Chapter 49
49
SOPHIE
C hristian’s excitement was contagious as he took everyone to a surfing beach in nearby Noosa National Park the next day. On the way over, he admitted he had been addicted to surfing all his life and that he loved to share the joy he got out of riding the perfect wave.
This beach was much more populated than where their hosts lived and featured an exposed point break that had fairly consistent and somewhat gentle surf perfect for newbies.
“Just look out for the sharks, jellyfish, and rocks, okay, mates?” Christian said with a wicked grin.
Sophie exchanged a look with Gavin, hoping he’d be careful. But he was too caught up in the moment and didn’t stop to reassure her. He and the others followed Christian to the blue-green water, while she and Patsy set out a couple of large, thin blankets on the sand.
Sophie found Patsy to be both a wonderful host and a genuinely nice person. She and Christian had also met while young, and Sophie took comfort in the fact that their marriage had survived over the last eleven years with them still seeming to be very much in love. Tall, with sandy hair and a laid-back demeanor, Patsy was the perfect complement to her rangy and intense husband.
“So, Sophie,” Patsy said as she pulled her sundress over her head, “will you go on tour with Gavin?”
Sophie piled her hair on top of her head in a messy bun as she replied. “No, I can’t. I’m still in school.”
“Hmm …”
“Uh-oh. What does that mean?” Sophie asked with a nervous laugh. She pulled off her tee shirt and shorts and adjusted her black bikini.
“Nothing really. Just seems like you two shouldn’t be parted again so soon. You know, I have to confess, I followed all of your tabloid stories!”
Sophie laughed. “I hope you don’t believe everything you read in those.”
“No, I know better, believe me. But …” She hesitated as she watched her husband gracefully ride a glassine wave.
“What is it?”
“Watch out for the story about you and Conor.”
Sophie’s chest tightened. “What do you mean?” she asked as calmly as she could. Had Patsy seen what happened last night?
“Or Shay or Martin. One of those rags will come up with a story that you’re about to run off with another member of Rogue. Happened to us, so it’s bound to happen to you.”
Looking out to the ocean, Sophie saw Gavin sitting on his borrowed surfboard, bobbing in the water next to Shay and Conor. The three of them seemed happy to simply watch their more experienced friend take on the challenge of the waves.
“I don’t think any of us take those magazines seriously,” Sophie said carefully, still trying to discern whether Patsy was intimating anything more than the obvious.
“Ah, you think that now. Wait until they hit a nerve, hit on something that’s a little too close.”
“Is there something you’re trying to tell me?” Sophie asked, unable to skirt the issue any longer.
Patsy looked taken aback. “No, no. I’m sorry, I hope you didn’t think I was getting at anything about you. I guess I was really talking about myself and the troubles Christian and I have had.”
“Oh . . . I’m sorry to hear that,” Sophie said, and gave her a small smile.
“It’s in the past now,” Patsy said.
Sophie waited for her to continue. When it was clear that they would instead share silence, she turned her attention to watching Gavin flop about in the waves. He was a hopeless surfer, and Shay wasn’t much better, although they both seemed to be enjoying their attempts. Conor, on the other hand, was a natural athlete and succeeded in getting up on his board a few times.
Eventually both women settled on their bellies as they watched the water. Sophie untied her bikini top and relaxed as the heat drew beads of sweat along the small of her back. She was close to dozing when Patsy startled her by speaking again.
“It was a story that said I had an affair with Scandal’s manager, actually,” she said, her voice flat.
Sophie pulled herself to her elbows so she could look at Patsy. “I don’t understand where they come up with some of these things,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Thing is, there was some truth to it.” Patsy saw Sophie’s look of surprise and laughed. “Oh, not that I had an affair, but I was close friends with him. When the band is in the thick of things, with touring and publicity and everything that goes along with it, sometimes the manager is your connection to your man. So, we got to be friends. We had an … emotional bond, you could say.”
Sophie didn’t know how to respond. She let the silence grow between them.
“It was a little too close to the line, really. And the tabloids picked up on that and ran with it. It challenged our marriage.”
It was hard for Sophie to imagine how a person could let that happen to their marriage. But then her attraction to Conor—and his to her—came to mind and she felt renewed guilt. It hadn’t been anything more than a passing moment, though, and she knew that in the end she would always choose Gavin.
“I can’t imagine how awful it must have been,” she told Patsy, for want of anything else to say.
Patsy blinked away the tears in her eyes and forced a smile. “We made it through. And we’re great now. Again.”
“It’s so nice to see the way you two are together. You’re a very sweet couple.”
“Thanks. I can say the same about you and Gavin, too.”
“I think it’s Gavin and Christian who make a great couple,” Sophie said, and Patsy laughed. “No, I mean it in a way. Christian is a good mentor for him.”
“Yeah. He really is fond of your man. Which is why it’ll break his heart that Gavin can’t surf to save his life!”
Sophie looked up in time to see Gavin slip backward off his surfboard. “Oh, I hope he doesn’t hurt himself!”
“Nah, he’s fine. Christian’s got his eye on him.”
Sophie hoped that was true—not just in the water, but as a friend, too. Gavin had countless “friends” but there were only a few who he had really let close to him. And she knew he could use all the real friends he could get.