Page 125 of Tangled Up In You

“I was in love with you for a very long time, Sophie. You know that. You have to have known that.”

The intensity of his deep blue eyes never wavered as he watched her response. For so long she had convinced herself that all he had felt for her was a basic sexual attraction. To think that it was anything more would have generated too many questions.

“No, I didn’t …” She trailed off.

“No?”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, and took his hand away from her hair. He closed his eyes.

She waited for more, waited for him to open his eyes and explain himself. But he didn’t, and his breathing began to grow steady. What struck her most were the times he could have tried to seduce her, the times when she was vulnerable after a fight with Gavin and he had been there and let her cry on his shoulder. But he hadn’t made a move since that kiss on the beach in Australia. That was almost ten years ago. He had always looked after her, let it be known that he cared for her. Now she moved closer to him, wanting to be as tender and sweet to him as he had been to her for so long.

He stirred then and wrapped his arm around her waist, folding her to him so that her face lay perfectly in between his neck and shoulder.

“Conor,” she said in a whisper, “did I do something to lead you on?”

“You didn’t have to, honey. All you had to do was be yourself,” he replied easily.

She hesitated, struggling for the right words. “Did I hurt you?”

He resumed playing with her hair. “All the time. You broke my heart a million times, Sophie. But you made it whole a million times more.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “You didn’t deserve that.”

He was quiet so long she wondered if he had fallen asleep, but his slowly moving hand in her hair told her he was still awake.

“No, I’ve gotten what I deserved. I’m not sorry.”

“What does that mean?”

“Shh,” he said, before kissing her gently on the lips.

She found herself returning his brief kiss, and when he pulled away and finally looked into her eyes again, she saw what he had been trying to hide. His eyes revealed pure adoration for her. She was the one to lean in and kiss him next.

The kiss was tentative and gentle. It wasn’t born out of passion, but of tenderness. But she knew that if they went any farther the sentiment would quickly change and lust would overtake them.

Conor was the first to pull away. He got to his feet and held out his hand to her. “Time for sleep,” he said.

She took his hand and stood with him. “Do you want to sleep with me? Just sleep? Or is that a really bad?—”

“No, it sounds lovely,” he said with a nod.

They held hands as they went to the guest bedroom she was using. Without turning on the lights, she pulled back the duvet and slid into bed. Conor didn’t bother to take off his shirt or jeans as he followed her into bed, and they held each other in the same effortlessly comfortable manner as they had in front of the fireplace.

Lying there with his arms around her, Sophie felt safe and cared for. There was no denying that she was drawn to him, to his steadiness in contrast to Gavin’s unpredictability. And to his genuine friendship. After all these years, she was also just as attracted to him as he seemed to be to her. Her mind raced until the steady rise and fall of his chest lulled her to sleep.

Sophie feltonly warmth and comfort and security that night. And when she woke to find Conor beside her, she was happy.

He lay on his back, one arm thrown over his head and his shirt mostly unbuttoned. His breath was even as he slept.

She let her eyes fall over his bared skin, aware that her attraction for him was threatening to overwhelm her better judgment. She had always scoffed at the notion that a person could be in love with two people at once, but last night had made her re-think that. It made her think that in another world, she could have happily been with Conor.

He stirred then, turning on his side toward her. Opening his eyes, he smiled, and then closed them again. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he brought her close to him once more.

Being in his arms felt so nice that she snuggled into him, slipping her leg in between his to get closer. The position got her intimately acquainted with the hard bulge in his jeans.

She knew they were done sleeping. His fingers skimmed under her T-shirt, stroking the sensitive skin at her lower back. In return, she ran her hand over his tight abs, tracing the definition with her fingertips.

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