I pat his shoulder, relieved that I'm going to have a few minutes alone to put that piece of paper back in the frame before he realizes it's missing. "I'll wait right here for you."
"You better." He stares at me. "I don't want you to ever leave."
My weak knees almost give out with the words but I stand tall and watch him walk toward the alarm panel. He disarms it with two button punches before he exits out the apartment door without turning back.
I don't waste a second before I'm at the couch, my purse in hand. I fish through it, easily pulling the white paper out. I study the crumpled mess, my eyes focusing on several small red dots that pepper the surface.
I take measured breaths, wanting to calm my racing heart. The debate is strong inside of me. I know I shouldn't open it, but the need to see what it is wins the battle over my better judgment.
I unfold it carefully, each movement revealing more red dots; some small, others larger.
Once I smooth my hands over it on my lap, I read the words written by a feminine hand.
I can't wait to be your wife, Nick. I'll love you until my last breath. Briella. xx
Briella.
A beautiful name for a beautiful woman who loves the man I can't get enough of.
I want to know who she is and why the note she wrote him looks like it's covered in specks of blood.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Nicholas
"Why are you dressed, Sophia?"I stop just inside the door of my apartment and arm the alarm. "I told you I didn't want you sneaking off."
"I waited for you." She slides her coat over the blouse and skirt she's put back on. "It's not exactly sneaking if you wait."
My throat works on a hard swallow. She's different. Something changed between the time I left to talk to my brother and now. It was no more than ten minutes, but Sophia went from being open and willing to be guarded. "Did something happen while I was gone?"
She looks up at me, her eyes haunting. "I looked at the time. I have to be in the office early today because Mr. Foster has a conference call."
"It's hours until daybreak." I press the pad of my thumb against her lower lip. It's pale now. She didn't take the time to apply any lipstick. She looks disheveled and beautiful. All I want is to take her back to my bed. "You can sleep here for a couple ofhours and I'll make sure you're back at your place in time to go to work."
Panic flashes across her expression as she steps back. "I need to prepare for that call. It's not as simple as dialing him into it. I have files I need to pull. Gabriel likes everything to be in its place when he arrives in the morning."
It's bullshit. Something spooked her while I was gone. "What did you see, Sophia? Did you find something?"
"Nothing," she spits out too quick, too eagerly.
I trace a path around the room with my gaze trying to find something that could have caused her to retreat like this. "You saw something while I was gone. I want you to tell me what it was."
With a muted curse, she shakes her head. "Are there things in here I shouldn't see?"
Other than my next manuscript, there's nothing that I'd want to shield from her. I keep everything I treasure in my office. I have items stored there that I haven't looked at in years. Those are the things I have no intention of ever showing anyone. "I can't think of anything."
Her eyes give her away. They dance between my face and the area near the piano. I turn to look in that direction. "What is it? Is it something over there?"
"It's nothing." She tries to take a step around me, but I move to block her.
"I don't play games." I look down and into her pale blue eyes. "You're running because something freaked you out. I want you to tell me what that is."
"I said it's nothing," she hisses between clenched teeth.
I pull her closer to me. "It's written all over your face. Spit it out. What the fuck happened after I went to the lobby?"
"Nicholas," she says my name, exasperation marking her tone. "Have you ever been in love?"
