Page 94 of All the Gossip from Paris
Could this be any more awkward?
She sucked in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. “Where I go today will depend on you. If you want me to leave France with you, then I will.”
She dropped her gaze to the carpet, fighting back the almost overwhelming urge to burst into tears.
“But if I’m not what you want…” she said. It took some effort, but she managed to force a smile to her lips. If he didn’t want to be with her, she would respect his decision. It would crush her soul, but she’d do it.
“If I’m not what you want, then I will find somewhere else to go. The one place I won’t be going back to any time soon is Marly-le-Roi. I’ve quit the atelier. I’m not going home.”
As Liam moved closer, hope rose in her heart.
It died a little when he stopped moving forward, and came to stand just out of arm’s reach.
Liam tucked his hands into his jeans pockets. He looked as nervous as she felt, but there was a calmness in his voice when he finally spoke.
“What about Patrice? Your father seems pretty certain that the two of you have a future together.”
Sophie shook her head. “I’m sorry about the interview. I don’t know what Papa was thinking. He’s just set in his ways about these things. Patrice must have read it and figured I’d said something to my father.”
The whole messy situation by the river this morning had been truly awful. She’d even felt sorry for her ex. For him thinking he still had a chance. Since she’d met Liam, there hadn’t been anyone else she wanted.
“I can’t be your fallback position, Sophie. Been there. Done that. Have the heart broken scars to prove it. If you are in, you have to be all in.”
This might well be the hardest conversation she’d ever had with a guy, but Sophie was oddly happy that it was taking place. Both of them knew what was being risked here. The pain of abandonment, of future heartbreak. Before they took a step forward, they had to know the other was ready to commit.
“You’ve never been second in my thoughts Liam. From that first night in New York, I knew the path that lay before me. It just took a little time to find it.”
She nervously raked her fingers through her long locks, taking the time to tease a knot free when she reached the end. “When you first came to Paris for the wedding, I felt I had to stay away from you. Not because I didn’t want you. But because I couldn’t handle the thought that you only saw me as a one night stand.”
He chuckled softly. “Is this the part where you say you are just a girl standing before a guy asking him to love her?”
Sophie nodded as tears filled her eyes. Trust Liam to have been paying attention during that wonderful scene in Notting Hill.
“But with the promise that you would never be cast aside. That you will always be first. I love you Liam.”
There, she’d said it. Told him how she felt.
In one swift move Liam closed the distance between them, taking Sophie into his arms. As he wrapped her up in his embrace, holding her to him, he whispered. “I love you too Sophie. You made me believe in love again.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You have been at the front of my thoughts and heart from that first night we met in New York. The second I laid eyes on you. When you were doing such a terrible job of trying to convince the security guy to let you in. I didn’t know who you were, but I knew you were special.”
She lifted her head, and through a sheen of tears met Liam’s gaze.
“If you’re willing to put up with a pampered princess as your new travelling companion. Then I want to go with you.”
He laughed. “If I recall correctly, you never handed in your notice as my assistant. Which means you’re still contractually bound to come travel the world with me.”
“Just as long as my duties include kissing you whenever I want,” she teased.
Liam brushed a kiss on Sophie’s lips. “That goes both ways.”
He kissed her again. This time his lips lingered. Sophie melted into Liam’s embrace. When he deepened the kiss, she was with him. Tongues tangled in a delicate dance.
She loved Liam when he was unleashed in bed. But this tender side of him held her heart. It always would.
“I do want you with me Sophie. But you don’t have to come on every trip. Your design work is important. You get to choose how you live this new life.”
