The Words He Wanted to Hear (The Billionaire’s Baby #1)(2)
Author: Helen Cooper

“Yeah, you told me.” Sophie faked a smile and tried to keep her disappointment to herself. She didn’t want Maxwell to see her as a sister; she wanted him to see her as a sex God and lust after her. She wanted him to push her into a room and ravish her quickly before Ella came down the stairs. She wanted them to have romps in the car and in the fields and laugh at how naughty they were. But no, all Maxwell did is peck her on the cheek and talk about what a good friend she was to his sister before he hit the town and had fun with a bunch of other girls. The last time Sophie had stayed over at the Van Harkel’s she had seen Maxwell making out with a girl in the garage. He had seen her peaking at him and had winked at her before he had continued ravishing the beautiful blond and Sophie had gone to her room and cried. She had managed to skip going with Ella for over a year now but hadn’t managed to bail out of this visit. It was the last Christmas that they would be in school and Ella had managed to emotionally blackmail her into coming.

“Sometimes I think he likes you more than he likes me.” Ella grinned and with her blue eyes sparkling Sophie knew she was just kidding.

“Well, he knows I can cook a better pie.”

“Ooh, does that mean you will make one for Christmas? I’m sure Mrs. D won’t mind.”

“I guess so. I don’t want Mrs. D thinking I’m after her job again. Though that would be a job.” The two girls laughed together and relaxed as the train left the station.

***

“Ella, wake up. We’re here.” Sophie shook her friends shoulder and stood up stiffly. She brushed her long hair back, hopeful that it didn’t look as frizz as it felt and smoothed her skirt flat. She wanted to whip out a mirror to make sure her makeup was still intact but she knew that Ella would wonder when she became so vain. She certainly didn’t want to tell her friend that she wanted to look good for Maxwell. There were enough girls who tried to befriend Ella just so that they could get an introduction to Maxwell Van Harkel. She didn’t want Ella to think she had gone over to the dark side as well.

“Oh wow, I can’t believe I fell asleep.” Ella yawned. “It’s all that studying I tell ya. It makes a girl tired.”

“Sure, that’s it.” Sophie rolled her eyeballs and laughed. Ella never studied. She was one of those people who was naturally smart and who did well without spending hours studying.

The girls grabbed their bags and walked off the train. They had arrived to Winterside in a little over 4 hours and the train station was as sleepy as ever. Sophie looked around her and smiled. It was as picturesque as she remembered it to be. Mitch, the trainmaster sat on a table inside and beamed at the girls as they walked through the small station. He was listening to Christmas carols on the radio and the Christmas tree was sparkling with at least 10 different bulbs of lights wrapped around it.

“Good Afternoon Ms. Van Harkel and Ms. Bloomwood.” Mitch stood up as they passed. “Great to see you both back home for the holidays. Mr. Van Harkel is sitting outside waiting for you both.”

“Thanks Mitch.” The girls chorused in unison. They ran outside and up to the big Range Rover that was parked outside the station. Sophie’s breath caught as she spied Maxwell standing next to the driver’s door talking on the phone to someone. Their eyes met and he beamed at the girls, quickly hanging up the phone.

“Max.” Ella dropped her bag and went running up to her brother. “I thought Dad was going to meet us.” She hugged her brother tightly and stood back and observed him. “You are looking way too handsome for a hard working man. It’s not fair. Why did I not get your gorgeous thick hair?” She teased her brother and he rubbed her head.

Sophie walked up to them slowly and stopped shy a few feet away from them. “Hi Max.” She spoke shyly, trying not to gaze at him with adoration. He looked as handsome and perfect as ever. Being 6 foot tall, he towered over Sophie, but his sparkling blue eyes always made her feel comforted and at ease. He had jet-black hair, with a slight curl and an always-tanned skin tone.

“Sophie.” He stared at her and smiled. “Don’t I get a hug?” He reached over to her and held her in his arms. She felt her br**sts crush against his chest and a warm feeling ran through her body. He held her for a few extra seconds and she felt his lips on her cheek, soft and firm at the same time. She wondered if she turned her mouth towards his, if she could pretend it was a mistake. That way she could feel his lips on hers and she would have something to savor for the whole holiday.

“Come on guys.” Ella interrupted them. “It’s only been a year since you’ve seen each other, not a decade.”

Sophie reluctantly stepped back from Maxwell’s arms and smiled up at him. She noticed him staring at her and frowning.

“Well, it seems like a lot can happen in a year.” Maxwell’s voice was gruff and Sophie could feel his eyes on her. “Sophie, you will have to fill me in on everything you have done in the last year.”

“She’s not going to tell you who she slept with bro.” Ella punched him in the arm.

“I said everything she has done, not who she has done, sis.” Maxwell grimaced at her. “I can see that I don’t want to ask you about your love life.”

“Don’t be a hypocrite Max. You must sleep with a woman a week. I can have some fun too.” Ella teased him.

“I’m 30 Ella and you are 22. Big difference.” Maxwell’s voice was gruff. “And I don’t want to hear about my little sister having sex.”

“Oh Max.” Ella laughed and got into the front seat. “Shotgun.” She smiled back at Sophie. “You can get shotgun next time.”

“That’s fine Ella.” Sophie jumped into the backseat, hoping that Maxwell would talk some more about his love life. She was curious as to whether he had a girlfriend or not.

Sophie sat back and allowed herself to be mesmerized by the beautiful familiar sites on their drive to the Van Harkel manor. There was something about the lush greenness of the countryside that always delighted her. She smiled as she saw the cows munching away on the grass. She always wondered what cows thought about all day. It couldn’t possibly be about how delicious the grass tasted. She laughed to herself at the thought and looked up to see Maxwell watching her through the rearview mirror.

“What are you laughing about Sophie?” He smiled at her curiously.

“I was just thinking about the time Ella and I decided to feast on grass to figure out why cow’s enjoyed eating it soo much.” She laughed. “And then we spent the whole night throwing up green stuff and we pretended we were monsters.”