Page 48 of The Prize

“Tobias.” My voice sounded shaky. “I’m scared.”

He let go and walked around to face me and gripped my shoulders. “You have every right to be.”

“What if everything goes wrong? I mean, more than it has already?” The club slipped from my grip and fell to the ground.

He pulled me into a hug. “This was me proving my transparency. The part of me I’ve never shown to anyone. I scared you and I’m sorry.”

My face squished against his chest. “You never felt guilty?”

“Returning the art to the original owner who had tried and failed to get it back seemed fair. I stole from the thieves.” He pulled back to look at me. “I never thought that I’d meet someone like you, Zara. Perhaps things would have been different. Maybe I’d have not taken so many risks.”

“I’m afraid for you.”

“Don’t be.”

“Promise me you’ll give this up.”

“I have.” He tipped up my chin. “I need you to believe me.”

Sincerity reflected in his gaze and he looked troubled as though deeply affected by all this soul-searching.

I pointed to the house. “You have to get rid of all of that equipment.”

“We’ll need it to get your paintings back, but afterward it all goes.”

My gaze swept over the golf course and I marveled at how well it was built. “Did your dad help you create this?”

He smiled. “Yes.”

“Come on, then.” I knelt to pick up the golf club. “I’ll putt first.”

I was close to getting through to him, I could feel it. All I needed now was to hear him say he’d find another way to locate my paintings. Perhaps we’d both come up with something better.

My aim was way off when I hit the ball, though when it was Tobias’s turn he hit a hole in one. By the time we’d finished the first round we’d fallen into fits of laughter. My thoughts carried me back to a young Tobias hanging out with his father out here. I wondered if his mom had watched on with joy.

“Do you ever think of how all this will end?” I watched his reaction.

He held my gaze. “It’s hard to think about that now.”

“Why?”

“I’ve made the kind of choices that may never see a normal life for me.”

My heart shuddered as I broke his gaze, not wanting to see his uncertainty.

“You must be starving.” He tapped my arm to get my attention. “Do you want some lunch?”

“Yes, please.” I stared down the garden again at his genius golf course and smiled at how much fun I’d had.

“Let’s cook together.”

“Sure.” I followed him into the kitchen.

Within a few minutes we’d set about preparing the ingredients for salmon burgers. It was fun to watch Tobias washing the lettuce and then grilling the fish fillets on the stove as I buttered the buns and found the plates. I imagined this could once have been us all the time if circumstances were different, preparing meals and giggling at each other’s jokes and even planning a life together.

We settled at the granite island. I bit into my burger and moaned at how good it tasted, and Tobias burst into laughter.

“What?” I dabbed my mouth with a napkin, assuming I was covered in sauce.