Chapter 3
3
SOPHIE
T he next couple of days followed a similar pattern: Sophie and Gavin continued to exchange heated gazes and mildly flirtatious banter while she and Felicity continued to develop a bond.
But on Thursday, Gavin was oddly cold. He didn’t meet her eyes once in class and was instead focused on writing furiously in a small notebook. The abrupt change was disappointing and confusing. But at lunch that day, the way Mary hung all over Gavin and redirected his gaze anytime it came close to falling on Sophie seemed to be the explanation for his changed behavior.
Felicity was chatting with Conor, so Sophie cast about for something to distract her from focusing on the dull ache that Gavin’s inattention left her feeling. She eyed Shay. He had his head bowed as he got lost in whatever was playing on his headphones, isolating himself once again.
Sophie nudged Felicity. “I’m going to introduce myself to Shay.”
“Don’t do it,” Felicity warned. “He’ll take one look at you, see this pretty blonde, and faint before he can conjure up a word to you!”
“It can’t be that bad!” Sophie said. “And besides, he shouldn’t be left out like this.”
“All right, then. Have at it!”
Sophie stood and headed toward Shay. Glancing back, she saw Felicity and Conor huddling together as they watched the scene unfold. She also saw Gavin interrupt his storytelling to see where she was going.
Stopping in front of Shay, she waited a moment for him to look up and acknowledge her. When he continued to stare at the ground, she heard giggles behind her. Refusing to be dissuaded, she bent over at the waist, inadvertently providing a teasing view down the front of her shirt which was probably what finally caught Shay’s attention, making him jump to his feet, his cheeks flushed. The scene elicited a few hoots and more snickering, which only made Sophie more determined. Wasn’t Shay their friend? This felt too much like the mean behavior she had endured back home.
“I’m sorry,” she said, smiling. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Shay responded with silence and furrowed brows.
She tapped her ears to suggest he remove his headphones so they could speak. He reached up and pulled them from his head.
“Hi. Shay, right?” she asked.
He nodded, dumbfounded.
“I’m Sophie. I’m new here—from America. I just wanted to introduce myself.”
There was a long silence as she waited for him to say something.
“I’m Shay,” he finally said, and then blushed again. “Shite—you already know that.”
The group broke out into riotous laughter and applause at Shay’s awkward response. He looked down and started to put his headphones back on.
“Wait,” Sophie whispered, stopping him. “Take my hand, say something. Anything.”
Hesitating, Shay glanced at his friends who were watching him expectantly. Then he took her hand in his.
“Well, then, it’s lovely to meet you,” he said.
“Very nice to meet you, Shay. Thanks so much,” she said. And because she wanted to prove to Shay and his friends that he was worthy of extra attention, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.
“Yeah, Shay!” Felicity shouted and was joined by the other kids in clapping and whistling.
When she turned back, there was nothing Mary could do to keep Gavin from meeting her gaze. It looked like he wanted to say something. There was longing in his eyes and she suddenly desperate to know what he was thinking. But the bell rang and she was quickly caught up in the crowd heading to class.
“Hey,” Gavin said, catching Sophie by surprise as she was leaving school. “I’ll walk with you.”
She glanced at him, trying not to reveal how thrilled she was by the prospect of spending time with him. She knew she shouldn’t want his attention this way. He had a girlfriend. But there was just something … irresistible about him.
“Oh, sure,” she said.
“You’re not far past where I live, I think. On Alma, right?”
“Yep,” she said, surprised that he knew where she lived. “I guess everyone knows everything about me?”
“People do talk. But no, you’re still a mystery to most.” He paused. “Though, what you did today with Seamus tells me a lot about who you are.”
She shot him a look and held it, but there was no taunt in his blue eyes. Instead, she saw admiration.
“You can’t possibly know how much that meant to him, Sophie. He’s incredibly shy, but he still wants to be included. You somehow saw that right away.”
She shrugged. “I’ve always rooted for the underdog.”
He laughed. “Are you calling my friend a dog?”
She blushed. “No, that’s not what I meant.”
“I know. I’m only messing.” He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and her skin instantly warmed with his brief touch. “I suppose us giving Seamus hassle looks harsh to you, but it’s all in fun.”
“Maybe,” she said, trying to focus on their conversation rather than the physical effect he had on her, “But I know that ‘fun’ can sometimes cross a line. And today, I just thought he looked like he needed someone. And I … like to be needed. To help, if I can.”
He watched her for so long that she finally turned away and focused on the sidewalk. There was more concrete than greenery in this neighborhood, but the narrow, mostly attached houses were well-tended. It wasn’t like affluent, oversized, Menlo Park where she grew up, but she found it charming.
