Page 105 of Tangled Up In You

A knowing smile came to her lips. “Then you and I are a good match—we both don’t want anything serious and we both could use some fun and distraction,” she declared.

He shook off the thoughts of Sophie this conversation had raised and focused on the beautiful young woman before him. “A good match. So that means we’ll be seeing each other again?”

She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “We can be friends. I’m not interested in anything more.”

He recognized this as a bit of game playing. The paparazzi attention they had already garnered was on a Gavin and Sophie level. He could foresee it only getting more intense if they continued on. Normally, he’d try to minimize the kind of drama being involved with someone like Colette seemed to promise, but both the timing of being between albums and the desire for simple “fun and distraction,” as she called it, was hard to resist.

“I would love your friendship, honey,” he told her.

64

CONOR

Less than a week later, Conor, still restless, made another trip. This time, it was to New York City, with the goal of seeing Colette. They’d spoken once and texted a lot since their time in London, and though she tried to play coy and keep up the pretense of them just being “friends,” he thought she’d welcome his visit.

She lived in a brownstone on Barrow Street where just enough sunlight filtered through trees to warm the back of his neck as he waited on the stoop for an answer to his knock.

She couldn’t conceal her delight when she finally opened the door. Wearing distressed cut-off jeans and a plain white tank top with several contrasting bead necklaces, she was a casual, but striking beauty.

“Conor! Are you’re really here?” she asked with a laugh.

“Happy to see me?”

“I am, but you should have warned me. I have plans in a little while.”

It was the risk he took, he realized. He’d gone as far as having someone in the Rogue organization track down her home address and contact her modeling agency to see if she was out on a booking before showing up here. But he knew that didn’t guarantee she’d be available. Though he wasn’t usually someone who settled, right now, he’d take what he could get. That meant starting this visit off right.

She was looking at him expectantly, so he dropped the small canvas weekend bag he had brought, wrapped his arm around her slim waist, pulled her body to his and kissed her deeply. In return, she grabbed his backside and pressed her chest to his. This was going exactly as he had envisioned during the taxi ride over.

“We’d better go in,” she said after they traded several more increasingly passionate kisses.

Inside, she led him straight to her bedroom but he got a quick glance around on the way. It was enough to see that it was sparsely furnished. Artwork leaned unhung at the base of the white walls, a testament to the nomadic lifestyle she led as an up-and-coming model.

The bedroom was just as spare, but they had all they needed.

“I can’t believeyou’re tossing me out,” Conor said with a bemused smile.

He was sitting on Colette’s sofa, watching as she transferred the contents of one purse into another that would better match the short black floral-patterned dress she wore with black suede high-heeled boots that came up to her knees. She had given him an hour of electric lovemaking before looking at the clock and telling him she had to go meet her friend for shopping. It was quite a change to have a woman use him for sex without wanting anything more.

“Oh, come on, Conor. I told you I had plans this afternoon,” she said distractedly.

“Can’t you cancel? I mean, I’m just here from Ireland, for fuck’s sake.”

“But I didn’t ask you to come. You planned this all by yourself,” she said.

“Colette, I didn’t plan anything. I’m here to see Shay.”

That wasn’t exactly true. But the fact that Shay was in town working on a movie soundtrack was a neat excuse he could leverage. It wouldn’t do for him to seem too eager.

“So go see him. I really have to get going now.”

Conor glanced down at the coffee table where there was a Cosmopolitan magazine with Sophie on the cover. Without thinking, he picked it up and studied the sexy photo. She wore a low-cut red dress and her hair was down and full of body as an unseen fan blew it back. Her hazel eyes were focused on the camera, conveying a compelling mixture of playfulness and sensuality. He was reminded of all the times he had stared into those eyes, desiring her body and soul. She had long ago become the ideal woman in his mind. Perfect … and unattainable.

“Well?”

The sound of Colette’s impatient voice pulled him from his brief reverie. “Hmm?”

“You’re going to make me late. Time to go.”

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