Page 71 of Snowed In
Sophie says nothing, suddenly very interested in her phone.
“You still in Berlin?” he asks Jason, and he stares at the guy, a clear challenge in his gaze. The silence stretches out a beat too long before it breaks.
“Two years now,” Jason says. Megan lets out a small breath beside me. “How’s Australia?”
And just like that, everyone cautiously moves on. Aidan launches into what sounds like a rehearsed speech about life Down Under, and the attention slowly fades from us as it turns back to the pool table.
Megan pulls at my hand, obviously wanting to go, but that would just make the whole thing even more awkward, so I grab the only chair free and sit myself down before gesturing to her.
She gives me a confused look until I pat my knee.
Then she glares.No.
I smile back.Yes.
“I’ll stand,” she mutters, shifting on her feet. Or at least she does for approximately two seconds before I tug her down onto my lap. She lands awkwardly, and I fight back a wince as she lands onto what can only be described as a sensitive area.
“Relax.” I say the word so quietly that only she can hear it, and to my relief, she does. It’s not easy for her. I can feel how twitchy she is, but after a few seconds, her shoulders lower, and her back eases against my chest until she’s resting against me. And while it’s still not the most natural of poses, she no longer looks like she’s sitting on burning coals.
I drape a loose arm around her waist, keeping her steady while I place my other hand on her thigh, feigning interest in the game. I hadn’t thought much further than this. Nothing more than getting her over here, reintegrating her with her friends. I believed Megan when she said that people treated her differently after she left Isaac, but the fact that she never came back also never gave anyone a chance to get over it. I just need to get them talking.
“I know what you’re doing.”
I tense as she leans into me a little more. She does? “You do?”
“Your hand?” she murmurs, and it takes me a moment to realize she’s referring to the one on her leg. As if someone flipped a switch, I’m suddenly extremely aware of the heat of her body beneath the denim, and I shift under her, feigning casualness.
“This hand?” I ask, dragging it higher. “The one you’re making no move to stop?”
“I’m not going to stop you because you’re not going to do anything.”
“That a dare?”
“That’s a fact.”
“Sounds like a dare.”
“Christian—”
“Megan.” I inch higher, curving down her inner thigh just like I did in the car, but I barely brush the seam of her jeans before she grabs my fingers in a death grip. I go lax, accepting her limit, but she doesn’t move me away. And the pink splotches on her neck go a whole shade deeper.
“So, how long has this been going on?” Cormac asks, and I bring my attention back to the others to see Sophie eyeing us with barely concealed distaste.
“A couple of months,” I say, waiting for Megan to chime in. I pinch her leg when she doesn’t, but she just pinches me back.
Try, I want to tell her, willing her on. And after a beat, she does.
“How’s your mother doing?” she asks Jason, who immediately perks up. “I heard she went back to college.”
“She did,” he says. “She’s studying art history. Costing a small fortune, but she’s happy.”
“You know that’s your inheritance,” Cormac jokes, and the tension eases further as he takes another shot.
“What about your mam?” Jason asks. “She making you do her fundraiser again?”
“I don’t mind them,” Megan says. “Not like there’s much else to do around here.”
“You should come with us to the city next week,” Jason says, earning himself a sharp glance from Sophie. “We’re going ice-skating.”
