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Tears swim in my eyes, and panic rises in my chest. “Please.”

“I love you.”

“You don’t,” I say softly.

Lawrence’s chestnut eyes are intent on mine. “I do.”

I can’t answer because I know I will hurt him.

“I’ll take care of you, be loyal to you, dote on you every single day of our lives,” he says quietly. “Just…choose me.”

A tear spills over, and he watches it as it trails down my cheek. I look to the side, wiping the moisture away.

He waits several long seconds, and then he drops his hand with a sigh. “No?”

Reluctantly, I look back. “I’m sorry.”

Slowly, he nods, raising his hand to his chest as if to shield himself from further pain. After another long moment, he gives me a half-hearted grin. “Can’t blame me for trying, right?”

“Lawrence.” I reach out for him and then pull back.

He turns to leave, and my heart clenches. Just before he reaches the panel, I race across the room and hug him from behind.

“I’m truly sorry,” I say again with my cheek pressed to his back. “But you must know you are my closest friend, and that means the world to me.”

Lawrence stands motionless for several seconds, and then he sets his hand over mine. “I know.”

“Are we all right?”

He twists his head to look back at me. “If you put yourself in another bad position like you did tonight, Henrik will never earn his seal.”

I drop my arms. “That’s low.”

He turns around to face me. “I won’t forgive him if something happens to you.”

“Why bring him into this?” I demand.

Lawrence lets out a broken laugh. “Because he’s the only thing I can threaten you with. Now, hold still.”

“Hold still?”

Before I realize what he’s planning, Lawrence wraps his arms around me and places his hand on my back, pulling me against him. Then he moves in without hesitation and presses his mouth to mine. When I begin to protest, he deepens the kiss with warm, insistent lips, shocking me senseless.

I’ve barely gathered my wits before he pulls back.

“W…what was that?” I demand, pressing my fingers to my mouth.

Lawrence’s eyes sparkle with mischief. “Now you know what you’re giving up. It’s only fair—don’t you want to make an informed decision?”

“I didn’t give you permission to kiss me!”

He grins as he pushes through the panel. “I didn’t ask.”

I stare at the closed panel for several seconds, still not fully comprehending what just happened.

But I think, in his own strange way, Lawrence just gave Henrik and me his blessing.

* * *