I never intended to be the downer of the day, but Sophia’s admission about the phone call from her possible future employer completely blindsided me. For once, I didn’t curb my reaction. It put a wrench in my plans for sure, but I should have been more reserved. I didn’t care that Sophia had moved on with her life in a month. If she never worked again, I would think something was wrong with her.

The job offer itself didn’t bother me, but why did she feel she needed to lie to me? Were my intentions unclear to her? I wasn’t against her taking the job if that was what she wanted. Perhaps I had completely miscalculated the entire situation. Without being honest and forthcoming to her, she felt she needed to keep a part of her life hidden from me.

If there were a way to feel more terrible than I already did, it would be caused by leaving Sophia in Dallas while I returned home empty-handed.

My reaction had terrified her.

I tried to make up for it by brushing it off, but I knew I came across callous. It seemed like I had taken a bunch of steps forward in our relationship and huge strides backward. We were at square one again, and it was all my fucking fault.

For the rest of the evening, Sophia was quiet and reserved. I tried to make small talk, but after dinner, she shut down. We didn’t discuss Carrie or the job, even though I prompted her to. She had to know that I wasn’t the type of man who wanted to take away her choices, but I hadn’t given her the counteroffer yet.

I had somehow managed to end another amazing trip with Sophia in the same way as all the others.

No, this couldn’t be the end. I wouldn’t allow it. I was reserving that next step until tomorrow. Was it possible to move it up?

Even when we went to bed that night, after politely kissing each other on the lips, I lay awake for hours.

I was motionless enough that she had no idea I was still awake. As Sophia went through the normal phases of sleep, I stared at the ceiling, my eyes creating shapes in the plaster above me. The shapes turned to faces—angry ones. Was my subconscious messing with me?

Would waiting until the morning help me out at all? I had already blown it with that idiotic reaction.

When I was sure Sophia was asleep, I slid out of bed as quietly as I could and went to the window. Glancing out the window, the street lights created shadows across the concrete. The stillness of the night offered no new advice for me to follow.

The right thing for me to do was go back to my kingdom and allow Sophia to live out her life and dreams. But we’d already been there before and nothing good had come from it. We were both miserable.

Would it turn out the same? Would I wake up every morning and want Sophia with me? Of course, I would. But would Sophia move on in the same way that she’d started to before I turned up? If I had appeared on her doorstep any other day, she would have already had a job lined up, and we would be in a different place.

Did it mean something that I came to Dallas when I did? Did that mean we were meant to be, or was I sticking my nose where it didn’t belong?

All I knew was that I didn’t want to be without her ever again.

She seemed to be on the same page as me, but she’d held back from telling me about the job offer for some reason. Was it because she wanted to come with me, or was she afraid I would leave as soon as I heard it?

Getting back into bed, I wanted to shake her awake and pick her brain, but if she was already pissed at me, forcing her to talk to me would make it worse.

No, I had to wait until the morning. At least until her head was clear and we could have a proper conversation.

I jumped out of bed and strode across the room.

I couldn’t wait until the morning. I could barely wait another ten seconds. I had come here to do something, and I intended to do it. The choice was Sophia’s, but she needed to know exactly why I showed up unannounced and professed my love for her. I wasn’t going anywhere, and I hoped she wouldn’t either.

Grabbing my phone from the table, I texted Gerard, telling him to prepare everything and that I would pay him double what we’d agreed on.

He replied within a few minutes. As if a warning shot went off, I went into planning mode.

The more I moved, the less my nerves got to me. If I stopped for any reason, I was afraid I would rip all the hair out of my head. Other than claiming my spot at the throne in front of the council, I had never been so nervous before.

I sneaked into the bedroom and grabbed my suitcase, pulling it into the bathroom. Closing the door as silently as I could, I changed.

Dressed in my last suit, the one I had saved for this very occasion, I stood in front of Sophia’s sleeping form and took one more shaky breath before leaning down and shaking her shoulder.

“Sophia,” I hissed. I wasn’t sure why I was so quiet. There was no one else around.

I cleared my throat and tried again. “Sophia, wake up!”

She jolted awake and sat up. “What? Luke, what is it?”

I sat on the bed next to her. “I need you to get dressed.”

She shoved her hair off her face and turned to the alarm clock on the side table next to the bed. “What time is it?”

“Three,” I said.

“In the morning?” she asked, more confused than ever.

“Just, please trust me,” I said.

