The whole thing had backfired spectacularly.
Gabriel had run out of subtle options. It was time to accept that more drastic measures were necessary.
He found Sophia exactly where he expected to—in her private sitting room at her parents’ estate, sipping tea and reading a trashy romance novel. She looked up when he entered and her cool gaze immediately caught onto the thunderous expression Gabriel was wearing.
“Well, well,” she said, dog-earing the page she was on and setting aside her book. “Someone looks troubled.”
“We have a problem,” Gabriel said, shutting the door behind them. “The mercury didn’t work. If anything, it made things worse.”
Sophia’s perfectly sculpted eyebrow arched. “Worse how?”
“I think he’s really falling in love.” The words tasted like ash in h
