Chapter 41


    Sophia gave a little nod. “I’ll consider it if the right opportunity pops up”


    “Can you handle it?” Brandon asked.


    “It’s just a part-time gig. Right now, it’s all about hitting the books.”


    Brandon nodded, dropping the subject.


    Sophia couldn’t help but sneak a peek at Brandon, remembering the girl Don called “Ynda” they


    bumped into at the


    expo.


    Brandon, eyes on the road, spared her a quick nce. “What’s up?”


    Sophia wanted to shake her head, but halfway through, she hesitated and then slightly nodded. “I ran


    into a girl who might be named Ynda at the job fair today.”


    Brandon’s hand on the steering wheel hitched for a sec.


    Sophia’s gaze drifted from his hand to his chiseled side profile. “But she didn’t say she was Ynda.


    The guy running the show called her that. The name rang a bell so I couldn’t help but take a few extra


    looks. Could she be the one you’re looking for?”


    “Nope.” Brandon dismissed it without a second thought, his hand smoothly navigating the wheel.


    Sophia was about to mention that the girl was the right age, but Brandon snapped his head around,


    shooting her a frosty look.


    Sophia mped her mouth shut, on instinct.


    She wasn’t used to this icy version of Brandon and felt a bit out of her depth, her hands unwittingly


    tangling together on herp.


    Brandon shifted the conversation. “What do you wanna eatter?”


    “Anything’s fine by me.” Sophia’s voice was soft, still a bit shaken from Brandon’s sudden chill, her


    wordsing out


    hushed.


    Brandon’s gaze briefly swept over her intertwined hands and then back to her calm face before looking


    away.


    “Sorry,” he murmured after a while.


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    Sophia knew what he was apologizing for. She turned to him, offering a sheepish smile. “My bad. I


    shouldn’t have brought it up.”


    Brandon stayed quiet


    Sophia gave an awkwardugh, keeping mum after that.


    Silence sprawled across the car’s interior until they reached the supermarket and didn’t exchange a


    word until then.


    When the car finally stopped, Brandon spoke for the first time during the trip. “Let’s go grab some


    groceries first.”


    Sophia nodded lightly. “Yeah.”


    The grocery shopping was another long stretch of quiet.


    Brandon did most of the picking and decision-making.


    Every time he grabbed something, he’d habitually check with Sophia. “This good?”


    Sophia would just agreeably nod. “Mhm.”


    it suddenly hit Brandon that this wasn’t their first grocery run together, but usually, it was Sophia doing


    the choosing and calling the shots, asking for his opinion with every item like he was doing now. “How


    about this?” And he’d respond with a light nod, “Yeah”


    Brandon never thought they’d end up like this


    To her, he was just the kid’s dad she had to deal with for now.


    This realization made him steal a nce at Sophia.


    Sophia looked puzzled “What’s up?”


    It’s nothing Brandon exhaled. “Let’s just get the groceries”


    Sophia hummed in response, and the rest of the grocery run went pretty much under Brandon’s lead.


    Once home, Brandon headed straight for the kitchen with the fresh groceries and reminded her over


    his shoulder, “Take a break. I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”


    Sophia nodded, tempted to just head to her room, but she wasn’t quite used to being waited on hand


    and foot,


    especially by someone like Brandon, who was technically out of the picture


    After a moment’s hesitation, she stepped into the kitchen.


    “Do you need a hand with anything?”