‘Do I look that bad?’
‘Bad, no. Tired, yes.’
He raked a hand through his hair and took a breath. What would she say if she knew the reason was more down to her than the jet lag and all the travel put together? She occupied his mind day and night, keeping him alert, keeping him on edge as he wrestled with what he felt for her.
She surprised him by scooting over to him and cupping his cheek, her thumb grazing against his five o’clock shadow. ‘You should take a leaf out of your daughter’s book and admit defeat. Get some sleep. We have days ahead to enjoy and I don’t want us getting in the way of Lily’s birthday trip.’
And then she kissed him, her lips soft and gentle and a complete contrast to the fire coming alive inside. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close as he sought to deepen the kiss, to take all that she would give.
She was as breathless as he when she broke away, and in no way ready for sleep, but still she said, ‘Goodnight, Jack.’
He reached for her hand as she rose. ‘Don’t go.’
She smiled down at him, releasing his hand slowly. ‘I have to, and deep down you know that too.’
Did he? He gazed up at her, his eyes stinging with the effort. He was too tired to analyse, too het up to worry about it; he just knew his instinct was to keep her close.
‘Go to bed, Jack. Tomorrow’s a new day.’
She pressed a kiss to his forehead and made for the door, looking back over her shoulder to say, ‘Move before you fall asleep right there...’
And then she was gone and his eyes were closing, his glass tipping in his hand and acting as the wake-up call he needed.
Bed. She was right; he needed sleep. There would be time for them another night.
And this holiday was about Lily’s birthday above all else, just as she’d reminded him, just as he should have remembered too.
Maybe he was more jet-lagged than he’d first realised...jet-lagged and in too deep...
He’d never felt more out of control in a
ll his adult life. Entirely off balance. It was scary, unsettling and enough to have him moving to bed in the hope that tomorrow, after a decent sleep, he would at least have a better handle on it all.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
‘COME ON, DADDY, the car is waiting.’
Lily was hopping from one foot to the other, looking up at Jack imploringly and Sophia felt for her. This wasn’t exactly the morning she’d had planned either, especially when today was her birthday.
The first full day of their trip and Lily’s birthday breakfast had already been interrupted by a call from London that Jack just had to take and now, over an hour later, he was back on the phone again, dealing with the same issue. Some difficulty with some takeover or other. Not that Sophia could piece it together from the one half of the conversation she could hear but it had Jack scowling down the phone as they stood in the hotel lobby waiting for him to finish.
‘Sorry, sweetheart...’ he covered the bottom half of his phone as he spoke to her ‘... I’ll be done soon.’
Lily looked to Sophia. ‘Can we go outside and play in the snow?’
Sophia felt Jack’s eyes shoot to her even as her skin prickled and her stomach twisted. She wet her lips and gave Lily a small smile. ‘Let’s just wait for Daddy; he won’t be long.’
‘Lily, just be patient,’ he said, and Sophia gave him a grateful look for understanding, even as she felt foolish for her overreaction. She had agreed to come here; moreover, she’d witnessed an entire snowstorm last night and survived it. But going outside in daylight, surrounded by it...it was different.
Lily crossed her arms and gave a little huff.
‘Hey, come on, he really won’t be long.’
Lily didn’t look convinced and if Sophia was honest she wasn’t so sure he’d be done soon either since he was pacing back and forth in the lobby now, deeply engrossed.
A family of four chose that moment to come bustling into the lobby, a girl and boy not far off in age from Lily herself. The parents headed to Reception while the two kids laughed their way out of the big glass doors and kicked off a snowball fight just outside.
Lily watched them through the glass, the wistful look in her eye tugging at Sophia’s heartstrings.