What was this all about? Max had indicated pressure from his father to marry, but he’d never mentioned that he would have to abdicate if he didn’t take a wife. Did he have to be married by his thirty-fifth birthday in order to keep his position as the heir apparent?
A sick weight dropped to the bottom of Emberly’s stomach.
“My marriage to Emberly has nothing to do with that.” Max’s voice rose above the others that were calling out.
The same reporter with the same accent yelled out again. “But you cannot deny that you have been on the search for a wife in order to fulfill the king and parliament’s deadline.”
This time Max didn’t respond, neither confirming nor denying the reporter. But it was clear enough to Emberly. There was a deadline, and it was fast approaching.
He nodded at Winzig as he moved aside. The burly man stepped into Max’s place, braced his feet apart, and crossed his arms. Once again, Max headed toward the SUV with Kade following.
Emberly could only stare at the monitor, the sickness inside swirling faster.
That was why Max had been in such a hurry to marry her. That was why he’d suggested they not wait for family or have a real wedding. Because he’d known he was running out of time and needed to get the deal done before it was too late.
Her dad turned off the monitor, plunging the room into silence except for the sizzling of the bacon and eggs. No one around her moved, except Wyatt, who was still eating his toast.
She hadn’t misunderstood Max. No, her whole family had heard him admit to having to marry by his birthday or lose the opportunity to become the next king of his country.
She sat frozen to the stool, but her mind was racing with a thousand thoughts. Had Max come to the ranch on a mission to find a wife? Had he targeted her because she looked gullible and easy to win over? The woman who’d failed out of college, who couldn’t do anything better than work on her family’s ranch, who relied on her brothers to bail her out of trouble?
Why else would he want an unimportant, untitled woman like her when he could have any other woman?
Of course, he couldn’t plan a snowstorm, but maybe he’d intended to find a way to force their proximity. That’s probably why Braun had his license as a registrar, because then he could marry the naive American woman who fell for Max’s charm.
Her dad reached for her hand. “I’m sure there’s a good explanation, darlin’.”
Instead of proving to her family she was strong and independent and adequate, she’d shown them all over again what a failure she was, this time in her marriage.
She pulled back from Dad and hopped off the stool. A tightness moved up into her lungs and then her throat. Even if she could have managed a response, she didn’t want to talk to anyone.
She made her way to the back door.
“Emberly, wait.” Her mom’s footsteps pattered after her.
Emberly was already at the back door by the time her mom caught her arm. “Honey, please. Let’s wait for Max to return.”
Tears stung Emberly’s eyes, and she blinked them back. “No. I don’t want to talk to Max.” The words tumbled out broken and breathless. Then before anyone else could stop her, she raced off toward the trail that led down to her cottage.
All she wanted to do was get inside, lock the door, and cry in private.
22
Max leaned his head against Emberly’s door. “Please, darling. Please. Let me see you.”
Silence greeted him on the other side, just as it had for the past hours that he’d been outside her cottage, knocking and trying to talk to her.
He expelled a long, frustrated sigh—one directed at himself. He had made an utter mess of everything, and he had no idea how to repair the damage.
Right after the questions at the gate—the ones directed at his motivation for marrying Emberly—he’d had an uneasy feeling. As he’d walked away from the reporters, he’d silently berated himself for not being completely honest with Emberly about the looming deadline for his getting married. He should have told her about it when he’d first suggested marriage, and he should have reassured her that the deadline did not factor into his desire to marry her so quickly.
During the winding drive back up to the house, he had planned to pull her aside and tell her about the deadline and the pressure to abdicate. He had wanted to let her know before she saw something online or was confronted by a reporter herself.
As he’d stepped out of the SUV, he had been met by an angry Tyler, who had almost punched him. With Winzig there, Tyler had resorted to a tirade about being a lying, conniving piece of horse manure for using Emberly and hurting her.
Max hadn’t needed anyone to tell him that she’d heard the exchange with the reporter and knew about his need to marry or lose the throne. When he’d brushed past Tyler and gone into the house, Leah had informed him that Emberly wasn’t there and had rushed off to her cottage.
He’d gone after Emberly, and he hadn’t left her stoop since, not even when Braun had pleaded with him on several occasions that he needed to eat and shower and take care of himself.
