Page 53 of Tangled Up In You

“And you don’t need me to tell you how special your daughter is—you’ve had her a lot longer than me. But I really aim to prove to you both how much I love her. She is the most important thing in the world to me.”

Sophie leaned into him and smiled.

“That’s nice to hear,” Steve said. “In fact, I wouldn’t expect to hear you say anything else.”

It was hard for Gavin to read his future father-in-law. He wasn’t sure what lay beneath his incongruously casual, pleasant manner, and it put him on guard.

Before he had a chance to go on the offense, however, Maggie interrupted. “How much longer will you be in town, then?” she asked.

“I, em, I leave with the band tomorrow, actually.”

“I see. So you must be planning a long engagement, so that you two can get to know each other again. That is, in between all this traveling.”

“We actually have five more gigs, then an awards show. After that we’ll be back in Dublin to work on our new album. We talked about Sophie spending the next few weeks sorting out how to transfer her university studies there and get her things ready in order to move. Because, though we have indeed agreed to a long engagement, we want to be together,” Gavin said.

Steve and Maggie shared a silent glance before refocusing.

“So, this big move,” Steve said. “You think this will happen, what, in time to start the new school year?”

“Yes,” Sophie said with forced confidence. “I’ll have USC help me with transferring to a university there. I could attend Trinity, Dad. It’s an amazing school. And being in Europe, in the heart of so much art history, it’ll be an even better education.”

“Well, Gavin,” Steve said, “you’ve certainly convinced our daughter this is plausible. But why don’t we cross this bridge when we come to it? We’ll see how it all hashes out, won’t we?”

It dawned on Gavin that Sophie’s parents were counting on this being some sort of passing phase, something that would fade away when they were separated. This belief seemed to free them up to simply enjoy a nice visit with their daughter’s guest.

Deciding it was most prudent to let her parents accept all this in their own fashion, Gavin nodded slowly. “Sure, you’re right. We’ll take it a step at a time.”

A brief silence ensued.

“So, what’s this whole rock star thing like?” Maggie asked, surprising Gavin so that he laughed quietly.

“It’s amazing, actually. It’s all I ever wanted to do with my life. And now I’m getting paid for it. The places I’ve seen, the people I’ve met along the way, though, that’s more than anything I ever imagined. I love it,” he told her. “But, please, tell me about your trip. It must have been fascinating.”

“It is the land of dust and wind. I think I’m still cleaning remnants of red dirt out of my ears,” Steve said with a laugh. “But it was truly beautiful. Out in the desert, it’s absolutely devoid of people. Just animals and silence. The silence was the most intense thing I’ve ever experienced.”

“Really?” Gavin edged forward in his seat.

Sophie’s parents proceeded to tag-team in detailing their experiences and Gavin was fully engaged, peppering them with questions. Their rapport was smooth and comfortable. Except for the fact that they held no stock in him being a part of their family, it was a very pleasant first meeting.

When Sophie and her mother went to the kitchen to piece together a simple lunch, Steve took the opportunity to show Gavin some of his photographs. Conversation over sandwiches continued to flow in an easy manner, and afterward Sophie pulled Gavin away for a quick walk on the beach before they had to head back to Los Angeles.

They took off their shoes and held hands as they walked toward the water.

“Does it bother you that they think this is a joke?” Gavin asked.

Sophie looked at him, silent for a moment. “No. I guess I can’t blame them. When we were getting lunch my mom asked me some questions that made sense. I can see where they’re coming from.”

“And where’s that?”

“She asked me if I had enough trust in you to basically live alone while you’re out on the road, living it up. If I’ve had enough experience with relationships to know that this is the one I want for the rest of my life. If I’ve even lived my own life long enough to know who I am and what I really want before I attach myself to you. If I was okay with all the media attention you get, and always being known as the girl who happens to be your girlfriend or wife. Oh, and if we’ve agreed on having children and when.”

He took a deep breath. “Shite. All that, aye?” he said with a laugh.

She gave him a small smile.

“Well, look, some of that I can help you with right now. Kids, I vote yes. Down the line, of course, but definitely yes. I think you’ll be an amazing mother.”

He knew telling her this would resonate deeply. Because she, of all people, knew how hard it was for him to have gone without a mother, so his confidence that she would make a good one wasn’t something he came to lightly.

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