I Walked Away Seven Years Too Late But Right on Time novel Chapter 90

"Yeah, way better than I expected." Sophie took a bite and nodded at him. "It tastes amazing, too."

The hot food brought a rush of warmth to her body. The temperature outside was already high today, and now her cheeks actually felt a little flushed.

Gavin brushed the back of his hand against her cheek and said, "You finally have some color back."

As Gavin went into the kitchen to wash the dishes, she watched him through the glass door. Under the warm, amber light, the scene felt incredibly comforting. It looked exactly like the picture of 'home' she had dreamed of as a child.

When she was in elementary school, she loved going to a certain classmate's house. While her classmate's mom cooked, her dad would help them with their homework. After dinner, the dad would do the dishes while the mom sat in the living room knitting.

Sophie had loved watching their family. The parents would chat occasionally, mostly busy with their own tasks, but they would often look up to catch each other's eyes. The air in that house was always filled with a cozy, comfortable warmth.

As if Gavin had eyes in the back of his head, he turned around while drying his hands and smiled at her. "I'm going to wash some strawberries."

Sophie walked over and hugged him from behind, pressing her cheek firmly against his back.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday," Sophie whispered.

"You mean the drinking? You've seen me drunk, and now I've seen you drunk. We're even. Just... try not to drink that much again. Hangovers are brutal."

"Was I an absolute disaster?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah. A total disaster."

Gavin didn't spare her feelings in the slightest, and Sophie's face instantly burned red.

"But it also broke my heart."

Gavin turned around and pulled her into his arms. "Sophie, please don't drink like that again. There are so many ways to deal with stress. Don't rely on alcohol."

Gavin picked up a washed strawberry and popped it into her mouth. It was a sweet cream strawberry, bursting with sugary juice and a hint of rich milkiness.

"Sweet, right?"

Chewing on the strawberry, her cheeks puffed out, Sophie just smiled and nodded. Her lips were the exact same shade as the fruit, red and coated in sweet juice.

As Gavin fed her a second strawberry, he leaned in and captured her lips, stealing the fruit right back into his own mouth.

Before they even made it back to the living room, the entire box of strawberries was gone.

Gavin picked her up, letting her stand on his feet, and the two of them swayed in a clumsy, unstructured dance, slowly inching their way toward the living room.

But this scene made Sophie's chest ache with a sudden, sharp sourness. Once, she and Luke had shared this exact same moment.

Sophie opened her eyes to see Gavin offering his hand. She took it, and he pulled her up to a sitting position. He carefully re-buttoned the two shirt buttons that had come undone in the heat of the moment.

"Gavin?"

Sophie was entirely bewildered, completely failing to understand why he had suddenly stopped.

"I don't need you to do this, and I don't want you to do this. Don't do this just because you feel guilty."

Sophie looked at him, her eyes instantly welling with tears. She knew it was wrong, but she had no idea what else to do to fix it.

The heavy, passionate tension dissolved instantly into crushing awkwardness. Sophie sat there, totally at a loss.

Gavin pulled her into a tight hug, then quickly let her go. Being a saint was absolute torture, and he needed to get her out of this apartment immediately.

"We're going to the supermarket. I'm taking you on a hike tomorrow."

Gavin grabbed his jacket from the entryway and tossed Sophie her trench coat.

"A hike?" Sophie asked, barely processing the word.

"Yeah," Gavin said without further explanation. He quickly pulled on his jacket and led Sophie out the door.