Heath let out a bark of laughter.“You’re kidding, right?”
“Wait.I think I know where Lia’s going with this,” Coop said.
“Oh, yeah?”Heath said in the most belligerent tone Quinn had ever heard from him.The two men had been friends even before the Savage family had inherited the Citadel, and she hated to see them at odds with each other.
“If we accept this reservation, they might come anyway under an assumed name.It’d be better to know who’s here from Glenloria.Wouldn’t it?”Coop asked Quinn.
“Good point,” Quinn said and glanced at Heath.
“Are you sure about this?”he asked softly.
“Coop’s right.”Quinn straightened in her chair.“Whatever else happens, I can’t have someone from Glenloria approaching my mother.I have to know who they are, so I can protect her.”
“Well, we’ll be here for you,” Lia said emphatically.Both Coop and Heath nodded.
“All right, then.But this really must remain between just the four of us.”They all agreed to say nothing, so Quinn woke her tablet where she kept her notes.“I appreciate your help.We should probably get on with the cookbook meeting, unless Coop has something else.”
“I’ll take that as my invitation to leave.”He kissed his wife and slipped from the room.
Quinn just wished she knew what a duke from Glenloria wanted to talk to her about.She’d rather the king send one of his sons.Then she could at least meet one of her brothers.
3
Afew days later, Heath stepped from his office and jogged up the stairs to the family floor.He went to the wall of windows his parents had widened the year before.Unless he wanted to get caught watching Quinn at work, he had to be careful.
He rarely took time to observe her as she photographed her clients, but he found it entertaining how well she interacted with people, especially children.She got even the surliest teen to crack a smile, and she was always prepared to capture it with her camera.
Since the big revelation three days ago, he’d taken to coming up here more often to keep an eye on her.The look of desperation on her face that day continued to bother him.Heath admired how much she wanted to protect her mother from further hurt, but there was no way Quinn could control the information if the king decided to out her.
What did it say about the man if hehadconnived to send this duke fellow here to talk with her?What was the guy’s real purpose in coming?And would he admit it to her?
Heath didn’t want to consider that the duke might be coming to propose a marriage arrangement.Did they even do marriages of convenience anymore?Could they offer Quinn something to tempt her?He hadn’t asked Lia if she’d considered the same thing, and her silence on the subject made him think she hadn’t.She’d have raged in Quinn’s behalf.
Finally, he spotted Quinn with the family group.She kept glancing up at the sky where rain threatened.It could be challenging to take outdoor photographs in northern Washington, considering how much precipitation they received.But Quinn had gotten creative and had found workarounds, which included views of the outdoors but under cover.
This young family had a precocious toddler who kept trying to run away.These could be some of the most entertaining shoots to watch because of the antics Quinn had to do to capture the attention of the little ones.
“I wondered if I’d find you here,” Coop said, coming to stand beside Heath.“Are we ready for this royal dude?”
“You know Mom.”
“Indeed I do,” Coop said with a chuckle.
And he would.The initial meeting of their parents when Heath’s family had first arrived hadn’t gone well at all.Poor Deb had given Heath’s mother the idea the Montgomerys wanted the Savages gone which hadn’t been true at all.It’d taken time for Heath’s mother to trust them.Now they were family.
“Have you talked with Quinn about how she plans to approach meeting the duke?”Coop asked.
“No.I was kind of hoping Lia would do it.Girl talk, you know.Has Lia said anything to you about it?”
“Not about that.Since the king has two sons, we wondered if Quinn, being the oldest child, was in line to inherit the throne.”
Heath had been curious about it too and done an internet search.“Only a male can rule.”
“That’s what we found out.It must be a relief to Quinn.”Coop pointed at the toddler who’d escaped, and he chuckled.“She sure earns her pay.”
“Yeah, she does.”Once the parents had captured the child again, Heath said, “If he doesn’t need an heir, do you think he wants to use her as leverage?Like through marriage?”
“We’ve wondered the same thing.”
