“Forget all that,” he said desperately. “You know I’m new at this. Bad at it. And I’ll continue to mess everything up. But you have to give me a chance.”
Don’t weaken, Sophie. Turn away.
She didn’t move.
“You have to,” he said, his voice breaking. “You can leave Brayburn. Or stay. Come to Maui, or not. I don’t care. But you can’t leave me. Please don’t leave me.”
“No,” she said, her voice breaking. “I won’t. I can’t.”
His arms closed around her tightly, and she realized how much these past weeks had cost him. And her.
“What you said about Jessica—”
Sophie closed her eyes in pain and put a hand over his mouth. “Don’t. I never should have said it.”
“Then you think I’m someone worth liking?”
“Not exactly…” she said coyly.
“Loving?” he asked, voice hopeful.
“Perhaps.”
“Tell me.”
“Tell you what?” she teased.
“Sophie.” He rested his forehead on hers.
“I love you,” she said with a wobbly smile. She framed his face with her hands. “I love that you barely know how to smile, and that you care about your siblings more than you possibly know how to express. I love that you totally cheat at Monopoly, and that you hit on your secretaries like a common pervert.”
The relief in his eyes had her crying all over again.
“Just one question, Ms. Dalton,” he said, resting his forehead against hers.
“Yes, Mr. Wyatt?”
“How much is this going to cost me? I’ve come to learn that you’re a very high-end call girl.”
Sophie pinched him. “Doesn’t matter. I’m worth it.”
She felt him smile against her temple. “Yes, you are.”
EPILOGUE
I called the restaurant to let them know we’ll be a little late,” Sophie said, hanging up the hotel phone.
Gray wiggled his eyebrows. “We could be a little later. Make time for some afternoon delight?”
“You already got a little afternoon delight! Twice. And don’t call it that.”
He shrugged as he added a gray tie to his gray suit.
Sophie smiled and shook her head at the monochromatic ensemble. There were some things that couldn’t be changed, even in the course of a seven-month relationship. Gray’s wardrobe was proving to be one of them.
But the important things had changed.
Gray was still CEO of Brayburn Luxuries. His new assistant was a tiny, stern woman named Ida who refused to address him as anything other than Mr. Wyatt, no matter how many times he asked her to use his first name. Ida had also removed all of Sophie’s bright decorating choices and replaced them with soothing taupe and ivory accents. Gray’s office was now nothing but a bunch of boring neutrals. Exactly as he liked it.