After lunch, Kari dragged Sophia to a lingerie store.

Kari pulled open the door and waved Sophia inside. Sophia wanted to run the other way, but the look on Kari’s face told her she was going to give Sophia a fight if she didn’t comply. So she hesitantly slipped into the store. Once inside, she just stood awkwardly by the entrance, watching Kari pick up different pieces of lingerie and hold them up for her to see.

“You’d look amazing in this one,” she said, waving a particularly scandalous black item.

Sophia grabbed it—her face turning red—and hung it back up. “Are you serious, Kar?”

Kari laughed and picked up a dark blue nightie with lace trim. “Okay, geez. The teddy is the wrong direction. What about this one? It’s modest but sexy.” She held it up and waved it in front of Sophia’s face.

Sophia studied it. It was similar to what she normally wore to bed, but much, much shorter.

“Ooo, you can wear it with this,” Kari said, holding up a black thong.

Having had enough of standing by while her best friend picked out things she would never wear, Sophia turned and made her way to the other side of the store. She rifled through some cotton underwear.

“What’s wrong?” Kari asked, stepping up next to her.

Sophia sighed. It felt like the weight of the world was pressing down on her. She’d gone from pure happiness last night to a wrecking ball beating at her heart this morning. Noah was changing right before her eyes, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Noah had promised her that he wouldn’t lie to her, but from his distant behavior, she knew that was a promise that he could no longer keep.

“Nerves, I guess,” Sophia said as she absentmindedly picked up a pair of underwear just to set it back down again. She grabbed the strap of her purse as she wandered over to the bras.

“Nerves? You’re worried about marrying Noah?”

That was only half true. She had been completely ready to jump into a marriage with the Noah from last night. Now? She could already see him halfway out the door. With the appearance of her father, everything had changed. “Yeah,” she breathed out, wishing she could tell her best friend everything. She needed an outsider’s opinion. Was she acting crazy? Was she just displacing her own fears onto Noah?

Ugh. This was all her father’s fault. He blew into her life and immediately screwed everything up.

Kari glanced over at her. “What happened? You two seemed so perfect at the party last night.” She grabbed onto Sophia’s arm. “He doesn’t have a secret wife, does he?”

Sophia snorted but then paused. Could he? Noah didn’t get to where he was today by being a saint. Then, she shook her head, feeling stupid for even entertaining those thoughts. Noah wasn’t capable of sticking around long enough to get married. The Noah she knew ran at the first sign of something real. It was only a matter of time before he used some lame excuse to claim he couldn’t be here any longer. Her father showing up was his perfect out.

“Hey, ladies,” Rebecca said from behind them.

Sophia’s face burned as she turned to see her standing there with a few bras in her hand.

“Hey Bec.” Thankfully Kari wasn’t stunned into silence by embarrassment. She could still figure out how to form sentences.

Sophia nodded as she willed her body to cool down. It was just her luck that Noah’s ex-stepmother would see her picking out lingerie.

“How’s the wedding planning coming?” Rebecca asked, giving Sophia a sympathetic smile.

Sophia shrugged. Here was yet another person she’d lied to. She wanted to say that everything was slipping from her grasp. That she was pretty sure her dad and Noah would disappear before the wedding even took place. But, if she said that to anyone, that would open the door to a whole host of questions she couldn’t answer.

If James and Noah left, not only would they abandon her, they would leave her to clean up their mess without really being able to talk about it.

So she forced a smile and nodded. “Great. Really great. I can’t wait until Sunday.”

Rebecca studied her for a moment. “I look forward to it as well. You two are perfect for each other.” She smiled as she patted her items. “Well, better go pay for these. My lunch break is almost up, and Suzanne will kill me if I’m not back to relieve her.”

They said their goodbyes, and Rebecca made her way over to the register.

“Awkward,” Kari said as she returned her attention to the black lace teddy she’d picked earlier. “You’re getting this,” she said, pulling it from the rack.

“What? No. Kar,” Sophia started, but Kari just waved away her words.

“It’s my bridesmaid gift to you. You have no say.” She clutched it in both hands as if she expected a fight.

Sophia wanted to protest more, but the two men walking into the shop drew her attention. Great. It was Noah and James. They paused at the entrance and were looking around the shop. When Noah’s gaze landed on her, he made his way toward her.

“What are you doing here?” Sophia asked, folding her arms. She hated the fact that just seeing him rattled her. She wished she was stronger. .

Noah’s gaze slipped over and then down to the teddy Kari held in her hand. As if she suddenly realized what she was holding, Kari tucked it behind her back.

Sophia hated that Noah looked flushed when he returned his attention to her. She could only imagine what he was thinking. Sure, if their marriage was for real—like she’d allowed herself to imagine last night—there would be a very good chance that he’d see that tomorrow night. But not anymore. Not when she wasn’t sure what to believe. Had he meant what he’d said last night? Or was it all a rouse to manipulate her?

