Chapter Thirty-Two
Seated beside Jennie at the conference table in Mac Campbell’s office, Sophie struggled to focus her thoughts on the business at hand. Her heart throbbed with an unfamiliar ache. How very absurd that she should go all atwitter over a man like Gavin Stanwyck.
“Sophie, I do hope you’ll take some time to consider your choice.” Jennie’s mouth thinned. “Alex does not require a definite commitment until the end of the week.”
“I realize this change of heart must appear quite sudden,” Sophie said. “I will allow myself another night to mull the decision before notifying Professor Quinn.”
Matthew Colton entered, settling into the chair beside his wife. “I’ve just returned from a meeting with the Home Secretary. He extends his gratitude to Miss Atherton for a job well done.”
Sophie held back an unexpected wave of emotion. “Thank you.”
“I concur with his assessment. You’ve done a fine job, Sophie. We are indeed fortunate to have you aboard,” Colton said. “Having said that, I encourage you to become a part of Professor Quinn’s upcoming endeavor, if the prospect appeals to you. Your position with the agency is entirely secure.”
Across the table from Jennie, MacAllister Campbell penned a notation on a diagram. Stone-faced, he cast Sophie a glance, offering a nod of affirmation before he turned his attention back to the document. He’d taken the truth of Rebecca Beddingham’s betrayal hard. The man had trusted his secretary for so many years. Perhaps, he’d cared for her more than she’d known. Judging from the pain he tried to hide, her actions and death had carved a hole in his heart.
Another woman now sat at Miss Beddingham’s desk, a precisely spoken widow whose salt-and-pepper hair framed an exquisite face.
“You can’t go in there.” Mrs. Jenkins’s shrill tones drifted through the closed door.
A heartbeat later, the door swung open. The secretary pursued the man who’d dared to intrude.
Gavin.
Sophie’s heart thudded against her ribs.
What in blazes is he up to?
Campbell came to his feet, blocking Gavin’s path. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I have unfinished business with Miss Atherton.”
Sophie stifled a gasp. Why is he here?
Campbell shook his head. “This is neither the time nor the place. Leave now.”
“What I have to say cannot wait.” Gavin turned to her. “I was wrong, Sophie. So bloody wrong.”
His raw words ripped through the shell Sophie had erected around herself. Damn him.
“How very interesting.” Jennie leaned back in her chair, fixing him with a wry smile. “Just when I thought Hades would become a frigid wasteland before you would ever speak those words, Mr. Stanwyck.”
“Admitting I am an utter fool does not come easily,” Gavin said. “But I cannot risk losing Sophie.”
Colton eyed Gavin as if debating whether to toss him out on his arse, wound be damned, or hear him out. He shot Jennie a speaking glance.
“Do go on, Professor,” Jennie said. “Or would you prefer that we afford you some privacy?”
Gavin shook his head. “Thank you, but I do not require privacy for what I am about to say. Sophie, you have an opportunity to work with one of Britain’s foremost Egyptologists. You must pour your energies into your passion.”
Sophie’s insides jumbled in knots. Emotions she desperately tried to hold back scorched her throat. “I don’t understand—”
“As I’ve said, I was wrong,” he went on. “I thought I was doing the right thing…being noble, as you put it. But I was a damned fool.”
Sophie pulled in a breath, slow and controlled. Her heart found a new beat. “Gavin…this is so very sudden. So very unexpected. I don’t know what to say.”
He raked a hand through his hair, in that way of his. “I understand. I should not have come here.” Facing the others, he offered a brisk nod. “My apologies for the intrusion.”
His footsteps heavy against the wood, he left her, closing the door behind his broad back.
Campbell shot Jennie a glance. “It seems my suspicions were correct.”
“As usual,” Jennie said.
Misery clawed at Sophie’s heart. She turned to Colton and Jennie, expecting to see scorn reflected on their faces. “I broke with protocol. I should have kept my distance.”
A hint of a smile touched Colton’s mouth, a rare thing. He slanted Jennie a glance. “Mrs. Colton and I both have experience with breaking protocol. Don’t we, Jennie?”
“You could say that.” Jennie rested her chin on her folded hand. “Well, Sophie, what are you waiting for?”
Sophie’s stomach executed a perfect somersault. A smile tugged at her mouth. “Right, then. I should go after him.”
She raced from the room, through the halls of the venerable building, to the street.
“Gavin!” She spotted him at the corner, one foot on the bottom step of his carriage. “Wait!”
He stopped in his tracks. “Yes, Sophie.”
She stared up at him, blinking against the sun. “Did you mean what you said?”
“Every bloody word.”
“So, what precisely does this mean?” Sophie studied his face, trying desperately to read the nuances of his solemn expression. “I’m trying to understand where this is leading.”
A thin smile broke through the somber set of his features. “It’s quite simple, really. I want you with me, Sophie. Every day of my life.”
“Is that so?” She flashed a challenging smile.
“Yes,” he said, his voice a low rasp. “If you’ll have me.”
“As it turns out, I’ve decided to stay in London.” She pulled in air, as if that would ease her pounding pulse. “I am amenable to your proposition.”
To her surprise, he gave his head a strong shake. “Sophie, you must not forgo the position with Professor Quinn—not for me.”
“Then how…how can we make this work?”
He took her in his arms, pulling her to him. “I will accompany you, if you wish me to be a part of the endeavor. If not, I will wait for you.”
Had she heard him correctly? After all, with the street noise, she might have misunderstood. “You would wait for me?”
“Of course, Sophie. I would prefer to travel with you and share my knowledge even as you work with Professor Quinn, but I’d be content just knowing you would return to me.” He bent his head, kissing her with a light caress. “We can make this a grand adventure, darling—the first of many.”
Her heartbeat accelerated. “Oh, Gavin…”
“I love your smile and your laugh. I love the way you feel in my arms. I need you more than I’ve ever needed anything in my life.”
Around them, curious pedestrians craned their necks, and carriage drivers slowed to look their fill. “Gavin, I do believe we’re causing a scene.”
“I don’t give a bloody damn. Let them see for themselves what a lucky man I am. For so many years, I’ve pursued rare treasure. But you, my love, are the rarest treasure of all.”
She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. “Gavin, darling, I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes, Sophie. Tell me again that you love me. Let me hear the words, and I’ll justify your faith in me. From now until I take my last breath.”
Tears clouded her vision. She blinked them back. As long as she lived, she’d hold this moment in her heart.
“I love you, Gavin. I want you by my side. Now. And forever.”
He enfolded her in his arms. All around them, pedestrians hurried along, and carriages rumbled over the cobbles. Sophie knew full well all eyes were on her. Somehow, it didn’t matter if the Queen herself looked on. At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to be in Gavin’s arms.
“Get on with it, Stanwyck,” Bertram called from his perch on the driver’s bench. “Kiss the girl.”
The heat in Gavin’s eyes made her knees weak. He grinned. “The fellow wants me to kiss you. A real kiss. Right here. Right now. Should we oblige his request?”
“Absolutely.”
His mouth claimed hers, tender and passionate, the caress a physical embodiment of the love that would bind them together for a lifetime. And beyond.
“You’ll always have my love, Sophie,” he whispered. “Forever.”