Sophia“Is that why you came back?” he asked. His eyes were wide, as if he could see through into my soul. I glanced at the empty plate in front of me as if it held all the answers.“I wanted to see you,” I said. It was as honest as I could be at the moment. “It was stupid of me to run away in the first place.”“You’re here now,” Luke said, raising his glass of champagne. “That’s all that matters.”The bubbles popped over the rim of my glass as I lifted it to touch his. I had promised Mr. Fraser an article, and I was going to get him one. I would have to rely on inspiration, though, because at that moment, there was nothing about Luke that I wanted to expose. He’d done so much for me. It was only fair that I repaid the favor by not revealing his family’s secrets to the world. “Have you put any more thought into becoming king?” I asked. I hoped I didn’t sound too much like a reporter, but I was genuinely interested. The last time I left him, he was close to saying yes, but he hadn’t d
LukeI wasn’t sure if it was due to jet lag or how comfortable I felt sleeping next to Sophia, but after a repeat of the other night, we fucked twice before we both passed out, and then neither of us woke until early evening on Sunday.I awoke too late to get any real work done, but I called Maddox to figure out what needed to be done before I left again. Then I checked in with my father, who was still feeling good and energetic.While I took care of those responsibilities, Sophia insisted on preparing dinner for us. Having her in my house, flitting around the kitchen as if she belonged there all along was playing tricks with my mind. This was the life I wanted, but choosing this life was no longer an option for me.I tried to conceal my disappointment at that fact, while keeping it from Sophia. As much as I preached to her about being honest, she didn’t need to know about the worries going through my head. Forcing my insecurities upon her over and over might end this relationship bef
Luke“Out late last night?” I asked, stepping into his office. The food beckoned to me.He grabbed one of the cups, and I took the other. “Not really. You got me up so bloody early that I didn’t do my workout. That usually wakes me up.”“You might be missing a lot more workouts,” I muttered to myself as I took a swig of the coffee.“What’s going on with your dad?” Maddox asked, not hearing my remark.I opened the bag and grabbed a chocolate croissant. The very mention of my father made me lose my appetite, but if I was going to function at all, I needed fuel. “It’s not great.”“Fuck. Sorry, mate.”I nodded at him and forced myself to eat. The normally sweet chocolate tasted chalky in my mouth as I chewed. I had to take a swig of the coffee to force it down my throat.“Are you headed back there soon?” Maddox asked after grabbing a flaky pastry. As he bit into it, the flakes scattered all over his desk. He didn’t seem to notice as all his attention was on me.“Looking to go back this we
SophiaAfter Luke left his place, I fell back asleep for a little while longer. There was no rush for me to get out of bed when he was going to be at work for most of the day. I was no closer to writing a story about his family, especially when I was thousands of miles away from them. My initial research involved finding every article written about his family and him. I hadn’t left a stone unturned. Other than exposing this difficult time in Luke’s life with Erol’s illness, I had nothing that hadn’t already been reported on a hundred times.While that should have bothered me, the silk sheets and comfortable mattress aided in me falling back asleep and forgetting all my worries.When I woke again, it was an hour later. My stomach ached with hunger, and I reluctantly shoved the covers away and got out of bed. Wandering across the room to Luke’s walk-in closet, I stepped through the doorway, and the lights came on right away. Rows of suits hung on either side of me, along with a small co
Sophia“I know,” I said. I had only given Matt a few details when I left Dallas. I hadn’t been sure what to expect, so I didn’t want to get either of our hopes up. Then, once I saw Luke, thoughts of everyone else in my life disappeared. “I’m a terrible friend.”“You can make up for it by telling me what the hell you’ve been up to,” he said.Starting from the conversation with Mr. Fraser about me going to England, I told Matt everything. Well, not everything. I kept the erotic details out of the conversation. While Matt and I were close, he didn’t need to hear about my sexual encounters. Those were private between Luke and me.“You’ve been on quite the adventure,” Matt said when I finished.I glanced at my surroundings. “Yes, I have. Do you think I’m nuts for doing this? I like him.” I wasn’t about to say “love.” Matt would never let me hear the end of it. Besides, I wanted Luke to know before anyone else.“You went there to do a story,” he said. “But it looks like you’ve already writt
LukeRegrettably, I couldn’t join Sophia for lunch again on Wednesday. After being away from the office so much recently, things had been piling up that needed my attention. And since I was going back to the palace at the end of the week, I wanted to square everything away for Maddox so he wouldn’t get overwhelmed. I had full confidence in him, but I also wasn’t going to leave him with work that I could do myself.Apologizing to Sophia over text, she said it was no problem. She wanted to go sightseeing today, and I informed her of my stash of cash in my home office. She refused to take it without repaying me, and I agreed, not wanting to get into that unnecessary argument. She could think she was going to repay me, but I would make it known that her presence was payment enough.While it didn’t please me to have her traipsing around the city by herself, I felt better that she had enough money for cabs or anything else she might need. She refused to allow me to call the car service, but
LukeArriving at my flat, I saw that the lights were on inside. A small thrill moved through me at the prospect of seeing Sophia again. I hoped she enjoyed the food from one of my favorite takeout places. I wanted to relax with her tonight, and I couldn’t think of a more relaxing stay-at-home date than takeout and a movie.When was the last time I saw a movie? Probably not for years. I hoped Sophia liked movies. I was up for watching anything as long as she was sitting right next to me.Once I got inside, I didn’t see or hear Sophia anywhere.I wanted to call out to her, but I also wanted to surprise her.Walking down the short hallway toward the middle of my home, I was about to say something when I saw movement from the kitchen.Sophia wore a pair of tight jeans and one of the cashmere sweaters I’d bought her. She held a bottle of wine in one hand and two glasses in the other. I wasn’t opposed to drinking at home, but I didn’t recall the last time I bought alcohol for myself outside
SophiaMy lips were swollen and hot from Luke kissing me. I wanted him to bring me over to the couch to make love to me, but with his mother’s phone call, I knew those plans were gone for good.My chest tightened as Luke picked up the phone and put his mother on speaker. That little gesture meant a lot to me. He trusted me with personal family business, and I could have kissed him for it if it were an appropriate time.“Hello, Mother?” Luke said into the phone.There was a long pause, and then a sharp inhale mixed with what sounded like a sob.My hand clamped over my mouth and tears welled in my eyes. Luke’s eyes didn’t move from the phone as his mother spoke.“Luke,” she said. “Your father passed away a few minutes ago.”Luke’s chest heaved with the effort of breathing. It was a good thing that my legs were still around him. If he passed out or something, then I could at least try to prevent him from smacking his head on the marble tile.“What happened?” he asked.“It was peaceful,”