Tangled Up In You (Rogue #1)

Chapter 61

61

SOPHIE

C onor had been the one to come after her, letting her cry on his shoulder outside of the stadium. He was always there when she needed someone to lean on or vent to. This time, he’d tried to dismiss Gavin’s bad behavior as a return of “The Clash,” the mood swings Gavin would get when they were younger, but she sensed there was more to it. Gavin had been drained by this tour with his efforts on stage, but he was also clearly anxious about something. He repeatedly denied anything was bothering him, though.

She hadn’t stayed to watch the show. Instead, she’d retreated to their hotel room, wanting to be alone. Gavin’s reaction had been even worse than she had feared, and it left her angry and confused. He had never fully supported her modeling, but for him to act out like that, in front of an audience no less, was inexcusable.

It was after two in the morning when she heard him letting himself in to their suite. She was lying in bed with her back to the doorway, starring through the open drapes at the leaves in the trees rustling with the breeze. She didn’t react to him, even when the bed shifted under his weight as he joined her.

When he stroked her bare arm with something velvety, she took in a quick breath. It had to be the petals of a rose. She could smell the sweet, rich aroma of the flower. He continued to slowly drag the rose over her skin, then followed the trail with soft kisses.

Turning to face him, she saw that her husband was studying her intently. He cupped her cheek with his hand and stroked her skin with his thumb. “I’m an idiot,” he told her. “But I don’t mean it.”

“That doesn’t excuse?—”

“You’re art to me, Sophie,” he said. “You’re beauty and light. I don’t want to share you.”

“I share you all the time.”

He put the flower aside and settled so he was propped up by his elbow and leaning close to her. “How’s that?”

“The songs you write, baby. They’re so personal. And not only are they out there forever, but you give so much of yourself when you perform them.”

“Darlin’, people may think they know me from the songs but it’s just their interpretation. They’ll never know the real me, not like you do.”

She looked into his eyes for a long moment. “Sort of like how people might see me in a photo but they’ll never have me?”

That registered with him and he looked contrite, but she wasn’t ready to let him off the hook.

“You hurt me. That’s not okay.”

“I know, and I’m sorry I did that to you. I’ve no right to behave that way?—”

“Why were you so agitated? What else is bothering you?”

He met her eyes and started to speak but then closed his mouth. She waited him out until he told her, “I’m fine. I really am.”

“I don’t think you are,” she said softly. “Please tell me what’s going on.”

His eyes left hers but she waited him out until finally he sighed. “Jamie says he’s had inquiries about my mother.”

“Inquiries?”

“Some enterprising young reporter taking it upon herself to dig at my history. Anyway, I guess she was keen to get into the details of my mother’s ‘death.’”

His face was a mask of anguish. He’d never accepted his mother’s abandonment of him, nor had he ever plotted out how he might answer such questions from the media.

“So, maybe it’s time to talk about it?” she suggested.

He shook his head curtly. “No. I won’t. I can’t.”

“But—”

“Jamie dealt with it. The story is dead.” He laughed and it came out forced and bitter. “But likely as dead as my mother.”

“Meaning you’re worried it’s going to come up again?”

“It’s bound to, right? Isn’t that what I’ve set myself up for?”

Her husband, whose life was so profoundly altered by the loss of his mother, was still in so much pain over it. She had always thought she could be the one to help heal him, but after all these years, it was clear there was little she could do.

“Just hold on to me, baby,” she whispered. “I’m here.”

He watched her for a long moment before gently kissing her on the lips, lingering until she returned the pressure. “I love you with all that I am,” he told her, “even when that’s not good enough.”

She touched his face. “You’re always enough, Gavin.”