Chapter Nineteen
S ophie’s eyes were sticky and her head was bleary and she seriously, seriously regretted opening the second bottle of wine. Not that alcohol was an excuse. She should have known better. She did know better. She’d just got carried away in the moment and…
“Here.”
The smell of the coffee sent a message straight to her brain to wake up. She blinked and saw a hand offering her a mug. She struggled to sit up and then took it, cradling it in her hands and eagerly taking a sip.
“So,” Tilly said, sitting down in the chair opposite her.
Sophie wanted to close her eyes again, wanted to block all of this out. “I know,” she said. “I know. I’m an idiot and I deserve whatever it is that’s about to happen to me. I’m mortified. The only thing I can do is apologize.”
“Mr. McKeefe seems to think that you were just indulging in some kind of hijinks,” Tilly said. “His word, not mine.”
With a sigh, Sophie looked up and for the first time saw Tilly’s eyes, soft and blue and crinkled at the corners. She looked… not entirely angry. “No hijinks,” she said. She cleared her throat. “This is all my fault though, I mean, if Jules and—”
“We’ve already sent them home,” Tilly said. “McKeefe isn’t pressing charges. Though he is interested in learning some of the lyrics that the four of you were singing last night.”
Sophie groaned. “I’m just so embarrassed.” She could feel it aching in her stomach, like a weight she’d never get rid of.
“What were you doing?” asked Tilly.
“Looking for car thieves,” Sophie said. She looked at Tilly again. “We just thought… I just thought… Never mind.”
Tilly leaned forward a little, almost like she was going to take Sophie’s hand. Not that she would. Not that she ever would now. Sophie was more than aware of the fact that she’d blown it, that there was no way in hell that Tilly would have anything to do with her now. Not that she could blame her.
“I’m sorry,” Sophie said. “I’m just…” She blinked away tears. “I get it. I get why you don’t want anything to do with me and I’m sorry.” There was a long silence, and Sophie could feel the sadness building up inside her.
“I’m sorry.”
“What?” That didn’t make sense.
“I’m sorry,” Tilly said again.
“What do you have to be sorry for?” asked Sophie, very confused. Her hangover wasn’t helping matters, but she was pretty sure she wouldn’t know what was happening here even if she was stone cold sober.
“I’m sorry because I reacted badly,” Tilly said. She took a breath. “Sophie, I didn’t know who you were and when you told me, I was shocked. Shocked and… and, to be honest, afraid. Afraid because this is who I am. This job. It’s all I’ve ever wanted and for a second there I saw something that might compromise me and I blamed you for that. Blamed you for something that wasn’t at all your fault.”
“No,” Sophie said, swallowing down her tears again. “No, you were right. I should have told you. I… knew that you were looking into the garage, into dad, I just didn’t really put two and two together and… Well, it’s not like we’ve spent a whole lot of time together, is it?”
There was another silence. Sophie studied Tilly, the way the light hit her hair, the long lashes that brushed her cheek when she thought. She was beautiful, Sophie thought. Beautiful and fragile and very, very desirable.
“Can we start again?” Tilly said.
“What?”
“You heard me,” said Tilly, straightening up. “Can we start again? Hear me out here. We’ve only met a handful of times. Maybe those times shouldn’t count. Maybe we both screwed things up a bit and we should get a do-over.”
“How did you screw things up?” asked Sophie.
“I over-reacted when you told me who you were so that you had to go out drunkenly trespassing in people’s barns,” Tilly said. “Which, now that I say it, sounds completely insane.”
“It does,” Sophie agreed. “But you have a point. I mean, I can’t help who I am. I’m sure that my dad doesn’t have anything to do with your car thefts, but he’s no lover of the police. I don’t want to compromise your career. That’s the last thing I want.”
Tilly held up both her hands. “I get it, I get the obstacles. But if we just put those aside for a second…” She took a breath. “Sophie, I really like you.”
“You do?” Sophie’s heart leaped in her chest. “Um, I mean, I like you too, if that’s what we’re doing here.”
“Mmm, police stations aren’t the most romantic places in the world.” Tilly scratched her nose. “And we’ve both been up most of the night, not sure we’re looking our best.”
“Do we get a do-over on this, too?” Sophie said with a small laugh.
“No,” Tilly said. “No, we don’t. This gets done once and I might be messing it up already.” She took a deep breath. “Alright, here goes. You’re the most interesting, prettiest, nicest woman that I’ve met for a very long time. I like you. There.”
Sophie smirked. “Can I just say the same?”
“No,” Tilly said. “No, you have to tell the truth. We’re in a police interview room. Those are the rules.”