“Luke, I don’t understand.”

I helped her out of bed. Turning on the light in the bathroom, it gave us enough illumination to navigate the bedroom. Injuring her before arriving at our location wasn’t in the plan.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Why are you dressed like that?”

The more she asked, the fewer excuses I gave her. She would find out when we got there. I feared if I gave it all away too soon, she might refuse to come.

I had chosen a good time because in her sleep-delirium, she was quite pliable and went along with helping me get her dressed.

While I would have wanted to make it a formal affair, I wasn’t going to have her freeze to death. The temperature at night in Dallas put frost on the windows, so I dressed her in black pants and a nice blouse. I hoped all of this would be worth it for her. Years from now, we would laugh about it.

Hopefully.

After getting her fully dressed, Sophia shoved away from me and stalked into the bathroom. “I can dress, you know?”

Whether it was because of the conversation from yesterday or me waking her up—or an unhealthy mix of both—she wasn’t pleased to be doing what I asked.

While she was in there, I paced the room, cracking my knuckles until the pressure started to hurt.

Had I been too quick to push us into the situation? In my sleep-deprived mind, this seemed like the only way. But was it? Should I have kept the schedule the way it was and done all the fanfare? Or would she appreciate the gesture?

There was no going back now.

My phone rang just as Sophia walked out of the bathroom.

“Hello?” I answered.

Sophia’s hair was back in a smooth bun at the nape of her neck. She wore a little makeup, enough to make it appear as if she hadn’t been sleeping ten minutes ago. Her eyes were slits as she grabbed her shoes and watched me out of the corner of her eyes. She wanted answers. She would have them soon enough.

“Everything is ready,” Gerard said. “We’ll be waiting.”

“Perfect,” I said, then hung up.

“Who was that?” Sophia asked.

“His name is Gerard.”

“How do you know this Gerard, and what does he have to do with getting me up before the crack of dawn?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you going to tell me what this is all about?”

“Not yet,” I said and indicated for her to follow me.

She muttered something to herself, but I didn’t inquire about what she said.

Outside, the Uber I’d called idled in front of the building. “Your chariot awaits.”

I got a small smile out of her, but coupled with an eye roll, it didn’t quite have the effect I’d hoped for.

Inside the car, Sophia peered into the front seat. Initially, I had no idea what she was looking for until I saw the driver’s phone attached to the dashboard of the car. The destination wasn’t listed, but even if it were, I’d only typed in the address.

I was safe for now. It was only a matter of time before she found out about it, though.

“I’m guessing you’re not going to tell me anything?” she asked.

“Not yet,” I said.

“Can you tell me why we needed to do this at three in the morning?” she asked.

I wanted to take her hand and reassure her that everything was going to be okay, but then I thought better of it. My actions spoke louder than words and small gestures. “I’m not going to make the same mistakes I have in the past.”

“With regard to what?”

I turned to her. “To losing you. I won’t do it again.”

“You could have told me that in the apartment,” she said.

“I know,” I said. “But if I’m going to prove my love for you, I needed to bring you somewhere.”

“Where is that?” she asked.

I smirked. “Nice try. How about you stop trying to guess and just go with the flow?”

“I’m a reporter,” she said and then frowned. “I was a reporter.”

I knew she was thinking of our conversation from earlier in the night. I didn’t care that she already had another job lined up, but I wanted to throw my hat in the ring so she could make an educated choice about her future. I would accept her decision either way, even if I had to drag my tail between my legs all the way back to Qatar, but for some reason, I had a feeling that I held the upper hand. I just needed Sophia on board.

“What is open at this hour?” she asked. “Unless this is an outdoor excursion?”

“We’ll be inside shortly,” I said.

“Good,” she said with a shiver. Maybe I hadn’t picked the warmest outfit for her.

Soon enough, she would be fine.

---

The Uber driver pulled up to the curb in front of a building. The store was the only one with lights on. The glittering glass cases inside were a beacon for us.

Sophia leaned closer to the window and peered inside the building. “This is a jewelry store.”

“Yes, it is,” I said.

Gerard came out the front doors and approached the car. He opened Sophia’s door for her and helped her out.

“Good evening—or morning, I suppose I should say.”

“Hi?” Sophia said, more of a question than a greeting. She glanced at me.

I shook hands with Gerard, and he led us inside.

“You’re going to have to explain this to me,” she said.

“In due time,” I said, pressing my hand against the small of her back and leading her into the building.