I looked down into the red depths of my wine. I was still wearing an amethyst ring from the Fashion House. In the flurry of getting kicked out, I hadn’t taken it off.
“This dream is everything to me, Tristan.”
I didn’t want to speak so openly around Sophie, but she stood there, unhurriedly sipping her wine, watching us like two players on a stage performing for her.
“Clothes? How can clothes be everything to you?”
“They were never just clothes to me.”
And that was the truth.
“I just want you to be all right.”
“I know.”
Loudly, Sophie walked over to the cupboard and took another glass out. First, she poured more wine into her glass,and then filled the extra glass to the brim. She approached us and extended the glass to Tristan, making him step apart from me to take it. “Have some wine. It’s red, your favorite.”
I didn’t know that he liked red wine. In fact, I didn’t even know what his favorite beer was—or even his favorite food. All I knew was that he drank his tea black.
“Thank you,” he said stiffly, taking the glass from her. I took another long drink of my wine, letting the liquid send a wave of warmth through my body, but the wine’s astringency just tasted like my own bitterness. Why couldn’t I simply enjoy Tristan’s presence? Why did it feel like Sophie’s obvious interest in him diminished what we had, especially when Tristan’s hand was on my back and not hers?
“Look at you.” Tristan raised his glass to me. “Seems like you’ve already moved up in the world. We have wine instead of tea this time.”
His words were stronger than the wine. They were a sunbeam of warmth that cut through my wooziness. We didn’t have as many memories as he and Sophie did... but I loved the ones we did have, from that first time we’d met under the mural to our first kiss at the gala.
“It’s cooking wine, but it’s fine enough,” Sophie said.
“Is there anything I can do to help with the collection while I’m back in the city?”
“You can hire us some models.” Sophie spoke smoothly, almost as though I wasn’t there. “We need twelve. Factory girls will do.”
“All right. I can do that.” He glanced from me to Sophie andthen back again to me. If he’d been feeling awkward before, this was the first sign of it. “Well... I should probably get going. There aren’t any formal lodgings here, but the general store owner is letting me stay in one of his rooms for the night.”
“You just got here,” I protested. Even so, I knew he was right. Mr. Crowe wasn’t likely to wait up long for Tristan. “You came from so far.”
“It’s all right. I needed to check on you.” This time, he didn’t sayyou two, and I smiled, happy he spoke just for me. He took a final drink of his wine and stepped away to set the glass down on the table. Coming back to me, he leaned forward and quickly kissed me on the lips. “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too.”
He turned to Sophie.
“Have a good night.”
“You too,” Sophie responded. Thankfully, she didn’t embrace him like she had when he’d entered. We watched him walk the length of the kitchen to the dining room. Hardly thinking, I hurried after him.
“Tristan!”
I burst into the dining room. My motions made the door between the kitchen and dining room swing closed, shutting Sophie away. He stopped in the middle of the room, his face lighting up as he turned toward me. I rushed to him and his arms opened to enclose me. We kissed, only this time there was nothing quick or proper about it. It was exactly what I’d been wanting since he’d first arrived.
His lips were strong and insistent, and the kiss built intosomething that was fire and ice at the same time. It cut through the mist of the wine, awakening my senses into tingles that started at my lips and spread down through my body. His hands reached around to touch the back of my neck and they followed the pathway of my spine, tracing it through my shoulder blades and down, down, down before moving apart to settle on my hips.
Vaguely, I heard a door open. At first, I tried to ignore it, but the sound of heels on the floorboards rang out, and I knew she was there. Tristan didn’t seem to notice, his shoulders, hands, and mouth pressing into me, a force of energy that I didn’t want to stop. The footsteps moved to the outer side of the room. I pulled away from Tristan, my lips buzzing with the touch of his.
Sophie’s form walked along the perimeter of the room.
“Don’t mind me. I’m just looking for another bottle of wine,” she said when my gaze fell on her. Despite her comment, she stopped still, one arm folding across her middle, the other extending out to hold her wineglass.
With hooded eyes, Tristan turned to see her. His hands remained low on my hips, his fingers pressing into me, each one strong and demanding.
