysterical whoop.
  He had his sights on field testing ever since he found out how much they made.  Driving everyone crazy with constant butt kissing and over dramatized reactions to the simplest questions, trying to prove that he knew how to do the job.  To her surprise he handled it quite well.

“Yes. 
Very much, sir.  I can answer any question you might have on any of the field testing equipment.”  John answered sounding cool and collected.

“Good.  You’re hired.  I will have ye start this weekend.  Before you leave today I will give ye the location where we are meeting.”  Tristan turned to her with a wicked smile and asked.  “Please tell me that ye will accompany him this weekend?  I would love for you to join us.”

“Of course she’ll be there.”  John answered with a ridiculous grin.  “She loves camping.”

Shooting him a warning glare, Sophia crossed her arms in front of her chest.  She hadn’t been camping since she was a little girl.  In fact the idea of going again scared the hell out of her. 
One too many scary camp fire stories.

“Great.  Then I will see ye
both
this weekend.”  Tristan gave one gracious nod in her direction, making all those stories vanish into thin air.  Suddenly she was quiet excited for this weekend. 

“Camping?  You’re going camping?”  Her best-friend Ella Hall asked in shock.  “Do I have to remind you of the last time we went camping?”

“We were eight, and your cousin can’t fit in that hideous gorilla costume anymore.”  She said fighting the shutter of the memory of Joe
Hall scaring the living daylights out of her, Ella, and Ella’s twin Amy in the middle of the night.  He wore the costume while he shook their tent making monkey noises.  She had nightmares of weeks after the horrible trip.

“Besides,” Sophia started again. “John needs me there this weekend.”

“Oh, like when you needed him to come to your graduation, but he didn’t because he had ‘other plans’?  Or when you needed him to console you when you lost that really great job, but instead he told you to get over it and work at McDonald’s?”  Ella asked with a raised brow.

“So, what?
  He made a few mistakes.”  She said cringing at the submissive sound of her voice.

Shaking her head,
Ella jumped off the bed. “No.  A mistake is when he forgets your birthday and shows up at the last minute with convenient store roses and a candy bar.  Which birthday was that by the way?  Twenty-second?”  Putting her finger to her chin she played like she was thinking.  “No, it was your twenty-fourth.  On your twenty-second he wanted you to change your birthday plans so he could go to a basketball game with the guys.”

Okay, so John had scored many bad boyfriend points over the years. 
Though that gave her no excuse to give her own bad points in return.  Maybe she was being naïve about this, but she hoped one day he would see how much she cared about him and he would come around. 

Giving a heavy sigh, she threw the last bit of her cloths in the suitcase.  Naïve wasn’t the word.  Stupid, over hopeful, maybe even a bit lost
, those were the words that she should be using.  Although she was making headway.  He did ask her to marry him.  Maybe he didn’t ask her in the romantic way that she had always hoped for, but she knew he wasn’t the romantic kind when she started dating him.

“Hey, at least
you know where he stands in your relationship. Between you, Maddie and Amelia I’m left with nothing but an empty marriage.”  Ella admitted quietly.

Turning abruptly, Sophia eyed her friend. 
“Empty marriage? I thought you and Matt were doing fine?”

“Yeah,
well that’s what you get when you rush things.” Her cheeks redden as she played with one of Sophia’s dolls.

Sophia couldn’t say anything.
Out of all of her friends Ella was the more realistic one. Everyone had been shocked at how fast Ella and her husband’s relationship had moved.  Even her identical twin had been surprised at how quick Ella had agreed to marry Matt after only a few weeks of dating.