“Come in.Come in,” a woman’s voice called from the back of the plane, coming closer as she spoke.A pretty blonde woman, obviously pregnant, stepped into sight, followed by two children, who peeked from behind her.“I’m Sara Wallach, Ezreal’s wife.These are our children.Janna is seven, and Brand is five.Ezreal’s working on a music piece and can’t be disturbed, but he’ll be out soon.He promised.”
She shifted her gaze to Heath.“You’re all Kayn can talk about, so of course we’ve been dying to meet you.He says you two think alike, and that’s hard to find.Don’t be surprised if he tries to get you to move to Boone full-time.”
“Thanks for the warning.”He’d wondered how much pressure they’d put on him.
“Make yourselves comfortable.There are plenty of workstations, and we have Wi-Fi.This will be a relatively short trip, so you won’t need to claim a bed.”
“There are sleeping accommodations?”Quinn asked, speaking for the first time.
“Yes, there’s one actual bedroom, and the rest of them are bunks.The guys don’t usually all travel together, but when they do, they have to toss a coin to figure out who gets the bedroom.”Sara must have seen something in Quinn’s expression because she asked, “Would you like a tour?”
“I’d love one.”
Sara glanced at Heath and Viktor.Since Mr.Wallach was busy, Heath would prefer to get right to work.But if the viscount went, Heath would tag along.
“My family owns a private jet, so I am conversant already,” Viktor said with a bow.“I do have some things I must see to, if you wouldn’t mind?”
“You’re from England?”Sara asked.
Heath wondered if the guy would say who he was despite claiming to want to be just a regular guy for this trip.
“I was educated in England, yes, but I am from a small country off the Baltic Sea.I am most interested in speaking with your husband about his business model.We are looking to bring more technology to our country.”
“Well, Ezreal would be happy to tell you what he knows, but you need to understand he’s a musician.Rafe Davis is the CEO, and he can answer any of your questions.”
“Thank you.I look forward to discussing it with your husband and his business partners if they can make time for me.”
“I’m sure they will.”Sara turned to Quinn.“Time for the cook’s tour.”
When they turned back the way Sara had come, the children clinging to their mother’s slacks, Heath looked at Viktor.
“You’re looking at opening a gaming company in Glenloria?”
“We are considering many options to bring modern technology to the country, yes.”Viktor took one of the comfortable recliner-type seats and put his laptop case on his lap.“We are a culture very much steeped in old tradition.It has its benefits because it provides visitors an opportunity to step back in time.Something I believe you would understand, considering what your family has created in Wildstone.”
Viktor pulled out his laptop and dropped the case to the side with more force than necessary.“Unfortunately, the king has been resistant to change.Both of his sons—Quinn’s brothers—are trying to encourage their father to look to the future.Prince Viggo, the heir to the throne, has made it clear he will make changes when he rules.”Viktor gave a rueful chuckle.“The princess challenged me to do the same for myself except relating to my love life.”He shook his head.“That is irrelevant.Viggo is trying to persuade his father that the two of them working together would be a better approach.”
“The prince is right, in my humble opinion,” Heath surprised himself by saying.“It’ll take time to educate people about the changes and the benefits they’ll bring.We went through a tough first year working with the tenants in Wildstone.Having a new owner made it a scary time for them as they wondered what it meant for their future, and they were resistant to changing anything.”
“And yet I have visited the village, and the people seem quite happy.”
“Now they are.”Heath credited his sister and Didi for smoothing out a lot of the issues.
“There is much to consider.”Viktor turned his attention to his laptop.
As Heath took his to the conference table, he thought about this new picture of Quinn’s “evil” family.He wanted to dislike them all on behalf of her mom, but he found himself impressed with what he’d heard of her brothers.
Could Quinn ever bring herself to think differently of them?
“This is notwhat I expected when Heath said we’d be riding on a private jet,” Quinn confessed to Sara.
“I’ll bet you thought it’d be full of luxuries and conspicuous consumption.I did.”
“They already had the jet when you got married?”
“Oh, Ezreal and I have only been married a little over a year.”Something dark crossed her face, but it disappeared quickly.“I was married before.”
“Your children are adorable.I’m a photographer.If you’d like me to take some family photos, I’d be happy to.”
