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Sophie caught sight of my poor manners at the same time she gulped down a sip of wine.
Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she began to cough, a violent hacking cough.
“Oh shit,” I stammered.
I was just about to help when Sophie lifted a hand. “I’m fine,” she managed, her voice slightly hoarse. She clapped her chest twice with her right palm and added, “Just went down the wrong way. And you should probably use a spoon, Alex. This is a fancy establishment.”
“You’re right. I apologize for my bad manners. My etiquette is usually far better than this.” I picked up a bouillon spoon, showed it to Sophie, and dipped it into the contents of my bowl.
The next course came—a lobster thermidor paired with a viognier.
“Isn’t this just magnificent?” said Erica across the table. Over the last hour, she’d caught my eye several times, always looking away so fast I almost doubted the interaction.
“Absolutely gorgeous,” added Dr. Michaels. A few other people, including Gregory, murmured their agreements, some with their eyes closed, enjoying every morsel, and others with their eyes scanning the table, licking their lips.
Sophie giggled, her shoulders shaking. She took another gulp of her wine and leaned over in my direction, possibly letting me in on a joke—I could think of several—but somehow her elbowmissed the side, and she toppled into me, her hand skating right over my thigh.
The touch was so soft, so quick, yet Sophie jerked back. Her eyes widened as if she feared for her life, and before I could tell her that it was fine, that it was just an accident, she shoved her chair back and rose so fast that a few heads looked up in our direction.
“I’m fine, I just need some air,” she said, although I hadn’t asked her, and tilted her head to the glass doors that led out to a garden.
“I’ll come with you.” I was up before Sophie could tell me to stay. Before she could run away like I knew she wanted to. Her face was like a book, everything she felt written in her expression.
Outside, the air was crisp and a soft breeze whistled through the trees, their shapes only visible as shadows at the edge of the garden. Despite the coolness, the scorching spot on my leg where Sophie’s hand had landed moments ago had yet to dissolve. A simple touch like that shouldn’t have such a huge effect. But it did, and the only reason I could think of, the only thing that would make sense, was because I’d only slept with one other person in the last four years.
The last woman who had touched me was my ex-fiancée.
“Are you sure you’re fine?” I asked, waiting just a few feet away. Moving too close or too quick could scare her off, and that was the last thing I wanted.
Sophie turned to face me. She smacked a grin on her face, a grin I didn’t believe for even a second, and said, “Perfectly fine. Just a lot going on in there.” Then she bit at her lip and ran her palms up and down her bare arms, shivering.
Quickly, I shrugged out of my blazer and walked to her, wrapping it over her shoulders.
My fingers caught onto her wrists, her skin soft and velvety.
“Thanks.” She smiled.
“No problem.”
It was Sophie who made the first move. She leaned toward me, and my hands automatically went to her waist, slipping beneath the blazer, as if they’d been waiting to do just that. I then stepped forward, closing the gap between us.
Sophie gazed up at me. In the light shining from the lanterns stuck to the wall of the restaurant, I could see those specks of brown in her right eye, four tiny dots, a simple mix of pigmentation, yet for some inexplicable reason, it felt so much more significant than that.
“You’re a little drunk,” I said softly, remembering how she had giggled and how her elbow had missed the table and hit my leg.
“No,” she said, shaking her head and skating her palms up and over my stomach until they rested on my chest. “I’ve never felt so sober in my life.” Her breath blew hot on my chin, the sweetness of the Chardonnay still lingering.
For a moment we stood there, hovering in a place between yes and no, between right and wrong, between a good decision and a bad one.
“I really want to kiss you,” I whispered.
Sophie nodded, so slightly I might’ve imagined it, yet it was at that exact moment that her arms encircled my neck and my mouth pressed down against hers.
CHAPTER 5
Sophie
Alex’s breath hit my lips and I melted into his lovely warm grip around my waist.
