Page 2 of Will You (Not) Marry Me

“Abbie.”

“Yes, Abbie. Shewashere and let me in, but I just asked her if she couldn’t pop out for a bit to give us some privacy. It’s so rare to have a visit in person, after all.”

Eva bit her tongue. Such a typical thing for her mother to do, ask Abbie to leave her own home. But it wasn’t worth getting into an argument over.

“Do you want to sit down?” Eva asked, gesturing to one of the couches against the wall. Andrea looked at the couch as if she’d prefer it to be disinfected first but said nothing and sat down on the edge of it, one ankle tucked primly behind the other.

Eva sat on the couch opposite, the coffee table between them. She and Abbie had decided to forgo a dining table to use the space for multiple couches and comfy chairs instead. Andrea folded her perfectly manicured hands in her lap and cleared her throat.

That’s when Eva’s stomach truly sank. Her mother was nervous. Andrea Nilsson was never nervous.Ever.

“Has someone died?” Eva asked, voice soft. Her thoughts flashed straight to her father.

“No!” Andrea exclaimed. “No, no, no, nothing like that. Everyone is just fine.”

Eva sank back in her seat. That was a relief, at least. But still, her mother said nothing, just picked at an invisible thread on her skirt.

“Mother,” said Eva, voice stern enough that Andrea finally looked her in the eye. “What’s so important that you couldn’t tell me over the phone?”

“Aren’t I allowed to deliver good news to you in person?”

“Sure you are. But are you actually going to tell me what the good news is?”

Eva kept flipping from panicked to confused, and it was making her nauseous. Andrea sniffed sharply through her nose and, somehow, managed to sit up straighter.

“Your father wasn’t able to come with me to tell you as well, so it’s just me. But itisgood news, darling.”

“Yes, you keep emphasizing that.”

Eva could almost see the moment when Andrea decided to just take the plunge.

“We’ve arranged a marriage for you. The engagement is a perfect match, if I do say so myself, to the crown prince of Eschenberg. A lovely young gentleman, not much older than yourself. If you were to listen to any rumors going around, it might not be that long a wait before he’s crowned king, which no one is disappointed about as he’s known for being such a charitable, kind young man. But a king needs a queen, and we’ve been in talks with his family and… well, it’s a happy end for everyone involved.”

Andrea finished off with a bright smile.

Eva blinked at her mother stupidly for a few seconds.

“What?” she said, leaning forward, thinking maybe she’d misheard. “What are you talking about? You’ve arranged a marriage for me?”

“I mean exactly that, darling,” said Andrea with a small smile, as if she hadn’t just said the most ridiculous thing Eva had ever heard.

“You’ve arranged a marriage for me.”

“Darling, I’ve never had to repeat myself so much. Yes—”

“Are youinsane?!”

Eva glared at her mother, who had the audacity to look surprised at the venom in her voice.

“I don’t see the problem.” Andrea laughed half-heartedly, knowing full well where to find the problem.

“The problem is that it’s the twenty-first century, Mother, not seventeen-ninety-two!”

“That’s a little overzealous, Eva. Your father and I had an arranged marriage of sorts. It’s really not that old-fashioned an idea.”

“Fair enough,” scoffed Eva. “But I’ll hazard a guess that at least youknewa marriage was in the works before you were engaged.”

Andrea shrugged slightly, the smallest sign of defeat. “Well, yes. We were part of the discussions to an extent.”

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