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“Take all the time you need. You’re not in my way.” Liam sliced some apricot cheddar and arranged it on a small plate. “I bet you would like a shower. You’re free to use mine.”
He had her there. The kink in her neck screamed for a hot shower. “That would be really nice.”
He opened a drawer and pulled out a corkscrew. “Would you care for a glass of wine?”
“Actually, I’d kill for a brandy if you’ve got any.”
“It’s good to know your palate has moved beyond strawberryQuik.” Sophie’s nervous face instantly disappeared behind a laughing snort. There. Now she was relaxing. “Brandy it is. Do you want to take it with you? You could take a bath if you wanted and enjoy it there. I promise not to peek.”
Sinking into a hot bath sounded absolutely delightful and seeing as she was here for the night she might as well get comfortable. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”
“Soph, the only thing causing me trouble is you walking on pins and needles around me, all right?”
“All right. Thank you,” she said with a small smile.
“What are friends for? You can use my robe. It’s hanging on the bathroom door. Everything you’ll need is in there.” He pointed in the direction of the bathroom. “Just look in the cupboard.”
He poured her a glass of brandy and she took it, saying thank you with another smile, then headed toward the bathroom. “Take your time. There’s only the one toilet though, so if I have to go, you’re going to have to hide yourself.”
“What?” she stopped short and spun around nearly spilling her drink.
Liam grinned. “I’m only joking. There’s another bathroom. Not that it’s ever been used. You’re my first houseguest.”
“Your first overnight houseguest you mean?”
“No, I mean that apart from my parents you’re the only one who’s ever been here.”
“Really? How long since you bought this place?”
“It’s been a few years now—more for a retreat, though. I didn’t really move in until recently.”
Sophie took a few steps closer to him. “Why did you move back?”
Liam gave a thoughtful look, one that she recognized very well. “It was just time to return home, you know?”
Whether she meant to, Sophie nodded and returned his thoughtful gaze. “Yeah,” she said slowly. “I know. Right, well, I’m going to take you up on that bath so…”
“Take whatever clothes you want from my bedroom closet and later I’ll wash your clothes for you if you like.”
Liam, ever the thoughtful one. “Thanks.”
Sophie padded her way across the thick carpeted living room where a hot wood fire burned inside a brick fireplace. She admired the warm, earthy tones of the room. He had a lovely home. It was so… Liam. She hadn’t ever been inside this house before now, but she knew it. Knew him. His presence was everywhere—the worn books on the shelf, the faint trace of his cologne, the quiet order that made her feel safe. It wrapped around her, familiar and steady, like coming home.
Sophie stepped into the bathroom, turned on the light, then shut the door behind her and leaned against it. Her shoulders sagged beneath the weight of the day—of the weeks, really.
She had tried so hard to keep her distance from Liam. To keep things simple. Safe. But here she was, stranded at his house for the night, with nothing but time and the ache of old feelings pressing in.
She padded across the floor to the bathtub and turned on the hot water. Steam quickly began to fill the room, curling around her like a cocoon. She slipped out of her clothes, slowly, each layer feeling heavier than the last. Naked, she caught her reflection in the mirror and hesitated.
There wasn’t much time—or energy—to pick herself apart, which was a relief. If she really let herself look too closely, she’d probably lock the door and never come out. She looked tired. Like someone who’d been fighting too long, trying to hold everything together with frayed string.
But Keefe had been right: Liam didn’t care. He never had. He looked at her like nothing had changed—like she was still the girl he’d loved once, only now with a few more cracks. And he saw right through them.
It terrified her.
It also comforted her more than she wanted to admit.
Maybe all her worries had been for nothing. Maybe.
