Eventually, he said, “London.”
She blinked. “What’s in London?”
“Our future.”
The phrase was so clean, so absurdly confident, she almost missed it.
“I…sorry. What?”
“I was meant to go after I graduated. Take over full operations in Europe.”
Oh.
That caught her off guard. Her mind scrambled to remember—had he ever said that? Had she missed it? It felt like something she should’ve known. Or something he’d never said out loud.
“When?” she asked.
“Originally, January.”
The past January. The one six months ago.
Which meant…he’d stayed. For her?
If he had, why hadn’t he said anything? And if he hadn’t, why was he still here?
She tried to stay on track, to hold the thread of the conversation where it belonged. But the question hung back, curled into the creases of her mind. “And now?”
“The next one.”
Next January was seven months away. Twenty-five weeks. One hundred and seventy-five days.
Her brain was doing math. It counted when her heart panicked. Numbers were safe. Numbers didn’t move to London.
Her nails bit into her palms. “So you’ll be living in London,” she summarized slowly.
“Not on my own,” he clarified. “With you.”
Cool. Casual.
Hey sweetheart, no pressure, but it’s empire time.
“Would it be a permanent move?” she asked slowly.
“Three years. Possibly four.”
Okay. At least they’d come back eventually.
She’d be twenty-six or seven. He’d be thirty or thirty-one. Was that still young?
“Nate’s coming too,” he continued. “Europe needs to work before the UR seat is handed over.”
Those were the words that cut through her useless calculating.
This was it. What Victor had warned her of. The choice between two futures. Because London wasn’t an average posting. It was a proving ground. The final trial before he took the throne.
Gage met her eyes with the look he used when he wanted to reassure her and warn her at the same time. “Sweetheart, I know you won’t have an answer tonight.” His hand found hers. “It’s not public knowledge yet. It can’t be. Not until theannouncement is made in October. But I needyouto know now that this is what we’re walking toward.”
Toward. Not away, not around. Through.
