Sophie shot her sister a warning look, but the damage was already done.

“Oh?” their mother asked, her intense gaze shifting to Dawn. “So you had met the man before yesterday?”

“Of course. He stopped by that first day to apologize after Sophie yelled at him.”

“Sophie Josephine! You yelled at a client?” Her mother’s surprise lasted all of two seconds before it took a sharp turn. “Why? What did he do?”

“I didn’t yell at him,” Sophie protested, her cheeks flushed at the memory. “It was more like a strongly worded conversation. Harrison is…difficult.”

“Difficult?” her mom echoed. She gave Dawn a questioning look. “What does that mean?”

“Don’t ask me. I’m not the one working with him. But he didn’t check off any of my serial killer boxes, so I’m sure Sophie will come out of this with all her skin intact.”

“I’m not sure I trust your serial killer checklist, my love. I’ve met some of the men you’ve dated.”

“It means exactly what you already wrangled out of Oscar and Paulette, Mom,” Sophie said with what she considered admirable patience. “He’s a large man, yes, and it takes him a while to warm up to people. But it’s not a big deal, I promise. I can handle him.”

Her mother clucked in a way that could denote either sympathy or disbelief but was most likely a combination of the two. “Maybe you should hand this off to one of your sisters, sweetie. I know you mean well, but you don’t have Dawn’s experience when it comes to this sort of thing. Or Lila’s firm hand.”

“He’s not a problem,” Sophie said, this time through her teeth. She knew she wasn’t as competent as her sisters. She knew she never would be. But she still deserved a life of her own, no matter how small.

Ironically enough, Harrison would have been the first to back her up on that. He was so used to seeing her assert herself, watching as her self-confidence unfurled, that he probably wouldn’t recognize the woman she was when her family was around. He might not even like her when her family was around.

To be perfectly honest, she wasn’t sure she liked herself that way.

“You know what?” Sophie said, feeling a sudden urge to push back. “I like him. He works hard and he’s good with the puppy. He’s also a really good kisser, in case you were wondering.”

This time, her mother’s clucking sound was closer to a growl. Sophie recognized that growl—knew it down to her bones. It was the sound of a mama bear awakening from hibernation. In a few seconds, the bear would be fully awake, prepared to throw herself on anyone who dared to even look at her precious cub the wrong way.