The moment I realize I’m waking up, I’m grinning like a maniac.

Sophie.

Then I realize I’m alone in bed.

What?

Surely she must be somewhere in the penthouse. But when I touch her pillow, it’s cold. She hasn’t been in bed for a while now.

My heart thuds and nervous adrenaline spikes my body. I leap up from my Egyptian cotton sheets and rush through the penthouse, looking for Sophie. A heavy knocking on the front door catches my attention and I wave away the butler, determined to greet Sophie myself.

Sophie must have done something sweet like going out for coffee, despite there being a fine selection of coffee here in the penthouse and staff to make it exactly the way each of us likes it.

“So—”

“Son.” My Father’s voice is withering as he glances at my naked body. “I hope for the sake of our family, you are not in the habit of opening the door stark naked. What happened to your butler? Is he sick?”

Father brushes past me and heads for the living room.

I stifle my disappointment, rush to my bedroom and quickly dress in a pair of slacks and a Balenciaga t-shirt, before stopping by the bathroom to quickly wash my face and try to smooth my blond hair back.

“I apologize, Father. I was expecting someone else at the door.”

“I dare say so.”

“Father, I’m serious about this girl. I’m pretty sure she’s the one,” I say, my hand nervously trying to smooth my hair. Father is big on appearances and I know I look exactly how I feel – frustrated and having recently rolled out of bed.

Father leans his large frame back on the sofa opposite me, his presence dominating the room. His laugh sounds more like a bark, and he just shakes his head.

“Gabriel, please. There’s no need to spin tales about your conquests.”

I take a deep breath, trying not to take the bait he’s hanging out in front of me.

“I’ve changed, Father. Really, I have. Sophie is special, she’s very different from the other girls I’ve dated.”

“Is she now? How come this is the first time I’m hearing of her?”

“This isn’t. Don’t you remember I mentioned a girl, when we Skyped?” I gesture for the butler and request some coffee. My mind moves at the speed of light, trying to figure out what happened to Sophie and trying to pay full attention to my Father.

“Oh, her? I assumed she was one of your playthings.”

“Father, please,” I sigh. It’s always been adversarial between us. He’s always wished I was more like him and I’ve always resented that he’s not been more supportive of my choices. Sure, I haven’t always been a model member of our royal family, but a little support might have changed that. “Did you bring what I asked you to bring?”

“I don’t know why you asked for this, since you’re not that kind of man. I do have it, though I’m not sure I should actually give it to you. You know what this would do to your mother and grandmother if something happened to it and it left the family.”

I meet the challenge in my father’s eyes and don’t back down.

“I’m absolutely sure, Father. I’m more sure of Sophie than I’ve ever been of anyone else in my life.”

Father raises his eyebrow at me. Par for the course, he doesn’t believe me at all and wants to believe Sophie is a dirty commoner, worse because she happens to be American. It’s a wonder he trusted me with the painting and to represent the family at this gala.

Ignoring my last comment, Father pushes himself up from the sofa and starts a slow walk around the penthouse.

“Was this the best place you could find?” Disapproval is heavy in his voice. He doesn’t seem to care this is a three-thousand-foot penthouse, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a stunning view of Puget sound, and a private infinity pool.

“It was available,” I shrug, not wanting to argue. I think this penthouse is perfectly fine.

“What’s this?”

I turn and see him looking at a sketch. As soon as I walk over to Father, I see that the drawing is pulled from Sophie’s sketchbook.

“This isn’t half bad,” Father says, narrowing his eyes as he studies the drawing.

He’s right. Now, I’ve had portraits drawn and painted of me since I was a child, but this drawing? Sophie captured a side of me I’ve never seen. She clearly drew this when we I took her to that museum, and I took that nap.

“Is this someone you know?” Father asks, placing the drawing back on the side table.

“Yes. That looks like something Sophie created. She’s quite talented.”

“The woman you’re interested in, she’s an artist?” The disapproval in his narrow eyes is potent.

“Yes, Father. She is.”

“Well, she’s quite talented. She’s managed to make you look like an angel, which we both know that you’re not. Even when you were a little terror as a child, you always looked like an angel when you were asleep. This Sophie captured that quite well.”

I stare at Father, stunned. That’s the nicest thing he’s said about any woman I’ve dated, ever, and it sounds like he’s being slightly sentimental about me. That’s unprecedented.

Picking up the drawing, I’m speechless. Sophie has, indeed, done a stellar job of capturing me. It’s clear that she cares for me, because there is so much affection in the way she’s drawn me. There’s a note on the back.

Got called into work. Sorry. Thank you for last night. xoxo

Relief overwhelms me.

“Excuse me, Father. I need to make a phone call.” I head for the bedroom and my phone, without even waiting for a response. I’m aware this is rude and that he’ll lecture me later, but I need to talk to Sophie, need to hear her voice.

“Hey.”

The sound of the espresso machine rattles in the background and I can hear the voices of customers.

“Hey back. I’m sorry about running out. You were sleeping so soundly and peacefully, I didn’t want to wake you up. I’m only here for half a day.”

“Are you ready for the gala?” I pace around my bedroom, kicking around one of my shoes.

Sophie giggles and it’s like a shot to my groin.

“I am. My dress is out of this world! Thank you so much!”

“I look forward to seeing you in it.” I smile. I look forward to stripping it off of her, too.

“And I look forward to seeing you in your tux. You’re going to be the handsomest man there.”

“You will be lovelier than anyone and anything there.”

“Stop,” she says, though she’s giggling again. “Look, I have to run. A group just walked in and Maggie is out on a break. I’ll see you tonight, for the gala.”

The moment Sophie emerges from her apartment building and I see her, I gasp with happiness. In her brilliant blue dress, she looks stunning and unbelievably beautiful. Her hair is pulled back from her pretty face and she radiates happiness.

“Hi there.” Sophie puts her hand on my arm and leans in for a kiss. “You look wonderful.”

The thought of skipping the gala and falling into bed with Sophie is a deeply, powerfully compelling one. I want to be close to her, physically and emotionally; to learn more about her and fit our lives together.

“You, Sophie, look amazing. You’ve picked a beautiful dress.”

“I think I have you to thank for this dress.” I hold the car door open for Sophie as she carefully steps in, gathering the full skirt protectively.

“You don’t have to thank me. I’m honored to have you as my date and you deserve everything in the world. Speaking of,” I slip my hand in the pocket of my tuxedo. “I have something for you.”

I present Sophie with a large velvet box and a whoosh of air escapes from her mouth. She lightly caresses the Mikimoto pearl necklace.

“Oh, this is too much! It’s beautiful!”

“Nonsense. I thought it would be good to give you a different kind of pearl necklace this evening.”

Sophie’s blush is immediate and absolute. She allows me to drape it around her neck and fasten the clasp. I kiss her from her neck to her shoulder, relishing her shivers of pleasure.

“We’re never going to make it to the gala if you keep that up.” Sophie turns to me, her breathing heavy.

Leaning in to kiss her, she plants her hand on my chest and stops me.

“Don’t you dare mess up my makeup. It took the makeup artist an hour to do this and it would take me longer. Besides,” she looks at me and smiles, “I believe there is a promise involving my lingerie…”

Sophie runs her hand against my chest and I’m sure she must feel the somersaults my heart is doing.

“You better fucking believe I’m keeping that promise.”