Gazing at the wall on the other side of the room, Sophia sat on the edge of her bed with her legs tucked under her. She felt the mansion's silence embrace her like an unwanted blanket, thicker than normal. She was unable to forget what had transpired with Mr. Black earlier, no matter how hard she tried.
The kiss.
She kept replaying it in her mind, and each time it did, her heart raced for unknown reasons. It was not at all what she had anticipated. Mr. Black was never warm, fuzzy, or attached-until today. Something was different today.
But why? Why had he kissed her?
Sophia groaned, running her fingers through her hair as she leaned back against the bedpost. She had tried to think of every possible explanation, every rational reason for what had happened, but none of it made
