quite the disappearing act.
She had changed; she seemed to have become the woman she had always wanted to be – classy as hell – most probably too good to be hanging around the likes of him. She hadn’t spoken much, but he had noticed that she spoke differently, with more sophistication than she had when she was younger. And unlike him, she had seen the world. Better her than him, he reckoned.
And those shoes…
And what was most surprising to him, was the fact that he was almost certain she had been even more affected by him, than he had by her – if that was possible. The woman couldn’t speak for crying out loud – that had to mean something. John had had enough experience to know when a woman was affected – and she had definitely been. He smiled recalling the whole scene – it was delicious… simply delicious.
And that tattoo, barely noticeable under the sleeve of her blouse, a sharp contrast to her conservative outfit – how he would have loved to know what that was all about.
And God… she was still beautiful. Those lips. And those huge dark brown eyes of hers… but there was still so much sorrow in them.
The sadness had been there when he had last seen her. And he could still see it in her, in her eyes. He wondered if there had ever been some happiness in them, at some point in her life, maybe when she had her son, before her husband died and her world was crushed again. It seemed so unfair to John – tragedy had hit her twice, and he felt hopeless to help. There was nothing he could do, as much as he wanted to. He had been useless before, and he felt just as useless now.
Lost in his thoughts, John realized that staying away from Sophie, as he had told himself he would, would be a lot more challenging than he had first imagined.
***
Sophie stretched under the quilted covers of her childhood bed, staring into the darkness, eyes wide open.
She considered getting up to make herself an herbal tea, which she sometimes drank when she was feeling particularly too awake. Lately, her insomnia had mostly been caused by work-related worries; deadlines, editorial projects – her mind working furiously on concept ideas into the wee hours of the night. But tonight, she found herself awake for an entirely different reason.
Why had he gotten under her skin? It was amazing this power he suddenly had over her. She had been the one with the power when they were young awkward teenagers. Now she was the one acting like a self-conscious teen.
Why had she been so nervous? It had been so surreal, so strange. Maybe it would have been less so if he hadn’t been so… gorgeous. He had said she had changed. He’s the one who had changed; gone was the insecure, awkward young man. And here was this gorgeous, confident man who looked like he belonged in an ad for… for what exactly, she didn’t know – something sexy. She had often thought about him, but he had been more like a blurry indistinct vision. It was hard to believe it had been over twenty years. And now he was real… all too real.
And… it was painful to look at him. Not only had this place, this house brought back sad memories – but seeing John’s face made the memories rush back even more so.
Chapter 5
GLORIA had arranged for a meeting to go over the interior renovations, first thing in the morning. Sophie had reluctantly agreed to be the ‘official’ Interior Designer; a job which would likely require many hours, and no pay, of course.
But she loved interior decorating, having undertaken all the renovations on the properties she and Marcus had shared; which included three different condos, a country home, and a cottage. That had always been the hardest part in selling a property – saying goodbye to all the hard work she had invested – a part of her was always left there in the wall colors, crown molding and countertops. They had been quite successful at buying and selling property, and had made quite a handsome