Chapter 81
81
SOPHIE
C hecking herself in the foyer mirror one last time, Sophie smoothed her hair’s sleek side part and headed for the front door. She wore a body hugging ivory pantsuit with alligator skin stilettos. The jacket was tight at the bust and cut wide and low around the neck and shoulders, revealing a sexy hint of an emerald-green lace bra.
When she opened the door to leave, she was surprised to see Conor about to knock.
“Sophie,” he said. He stood straighter and took her in. “You look amazing.”
She smiled her thanks.
“Is he home?”
“No … not yet,” she said. “Listen, I have to run to the airport. I’m going to Paris for the day. Work.”
“We should talk. There are things I need to tell you,” he said. “I’ll drive you to the airport. How about that?”
She agreed, knowing there was no time to protest, and they went to his car, a newly purchased silver Aston Martin DB9. Conor held the door open for her before going around to the driver’s side.
“What’s in Paris?” he asked as started the engine.
“My agent set up a meeting for us to talk to Lanc?me. They’re interested in me being their new representative. I thought it would be a good way to phase out of modeling.”
“If you want to quit, why don’t you just stop? Why keep hanging on?”
“It’s what I do,” she replied. “I hang on, even if it’s not the best thing for me.”
He looked over at her and they exchanged a lengthy moment of silent understanding.
“Listen,” he said and hesitated.
“Yes?”
“Gav and I sort of had it out yesterday, and it got me to thinking about what I should be doing. You know, thinking about doing the right thing.”
“I’m not sure what you?—”
“I asked Colette to marry me last night. She said yes.” He squinted at the road and shook his head. “Anyway, our plan right now is for me to move to New York. At least part of the time.”
“But you can’t,” she said, unable to stop herself. She hadn’t expected Conor and Colette to last, let alone see them get married. And now that he was telling her he would be moving away, she realized how much she had come to rely on him.
“I won’t move until after we get the studio work done,” he continued. “The trick is getting Gavin to calm down some and work with us.”
All she could do was nod in agreement.
“So what did you mean when you said he wasn’t home yet? He went out early this morning?”
“Um,” she started, and had to stop to clear her throat. “No, he didn’t come home last night. He might be back later this morning. Or he might be gone for a few days. I can’t say for sure.”
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered. “This is the way you’re living?”
She was silent, looking out the window. “When’s the wedding?” she asked at length.
“Nothing’s set. Tell the truth, this isn’t something I’ve thought long and hard about. It just feels like the right thing. Colette’s great. We’ll be good together.”
He sounded wooden, like he was trying to convince himself. Or maybe that’s just what she wanted to believe. In either case, she knew she had no right to interfere.
“Yeah, I’m sure you will,” Sophie said. “I’ll have to call Colette to congratulate her. Will she be in Dublin long?”
“Nah, she’s off again tomorrow.” Conor pulled into the outer limits of the airport, following the signs to departures. “While you’re making your congratulations, call Celia. She’s pregnant again. Almost four months on.”
Sophie felt an odd mixture of joy and jealousy for Celia and Martin at the news. They were a real family, much like what she had envisioned for Gavin and herself so long ago.
“That’s great. They are blessed.” She stared out the window at the various airline terminals going by. “And Shay? How’s he doing?”
“Good. Remember when I played matchmaker with him and a waitress at a sushi restaurant in New York?”
Sophie remembered the story only vaguely. It had occurred right before the Vanity Fair article came out about Gavin’s mother.
“He’s still seeing her. Seems quite madly in love, actually. Her name’s Jessica and she’s a student at uni there.”
“That’s great. I’m really happy for all of you,” Sophie said.
Conor pulled to a stop in front of her airline. He put the car in park, taking off his sunglasses as he turned toward her. “Sophie, I want you to be happy, too. I want so much for you to be the girl I once knew.”
She looked down and blinked away the tears in her eyes. “Am I that pathetic now?”
“You’ll never be that to me, honey. But you can do better for yourself right now and you know it.”
“Conor, I can’t leave him,” she said. “It’s out of the question.”
He sighed but said no more, so she reached for the door to get out.
“Wait a minute,” he said. “Tell me where he goes with these so-called friends of his.”
Sophie rattled off the few places she knew Gavin would go to get high and waste the night away.
“When you talk to him, know that he’s still hurting so much from all that’s happened. He’s turned into something he hates, but that doesn’t mean he knows how to make it stop.”
Conor smiled ruefully and shook his head. “You’re more than he deserves right now, Sophie.”
“He tells me that all the time,” she replied before getting out of the car.