I unlocked the door to the room with the key card my dad had given me. The suite was as I’d remembered it, with one exception: Sophie’s stuff was back.
The room smelt of her perfume. It hit me harder than my car had hit the truck and I inhaled as if it was the last breath I’d take.
“Soph?” I called out, not seeing her.
She knew I wasn’t mad. She knew I didn’t blame her. We’d exchanged a couple of texts while I was in the hospital, nothing heavy.
We need to talk but we’re goodwas how I’d left it. Straightforward. No point in her stressing. Or me.
Because I was aware she’d left for a reason and I didn’t know exactly what that was.
There was no answer. I dropped the bag I’d brought back from the hospital on the floor and head through the suite towards the balcony.
She was there. Sitting in the hot tub, her blonde hair wet and straight down her back, stuck to her skin. She looked thinner, tired, but still as goddamn beautiful as I’d remembered her.
She stood up when she saw me, started to clamber out of the tub.
“Liam…”
“Stay there. I’ll get in with you.”
“Are you allowed – the heat…”
“No one said I couldn’t.” I started to yank off what clothes I had on, scattering them where I stood, aware that she’d make some comment about how fucking untidy I was at some point and I was desperate for it.
“Liam.”
I felt her arms around me before I looked up. Then I felt the wet and the cold because we were outside in Iceland in early December and it was fucking freezing.
“Get in the hot tub before you end up ill.”
She laughed, but for once, she actually did what I suggested. I followed her in, every piece of clothing on the floor.
“I thought you’d look all skinny and wasting away.”
“They fed me well. Don’t worry. I’m almost okay. How were your flights?”
She winced and I was glad. It had fucking hurt, waking up without her being there.
“I’m sorry. I know that means nothing, because it’s just words, but I never apologise. Ever. I got back to England and wanted to come straight back again. I realised I’d fucked up.”
“Seph said. I believe you.” Because I did. Sophie was honest. I knew that. I didn’t doubt it. “But you still left. Why?”
“Space. Which I could’ve had here. I was scared.”
“Of what?”
“Hurting you. We were going from fake marriage to long term, you buying this place, having plans for the same bedroom in a house that we needed to buy – things changed so much.”
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you freak out?”
“Because one day I was playing in the Euston Tap and the next I was on stage at Glastonbury.” I shrugged. “I learned to listen to my gut because that was how I survived and sometimes you didn’t have time to get all the information.”
“When did it change? When did we stop being enemies and start being on the same team?”
I didn’t know. It just happened and I wasn’t sure when.
