Chapter Twenty Six
T illy held Sophie close, listening to her breathing, perfectly content until Sophie finally stirred.
“It’s half ten.”
“Not quite,” Tilly said. “We’ve got a few minutes yet.”
Sophie snuggled closer again. “Okay, but just a few minutes. Don’t let me fall asleep.”
The flat was littered with the remains of an Indian takeaway and smelled of spices, but Tilly was happier than she’d been for months, perhaps ever.
Every other night for the last few weeks, Sophie had come in through the back door after work, sneaking home again as it got late. It was all Tilly could do to get through the workday so that she could rush home.
Okay, so things couldn’t stay this way permanently. She got that. But for right now, it was working. Any doubts that she’d had about her feelings for Sophie were long gone. This was what she’d been waiting for, this sense of complete familiarity even in someone she’d just met. This comfort.
She put her chin on Sophie’s head, letting one naked arm pull her a little closer. “I like you a lot,” she mumbled.
“Careful,” Sophie said with a laugh in her voice. “That almost turned into a bigger L word.”
For a second Tilly felt a squeeze of anxiety, but she shook it off. So what if it did? She was allowed to have feelings, wasn’t she? “Should I not be using that word yet?” she asked.
Sophie moved now, propping her head up on one hand so that the duvet fell off her shoulder, baring her creamy skin. “I don’t know,” she said. “Should we?”
“We? So you might have some big L energy going on too?” Tilly teased.
Sophie bit her lip and looked down. “There might be some feelings swimming around.”
Tilly nodded, her heart tripling in size. “Well, okay then. As long as we both know where we stand. We don’t have to say it just yet.”
Sophie looked up. “We can wait for the right time.”
Tilly grinned at her. “Patience is a virtue.” She reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind Sophie’s ear. “How’s it going at home?”
“So-so,” Sophie said. “You know, once this choir concert is over, I’m going to be all out of excuses. I can’t say that I’m going to practice every other night so that I can come over here.”
“We’ll think of something,” said Tilly, rubbing Sophie’s arm. “Don’t worry about it.”
“We could,” said Sophie. “Or…” She took a deep breath. “Or maybe we could, um, we could tell them.”
Tilly almost sat up in shock. “Really? I thought…”
“We don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Sophie looked a little stung.
“No, that’s not what I meant.” Tilly settled down again. “I just meant that, well, this is a big thing for you. I don’t want to rush anything. Not if it makes life harder for you.”
“I didn’t want to make waves at the beginning,” Sophie said. “There was no point if this wasn’t going anywhere. And Gio has a habit of ruining anything that I try to start. I just… I wanted a chance to make something for myself, you know? It’s not that I’m trying to hide you or anything.”
“I know that,” Tilly said. “And I know that telling your dad and Gio is going to be difficult. I just want you to be sure that you know what you’re doing.” She grinned down at her. “If I had my way, I’d be shouting all this from the rooftops, you know that.”
“I do.” Sophie smiled back. “And I know it’s going to be tough. They’re not going to be happy. I’ll have to tell them in the right way, and they still won’t like it much. But this… this is turning into something, Till. I need to tell them. I want to tell them. I want everyone to know.”
“I’ll do whatever you think is best,” Tilly said. She stroked Sophie’s bare shoulder. “Would you like to come and meet my dad?”
“The Chief Superintendent? That sounds a bit scary.”
“He’s lovely,” said Tilly. “And he’ll love you. As long as you don’t commit any crimes. But on the whole, I’m certain that he’ll think you’re as wonderful as I think you are.”
“Okay then,” Sophie said. “Yes. I’d like to meet him.” She settled down again, snuggling against Tilly’s chest in a way that made Tilly want to keep her there forever. “This is getting very serious, isn’t it?”
“Only if you want it to be.” Tilly stroked her arm. “But I do like you a lot. And I’m ready to move things on if you are.”
Sophie nodded against her chest. “Yeah, I think I am. I know that the fallout might not be pretty, but I don’t like lying to my family and I think it’s time that they knew. I’ll tell them this weekend. Maybe make a nice dinner and do it.”
“Do you want me there?”
“Maybe you could come for dessert?”
“Whatever you need,” Tilly said, starting to get drowsy in the warmth.
“What about Max and Mila?” asked Sophie. “They must surely suspect something by now.”
