Early the next morning, Sofia grabs a granola bar and jumps in her car with the box of sweets. Spotting a group of men she vaguely recognizes in the driveway of the Moreau mansion, she steps out of her car and approaches them.

"Hello there! I'm really sorry to interrupt" Looking around, Sofia notices that although the men all look unalike, they share the same otherworldly dangerous air just like Cassius. Not for the first time, she wonders what makes them so different and if she is even ready for the answer to that.

A giant of a man with red hair, hazel eyes, and an impressively full beard is the one to speak up "It's no interruption girly! What can we do for you?" Somehow the innocent statement sounds almost flirtatious coming from him but Sofia politely ignores that and gets down to the reason she is there. "Well, I was looking for Javier. Could you point me in the right direction? "

The redhead is about to speak up again when a man with beautiful chocolate eyes and olive skin interrupts him. "Please ignore Gunner, he's an oaf" Gunner makes an exaggerated noise and flips the brunette off who just rolls his eyes and continues with a self-satisfied grin, "Anyways, Javier is out sugar. We can let him know you came by if you'd like."

"Actually, I just wanted to drop these bakes off and get his opinion. If you can give them to him and just ask him to call me, that would be awesome" Sofia goes to hand over the box and Gunner surges forward to intercept it only to be pushed back by the brunette. The two devolve into schoolyard wrestling while Sofia looks on feeling awkward yet entertained by these tough enigmatic men acting like children over desserts.

"Amir, Gunner. I think that's enough" Cassius' commanding voice comes from just behind her, sending involuntary shivers through her. To Sofia's surprise, the two men grumble but straighten themselves out. The pair wave goodbye, Gunner grinning mischievously while Amir winks at her. Those two are too charismatic for their own good, she surmises.

Turning around brings her face to face with Cassius and the tension she had not realized she was carrying melts off of her shoulders just from being close to him. There really must be something wrong with her. Something in his expression makes Sofia think he must have noticed which is mortifying so she clears her throat and offers him the box.

"You can have some as well. I just know Javier knows the recipes just as well as yéyé did and I want to get them right before we open up. Plus, we have the charity event, and yeah..." Sofia stops her rambling, unsure why she is always so nervous around Cassius, it is so unlike her.

"Is everything alright love?" Cassius asks, his free hand coming up. His elegant fingers glide slowly up her neck, stopping right over her carotid. No doubt he can feel her racing pulse. He slowly rubs his thumb over the spot. Sofia leans into his touch as he continues caressing her throat until his strong hand cups her jaw.

Sofia's lips part involuntarily, her eyes looking up at the darkly beautiful man, pupils dilated as the atmosphere grows charged between them. The intensity of his eyes is almost overwhelming and she nearly loses herself in them but Hiari chooses that moment to make her presence known and Sofia never thought she'd be so disappointed to see the older woman but she tries to hide it quickly.

"Hey Hiari, how are you? Sofia asks in an attempt to appear nonchalant but doubts she looks unaffected. Hiari looks back and forth at the closeness between Cassius and Sofia who does her best to stop the blush that wants to take over her cheeks. "I'm good sweetheart, looks like you're doing better. What brings you to the mansion?"

Sophia takes a small step back wanting a little more space between herself and Cass. "Just came to drop off some bakes but I was just leaving". It's pretty clear that the gears are turning in Hiari's head, the woman is sharp and never misses a thing. No doubt she has already figured out that Sofia and Cass have some sort of something going n.

"I'm glad you're settling in. We're having Sunday dinner this weekend. You should come."

Sofia goes to protest but doesn't really have a good excuse as to why she can't go "No arguments Sof! You aren't getting out of this. Don't worry, it's close family only. I'll text you the details, you can bring the dessert." Striding over after having the last word Hiari kisses Sofia's cheek and then walks away but not before telling Cassius to go see her when he gets a chance.

"Hiari can be a little intense and used to getting her way but you do not have to come," Cassius reassures while tucking a lock of Sofia's hair behind her ear. Closing her eyes she lets out a sigh "I'll think about it. See you around Cass." Reluctantly, she pulls away from his touch and hastily walks back to her car before she does something impulsive. It's not fair! One single person should not be capable of bringing out so many emotions in you. The intensity and how suddenly they started honestly scares her and makes her want to run while her heart screams for her to get closer.

She is nearly home when a text comes through from Sam Weston. He could not be more different than Cassius. She felt nothing towards the Deputy Chief. Perhaps that is why she ignores the sick feeling as she agrees to go out to dinner with him. It's just as friends and Weston knows that. She quickly shushes the tiny voice calling her a liar while finalizing dinner plans for that night.