Page 54 of Tangled Up In You

“As for the other stuff, all I can say is that I will give you whatever you need to explore those questions. But I think if we commit to it, we can figure it all out together.”

Sophie watched him for a long moment, then smiled. “Wow,” she said softly.

“What?”

“You made everything okay. Just like that.”

Gavin smiled. “I do my best, darlin’. Now,” he said, looking up and down the spotless coast, “it’s a lovely day. Where is everyone?”

“Um, well, this is sort of unofficially a private beach for the homeowners. Public access isn’t actually very accessible.”

He shook his head in disgust. “What a waste. That’s really a horrible show of elitist bullshit.”

“Hey, it’s not my doing, you know?” she said with a laugh.

“Yeah, sorry. But capitalism at its finest is not always pretty, is it?”

Taking his hand, she led him closer to the water. “No, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take advantage of your access. Come, feel how nice the water is.” With a firm shove, she sent him knee-deep into the water, soaking his jeans.

“You are in so much trouble,” he growled playfully, and ran after her as she screamed.

30

SOPHIE

Sophie and Gavin were more than thirty minutes late getting to the studio for the Rolling Stone magazine photo shoot. The guys didn’t bother to mention the tardiness, though, once they saw Gavin’s decidedly un-rock star clothes. Instead, they mercilessly mocked him for the oversized khaki cargo shorts and yellow polo shirt borrowed from Sophie’s father after having taken an unexpected swim in the Pacific Ocean. He had enjoyed the warm water so much that they ran too late to do anything about his wet clothes. Steve’s gear had done well enough in a pinch.

Gavin went along with the jokes and even made some at his own expense, all while the reporter John Riley watched from the back of the room. But as Sophie raised her hand to push back her hair, she glanced over at Conor and caught him staring daggers at her.

He raised his eyebrows and directed his gaze to her ring finger as a question and she smiled with a small acknowledging nod.

“Hang on, hang on.” Conor held up his hands and got all their attention. “Gavin, are you serious with this?”

Gavin looked from Conor to Sophie and back again. “What’s that?”

Conor reached out and took Sophie’s left hand, holding it up to showcase the ring. “What the fuck is this all about? Tell me you are not getting married.”

“Yeah, that is the plan.” Gavin shrugged.

“You’re not even twenty-one yet.”

Gavin looked at his friend for a long moment. “Con, that’s got nothing to do with it. All you need to know is that this is the real thing.” He pulled Sophie to him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

“You’ve just fucked over the band. You know that?”

Sophie cringed at this declaration. It meant Conor was no fan of hers, that, in fact, he would blame her for anything negative that happened to the band. She also cringed at the fact that the Rolling Stone journalist was witness to all this.

“How do you figure that?” Gavin asked.

“A married lead singer? You’ve got to be joking.”

“It’ll be fine.”

“It’s a right fucking selfish move,” Conor grumbled.

“Listen, Rogue can’t be undone by this.” Gavin’s voice had been confident, insistent, but he searched Conor’s eyes. “Right?”

The energy shifted in the room as Conor hesitated. Sophie recognized the need in Gavin’s eyes. He needed Conor to not just accept this but support it. Gavin had always looked to Conor for approval, but this was something more. It was clear that if Conor didn’t validate the engagement, the dynamics of the band would be irrevocably changed.

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