“They know that we’re… interested. They know that you’ve visited. But Mila told me that who I invited up here was my own business. Besides, I think they’re too involved with their own stuff right now.”
“Oh yeah?”
Tilly sighed. The last couple of weeks had been a little more strained around the Browning household. “I don’t know what’s going on. They’re stressed about something, but they clam up anytime I’m around or the kids are here. Not that it’s any of my business, but I’d like to be able to help them.”
“You’re the great detective,” Sophie said, her hand warm on Tilly’s stomach. “Surely you’ve figured out something?”
“It’s something to do with money, I’m pretty sure. I don’t want to pry, but I think money is at the heart of things, which I’m guessing is why they don’t want to talk to me about anything.”
“Could be,” said Sophie. “Max works full time and Mila owns half the bookshop though, they haven’t seemed to be struggling in the past.”
Tilly shrugged. “I can’t tell you. I honestly don’t know much more than that.”
“You know basically what they’re arguing about,” said Sophie. “I told you that you’re a great detective.”
She was kidding and Tilly knew it, but that didn’t stop her stomach clenching at the word detective.
The car theft case was going nowhere, and she was pretty sure that Max had already written it off as a cold case. No more cars had been stolen in the local area, but at least once a week, one of the surrounding areas reported a theft. No one else seemed to be getting anywhere either, which took some of the sting out of her failure. But still. It wasn’t nice thinking that she’d got nowhere.
And a little bit of her wondered if perhaps she hadn’t been so distracted by Sophie she might have got further in her investigations.
Not that she could bring herself to regret any time spent with Sophie.
“I’d better get going,” Sophie said, sitting up. She leaned to drop a kiss on Tilly’s forehead.
Tilly pulled her down, kissing her properly before letting her go again.
She watched as Sophie pulled on her clothes, first her underwear, then her jeans, and looked around for her top.
She hated watching her go. But if everything went to plan, then after this weekend, all this could be hers. She could watch Sophie dress every morning if she wanted to.
The thought caught in her chest, spreading warmth through her whole body.
The idea of her and Sophie actually being together, living together, building a life together.
Sophie tripped over a container of rice and then snorted a laugh. “Sorry about that. It’s a bit cramped in here. Let me clean it up.”
“Leave it,” Tilly said. “Let’s move in together.”
“What?” Sophie stopped and looked at her.
Tilly flushed but stuck to her guns. “Let’s move in together. After you’ve told your family, once everything’s out in the open. Let’s get a place together.”
Before she knew what was happening, Sophie was back in her arms, littering her face with kisses.
“Okay, okay,” said Tilly, fending her off. “You have to go. You’re going to be late.”
But she was secretly pleased that Sophie was as enthusiastic about the idea as she was.
THE WEATHER HAD turned even chillier over the last week or so and it was firmly the beginnings of winter. There was no snow yet, but it couldn’t be far away. Tilly could smell the sharp bite of coldness in the air as she walked to the police station.
“Morning,” Max said as she got in.
“How long have you been here?” she asked in surprise.
“I like an early start,” he said. “I needed to catch up on some paperwork. Besides, it’s nice to have a bit of quiet in the morning sometimes.”
Tilly grinned. “The kids giving you hell?”
“I love them to death,” he said. “But I don’t know where I got two such chatterboxes from. Mila agreed to deal with them this morning and she’s going to get a lie in tomorrow when I take them to school.”
“Seems very fair,” Tilly said, thinking how nice it must be to have someone to take half the responsibility from you at times. She smiled to herself. She did have someone. Or almost.
“You’re looking in a good mood,” Max said. “Let me guess, Sophie Farmer?”
Tilly hesitated, then nodded.
“Glad to see that someone’s happy,” was all he said before turning back to his paperwork.
It was on the tip of Tilly’s tongue to say something, perhaps to ask if Max would like to talk, or to say that she’d noticed there was stress in the house, or something. But she was rescued by the front door opening.
“Hello,” she said, turning around to see Len Dodds. “What can we do for you this morning?”
Len came to the desk. “It’s about… the same thing as before.”
Tilly sighed. “I know, but there’s nothing we can do about cars using the road behind your house, Len.”
“I know that,” he said. “And I know that you needed proof that something was going on.” He reached into his pocket. “So I got proof.” He laid a USB stick on the wooden counter between them.