Page 13 of Will You (Not) Marry Me

Finn cleared his throat, preparing to try again. He was determined; she had to give him that. He was a crown prince, after all. It wasn’t in his DNA to let a social situation die off. She mentally saluted the poor man’s efforts.

“Then…” he said, “perhaps you could teach me a little thing or two about photography. Who better to learn from than someone with a degree in the craft?”

“Maybe,” she said, with the unmistakable tone ofno, absolutely not.

At a loss for how else to get her to talk, and with the slightest signs of irritation showing, Finn excused himself, insisting that he needed to greet her brother. Eva just shrugged and picked at the food on her plate with disinterest and let him leave without a word.

So far, so good.

* * *

Eva had always thought her own family pushy, but it seemed Finn’s was just as bad. With the two of them combined in the same building, it was pretty much impossible to come up with an excuse to keep her away from Finn for long.

Only a few hours after the stifling brunch, Andrea had asked Eva to meet her in the conservatory. Sensing a trap but having no reason to refuse, Eva found her way there with the help of one of the servants.

It was a beautiful room, the three walls made of double-glazed glass as well as the ceiling, letting in all of the light of the sun and keeping out the cold. Dozens of houseplants were scattered about among comfortable chairs and stylish side tables. Eva would have been happy to be here under other circumstances. But of course, as she walked in, she found Finn standing there, obviously waiting for her.

Eva swallowed her frustration at having been misled. She could take advantage of the fact that they were alone. Right now, at least, she wouldn’t have to be subtle about being a brat.

“I think perhaps we got off on the wrong foot,” Finn said as she entered, his charm set to full force. He held out a hand as if to shake. “Truce.”

Eva eyed it, snaking her gaze up to his without a hint of warmth. “Yeah, sure,” she said, talking as if to a neighbor she hated and not a royal who was technically her senior in rank.

Finn pulled his hand back awkwardly, stuffing it in his pocket. The room was warm, so Eva took the opportunity to shed her jacket, throwing it carelessly onto the back of one of the chairs. When it landed poorly and slid to the floor in a heap, she left it there, not caring about the sloppiness of it.

Finn seemed to care, though. He looked from the jacket to Eva and back again several times until, with a considerable show of will, he managed to not say anything about it.

Good,thought Eva.You don’t like things out of place. That’s good to know.

She stood with arms folded and a mild scowl on her face as if she were in a room full of rodents, not well-tended houseplants.

“So,” Finn began, utterly determined to persevere. “We haven’t really had a chance to talk in private yet.”

“Nope.”

“It’s hard to get to know someone with family members milling around, no matter how good their intentions.”

“Yep.”

Nothing. She was going to give him absolutely nothing to work with. She knew it was working when she heard him let out the softest of sighs.

“I hope you’re feeling better than you did yesterday.”

“Kinda.”

Eva tried not to get caught up on how suave-looking he was. She tried to lean into being annoyed at how effortless it seemed for him to look that good. She could see him wracking his brain for something else to say while she turned all of her attention to a leaf on the plant closest to her.

“Seeing as you went to art school, I was thinking perhaps we could take a trip to the gallery here. It might have to be after hours for security reasons, but they have some wonderful paintings in there.”

She absolutelywouldlike to do that. But she wasn’t being Eva right now; she had to be the worst wife material.

She grimaced a little before she answered. “Oh, I don’t really dopaintings. I’m strictly a photography person.” A complete lie, but he didn’t have to know that.

“Well…” He cleared his throat. “Whatdoyou like to do?”

“I guess… I like to read,” she said, sounding as though she were bored stupid by the idea, just to confuse him.

“Oh! My friend Tobias is very well-read. Absolutely loves books. I’m sure he could recommend some to you while you’re here.”

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