AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After we’ve stripped out of our clothes, we slip under the covers, and I pull her to me.
I want to make love to her. I want to lose myself in her and forget all about this whole bullshit situation.
But for now, I need to just hold her.
And because Sophie knows me so damn well, she curls up against me and buries her face in my neck.
“I love you,” she whispers under my ear. “And I’m with you all the way.”
“I love you, too.” I tighten my hold on her. “Thank you.”
Knowing that she’s on my side is everything.
She’s all I need.
“Have you called your dad?” Sophie asks two days later. Two hellish days of medical appointments and being interrogated by investigators, and that’s all on top of the endless interviews and press conferences.
People want to discuss it into the ground, over and over again, and all I can say is no comment, and I didn’t do that.
I’m sick of hearing the sound of my own voice.
“No,” I reply as I set the glass from the green smoothie she made me into the dishwasher. “And I won’t be.”
“Personally, I think you should confront him, Ike.”
“Thanks for your opinion.”
Yeah, I sound like a dick. I don’t fucking care. I’m so tired of all of this, and we’re still at the beginning.
“Hey, I’m not trying to be a nag, I just think—”
“I love you,” I interrupt her and turn to take her shoulders in my hands. “More than anything. Hell, I love you more than football, sweetheart, but I don’t want to talk about this, okay? I need a break.”
“Okay.” She offers me a small smile. “Sorry. I know it’s been a rough few days. Let’s take the afternoon off from all of it. No work talk.”
“Yes, please. What do you have in mind?”
“Let’s hop on a ferry over to the best island there is, have lunch at an awesome Irish pub that just happens to be in the family, by marriage, and then we can come back here, or my place, and have marathon sex.”
“Wow. That sounds like the best day ever.”
“And we have to turn off our phones. We’ll take them with us, just in case of an emergency.”
“Even better.” I lean in and kiss her. “Let’s put this plan into action immediately.”
“What about Buster?”
We both look over at the big dog, who’s been watching and listening. He’s a smart dog.
“Actually,” Sophie says, thinking it over. “I bet my cousins would enjoy having him over at the compound. There’s always someone home, and he’ll have another great yard to play in.”
“Do you think they’d be okay with that? That’s a big imposition.”
Sophie just shakes her head and reaches for her phone. “Nah. I’ll text Liam and see if someone is game.”
She is quiet as she taps on the screen, and then she grins.
“Liam and Hudson are home and said to bring him over.”
“Let’s go.”
It’s been rainy today, so we grab jackets and scarves for the ferry, and we’re off. We drop off Buster at the compound, and he doesn’t even look back at us as he’s welcomed inside with lots of pats and excitement. Then, it’s a good drive into the city to catch the ferry, but before long, we’re loaded up onto the ferry, my truck safely parked below, and I’m on the deck with Soph tucked under my arm, watching the city fade into the distance.
“I needed this today,” I say softly. “And I’m sorry that I’ve been a dick a lot over the past couple of days.”
“You’re not a dick; you’re frustrated,” she replies. “Trust me, I’m not a pushover. If I thought you were acting like a complete ass, I’d call you out on it.”
“Good.” I kiss the top of her head and breathe her in. “Tell me about this pub and the island.”
“Okay, this could require more spreadsheets.” She laughs in that sweet way that makes me feel warm inside. “I have a cousin named Anastasia. She’s actually a second cousin of mine, a first cousin to my dad.”
“So far, I’m following.”
“She married Kane O’Callaghan, the glass artist.”
“The one with a whole freaking museum dedicated to his work here in Seattle?”
“That’s the one.” Her smile is brilliant. “I take it you’ve heard of him.”
“I think most people have heard of him. Okay, so you’re related to Kane O’Callaghan.”
“I am, by marriage. And his family, which is also a big one, lives on this island. They own O’Callaghan’s Pub and are very Irish. Some of the O’Callaghan siblings work there, in the pub, and some do other things, but pretty much all of them still live and work out here on the island.”
“That’s pretty cool.”
We’re quiet for a while, and then she snaps her head up and stares at me with horror.
“Oh, shit.”
“What is it?”
“Damn, I forgot to tell you something. Don’t get mad, okay?”