“Fine,” said Sophie. “Fine. You’re the most interesting person that’s come to town in forever and the first time I saw you, I fancied you. Happy?”
It was Tilly’s turn to smirk. “Alright, so we’ve got that part sorted out. Now let’s deal with the obstacles. I should not assume things about you because of your family. Actually, I shouldn’t assume things about your family either. I’m a police officer. I work with evidence. And other than drunken trespassing, I’ve no evidence at all that you or your family have done anything wrong.”
“Thank you,” Sophie said. “That means a lot.” She sighed. “But we can’t pretend that my family isn’t an obstacle. They won’t be pleased about any of this. But they’ll be far more displeased if they learn that I’m involved with a police officer.”
“Involved with,” Tilly repeated.
And Sophie had a sharp pain in her heart. Had she assumed too much?
“We barely know each other,” Tilly said, looking at her with deep blue eyes. “We have no idea where this is going or what it is. All we do know is that we have to sing together and that there are some feelings swimming around.”
Sophie bit her lip.
“I’m just saying… I’m saying that maybe we don’t have to be so official yet. It’s not like we have to announce things to your family. There might be nothing here. We could… wait a while.”
A warmth was growing inside Sophie’s stomach. “We could wait a little while,” she agreed. “And, um, your job?”
“Max knows,” Tilly said. “Don’t worry, he’s not going to spill the beans. But he’s my boss, and he knows that there are, um, feelings. So I think that helps a little. And as long as you’re not going to be robbing any banks or anything, I think we’re alright.”
“A life of crime is not for me,” Sophie said quickly. “I think we’ve firmly established that.”
“Good,” Tilly said. “But I can’t promise you that my investigations won’t lead me to your garage. I have to do my job and if that means—”
“I don’t need to hear about it,” Sophie interrupted. “Your job is your job and you need to do it to the best of your ability. It has nothing to do with me, and if you show up at the garage, then I accept that you’re just doing what you have to do.”
“You’ll trust me?” Tilly asked.
Sophie nodded. “I know you’re not out to get them. And I know they’re not doing anything wrong. If you need to investigate, then go ahead.”
“Okay then.”
“Okay then.” Sophie coughed. “Um, should we be signing some kind of contract here?”
Tilly laughed, and the sound hit Sophie right in the heart. “I know this isn’t the most romantic thing that’s ever happened.”
“No,” Sophie said. “No, it’s… It seems right. It feels good. We’re both on the same page, I like that. I like…” She grinned. “I like you. Whatever it takes to get to see more of you.”
Slowly, Tilly reached her hand across the table, and equally slowly, Sophie took it. Until their fingers were entangled together, until Sophie could feel the touch all over her skin, could feel the shivers as Tilly’s fingers moved.
“I’m glad,” Tilly said softly. “I’m glad because I actually don’t want to be without you. I look forward to seeing you. I’ve never looked forward to seeing anyone before.”
“I hope you’re going to be seeing a lot more of me,” Sophie said, blushing as she realized what she implied.
But Tilly’s eyebrow raised just a millimeter. “Is that an invitation, Ms. Farmer?”
“Would you like it to be one?” Sophie responded. Her mouth was dry, and she didn’t think it was just the hangover.
“I can’t think of anything I’d like more.” Tilly’s voice had deepened, grown huskier.
Sophie was contemplating getting up, wondering if there was anything illegal about making out in an interview room, thinking that maybe, just maybe she might be about to throw caution to the wind, when the sound of her father’s voice rang through the station.
“I demand to see my daughter.”
She snatched her hand away from Tilly’s, straightening up, starting to feel sick again.
“It’s fine,” Tilly said. “You’re free to go.”
Sophie nodded. “I’d better, um, better get out there then, before he does something he regrets.”
Tilly stood up and gestured toward the door. “I’d probably better stay out of sight.”
Sophie’s hand was on the door handle now. She glanced back at Tilly. “Soon?”
“Soon,” Tilly smiled.
And Sophie’s heart lightened as she stepped out of the interview room.
Her father was standing in front of the wooden counter, his hair a mess, his face far too red. Max was trying to placate him.
“Dad, I’m fine,” Sophie said, stepping around the counter. “And I’m free to go. Let’s get out of here.”
He glared at Max as Sophie took his arm. “Police harassment,” he said.
Sophie sighed. “Think about your heart, your blood pressure,” she said, pulling him toward the door.
“Maybe you should have thought about that,” he grumbled, but he let himself be ushered out.
Sophie turned at the last minute and saw Tilly’s pale face watching as she left. And her life felt suddenly so much brighter.