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“Really?” That cheered him up a little too much.
She nodded. Yes, the odds of anyone being good enough for Liam in Sophie’s eyes were pretty small.
Her instincts had been correct. He didn’t just want to be friends. And even though she couldn’t promise anything, he wanted his friend back, no matter what. Her heart cracked open a little more. And this time, she didn’t try to hold it together. She wiped a happy tear from her eye. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, Soph.”
Once again, silence filled the room, albeit a comfortable silence with the crackling fire.
“So, do you have any other paintings here? You know, other than the one of me naked?”
Liam nodded slowly with a smile. “Yes. In the back is a room for my work.”
Sophie straightened up and pointed. “This way?”
Liam nodded, but didn’t follow her right away. He wanted to savor this quiet moment. Sophie was back in his life and where their relationship went he didn’t know, but one thing was for sure: he wasn’t letting her go again.
And now she was here, in his house, wearing his clothes, drinking and talking just like old times.
Liam couldn’t think of a day he’d felt better than he did right now in this very moment.
From way in the back of the house, Sophie’s gasp of delight was heard. “These are amazing!” she cried while circling the room, admiring each picture on the wall. Then she stopped in front of one. “Oh, my god. No way.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he stepped inside the room.
Sophie admired the painting that hung before her—a breathtaking view of Derrynane Beach, where the ruins of the old abbey stood watch from their perch on the hillside. She remembered the day she’d bought it clearly. It had been yet another wretched day with her ex-husband, the kind that left her feeling hollow and worn. But then she had seen this canvas brushed with memories, not of sorrow, but of pure joy.
The painting captured everything she had loved about those long-ago days with Liam and her family. The sweep of white sand, soft as silk beneath her feet. The dark, jagged rocks rising from the shoreline like ancient sentinels. Even the swimming hole, where sunlight dappled the water in shifting gold and sapphire, was there. It was more than paint on a canvas—it was a portal to a time when she had been truly happy.
“I have this one! Well, had it—back in Massachusetts. I remember I was out shopping one afternoon. Bobby and I had a huge fight, and I broke most of our plates. So, we needed more. Anyway, I went to the store, and I saw this picture and was mesmerized. I just had to have it. So, I went home with this and no plates—which, of course, pissed him off more, but when I threatened to have a go at his grandmother’s precious china, he backed off. Liam, I had no idea you painted this!”
Liam smiled. He’d been thinking of her and their summer days when he’d painted it. “That’s part of a collection I sold to a distributor in America.” Blushing a little, he cupped his hand over the back of his neck.
“I always knew you had it in you. These are all amazing,” she said turning in a full circle for another gaze. Then she looked at him standing there, a man who created some of the most stunning scenes she’d ever seen, humble with his hands in his pockets and she wanted to hug him. Show him how proud she really was. But she didn’t. Something inside held her back.“Well, it’s late. I should go to sleep now.” She passed by him leaving the room and returned to the living room.
“Of course, you take my bed.”
“I can’t do that. I’ll be perfectly fine here on the couch.”
“No, you’ll take my bed. I’ll sleep out here.”
Sophie nodded. Liam had always been a gentleman. “Okay. Goodnight.”
“I think there’s a fresh toothbrush in the bathroom. I know you hate going to bed without flossing your teeth and brushing. Help yourself.”
After brushing her teeth, Sophie went to his bedroom and pulled back the blue flannel covers and got in.
It wasn’t long before she got out after tossing and turning. Nothing about this sleeping arrangement felt right and there was only one thing for it. She went to the living room where Liam was, alone. “Are you awake?” she whispered from the doorway.
Liam sat up on his elbow. She was in the next room in his bed without him.
Of course, he was awake.
“Soph? What is it?”
“Well,” she stammered a little then looked into his concerned eyes. “I won’t sleep a wink knowing you’re out here.”
“Love, I told you, I don’t mind at all. Honest.” He lied through his teeth.
