“At last, I’ve found you, your—” the suave English-accented voice faltered, and Viktor coughed behind her.“Quinn.”
Speak of the devil.
“You’re early, my Lord,” she said without looking at him.
“Yes, ma’am.I hoped I would have an opportunity to speak with you.”
“Well, I’m here.I hope you received the link to the photos I’ve taken so far.I haven’t edited any yet, but I’d rather wait until you tell me which ones you’re interested in,” Quinn said, pulling out her phone and jotting down some notes to herself about the last session.
“No, my dear, I had hoped for an opportunity to get to know you better.”
My dear?Quinn took a second to calm herself.She didn’t want to judge this man wrong, but she had no intention of being manipulated.Considering the link to her bio dad, she was justified in her wariness about the man’s intentions.
“Why are you really here?”She met his gaze and held it.“I’m a straightforward person, and I don’t like games.Are you a pawn in whatever this is?”
His perfectly arrogant mask broke for a second before reforming, though the troubled look in his eyes stayed.
“My father and your—” Viktor must have seen her flash of anger, and he broke off.He began again.“My father and the king have been friends since childhood, and their greatest wish has been to unite the two houses.Unfortunately, they both only had sons.”
“So, whose plan was it to come to America and meet the newly discovered daughter?”Quinn didn’t try to keep the sarcasm from her voice.“Theirs or yours?”
“It was a combination.”
“Well, Heath told me about your conversation last night.”Viktor’s brows shot up and his mouth dropped open.“I have a mercenary heart?Seriously?You don’t even know me, and I feel sorry for you that the only women you know appear to be like that.Just so you know, I’mnotmercenary.”
“Yes.That is what your friend said.”
“My fiancé, you mean.Look, you need to understand that I have zero respect for your king because of how he treated my mother.I have no wish to associate myself with a man who would do that to his wife.I’m sorry you wasted your time by coming.”Quinn held his gaze.“You said you were in on the decision to come here towoome.Be honest with me here, Viktor.Did you really want to marry a stranger?”
His expression crumpled, and he shook his head.“I knew it was what my father wanted.His health has been declining, and I wished to give him something to look forward to.”
“Grandchildren?”
“Yes, and I have failed him.”
Quinn’s heart twisted at the sincere emotion, both in his voice and in his posture.Viktor was a bit of a martyr, willing to sacrifice himself to make his father happy.
“You haven’t failed him.You can still find a wife, and you can raise a family together.But you deserve someone who lovesyouand not just your title.You need a loving life partner, like my mother found in my dad.”Quinn frowned.“Notyour king.If you need examples, just watch Mr.and Mrs.Savage.They’ve been married for nearly twenty-five years, and they’re still crazy about each other.Sure, they disagree, but they’re always thinking about the other, and they work it out.”
“You make it sound so reasonable, but neither my parents nor my younger brother have been happy in their marriages.”
“And yet you were willing to risk your future happiness by marrying a stranger.”Quinn touched Viktor’s arm lightly before pulling it back.“Go after your dreams.Someday, you’re going to be the duke, so look to the future.Fight for it.”
“I would fight for a chance with you.I already love your ferocity.”
“My Lord, Heath already has my heart.”Quinn paused.She meant what she’d said.Burning at the back of her eyes made her blink.But she couldn’t keep him.Not without giving up her dreams.“We should get to work.”
When she turned to go, the viscount reached out and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.“I apologize for how poorly I have behaved.I see I was misled.”Viktor dropped his hand and gave one of his formal bows.“Regarding your mother, it was my understanding that the king’s marriage to her had been a university lark, a fling.That when he was called home to take on his responsibilities, the dissolution of the marriage was amicable.”
“It wasn’t a lark to my mother.He dumped her when she became inconvenient.”Quinn looked away.“If you have the guts to take a message back to him for me, you can tell him he disgusts me, and I never want to talk to him.”
“I wish I had known this before I embarked on this journey,” Viktor said.“Thank you for confiding in me.I understand your antipathy.”Quinn found only sympathy in his gaze.
“Will you leave now?”she asked.
“No.This is my first trip to America, and I wish to see more of it.”
She burst out laughing.“It’s your first trip, and you came to northern Washington?Not that there’s anything wrong with it.I love it here, but you look like a big-city kind of guy.I’m assuming you were educated in England.”
