Page 152 of The Substitute Fiancée

Better. More composed. I hit “Send.”

A wave of relief washes over me. Now that I know he’s coming, I go back to my notes, rereading my presentation one more time.

The minutes crawl by with unbearable slowness. I hear doors opening and closing, hushed conversations, muffled laughter.

And then suddenly, he’s there.

I look up and see him crossing the gallery, searching for me. When our eyes meet, the rest of the world fades away.

I stand and walk toward him. Without thinking, I throw myself into his arms and curl against him.

His woody scent soothes me instantly. His arms close around me, solid, reassuring.

“Hey,” he murmurs against my hair. “I’m here.”

“You came,” I whisper, my voice muffled against his chest.

“I promised you.”

I nod. Yes, he keeps his promises. He ends our embrace, stepping back just enough to look at me.

Then he checks his watch.

“We’ve got a little over an hour. Come on, let’s go outside. You need some air.”

We find an empty table in the library’s inner courtyard. The May sun is gentle, warming my stress-chilled skin.

“Here,” he says, handing me a sandwich and a bottle of water pulled from a paper bag. “I don’t think you took the time to eat.”

The gesture moves me deeply. He thought of that, even in the middle of the chaos of his morning.

“I’m not very hungry,” I admit.

“I know. But try anyway. You’re going to need the energy.”

He pulls out another sandwich and takes a bite, setting the example. I follow suit, swallowing a few bites that go down with difficulty.

The sun feels good. The fresh air soothes my frayed nerves.

We don’t talk much. He simply holds my hand in his, his thumb tracing calming circles against my skin. He looks at me as if the world narrows down to just me, as if nothing exists beyond this courtyard, this moment.

“Tell me about your morning,” I finally ask, searching for a distraction.

“Nothing important,” he replies with a smile. “Just a meeting that dragged on longer than expected, and that I left early.”

I know he’s downplaying it, that he doesn’t want to stress me out even more. I’m letting it go… for now.

“You’re going to blow them away,” he says suddenly, his eyes locked on mine. “You know that, right?”

I nod. His confidence warms my heart. God, I love this man!

One forty-five. Time to go back inside.

I stand up, my legs trembling. Alexander stands too and pulls me into his arms one last time.

“I’ll be right here,” he murmurs. “If you need me, I won’t be far.”

“Thank you,” I whisper.