"Thanks for cooking. That roast was great," Sophie said, collapsing on the couch, and then reaching for her wine glass to take a sip of the Merlot they'd shared at dinner. "I felt like I was going a million miles an hour all day today, and it's finally caught up with me," she yawned, covering her mouth, then continued. "I'm exhausted. Hence my lack of sparkly-ness."
Daniel smiled at her. "My pleasure… it's nice to cook for more than one person. I feel like all I ever eat is leftovers when I cook for myself. And you're perfectly... sparkly."
"You can cook for me anytime," Sophie assured him, grinned at his use of 'sparkly', and then stopped. "That wasn't meant to sound quite so pleading… or seductive."
Daniel laughed, a low sound in his throat. "Plead, seduce… I don't mind."
Sophie eyed him carefully over her wine glass, but said nothing. She wasn't sure if that was flirting, if that was just conversation, if that was teasing…
She'd spent another evening with Daniel Davies, and was no closer to figuring him out than she was weeks ago when she'd first arrived in Hay and met her once-surly neighbor.
The man was truly an enigma.
She liked him, she knew that. Now that the prickly exterior was slowly being peeled away – very slowly, she found – she was coming to like the man inside. Daniel was still guarded about his feelings, his background, his everything, but he was beginning to let her in.
And that was making her fall harder. At first, it was just physical…
One look at his shirtless body had done that, Sophie mused, sipping her wine. But now, there was more to him than just pretty eye candy…
"Do you play?" Daniel asked, and Sophie had to snap herself away from naughty thoughts of playing in all sorts of filthy ways to focus on what he was saying.
Play? What were they playing?
"Sophie?" Daniel repeated. "Do you play?" Sophie refocused, and realized he was gesturing to the piano tucked in the corner of the family room.
She shook her head no. "I don't. I took lessons for a few weeks as a kid, but I howled every time I had to sit at the keyboard to practice. I regret it now – I can't even read music or play a single instrument. I love listening to it, though."
Daniel stood, setting his own wine glass aside and caressing the keys softly. "Do… do you play?" Sophie ventured after a moment, noting his slightly sad, slightly wistful expression.
Daniel gave her a small smile. "It's been a while, but yes. My mother was an amazing pianist, and she made me take lessons and practice for years. I got rid of the piano when she died, though, to make room for files and ledgers in the den. I kind of regret it now, but…"
Sophie sat up straighter. "Well, please, by all means, help yourself. I'd love to hear you play…"
Daniel looked at her shyly. "It's been a while…"
"I can't even play 'Chopsticks' – believe me, anything you can play will impress me," Sophie said with a teasing grin.
Daniel seemed to hesitate a moment longer, then slid onto the bench behind the piano, his long fingers dancing across the keys. He paused for a long moment, and then struck the first few keys.
Sophie lay back on the couch, closing her eyes as the sounds of a Beethoven lullaby began. Daniel's playing sounded flawless to her, modulating from loud to quiet, soft to forceful and back again. Her head lolled to the side as she felt herself being wrapped up in the music like a warm woolen blanket, and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.
**
Daniel looked down at Sophie affectionately, her eyes closed, her face soft as she slept. She didn’t look terribly comfortable on the couch, though, lying at a strange angle, so Daniel hesitated on whether or not to move her. After gazing at her for another long moment, he finally decided to try and take her upstairs to her own bed where he knew she would be more comfortable.
Sliding his arms carefully under her, he picked her up as though she was a slumbering child, and her arms wound automatically around his neck. He smiled as he inhaled her Sophie smell, felt her softness against him as he carefully trod up the stairs to the second floor, cradling her gently against his chest. He managed to navigate the hallway without turning on any lights, and within a minute had carefully deposited Sophie into the middle of the large bed in the master bedroom.
He carefully tugged off her shoes before lifting the duvet and laying it back down atop her, pulling it up to her chin and tucking her in.
She looked so peaceful… it was the most quiet Sophie had ever been, Daniel thought with a small smile, hearing her voice echo in his mind even in the silence.
He was surprised the pounding of his heart didn't wake her up.
What the hell was he doing, he mentally asked himself. What if she went away, what if she broke his heart, turned into another Rosa for him to have to survive…
But then again, what if this feeling inside of him never went away, and he walked around with a Sophie-shaped hole inside his heart for the rest of his life because he was too much of a chicken shit to take a chance on her?
This could be a huge mistake, he thought again as he continued to gaze down at her sleeping form.
But then again…
Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss to her hairline, and then quickly retreated down the stairs and out the front door, locking it behind him.
Thus eliminating his temptation to go back upstairs and crawl into bed beside her, tugging her body against his, letting her warmth thaw his decidedly chilly heart. No, if they ended up in bed together, when, hopefully, they ended up in bed together, she was definitely going to be wide awake...
He smiled at the thought, glad he'd locked the door after all.
Just too tempting, he thought as he crossed the dark lane and went into his own, cold home for the night.
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