“Yes, Papa.” Cassie pushed her own breakfast plate aside. As soon as her father disappeared into his room, she stacked the dishes on the tray and set them on the kitchen counter, where the staff would collect them later.

Her emotions churning, she left her father’s apartment, surprised to find Levi in the hall outside her room. “Hey, what are you doing?”

“I’m going stir-crazy,” Levi said. “I thought you might want to go for a ride with me. We can ride the perimeter like old times.”

“You realize our ‘old times’ only go back two months.”

“Almost three.”

“It doesn’t seem that long.” Cassie looked up at him, barely able to remember life before she met Levi. “Then again, in some ways, it feels like forever.”

“I know what you mean,” Levi said. “Come on. The fresh air will do us both good.”

Bad memories overshadowed the good. “I haven’t been outside since . . .”

“Another good reason to go.” Levi stretched out his hand. “Let’s go to the gazebo. It’s your favorite place.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

“I’m sure.”

Cassie put her hand in his. “Okay. I’m trusting you.”

“I like the sound of that.”

* * *

Levi rode through the memories, determined to make today overshadow the events of last month. For the past few weeks, he had continued his recovery, assisted in the hiring of the new security firm, and even managed to convince Alejandro to allow Alan to work in Sereno for the next few months.

Work had taken priority, but now, finally, it was time to put his personal life in order.

He had no doubt today would be memorable. Whether it would turn into the best day of his life or the worst, he wasn’t sure. He prayed it would be the best.

They reached the gazebo, and Levi swung down out of the saddle, careful to land on his good leg. He had gotten rid of the cane, but he suspected it would be a while before his limp disappeared.

Cassie led the way to the gazebo, her limp already gone. She stopped and looked behind her, scanning the trees.

“You okay?” Levi asked, even though his palms sweated and nerves battled in his stomach.

“Yes. It’s just hard to believe that a few weeks ago we were only a couple hundred meters from here when someone tried to kill us.”

“Julien is gone, and from what I’ve learned about Theo, he already officially abdicated his claim to the throne.” Levi took her hand and led her up the steps. “In essence, he has neutralized the threat against you.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Escobar family would believe Theo is next in line for the throne. Since only your family knows he gave up his claim, the Escobars would assume only Theo would benefit from the loss of your family.”

“I suppose that’s true.” She ran her fingers through her hair.

Levi shifted so he was facing her. Tears shimmered in her eyes. “Hey, if this is too hard being here, we can go back.”