2. Sophie

CHAPTER 2

SOPHIE

S ophie couldn't stop thinking about Noah's face when his father completed his speech. He had expected a promotion and rightly so. Noah had given more to this company than anyone. Sophie had only seen Richard a handful of times in all her years at Birch Industries. She didn't understand why his father kept the CEO title while being so absent from the company.

She pulled into a long, paved driveway, a beautiful three-story home coming into view. It was grand, blue with white shutters. Her friend Amy lived twenty-five minutes outside Olympus City, where the suburban houses were spacious and had well-manicured front lawns.

Sophie parked, grabbing the large bag stuffed with pink wrapping tissue from her passenger seat, and hustled to the front door. As she climbed the wooden steps to the porch, she took a minute to compose herself. When she was ready, she plastered on a smile and knocked.

It was her friend Penny who answered the door. They shared a hug and headed through to Amy's spacious, warm-toned living room. There were a few women sitting down that Sophie didn't know — she assumed they were from Amy's husband's side of the family.

Finally, she spotted Amy and wrapped her into a gentle hug, being careful of her swollen belly.

"You look beautiful," Sophie told her. "You definitely have the glow everyone talks about."

Amy gave a coy shrug and smile, wrapping her hands around her belly. "And they say girls take all the beauty."

Sophie laughed, her cheeks already growing sore from all the smiling. She missed her friends, but between Sophie working all the time and her friends' family obligations, it was hard to find time to get together.

They spent the first hour catching up with one another and at first Sophie was genuinely enjoying herself. But then the women began to talk about their children, swapping stories about how hard the first few months were, and how much worse the toddler stage was.

Sophie tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach as she waited for the inevitable.

"And what about you, Soph?" Penny asked. "Are you still planning on having kids?"

Before she could answer, Mia chimed in. "Better yet. Are you seeing anyone?!"

Sophie didn't miss Amy's sympathetic stare but pretended not to notice. She let out what she hoped to be a convincing laugh. "Not yet. It's not like I don't want to. I guess I just haven't found the right person yet."

One of the women Sophie didn't know spoke up from across the room. "Well you better not wait too long. Thankfully, all of mine will be out of the house by the time I'm forty five."

A few of the women laughed and began adding up the age they would be when their children left the house. Sophie was grateful that the main conversation had turned away from her.

Amy gave her arm a squeeze. "There is no right or wrong age to have children. Besides, I think it's smart to wait until you're financially stable."

"Thanks," Sophie responded. It was a conversation they had had years ago and she was surprised that Amy had remembered.

"And when do you think that will be?" Mia asked.

Sophie shrugged, not knowing what to say. "I like my job."

It hit her then, that she already was financially stable and had been for a very long time. In a sense, there was nothing stopping her from starting the family she had always dreamed of. Other than the fact that she didn't have someone to father them.

Amy cut in, her words dredging up the exact feelings Sophie wasn't ready to face. "You work too much! Seriously, Soph, you need to get back out there. When's the last time you even went on a date?"

She considered the question. "I'm not sure. Maybe a few months?"

"How do you expect to find Mr. Right if you're not even searching?"

The question prompted more discussion and the group fell into talking about how they had each met their husbands. Mia jokingly told Sophie about a dating app she could try.

The conversation moved on and soon they forgot all about Sophie's miserable life.

The next two hours went by painfully slowly. They played games, ate cake, and watched Amy open all her gifts. Sophie watched with envy at all the adorable outfits that she unwrapped for her future child.

Her gaze kept sweeping over Amy's belly and the hand that cupped it, glimmering with her expensive wedding ring. A pang of jealousy washed over her; this was everything she ever wanted. She couldn't help but think about how perfect Amy's life was.

And how utterly lonely she was on her own.

When the party was over, Sophie managed to make it onto the highway before the first tear slipped down her face. In a span of a few hours, it felt like her entire world had been flipped upside down.

What was she doing with her life?

She was thirty-six, with no husband in sight. Even if she did happen to meet someone, how long would it be until they married? How long until they had children? And what if it didn't work out, and she had to start all over again? The years began adding up in her head, causing an overwhelming sensation. A crippling fear that she had missed her chance burned in her veins.

Had she given up her prime years to climb the corporate ladder?

Her thoughts occupied her the entire way back to the city. And when she unlocked the door and stepped inside her apartment, she found she was unable to recall the drive home.

Suddenly, her apartment felt empty. She checked the time on her phone and was surprised to see that it was only seven o'clock.

Not in the mood to cook, she ordered takeout and settled onto her old blue couch, feeling miserable.

In one way, she felt inspired to chase her dreams; in another, she felt completely hopeless about them ever coming true.

Her mind went to the image of Amy — her belly, her ring, her gifts, her house, her husband… and the urge to cry consumed her all over again.

How was she going to fix this? How did people even meet men these days?

Her mind sprung to Mia's suggestion at the party.

At first, she recoiled at the thought. But her impending doom allowed curiosity to get the better of her as she waited for her food to arrive. Sophie looked up the dating app that Mia had told her about.

Self-doubt swirled like the loading screen on her phone as the app downloaded. She had never used anything like this before. Did people her age even use this?

It took her twenty minutes to find some decent photos of herself and another ten minutes to configure a bio that struck the right balance between witty and mature. Thankfully, there was an option to click Seeking serious relationship.

After plugging in all of her information, she started to scroll through her options. Which were both underwhelming and slightly concerning.

Most of the men seemed to be divorced with older children and no plans of having any more, and the rest only seemed to be looking for casual hookups. And why were so many of them holding fish in their photos?

When her food finally arrived an hour later, Sophie had matched with only two men. Too afraid to reach out, she closed out the app and got ready for bed.

While brushing her teeth, her phone dinged with a message. It was one of the men she had matched with.

Hello gorgeous. Are you free this Friday?

She couldn't help but smile at the message. When was the last time somebody had given her a compliment, let alone flirted with her?

Sophie reexamined the guy's profile.

His name was Matt. He was thirty-seven with sandy blond hair and a strong jawline. His bio stated that he owned a golden retriever named Max.

Handsome and a dog lover… she could do worse than that.

Sophie replied, her heart racing.

Hey, Matt. That depends why you're asking?

She needed to make it clear from the start that she wasn't looking to have casual sex. If someone truly wanted to pursue her, they would take her out on a proper date.

After she crawled into bed, her phone dinged again.

I want to take you out! You're in Olympus City, right? How about the new restaurant on 5th, at 7? I can pick you up.

So soon? He hadn't even asked her anything about herself. But wasn't that the point of a date? To get to know someone? She supposed it would be better to learn more about him in person rather than over the phone.

Her thumbs quivered over the screen, undecided on how she would respond.

And how do I know you're not an ax murderer?

She was only half joking. Sophie knew better than to give her address to some random guy off the internet, especially when she lived alone.

Guess you'll have to trust me ;)

Sophie tried not to cringe. Was this how men flirted these days?

Well, even if he wasn't The One, she supposed going on a date was a good start.

How about I meet you there? :)

It's a date!

Saturday was still two days away; there was time to back out if she wanted to.

It's a date :) she replied.

Suddenly filled with adrenaline, Sophie was unsure how she was going to sleep.

How bad could it be?