I sit up, confused, pulling the sheet around me for warmth more than modesty. The windows are open and the breeze off the Pacific is cool. “What is it?”

“Open it.”

The envelope is closed only with a clasp, so it’s easy enough to get inside. I turn it over and a plane ticket falls into my lap. Confused, I read the destination, then frown as a slow anger starts to boil inside me.

“That lousy prick,” I say. “Taggart said he wasn’t going to offer you any more freelance work for four full months so that you could concentrate on Lyle and Serena’s movie.”

“Yeah, but that gig doesn’t start for another three weeks. This trip is only for ten days.”

“Ten days in China starting tomorrow,” I say after another glance at the ticket. “Dammit, Riley, this trip is over my vacation.” I will myself not to cry, but all I want to do is burst into tears. I haven’t taken a vacation in forever and I only took time off now because Riley specifically told me he wanted to spend it together.

“Huh,” he says, his brow furrowed as he takes the ticket from me. He turns it sideways, narrows his eyes, then steps back and says, “Oh! Of course.”

“What?” I demand, confusion piling on top of my irritation.

“You need this, too.” He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a small, flat box. Like a jewelry store might use for a bracelet. I open it, then see another ticket folded up on top. I smirk, then pull it out, laughing when I see my name on it.

“Not a mission,” I say, rising to put my arms around him. “A vacation for two.”

“That’s not exactly accurate,” he says, and if it weren’t for the twinkle in those dark, dreamy eyes, I’d be worried all over again. Instead, I’m intrigued.

I take a step back. “Okay,” I demand. “What have I got wrong?”

“Anything else in that box?”

I shoot him one suspicious glance, then poke at the pad of cotton on which the folded ticket had been sitting. My finger hits something hard, and I immediately lift my head, looking once again at Riley, who looks incredibly pleased with himself.

I pull off the cotton to reveal a platinum ring with a stunning diamond, its facets catching the morning light and gleaming like starlight.

My legs go weak, and I fall back onto the bed at the same time that Riley drops to one knee in front of me. “Not a vacation. A honeymoon.”

“A honeymoon,” I repeat.

"We can stop in Vegas on the way. Or we can break convention and do the honeymoon first.”

My lips twitch. “Aren’t you jumping the gun a little?”