Let It Be Me (Triplets book 1)

Chapter 26

The streets were quiet, and when Sullivan's car drew to a halt by the curb, Ophelia and Polly were waiting. He got out of the car, dropped a quick kiss on Ophelia's cheek, and then placed her bag in the trunk while Ophelia loaded Polly into the car. The entire thing was done without a word being said, and it amazed Ophelia that she and Sullivan moved together as a team without speaking.

"There is a thermos of coffee if you would like some," Sullivan informed her as he pulled away from the curb. "Did you tell the others you would be away for a few days?" He looked over at her.

Ophelia gave a slight smile. "You don't want them to think I'm running away?"

"You've been known to do that very thing," Sullivan smiled in return.

"Yes, they were still awake when I got in last night, and I informed them that I needed to go home for a few days. I also told them that they were at the top of the list for the premier. I hope that was alright."

"Considering that it's the only place we are considering at the moment, I think it was a factual statement." Sullivan drew to a halt at a red light and looked over at her as she yawned.

"Go to sleep. It's a long drive. I thought I would take the first four hours. Then you could take the next."

Ophelia nodded. They had a lot to talk about, but she could take a few hours for a nap.

When she awoke, the sun was shining, and they had been traveling for a little over three hours. "Did I miss anything?" she asked as she stretched.

"No. What did you feed Polly last night for dinner, by the way?" Sullivan met the dog's eyes in the rearview mirror, and Ophelia looked over at her with a grin.

"Yeah, I forgot to mention that long road trips and Polly is a stinky business." Polly heard her name and thumped her tail. "Are you ready for me to take over?" she asked as she looked out the window to try to identify their location.

"We're almost through Maryland. I thought we could stop in Virginia," Sullivan informed her, reading her mind.

Ophelia nodded and settled back into her seat. "Can I ask you a question? It's something that's been bothering me since last night." She watched Sullivan tense, and she hated that. They still had a long way to go.

"Sure." He said, pulling from the fast lane into the slow lane.

"Why does Reyna keep Melanie if she doesn't trust her?" Ophelia reached for the thermos and poured herself some coffee.

"That's your question?" Sullivan looked over at her, surprised.

Ophelia nodded as she sipped the lukewarm beverage.

"I don't think you understand how rare you are, Ophelia. Momma has had many assistants over the years, and the only one she, we, ever trusted was you. The others were alright in general, but when it came to personal things, we did and do, do our best to keep that private." Sullivan took a deep breath. "That's why I didn't want to screw it all up with you. I thought I was doing a good job of hiding my attraction to you, and when Sawyer confronted me..." he shrugged. "It angered me that I had failed. Then I had the dumbass idea that if we talked about it, it might make it easier."

"It didn't," Ophelia whispered. "I didn't know you were attracted to me. When I found out you were, it made it so much more difficult to ignore."

"For me as well. When I kissed you the first time, it was not enough. I wanted to know what a real kiss with you would be like. I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to hurt those that had hurt you. I wanted Marc and Giselle to know the passion I wanted from them. So, I had another dumbass idea to kiss you in front of everyone, thinking it would make me less likely to lose control." Sullivan frowned. "But I did lose control. The only thing that made me break that kiss was my phone vibrating in my pocket. Sawyer decided it had gone on long enough."