Page 10 of Tangled Up In You

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.

4

GAVIN

The next day, the band had a rehearsal after school in Conor’s back garden and Gavin was pleased to see Sophie and Felicity join them as they were setting up. He was especially pleased to see that Sophie hadn’t changed out of her school uniform because he absolutely loved the sight of her long, bare legs.

He and the guys ran through sketches of the few songs they’d written, before spending most of the afternoon trying to fine tune a song called “Day’s Done” but it was still a long way from being polished.

Still, Sophie was impressed. “That was really amazing,” she told him as they ended the session.

He looked up from the small notebook he’d been writing in. It was where he kept all of his lyrics and song ideas. Sophie was the inspiration for the sketch of a new song he’d already written. “Amazing, aye?”

“I mean it,” she insisted. “Yeah, you’re just starting, but … I don’t know. There’s something about the way the four of you were feeding off of each other. And especially you and Conor. You guys really have something.”

What she said wasn’t funny, but his reaction was to laugh. Because her insight was so unexpected. She’d been really watching them, really interested in not just him, but who they were as a band.

He didn’t know how to react to being seen like that, so he reacted badly, telling her, “You my first groupie, then, darlin’?”

She didn’t like that. He could tell by the way she stiffened and her enthusiasm faded. He scrambled to change course, to do whatever he could to bring back that beautiful smile of hers.

“Don’t mind me. I’m only an idiot,” he said with a wink, relieved when she relaxed a degree. “Listen, we haven’t got a name for the band. You seem to have some good insights. Any ideas?”

She thought for a moment. “Well, what inspires you? As far as music, I mean. Who has inspired you to do this, to be a singer?”

“There’s quite a few on that list. But David Bowie’s the ultimate.”

“For a name, then, I’d say think about what exactly he inspires in you. Like, what do you love about the way his music makes you feel? Maybe something will sound right if you do that. For a name, I mean.”

He was again struck by her thoughtfulness. She had a generous way about her. What he had seen her do with Shay was no fluke.

“That’s brilliant, Sophie.” He hesitated before continuing. “Actually, do you know Bowie’s song ‘Heroes’?”

“Sure.”

“I got stuck on a line in it. It goes …” He sang the lines about being lovers and nothing keeping them together, followed by the idea of stealing time, if only for a day.

He was momentarily distracted by the effect his singing seemed to have on her. She was watching him with a far-off look, a trace of a smile on her lips. Those lips were perfectly, naturally smooth and pink. They looked so soft. So kissable. Bitable, even. Jesus, he wanted her.

But he was with Mary.

She had proclaimed her status as his girlfriend a few days before the start of school, making sure everyone knew it. He hadn’t minded at the time because he didn’t take it seriously.

Now, it seemed terribly inconvenient and not at all what he wanted. Because Sophie was who he was drawn to. This insane connection he felt with her was too rare, too precious to let slip away all because he’d let Mary stake her claim.

“What I get stuck on,” he said, forcing himself to continue, “is the part about stealing time. It’s such a powerful idea, you know, to be able to create a space in which there’s another chance to get it right, to say the right things …”

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