Noah cleared his throat. “We need to leave.” There was a hint of worry in the furrow of his brow. Something had happened.

“What?” Kari asked. “Oh no. She’s not letting me throw her a bachelorette party, the least you can do is let me spend the day with her.”

Noah glanced over at Kari. “I’m sorry. We have to go. We have a…cake emergency.” He met Sophia’s gaze.

She swallowed. Something was really wrong.

“Cake? We just saw Rebecca. She didn’t say anything about that.” Kari scoffed.

Sophia smiled over at Kari. “I should go. He seems pretty desperate.” Reaching out, she hugged her best friend. At least someone in her life was consistent. Kari, at least, would never lie to her.

When she pulled back, Kari looked disgruntled. Sophia patted her arm. “I’ll be fine. You can kidnap me on the wedding day, and we can get our hair done together.”

Kari furrowed her brow but then sighed. “Promise?”

Sophia nodded. “Promise.”

They said their goodbyes, and Sophia turned to Noah. “Let’s go.”

James followed after them as they stepped outside into the bright afternoon sun. Sophia squinted as she glanced up and down the sidewalk. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

James and Noah were silent. They looked stressed but not like danger was imminent. She slowly let out her breath as she followed after them. When they got to the car, Noah held open her door, and Sophia made a point of not looking at him as she got in.

James started up the car and they took off down the road.

Sophia glared at Noah. “Want to tell me what that was about?” she asked, folding her arms.

Noah glanced up at James and then over to her. “You weren’t safe.”

Sophia groaned as she watched the trees whip past them. James was definitely speeding now. Speeding…out of town. Worry rose up in her stomach. She straightened as she caught Noah’s eye.

“What is going on?”

When Noah pursed his lips, she wanted to punch him. “Why aren’t you telling me the truth?” She dropped her voice. “You promised.”

That seemed to hit its intended target. Noah’s expression softened.

“Sophia, I…” He swallowed. She could see the pull inside of him—his desire to be honest with her. He was confused and worried. And she wasn’t going to let up. She deserved the truth, and after all these years, Noah had to think the same.

“Someone’s following James,” he said.

She saw James’s gaze flick up into the review mirror.

“Noah,” he said his voice tinged with warning.

Sophia glared at James. She wasn’t surprised that he would attempt to halt Noah. When it came to lying, her father was king. He wouldn’t tell her the truth if his life depended on it.

“Why can’t he tell me this? He’s just being honest. You—you’ve never been honest. Not to me. Not to Ben. Not to mom.” Her voice grew quieter as she spoke. The memories of the people she loved came flooding back to her, strangling her throat and making it hard to breath.

James had grown quiet as he focused on the road. The whole car was silent. Fifteen minutes down the highway, James exited. After heading down a dirt road for a few minutes, he pulled off into a field and parked.

“Get out,” he commanded.

Sophia glanced over at Noah, who looked as confused as she felt. James was outside, pacing next to the car. Sophia got out and slammed the door.

“You were not safe back there,” James said as he turned to point toward the town.

“And why is that? Who did you bring here?” Sophia held her ground, folding her arms over her chest, and stared James down.

James stopped and eyed her. “You don’t know what you are dealing with, Sophia. These are bad men. More of them are showing up.”

“And you work with them. What does that make you?” She was so mad that she was shaking. How could her father put so many people in danger?

Regret passed over his countenance as he dropped his gaze. “I’m not a saint, that’s for sure.”

She scoffed. “Yeah. Not how I would categorize you.”

Her father winced, and for a moment, she regretted what she’d said. Her father had made a lot of mistakes in the past, but she wasn’t perfect. She’d made mistakes too.

James’s shoulders slumped as he shoved his hands into his front pockets. “You don’t understand. Leaving you was the last thing I wanted to do. I never wanted to hurt your mother or Benny. Or you.” His lips turned down as he closed his eyes.

Was he telling the truth? She wanted to believe him. But her mind was telling her to keep her distance. James Lewis was a liar. He always had been. And even though she wanted him to change, he always would be.

“Then why did you leave? Why did you let it happen?” She stepped back so she could lean against the car. With how hard her heart was racing, she feared that she just might pass out. Saying all of these words out loud scared her. It opened her up to getting hurt.

James turned to study her. “I was a fool. An idiot. I got wrapped up in something that I couldn’t change. If I didn’t leave, they would have done worse. They took your mother and Ben. I couldn’t let them take you too.” She could see the tears brimming his lids.

James looked much smaller than his six-foot frame as his shoulders slumped and his head dropped. He was hurting too. But she couldn’t get over the fact that he’d brought this on himself. She hadn’t had a choice, but he certainly did.

“Then why didn’t you get out? Why did you get into this lifestyle to begin with?”

James scrubbed his face and then studied the ground. She could see him take a few deep breaths before glancing up at her.

“Can we talk about this somewhere else?”

Sophia nodded. “Sure.”