“How come you’re the only one who calls him Seamus?” she asked, mostly to keep conversation going. “Everyone else calls him Shay.”
“I sort of re-christened him.”
“You what?”
“His parents are pretty much useless. He and his brother raised themselves because they’re so incompetent. They couldn’t even be bothered to put his full name on his birth cert. So, I’ve given it to him. It’s just a little thing.”
She smiled. “I think that’s wonderfully sweet.”
“Well—” he started.
“Gav, where do you think you’re going?”
Sophie followed the indignant voice calling after Gavin and saw a man across the street gesturing at them. His brown hair was slicked back with some kind of product that left it looking greasy rather than styled. He’d missed a button so that his shirt was done up crookedly. Though he appeared to be only a few years older than Gavin, his sloppiness and hectoring tone made him seem practically middle-aged.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Gavin replied dismissively.
“In my hole, you will! You know you’re meant to be coming straight home. I’ll tell Da, so I will.”
“Fuck’s sake,” Gavin muttered.
“That’s your brother? Do you need to go?” she asked.
“It’s grand. Let’s just keep on.”
“What does ‘in my hole’ mean?” she asked.
The grim set to his expression broke as he laughed. “Darlin’, I’ll tell you later. Let’s go.” He took her hand then and picked up the pace.
It was a confident, protective move that made her smile. And the way he called her darlin’ made her whole body tingle.
His brother shouted after him. “That’s your problem! You always think the rules don’t apply to you! Like you’re better than everyone else!”
Gavin kept walking, kept holding her hand. And soon, too soon, they were on her street.
“Sorry about that,” he said and released her. “My brother is a bastard. There’s no other word for it. Hopefully, you can ignore him like I do. Though, I’ll admit I’ve had a lifetime of practice and so have quite the head start.”
She laughed, but there was something in his expression that gave her pause. His brother wasn’t just an annoyance, there was more to it. The thing he’d said about Gavin thinking he was better than others came back to her. It was what Gavin had told her when they first met. She realized that he’d probably heard that quite a few times and had mirrored it without even realizing it.
“That must be hard, not getting along with your brother?” she suggested.
He shrugged reflexively.
“I don’t have any siblings,” she continued. “I always wished I had a little sister. Someone to take care of and play with.”
Something flickered in his eyes, turning them dark and troubled. Without thinking, she reached for his hand.
“What did I say? Are you okay?”
He pulled away from her grasp and tried to smile. “Of course.” Taking a deep breath, he turned to the house where they’d stopped. “This is it, right? How is it living with people you don’t know?”
“Um, they’re nice. I’d met them once before when they were visiting with my parents in California to go over the expansion here. They’re busy. Not really around much. So, it’s kind of like I’m still home.” She laughed to try to distract from this confession.
“Ah, then you’re better off than me. I live with people I know but they’re not very nice,” he said with a bitter laugh.
She furrowed her eyebrows. “Even your parents?”
Another dismissive shrug from him. “My da and I don’t see eye to eye all that much.”
“And your mom?”
He hesitated and she got the feeling he was deciding what exactly he would say.
Finally, he confessed, “I lost my Ma when I was seven.”
She could see the pain of that loss in his tortured expression. An ache spread through her chest at the way he still grieved after all these years. This brief time together allowed her to see another side to him. Before, he’d come off as alternately combative, charming, and confident. But it was in their shared moments of silence and the personal things he’d confessed to her that she recognized the vulnerability he tried to hide beneath his otherwise animated personality. It drew her to him even more. It made her want to protect him.
Moving closer to him, she said, “Oh, Gavin, I’m so very sorry.”
When she reached for his hand once again, he didn’t pull away. After a moment, he relaxed and she unconsciously used the pad of her thumb to make slow, sweeping movements over his inner wrist. It was an instinct to soothe him from his upset and it seemed to be working. She could see the hurt in his eyes start to fade.
“That you, McManus?”
The voice calling out came from across the street. Gavin released her hand and they both stepped away from each other as if caught. He turned to the boy and waved.
“Aye, it is. What’s the craic, O’Leary?”
“Nothing much. Oh, but are yous going to The Basement on Saturday?”
“Is your cousin at the bar?”
“He is.”
“But, like, for real this time?”
The kid he’d called O’Leary laughed and held up his hands. “Yeah, for real, I swear.”
“Then I’ll see you there.”
“Grand. I’ll make sure you and your pals are taken care of.”
Gavin thanked him and turned back to Sophie. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. As long as you’re okay? You know, what we were talking about before … that’s such a hard loss.”
“I am. I just …” He hesitated for a moment before leaning toward her so that his lips grazed the shell of her ear. “You’re a lovely person, Sophie Kavanaugh.”
And then he walked away, leaving her wanting so much more.