Reflecting on the last two days, Hakim wondered if their plan would work. It was a last resort, a way to force Patricia to talk things out with him. He’d do anything to be with Lauren and so he’d agreed to meeting with her mother in person.

When Lauren had called him after her confrontation with her mother, she’d been so upset she could barely talk. It had taken Hakim almost five minutes to get anything out of her that made sense, and even then, he didn’t really understand what Patricia was doing. Cutting her own daughter out of her life was about as drastic a threat as it was possible to make, and Hakim wondered for the first time how much Patricia Sanders had to hate him for her to be able to do that.

He’d suggested meeting Lauren at the dog park where she’d taken Zeus. It was something approximating neutral ground, so maybe her mother’s watchers wouldn’t follow her there.

He felt like a spy arranging a secret swap of information. Wearing a ball cap and sunglasses, Hakim sat at one of the picnic tables watching Zeus run and play, while Lauren entered the dog park chatting with another woman. Zeus ran up to Lauren and she greeted him, taking the time to pet him thoroughly. When Zeus ran off again, she casually made her way to his table and sat down on the other side.

“How are you?” he asked.

“Still in shock. I never thought she’d do something so extreme. She wouldn’t even listen to me, wouldn’t even try to see my side.”

“I’m so sorry, Lauren.” He felt helpless, and that was the only thing he could think to say right then.

She shook her head. “No, this one isn’t on you. It’s all Patricia.”

“I’ll go see her. I’ll set up a meeting and tell her that I take all the responsibility for our feud. I’ll apologize; I’ll even grovel if I need to.”

Hakim risked a look at Lauren and was happy to see her smile at that remark.

“I think a meeting is exactly what we need. And I would appreciate you apologizing. I might even look forward—just the tiniest bit—to seeing you grovel.”

Internally, he sighed in relief at the return of her cheerful, teasing tone. As long as she believed they could fix things, he could believe that, too.

“I am worried that even you groveling won’t be enough,” Lauren added sadly.

Hakim had thought about that possibility, too. Things were so bad that a simple apology might not be enough, so he was working on another plan.

“Do you trust me?” Hakim asked.

Lauren turned to face him fully. She tilted her head and looked into his eyes for a long moment.

“Yes. Completely.”

“I’ve got something else planned. Groveling might not work, but I think I can do something that will convince her of my sincerity.”

He shrugged and added, “Or at least will give her enough of a business reason to back off.”

Lauren stared at him before asking, “What are you planning?”

Hakim shook his head. “It’s better if you don’t know. I promise, it won’t hurt you. Or Patricia.”

“I know that. You wouldn’t do that. I’m worried if it’s going to hurt you.”

Her trust in him warmed his heart. If he hadn’t recognized that he was falling in love with the stunning, brave woman sitting across from him before, he knew it now.

“It might affect my company, but it won’t hurt me. The only thing that could hurt me is if you say you can’t be part of my life.”

Lauren nodded and smiled brilliantly at him. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

“I’ll set up the meeting then?” Hakim asked.

“Do you think she’ll agree to meet with you? It might be better if I do it and we don’t tell her you’re going to be there.”

Hakim turned the problem around in his head. He had an idea, and any way he looked at it, some kind of deception was necessary. Better that he was the perpetrator instead of Lauren.

“I’ll set it up. Fair warning, I’m probably going to have to give her a reason she can’t say no to.”

Lauren thought about it and Hakim could see her come to the same conclusion. Not for the first time, he was impressed with how smart she was, instinctively catching onto his strategy.

“You’re going to threaten to go public with the story about you winning the auction? Maybe some sordid tale of my week of servitude?”

“Leaving out the part where my dog now likes you better than me and how I’m still finding the things you deliberately moved around? That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

He looked back again when he heard her choked laughter. She had her hand pressed to her mouth and was trying not to grin too much. If this plan worked, he vowed that he’d spend the rest of his life trying to make her laugh life that all the time.

Lauren agreed it was the best way and slipped out of the dog park before she could be noticed. Hakim let her go and hoped it was the last time he would ever have to do so.