Page 102 of A Princess for Christmas

“Yes.”

She raised her eyebrows. Easygoing Max never insisted on anything, never showed up uninvited into a space as private as her dressing room. “All right.”

Verene stood. “MissGabriella, let us step out for a moment. Would you like me to apply some of this lipstick for you?”

After Verene and Gabby left the room, Marie rose and moved to join Max on a sofa by the fireplace. She said, “What’s on your mind?”

“We can’t do this.”

“What? The engagement?”

“Yes. It’s madness.”

“Excuse me?” Max had always been cheerfully resigned to their turkey-baster-and-open-marriage plan. “I appreciate you trying with Mr.Benz earlier, but since when have you thought this was anything other than a strategic union we’d resigned ourselves to?”

“It still is that for me, but it’s clearly not for you, so we’ve got to call it off.”

“But it’s not like I’m going to marry Leo.”

He shrugged as if thatwasn’tthe most preposterous idea he’d ever heard.

“Max.I can’t marry Leo.” Could she?No universe, right? That’s the phrase that had been echoing through her head during the confrontation with her father.

“Let me ask you, why did you agree to marry me in the first place?”

“I don’t know that I did agree. It’s more that I went along with it.”

“All right, then why did you go along with it?”

“I—” Because going along with things was what she did?

But... was that true anymore? Marie thought back to last night, when Leo had listed off all the ways she hadn’t bent to her father’s—or Mr.Benz’s—will.

“I’ll tell you whyIwent along with it,” Max said. “Because I like you. I like you better than most people. I’m never going to meet anyone I want to marry. Since Ihaveto marry, it might as well be to you.”

“Iknow.” She tried not to let the frustration she felt come through in her tone. Max was only trying to help. “We’ve talked about all this.”

“It’s all the same to me,” he went on, as if he hadn’t heard her. “But it’s not all the same to you. Not anymore.”

It wasn’t. It wasn’t the same at all. There was theory, and there was... Leo.

A sob started to rise through her chest. She tried to swallow it—there was no point in crying—but Max knew her too well. He scooted closer and took her hand.

“I’m not going to pretend I understand this love business. But I can grasp it intellectually, and I know you well enough to know that now that you’ve had it—even if it can’t work out with Leo—you can’t settle for...” He grinned. “My sorry ass.”

“What am I going to do, though, if he doesn’t want me? Just not get married?” Could she do that?

He only shrugged again. She glared at him. She needed real advice here.

He sobered. “Don’t you at least think the first step is to get out of marrying me?”

“I have no idea what my father will do. What if he... kicks me out?” She couldn’t quite bring herself to saydisown.

“Does it matter? You have money.”

She did. Her mother had had a trust, held independent of any of her father’s family money. She’d drawn on it for their impromptu trips to America. She used to say, “It’s my money. I can do what I like with it.” Marie had forgotten that. Her mother used to say that rather vehemently, too. Defiantly, almost. As if someone had objected to the way she was spending it.

And Marie knew who that someone was, didn’t she?

---