Page 27 of Tangled Up In You

By the time The Basement closed, Gavin was finally winding down from the adrenaline high of the performance. As he walked Sophie home, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gratefully leaned into her.

“Told you,” she said.

“Hmm?”

“Biggest rock star in the world.”

He laughed. “One gig in front of a very friendly audience is all it was.”

She squeezed his waist. “You were incredible up there, Gavin. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. And yeah, I know I’m biased, but I wasn’t the only one. You’ve got this magnetic energy. You had the whole crowd following your every move. This was just the start, I know it.”

“From your very kissable lips to …” he trailed off so he could press his mouth to hers. So he could taste her and tease her with kisses that went from deep and all-consuming to nipping at her bottom lip with his teeth. It had the effect he’d wanted as he heard her sigh just before a group of kids passing by jeered and whistled.

He ignored them but she pulled away with a whimper. “I have to go. I’m already past curfew.”

He kissed her again. “Break the rules. For me, darlin’.”

“I can’t.”

“You can. Rules are a fabrication, anyway. You and I don’t need rules,” he told her, holding her close.

Laughing, she said, “It’s not that easy. I have to go.”

“Then sneak me into your bedroom window and let me stay the night with you.” He kissed her cheek, then trailed his lips over her neck.

“Gavin, I’d get into so much trouble. Malachy and Lynne seem nice, but in the end, they answer to my parents.”

He sighed. “I know you’ve got it in you to rebel but I’ll let you off the hook. This time.”

“Thanks, baby. I’ll make it up to you.”

“I like the sound of that.” Grabbing her backside, he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

She gave him an amused smile. “Let’s go.”

13

SOPHIE

Just a few weeks before the school year ended, Sophie learned that her parents had set up a mini summer internship for her at their company without even asking whether it was something she was interested in, let alone checking to see if she wanted to come home right away rather than spend the summer in Dublin. She’d told her mom, of course, all about Gavin, but the depth of her feelings for him never seemed to register. It certainly wasn’t a factor when they’d decided she would be leaving the day after the school term ended.

As their time together dwindled, Gavin became more agitated, more prone to his bouts of darkness and wanting to withdraw. In an effort to keep his black moods at bay, if only for a little while, Sophie finally decided to break the rules and sneak out of her bedroom window one night to meet him.

“You are amazing,” he told her as they walked the dark streets.

“Where should we go?”

“There’s a party at O’Leary’s cousin’s house. We could stop by for a bit. Conor and the lads are there. I think Felicity might be there.”

It was these kinds of parties that she rarely went to because of her curfew. She should be excited to go and see her friends. But she’d expected that taking the risk to sneak out meant that she would be spending time with Gavin on their own.

Sensing her lack of enthusiasm, Gavin kissed her temple and told her, “We’ll go for no more than an hour. Then I’ve got an idea for us, okay?”

She smiled. “Okay. Is that why you brought a backpack?”

“Yeah. Just a few things that could come in handy.”

They jumped on a bus for the short ride to Sandymount, a neighborhood more upscale than theirs, and found that the house party was mostly contained to the kitchen and back garden where Nelly’s “Ride Wit Me” was blaring. Gavin led Sophie by the hand into the middle of the crowd, and she once again marveled at the effect he had on people. They moved aside, allowing him to become the center of attention, and then closing ranks around him, vying for his recognition. Sophie got her own warm welcome with kids saying hello and asking what took her so long to come around.

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