Page 15 of A Convenient Ring to Claim Her

Five weeks later

HEREALLYWASN’Tgoing to forgive her.

Quinn had expected their affair would be over after her announcement in Gibraltar a month ago. She had expected a cold shoulder from him in future. If she was lucky, he might offer a few heated words the next time Eden had a birthday or some other event they might both attend.

She had not expected him to deliberately undermine her ability to pursue her doctorate. Not when he had always been so supportive of her education. Not when he had sent her an anthology of feminist writings from the seventeenth century when she had been finishing up her master’s degree.

But there it was in her email.

Herr Gould has declined to vouch for you. I’m afraid we can’t share the letters with you at this time.

“I didn’taskhim to vouch for me!” she cried, causing one of the other hostel guests to glance at her.

Quinn shook her head to indicate she was fine and scowled again at her laptop, wondering how Micah had gotten involved at all. Yes, she had mentioned him when she was chatting up the volunteer on the help desk, saying Micah had once recommended she visit this particular museum in Vienna. Butshewas the one who had learned they had a collection of letters from the wife of a chancellor to her husband, imploring him to improve the conditions for women and their children in the 1800s. All she had asked was whether she could obtain scans of the originals. Her German was rudimentary and they were apparently written in a Bavarian dialect, but the chance to study a primary source was too exciting to overlook.

The volunteer had said, “Let me check with the curator and get back to you. We’ve done it before for academics. Your credentials are excellent so I don’t anticipate a problem.”

Her credentialswereexcellent. Since she hadn’t yet found a place to live in Canada, and Eden had flown her to Gibraltar for her wedding, Quinn had decided to seize the opportunity to expand her dissertation research. She dented her modest savings with the cost of a train pass and was buffering the cost of her room and board with whatever field picking or serving shifts she could pick up here and there.

She was really excited about the broader view her research would allow on her topic and, so far, all the historians in Spain and France had offered her an open-armed welcome.

This museum curator had felt compelled to check with Micah, though. And Micah had put her on some sort of blacklist. What a jerk.

Quinn checked the time, then impulsively placed a call to Lucille. She could have tried Eden, but had a feeling Micah was still ignoring her calls, too.

“Quinn!” Lucille’s warm greeting made her smile—and breathe a small sigh of relief. Apparently, no one had told Lucille about Quinn’s bombshell revelation in Gibraltar.

“Hi, Lucille. Have I caught you at a bad time?”

“Not at all. I was taking a break from my garden until it’s in the shade again. Where are you?”

“Vienna. That’s why I’m calling, actually. I wondered if you knew where Micah is right now? I’d love to catch him in person if I can.”

“Oh, I can never keep track of where that man will be next,” Lucille said. “He’s usually on his yacht for the summer, but he mentioned something about his aunt planning a dinner. She’ll host that at her villa on Lake Como so if I had to guess, I would imagine he’s heading to his villa in Bellagio if he isn’t already there. Let me give you his assistant’s number. He’ll put you in Micah’s calendar so you’re sure to see him.”

Not if he sees me first.

Quinn patiently pretended she needed the contact details Lucille gave her even as she checked the train schedule to Italy.

“Quinn?” Lucille’s shift to something more tentative made Quinn’s stomach curdle. Maybe she did know about her affair with Micah. Maybe she disapproved.

“Yes?” She tightened her hand on her phone.

“Will youpleaseask him to call Eden? She’s upset that he’s still refusing her calls.”

“Is he?” At least he wasn’t actively sabotaging his sister’s future. “I’ll bring it up, yes. How are you doing with Eden’s surprise marriage to Remy?”

“Still shocked, obviously. It all happened very fast. I already miss having her close by, but I’ve been to Montreal to see them. They’re settling in and seem deeply in love.”

“They do, don’t they?” Quinn said wistfully. She was tremendously happy for her friend, but felt bereft at how quickly Eden had thrown herself into her new life. This painfully familiar sense of abandonment was another reason Quinn was burying herself in research. She didn’twantto go back to Canada where her best friend would have so many other priorities ahead of her.

“It was good for the business, too. Remy has been very generous in helping her there,” Lucille continued. Her relief that her husband’s company was secure again rang strong in her voice. “Eden has her hands full, obviously, bringing things back on course, otherwise I’m sure she’d be on a plane to see Micah herself. He can be so stubborn sometimes.”

“Only sometimes?” Quinn asked sweetly.

“You do know him well, don’t you?” Lucille chortled.

A sharper twist of yearning went through her. Quinn knew Micah the way she knew most people—by observation. She often wished she knew his deeper thoughts and feelings, but that’s not who they were.

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