Page 29 of All the Gossip from Paris
He touched a fingertip briefly to the back of her hand. It sent a jolt coursing through her body. “I’d never do that to you Sophie. What you and I shared that night might have been a mistake. But it was a magical one.”
Sophie nodded. “Ok. Thanks.”
She wasn’t about to explain to him the depth of trust issues she had with men. How her ex had torn her reputation apart among their friends. The look on Liam’s face told her he was genuine. That he had kept his word about the night they’d shared.
“I mean it Sophie. You can trust me.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “I believe you.”
Talk about a cat on a hot tin roof. Sophie was positively bristling with nervous energy. Here he’d been worried about making a fool of himself in front of her, but it was clear she’d also been dreading their first post New York encounter. If they hadn’t already agreed to let that night stay in the past, he’d have taken her into his arms and held her. Liam would do anything to show Sophie he didn’t pose a threat.
Oh god. She really does regret that night.
It hit him like a sledgehammer. While he’d been thinking all manner of sexy thoughts about her, and jerking off in the shower, Sophie had been stressing about him. About what he might have said to other people.
His track record in keeping his mouth shut wasn’t exactly a great one. Camille had to have told her sister the things he’d said and done. Any wonder she didn’t trust him.
Sophie raised a hand to her head, tucking one stray curl of her stunning brown hair behind her ear. From the time’s when he’d taken close-up shots of models, Liam could tell it was a nervous trait.
“Look if you want to give showing me around Paris a rain check I’ll understand,” he said. He’d rather give her an out than spend the day with Sophie knowing that her nerves were on edge.
A shy grin appeared on her face. “You clearly don’t know my family. When we say we are going to do something, we do it. And I promised both Cami and Mama that I would play host to you.”
Great. Now she feels obliged to spend the day with me.
He was on the verge of faking a headache when Sophie’s cell phone rang. She rummaged in her bag and pulled it out.
“Allô?”
Her whole posture changed before his eyes. The stiffness was gone.
“Oui, je voulais venir avec un ami aujourd'hui.”
Apart from oui, which he knew meant yes, Liam didn’t understand the rest of the conversation. But there was a lot of nodding, and smiling from Sophie. Something good was happening.
She hung up the phone. “That was the head curator of the Musée Yves Saint Laurent. He has agreed to let us have a private tour.”
“Oh ok, that’s good,” replied Liam.
“No, not good. More like what you Americans would call a ‘fucking miracle’. They never allow private tours at such short notice.”
She could sense that Liam didn’t have a clue as to how big a deal being granted access to the YSL museum and its archives was for them.
“Yves Saint Laurent revolutionized the fashion industry in the 1960’s, and became one of the world’s greatest fashion designers. The museum is located in his original atelier,” she explained.
He blinked slowly at her. Liam was a guy from New York, or somewhere close to that city. He probably didn’t know much about haute couture or the legacy of fashion legends.
“Cami said you were still interested in getting photographic work during Haute Couture Week. If you are serious about it, you’re going to have to learn a few things.”
“Yes, you’re right. I apologize, I was too busy thinking about us, and not about work. A tour would be amazing, Sophie,” he replied.
Her own relief matched that of Liam’s. If there was one thing guaranteed to keep her nerves at bay, it was being able to talk to other people about her life’s passion. About designing the most beautiful garments on the planet. Then bringing them to life.
Holding her hands together Sophie calmly announced. “We’re going to go to a few other places as well.”
He moved closer, and she was powerless not to inhale his divine manly scent. Not to crave Liam’s touch.
“The Yves Saint Laurent museum sounds great. I was going to ask if we could visit some fashion places today. My agent has made a few calls about getting me some work in Paris. But nobody in the fashion world really knows me, so my phone hasn’t exactly been running hot,” he said.
