Chapter 51
51
SOPHIE
S ophie frowned at her reflection in the mirror. Out there with the karaoke machine, she had felt free and sexy. But now, under the fluorescent lighting in the restroom, she just felt drunk.
The chilled Cosmopolitans were so refreshing in the heat of the late afternoon. But now that she thought about it, she realized her cocktail had been replenished the moment she’d drained it by some enterprising waitstaff who was catering to their local celebrity, Christian. And so it was far too easy to just keep drinking.
She was well past buzzed and teetering on her feet. Patting her cheeks to try to snap out of it, she then ran her hand through her hair, and bumped right into Conor as soon as she stepped out of the restroom. He appeared to have been deep into putting the moves on a blonde, having backed her up against the wall in the dimly lit hallway.
“Sorry,” Sophie told him with an amused smile. Of course, Conor would be with some random girl. It was entirely typical.
He pulled away from the girl. “You all right?”
“Yep,” she said and laughed. “I’m just a little, little, little drunk.”
“Come here, let me get you some water,” he said, and took her arm to steady her.
“Um, hello?” Conor’s new friend protested.
“Oh, listen, eh …”
“Natalie,” she replied with a forced smile.
“Just give me a minute, Natalie. My friend needs some attention.”
Sophie slung her arm around Conor’s neck and leaned heavily on him. He wrapped his arm around her waist in return, holding her up more than she liked to admit. Holding her up effortlessly with a strength she couldn’t ignore. That, combined with the trace scent of his intoxicating aftershave made her realize why it was so easy for him to hook up with any woman he wanted.
But that wasn’t something she should be dwelling on. Instead, she said, “Don’t worry, Natalie. Conor is guaranteed to give you a good time—he’s a sure thing!”
“All right, chatty,” he said, fighting a smile as he pulled her toward the far end of the bar.
In no time, he got the bartender’s attention and was handed a bottle of cold water. He then wrapped his arm around her shoulders and steered her outside of the bar and down onto the cool sand.
“Drink up, honey. You’ve done a number on yourself.”
She took the water and drank half the bottle greedily.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said with awe, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I only had a few drinks.”
“A few being how many?” he asked.
“Um, four, no, five? Maybe?”
“Sophie Kavanaugh, what were you thinking?”
“I don’t know,” she said simply, wide-eyed.
He laughed. “You’re a hell of a cute drunk.”
The look in his eyes as he watched her … it wasn’t exactly desire. Or, it wasn’t only desire. There was adoration, too. It reminded her of the way he looked at her last night, under the stars and on the wet sand.
“Are you going to kiss me now?”
He took a step away from her. “No. You didn’t say anything to Gavin, did you?”
“No, silly. I’m not stupid, you know.” She looked wistfully at the bar, thinking of her fiancé now, just as she should have earlier. “I love him so much. Do you know that? He is the sweetest, most wonderful man and I never, ever want to hurt him.”
He nodded. “Drink your water. Sober up a bit so I can go back inside.”
“Oh, yeah. You’ve got Natalie to fuck,” she said and laughed.
“Yes, I’ve got Natalie to fuck. And whoever else I feel like. No guilt-trips from you, Miss Can’t-Hold-Her-Liquor.”
She grabbed the finger he had playfully shaken at her as he spoke. “Tell me something,” she said. “Do you want me?”
The question had just spilled out of her. Damn those Cosmopolitans.
“Stop it, Sophie,” he said without conviction.
Still, she wanted to know. So, instead of obeying his weak command, she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at him. “I was wondering if you’re really attracted to me, or if you were just lonely and I was convenient.”
He watched her for a long, silent moment before taking her hands and pushing her away from him. He seemed to waver briefly before finding his answer. “You were just a convenience for a lonely man, honey,” he said softly. “Now I’ll go find a more suitable form of release.”
“Oh. Okay. Go ahead.” She suddenly sobered. She wasn’t sure what her motives were or what she was expecting, but his response was like being doused by a bucket of cold water.
“You’ll be okay?”
“I am fine. Thanks, Connie.”
He nodded and left her to go back inside the bar.
She downed the rest of the water, took a deep breath, and made her way back inside as well. She found Gavin standing at the bar, surrounded by half a dozen young women. He was chatting amiably with them as he waited for the bartender to refill a tray full of pint glasses.
Winding her way through the women, she wrapped her arms around Gavin’s waist and pressed her face to his shoulder.
“Where’ve you been, darlin’?” he asked, holding her to him.
“Aye, leave off, then, girlie. We were here first,” a woman whined, and got the others complaining as well.
“Come, ladies,” Gavin said, his voice raised. “This here is my lovely fiancée. You wouldn’t stand between a man and his true love, would you?”
With reluctance, the crowd broke up.
“Gavin, will you take me home?” Sophie asked quietly.
“What’s wrong, sweet girl?”
“I got drunk.”
“Is that why you made that spectacle of yourself?” he asked.
She pulled away and looked at him, worried that he’d seen her with Conor just now. “What do you mean?”
“Dancing with Patsy like that. You know, you turned on half the men in here with that.”
Relaxing, she smiled. “Only half?”
“Funny. Do you really want to go? You seem okay now.”
“Hmm … how about we stay for a while, but only if you promise to take me for a swim later. We’ve never been skinny dipping.”
“I do love you, Sophie,” he replied with a grin.