Page 52 of While You Sleep

I stilled, realizing in that moment that I wasn’t pretending. The thought hadn’t even occurred to me. With her, it was coming naturally, a part of me I thought was long dead, a part of me Seamus hadn’t managed to beat out of me. “I know,” I rasped.

A part that only Sophia could access.

I lifted her carefully, sliding out of her, and turned her to face me. I held her gorgeous blue eyes. “I know.”

Chapter Seventeen

Sophia

Fiona sipped her drink. “I can’t believe you live here. I mean, this is…wow. This view is insane.”

Things had calmed down the last week. No one had tried to shoot at us, and Paolo was still in Italy and staying there, according to his uncle, which meant Cillian had eased up a little.

Well, he’d let Fiona come and visit. I still wasn’t allowed to go off on my own, and Conor or Danny were always here, but still. “It’s definitely taken some getting used to.”

Fi tilted her head toward Conor, who walked by below us, in the middle of a perimeter check. “Who’s the hottie?”

“Conor, the head of Cillian’s security.”

“First, Cillian needs security? And second, and more importantly, does Conor have a girlfriend?” Fiona walked to the railing and waved down at him when he glanced up.

He gave her a flirty grin and swaggered off.

“He does actually.” But now I was questioning the seriousness of it.

“Not sure he knows that,” Fiona said with a smirk. “Right, let’s move cocktail hour poolside.”

* * *

Several hours later, we were sitting on the steps in the shallow end, past tipsy and laughing our asses off. Cillian had walked out thirty minutes ago with his laptop and a glass of Jameson, and he’d been working there since.

Fiona cackled and held out another shot. I took it and we both downed them.

“This was an excellent idea of mine,” she said.

“It really was.” My life had been insane the last few weeks. I’d been betrayed by my own father, married off to the O’Rourke monster, my stalker, who had murdered his brother on our wedding day but had also protected me. He’d thrown himself over me when I was shot at. I glanced his way. He was also obsessed with me and turned me on like no one ever had. That was a lot to process, and my feelings had become confusing as hell. My emotions were all over the place, heightened, and seriously conflicted. I wasn’t sure I knew myself anymore, my moral compass was seriously on the fritz, and that was really scary.

I tried to stand and plonked back down. “I think we might have had one shot too many.” Yep, I was totally slurring my words.

“You know,” Fiona slurred back, “I think you’re right—”

She kind of slumped to the side, tipping over, her head going under the water. “Shit!” I grabbed for her, unbalancing myself.

Conor was suddenly there, scooping a sputtering, laughing Fiona from the pool, at the same time strong hands lifted me out as well. Cillian hoisted me up. “You’re done, pet.”

“No…hang on. I’m…” My head spun. “I don’t feel so great,” I said, staring up at him.

“Not surprised,” he said in that sexy-as-hell accent.

I twisted in his arms. “Fiona, I feel like shit.”

“I think I’m gonna hurl,” she called back as Conor carried her in the opposite direction. “It’s okay, though. Mr. Hottie security guy’s gonna take care of me.”

Conor shook his head, a grin teasing his lips, and carried on walking.

“Where’s Conor taking my friend?”

“Home,” Cillian said.

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