Page 234 of Prickly Romance

She gives me a hug and signs, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

A stunned Sheila takes the stage. “Um… well, that was an interesting performance.”

I wrap my free arm around Niko, my heart swelling with love and my eyes turning misty. If I hadn’t met Niko, then I probably wouldn’t have given Sazuki a minute of my time.

I press a kiss to her forehead.

The reporters take pictures as we walk away.

I lean in to whisper, “Are you okay with them snapping photos of us?”

“Their cameras will be confiscated when they leave,” he whispers back.

I look up at him and grin, falling a little harder in love with him than I thought was possible.

His eyes turn heated. “Keep watching me like that, Miss Williams, and you will not make it through the rest of the night in that dress.”

“Hey,” I cover Niko’s ears, “children are present.”

He gives me a wicked grin.

We get to the back of the room and my parents converge on us.

Dad shakes Sazuki’s hand.

Yaya signs, “I knew you were up to something when you insisted I bring mom and dad to the gala.”

“Thank you for joining us tonight,” he tells her.

Mom signs, “Your daughter is beautiful.”

Sazuki smiles down at Niko’s head.

The little girl grins in return.

Unfortunately, the family time doesn’t last long. Someone calls Sazuki away and I’m yanked along thanks to the string on my finger.

After about five minutes of networking, I’m tapped out.

“Sazuki,” I lift our hands, “I love the metaphors and everything. Really. I do. But can we keep the whole ‘joined together forever’ thing at a figurative level now?”

He shakes his head. “You will be stuck to me all night. It is your punishment for trying to quit the foundation and drop out of school.”

“Drop out of school?” My jaw slackens. “Who told you that?”

His eyebrows arch.

“I was going to quit the foundation and start teaching deaf students privately, but I wasn’t going to drop out of school. Are you kidding? Do you know how hard I’ve worked?” I chuckle. “At the start of your little scheme to get my help, I had the dean draft up an agreement that I would perform in the end-of-year showcase if my internship fell through. I planned on reminding him of that agreement.”

“Solid plan.” He looks impressed. “You are very smart, Miss Williams.”

I swat at him.

He takes something out of his pocket and wraps it around my wrist.

I gasp when I see the red bracelet.

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