Sophia‘s lips twisted the slightest bit as she locked her eyes on Blayze. For a moment, he wondered if she could somehow read the thoughts in his mind. The ones that continued to tell him—even then—that it was time to tell Sophia how he felt about her. His heart bumped into hyper drive as he wiped a hand over his forehead.
“I was going to say…” Sophia started, “that I like the camera, but the bullet proof vest… feels a little overboard.”
A moment of relief gave way to a new concern. “Overboard?”
“Blayze, I couldn’t even button up my skirt suit, so I had to wearthis.” She motioned to the shirt he’d been admiring like it was some sort of travesty.
Blayze stood there with wide eyes. “Sophia, Roman happens to have a female vest sitting here and you want to just waltz up to the podium without it?” He was trying to keep it light, but the truth was, Blayze would put up a fight if Sophia threatened to remove it. “You’ve already got it on now. And that top…” he blew out a whistle. “It looks dang good on you. Let’s just get you out there, let you get your speech done, and you can take it off after. The vest. Not the top.”
Tiff and Roman snickered.
Sophia nodded, and Blayze felt the task on his mind pressing in on him. He needed to get her alone for a moment, before they loaded into the SUV.
“Hey,” he said to Sophia, “why don’t you and I go out to the porch and give Tiff and Roman a minute to catch up.”
“Okay.” Sophia glanced around the living room until her eyes settled on her cat—an orange puffball curled up on the couch. “Thanks again for watching over my precious Chico.”
“Any time,” Tiff said. “He kept me company while Roman was away.”
“Blayze said I can bring her to the cabin, so we’ll be by to get him later tonight.” Sophia stepped over to the corner, steadied herself with the coffee table, and leaned down to plant a kiss on the animal’s head. “Bye, Chico.” She glanced at Roman, who was already nudging his face into Tiff’s hair and making growling sounds. “Guess we’ll be out front.”
“Sounds good to me,” Roman said.
Tiffany let out a squeal before hollering over her shoulder. “Just remember to save allthatfor the bedroom,” she said with a giggle.
Blayze shook his head, releasing a nervous laugh as he held the screen door open for Sophia. Blue sky, green grass, and a stretch of similar, Spanish style homes greeted them on the other side. White stucco with red, bar tile roofs.
“Roman and Tiffany really love you and your family, don’t they?” Blayze asked, suddenly desperate for a distraction. Perhaps telling her how he felt wasn’t such a great idea.
Sophia stopped walking, dropped her gaze to her feet before glancing back at him. “Yes, they’re awesome. We’re grateful to have them.”
Blayze nodded, leaned against the tunnel-like wall of the breezeway. He soaked a bit of the warmth in as he considered changing direction.Come on, Blayze. Don’t wuss out.He’d kept her at arm’s length long enough. “Listen, I know I’ve been like a yoyo with you, and I’m sorry. But I think you should know —”
“You know what?” Sophia blurted. “Stop. I don’t want you to say anything that’s going to throw me off right now.”
Blayze straightened, the wordsI’m falling in love with youfighting for a place at his lips. He tilted his head as her cheeks flushed red. “I’m not sure what you mean. You don’t want me to finish?”
She shook her head stiffly, her shoulders rising high and proud. “No, Blayze, I don’t. Whatever you want to say, it can wait until I deliver this speech. It might be hard for you to understand, but public speaking takes a lot ofgoodenergy. And by God’s grace, despite all the crud we’re up against, I’m in a good mental place. If what you’re going to say could alter that in any way… I’d just as soon wait and hear it after all this is through.” Her voice quivered on that last note, and Blayze felt the energy drain from his limbs.
Two opposing ideas battled in his mind. Either Sophia believed he was trying to let her down easy, or she knew he was about to confess his love for her.
His heart pounded angrily out of beat, like it’d been tricked somehow. Because nowhedidn’t know what to think either. Was Sophia dying to keep his confession off his tongue in effort to spare him the embarrassment? Or was she—like he— sick at the thought of losing what they had?
He felt her coming up behind him, but he couldn’t pull his gaze off the clay-colored cement at his feet. Not yet. He had to shut off the declaration he’d worked so hard to articulate in his mind.
“We’ll have a lot to talk about after today. Let’s save it for when we get back to the cabin. Okay?”
* * *
The drive to the university wasn’t long, but it was torturous all the same. It had taken great effort on Blayze’s part to keep his mind off the conversation on the porch. But he still had to figure out who stood—cowered was more like it—behind the threats.
Blayze spent the short time scouring his notes, hoping to find a fresh clue. He started all the way back to day one and the notes he’d made at the campaign office, unable to shake the impression that he was missing something. An answer that hovered just beyond his reach.
Roman weaved through the parking lot of the University. The place was packed with parked cars, buses, and news vans. It might be dead outside, but inside it was sure to be a different story.
Roman nudged the SUV up to a curbside a few exits down from where he’d dropped them off the first time. Security would be there to let them in upon a simple phone call. Sophia brought her hand to the door and turned to him, the panic in him starting to rise.
“We ready?”
