Free Delta: Revenge by Cristin Harber

would be here this morning.”
    “Your mother and I were worried, honey.” His eyes dropped to the wedding dress that had spent the night on the floor. “Why don’t you get up and get dressed, and breakfast will be ready downstairs.”
    Her lips parted, surprised. “Mom’s here?”
    Dad tilted his head. “Yes.”
    “ Why? ” Didn’t she have an event to run off to, press to spin the wedding debacle turned fundraising success to? Sophia groaned.
    “Eggs Benedict. Downstairs. Now.”
    She nodded, feeling the reproach in his tone. He gave no shits about her having had way too much to drink, and he hadn’t yet had the fatherly talk with her about how he didn’t like Josh that much anyway. But Dad would not let her and her mother’s snippiness go without a discussion.
    He shut the door, and Sophia pulled the blanket over her head. Drawing in a deep breath, she— whoa —her insides turned to mush as her sluggish brain realized that sinful scent on the pillow and blankets was a very faint reminder of Javier. Sex and cologne. The combination was intoxicating. Staying a few deep breaths too long, she embraced the shivers that rocketed through her at the memory of all that had occurred. Each kiss. Each thrust. The way he’d murmured into her ear and opened her eyes. That was a lot to get from a few breaths, but wow, did it bring her back to last night.
    With too much interest in keeping the comforter, she pulled it off the bed, wrapped it around her nakedness, and did a walk of shame to her bedroom.
    The room looked almost identical to the room she’d spent the night in. Everything was perfectly designed. The drawers were filled with a few things she’d kept at her parents’ house so she didn’t have to pack a bag if she spent the night. In the corner was a pile of clothes and the remnants from getting ready for her wedding the day before. But it was all so foreign.
    With a wayward sigh, she dropped the comforter, found appropriate clothing, and quickly ran into her bathroom to wash her face and brush her hair. They were such simple tasks, but they made her feel a thousand times better. Sophia popped a couple of headache pills then folded the comforter and placed it on her overnight bag. The overstuffed queen-size blanket was going home with her no matter who raised an eyebrow over it.
    She let her fingers drift over the cotton. Funny, she cared more about that blanket that moment than she did the wedding dress that was left abandoned on the guest-room floor. So very telling.
    Shaking her head, Sophia headed to breakfast. Her parents remaining home came as a surprise. The fact that someone had made breakfast was not. Half expecting to see Colin, and hoping maybe a certain friend of his was wolfing down eggs, Sophia pushed her shoulders back and entered the kitchen. No Colin or friends. Just her parents—and whoever that was making eggs at the stove.
    “Hey.” She smiled, slipping into the chair across from her dad and next to her mom. “Thanks for last night.”
    Dad nodded. Mom pressed her lipsticked smile closed.
    The woman Sophia didn’t know placed a beautifully arranged plate of food in front of Sophia.
    “Thanks.”
    Then she disappeared as though the scene had been scripted. “So, yeah, thanks. For making last night as nice as it could have been.”
    Mom speared a strawberry from a fruit bowl and focused on that instead of responding. Dad took a sip of coffee from his mug.
    “Are you guys mad at me?”
    “No, honey.” Dad placed his black coffee down. “Your mother and I had an idea she— we —wanted to run by you.”
    “To get your mind off Josh.” Those were the first words her mom had said, and they bugged the crap out of Sophia.
    “I don’t need my mind to get off him,” Sophia snapped.
    Dad cleared his throat. “There was an opportunity that your mother mentioned, and…” He worked his jaw. “I tend to agree.”
    Great. Reform school for wayward brides? A class on how to land a