Tangled Up In You (Rogue #1)

Chapter 27

27

GAVIN

“ A re you sure you know where you’re going?” Gavin asked.

He was blindly following Sophie up a dirt trail in the Hollywood Hills. They had caught the last remnants of a warm orange sunset and were rapidly losing light as night came on. The buzz he had from the sake at their sushi dinner was beginning to wear off as he heard creatures scurry in the brush.

After the taping of the Craig Kilborn show, Sophie had insisted on taking everyone—including John Riley—to the acclaimed Japanese restaurant Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills for an early dinner. It was the first time any of the Irishmen had tried sashimi and, with the exception of Martin, they enjoyed the exotic offerings. The sake had been especially well received and served to make for a round of lively conversation as the group forgot about the reporter’s presence and reminisced about the “old days” with Sophie.

They had all playfully teased Sophie when she used a black American Express card to pay for the meal, even though she explained that the bills went straight to her parents. For reasons Gavin couldn’t quite understand, he was uneasy at this nonchalant display of wealth, but he took pains to dismiss it.

After Sophie settled the check, Gavin was willingly taken away by her, even as the boys responded with good-natured whistles and knowing grins. He was happy to see the easy familiarity she had regained within the group, though he suspected it came in part from the fact that she was once again only a temporary player. Just as when they were in school together, the underlying understanding that she wouldn’t always be there lent a confessional nature to their interactions. They could safely share of themselves without worrying that it would somehow come back to haunt them.

Gavin had been too busy talking, hyped up from the band’s television performance and the dinner, to take note of where Sophie was driving them in her sporty white BMW 325i. She had wound around the narrow, densely populated streets up into the hills before parking in front of an upscale home toward the end of Beachwood Drive.

“What’s this? Don’t you live at the beach, like with an actual ocean?” he asked, seeing only expensive homes and no water.

“This isn’t my house, silly. We’re going on an adventure. Come with me,” she said, and pulled a backpack out of the backseat.

Now he was following her past the hum of caged electrical equipment and a red and white radio tower as her flashlight bobbed along the path.

“We’re almost there,” she told him.

The wind picked up as they approached the peak but it was a warm evening. She had promised that the trek would be worth it, and he had seen glimpses of city lights beginning to burn bright in the deepening darkness that confirmed this. As they went, she told him about her classes at USC and the fact that she had taken her last final the same day as calling into the radio station. The summer break was upon her and the only plans she had was to possibly travel with her parents. He had been about to interrupt her careful talk about the future when she stopped walking.

“You go first,” she told him, and pointed with the flashlight up a steep dirt hill.

Now he knew why she had changed out of her strappy sandals and into running shoes at the car. His own lace-up boots were covered in dirt and he’d had several near misses with horse manure.

“Come with me, then,” he said and pulled her hand.

As he came to the top of the hill, he was astounded by the view. They were directly above the huge white letters of the iconic Hollywood sign, with the entire city spread out and lit up before them. The downtown buildings to the left stood tall amongst the sprawl. To their right, a reservoir glittered under the moonlight. He tried in vain to see where the lights ended, and the enormity and beauty of the golden glow brought a smile to his face.

Sophie put her arm around his waist and leaned into him as he held her in return.

“What do you think?”

“It’s brilliant,” he murmured.

It was hard to wrap his head around the view. They were alone, with only the sound of crickets and the odd rustling of small animals. The warm air smelled of the pleasantly pungent combination of earthy shrubs and cooling dirt. It was peaceful and invigorating at the same time. He couldn’t imagine a better way to see Los Angeles.

“I’ve never been here at night,” she said. “I’m pretty sure we’re trespassing. But I wanted to do something memorable for one of your last nights.”

He turned to her and kissed her, long and softly. The ache in his chest soon spread throughout his whole body as he held her to him. The effort she had made was not lost on him. It reinforced what he had believed during their time together before, that she was an extraordinary girl, unlike any he would ever find again. The fact that she had planned out this adventure, as she called it, to create a unique memory for them to share, was all he needed to confirm what he had felt the moment he saw her at his hotel room doorstep. She was the one.

“I’m glad you like it,” she said in a whisper.

He knew without looking that there were tears in her eyes. She was feeling the same thing he was of not wanting to say goodbye.

Pulling away, he took her face into his hands and made eye contact. “I never loved a girl before you, and I haven’t loved anyone since. I still love you something desperate. There’s no way I want this to be one of our last nights.”

She nodded and blinked away the tears.

“You didn’t take me seriously the first time. Take me seriously now.” He took a deep breath. “Marry me. I want you to marry me.”

He couldn’t read her in the long, cruel thirty seconds of silence that followed as her eyes left his and focused beyond his shoulder. The sensation he felt of sinking was either his heart or his suddenly unstable knees.

“Gavin—”

Before she could refuse him, he pressed his lips to hers once more. He closed his eyes tightly, not sure whether he wanted her to feel the disappointment in his kiss or not.

“Baby,” she said as she pulled away.

“Darlin’, I’m not able to hear you say no or laugh it off. So, don’t say anything, okay? We’ll just enjoy the view.” He turned back to gaze upon the lights.

“But the answer is yes,” she said.

He was slow to understand and turned to her with a look he knew expressed his disbelief. “For definite?” he asked.

She nodded and smiled, tears once again filling her eyes.

Their next kiss was filled with a mixture of giddiness and awe at the audacity of what they had done.