Page 112 of Saving Sophia

Fairy lights hung from posts creating a warmly lit space around a thick pad of fluffy blankets and pillows. A fire pit with fresh logs waited to be lit. A wooden tray with an ice bucket, champagne bottle, and two glasses rested nearby.

“Oh Daddy, it’s magical,” I breathed.

He led me to the blankets and sat down, patting his lap. I lay down beside him, my head resting on his thigh.

“You did all this for me?” I looked up at him as he adjusted the pillows and poured us each a glass of bubbly champagne.

“No way.” He tapped my nose. “I did it for purely selfish reasons. I figured this was the only way we could finish A Ruthless Choice. I’ve been dying to find out if Captain Harlow escapes in time to rescue Ruthie from the evil Lord Borthwick.”

“Do you think the captain will understand the deal she made with her father was in exchange for his life?” I asked, biting my lip.

“Harlow knows Ruthie’s heart.” He rubbed his chin. “And he’d never let her go, no matter what the risk.” He stroked my cheek and leaned down to kiss me, then pulled back, his smile turning into an evil grin. “He’ll probably still use it as an excuse to give her a good paddling, but after that she’ll be fine.”

I giggled, amazed for the millionth time by this man who was so happy playing with me, caring for me, loving me.

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out my Kindle. A sweet sense of contentment enveloped me as he started to read.

Captain Harlow dashed through the dark tunnels of the dungeon, keeping to the shadows and making no sound. He came upon the main corridor’s end, and just as the guard had said, two passages loomed. He cast a glance down the right hall. At the end was a service entry where his loyal first mate was waiting with a cart and horse to take him back to his ship. Open sea by nightfall. Two days to Isla Del Diablo. He had the last piece of the map, he had the Devil’s Key, nothing stood between him and Edward Swindler’s gold.

Nothing but a lass with eyes like the sunset after a storm at sea and honey-sweetened lips.

He eyed the left hallway. It led to the officers’ quarters, where Ruthie was held captive, awaiting the escort that would take her away on Lord Borthwick’s manor.

Her words had been daggers in his heart, but her reasons had been fire to his soul. His little wench had bargained for his life with the only coin she had. If he had to fight every man in the entire British Navy, risk a prison cell or the hangman’s noose, then so be it. He wasn’t leaving without her by his side.

His feet turned left as he muttered to himself, “I’ll need to find my sword.”

“He chose her,” I sighed happily.

“I had a feeling he would,” Daddy chuckled, running his fingers through my hair.

When the story ended, and the moonlight sparkled on the water, I decided the time was right.

“Daddy,” I whispered.

“Yes, baby?”

“Is this lake really … bottomless? Is that true?”

He sat up, rubbing his chin and looking out at the water.

“That’s what they say. My brothers and I used to dare each other to dive down. We never saw a bottom.” He put his arm around me. “Why?”

“I need to do something.”

I grabbed the bag I brought and pulled out the awful gold gladiator sandals from the night we escaped. Ethan raised a questioning brow but waited, giving me time to collect my thoughts.

“These were always … wrong for me. Even before I almost died in them … twice.” I looked down to my feet at the Eeyore sneakers he had given me on his brother’s boat, the morning after he told me he loved me. “And these are my Cinderellas.”

“Cinderellas?”

“The shoes that changed my life.”

He reached out to trace my calf with a finger.

I buckled the sandals’ straps together, connecting them in a tangle of leather while he watched me. Then I reached up to my locket, rubbing the engraving that used to fill me with longing. Words my father never noticed.

I undid the clasp and took the necklace off for the first time since middle school.

---