Page 35 of Will You (Not) Marry Me

“What, like pretend I’m talking to him?”

“No,” said Abbie, clearly bracing to say the next words she wanted to say. “I mean, call your mother and tell her.”

Eva froze, her pacing coming to an abrupt halt.

“Do I really look like I have that much of a death wish?” she asked, feeling cold all over at the thought of her mother’s reaction. Feeling even colder when she realized her parents were eventually going to find out one way or another. Maybe they would put her out of her misery before she ever even had to tell Finn… That was always a possibility.

“I’m not just throwing you into the lion’s den for fun,” said Abbie, looking a little pale at the thought herself. “But if you can call your mom and tell her, then calling Finn and tellinghimwill seem like a walk in the park.”

She was right. Eva really, really didn’t want Abbie to be right, but she was. Eva sighed and pulled her phone out from her jeans pocket.

“You can do it,” offered Abbie in a weak attempt at solidarity, giving her a double thumbs-up.

Eva hit “call” on her mother’s name before she had a chance to change her mind. This was all like a Band-Aid. It was better to just rip it off fast rather than drag it out.

The phone rang and Eva half expected her mother to not answer at all. Even though things had worked out for the family as a whole, the press getting bored and leaving them alone while Magnus kept his head down for the foreseeable future, Eva didn’t see her and her mom being on speaking terms for a long while yet.

“Hello, darling,” came her mother’s voice after the click of the receiver. It was her usual response, her usual pet name, but there was a coolness to her tone that made Eva shrink a little inside.

“Hi, how are things?” Eva said, trying to keep the grimace from her voice.

“Back to normal, thankfully. Far too much excitement for my tastes lately. But tell me, darling, why the phone call out of the blue?”

Eva was tempted to fall into the polite script she and Andrea usually spoke to each other in, avoiding any spiky topics of conversation. But she couldn’t keep being a wimp and shying away from hard things. She’d already messed things up enough by doing that.

“Just had some news,” said Eva, dreading how Andrea would take the news of her being pregnant to the crown prince of Eschenberg, a man she was no longer engaged to. Her mother liked predictable situations, and this was the exact opposite of a predictable situation. Once she knew who the father was, her mom would probably self-combust.

“Oh good,” said Andrea, sounding falsely cheerful. “I have news too. From Eschenberg.”

Eva went cold all over. Was it possible to die from embarrassment and dread? Because this might finally be her death knell.

“Yeah?” said Eva, with the feeling like she was poking a snake with a stick. “What’s happening at Eschenberg? Nothing bad, I hope.”

“Oh no, darling, it’s excellent news, for them at least. I’ve heard through the grapevine that there’s a new engagement lined up for Prince Finn. So it’s a happy ending after all, and he’s such a lovely young man. We couldn’t be more pleased for him.”

Eva felt like she was having an out-of-body experience. That well-trained, royal-daughter part of her brain kicked in to keep talking as every thought in her head skidded to a sudden halt.

“Oh,” she said. “That is good. For Finn. Please pass on my congratulations.”

The words sounded flat as they left her mouth, leaving a sour taste on her tongue.

“Hmm,” was her mother’s only reply, which meant she would pass on no such thing. “Well, after Magnus’s brush with the press and your… well. Aftereverything,everyone’s been very tight-lipped about private affairs, but I heard they’re going to be giving a proper announcement to the public within the next couple of days. Take the wind out of the paparazzi’s sails, control the story and what have you.”

“Sounds smart,” said Eva, drifting further afloat without a lifeline back to reality.

“Yes, well. That’s the big news here. But what did you call to tell me?”

The words stuck in Eva’s throat like she’d swallowed a pine cone. Abbie was looking at her with wide eyes and a frown, knowing from the one side of the conversation that she could hear that something had gone wrong. Eva forced herself to swallow, to speak, to sayanything.

“I’m in talks about a contract with a big advertising agency here in New York,” she lied, knowing her mother wouldn’t be bothered to fact-check. “They’re looking for new in-house photographers to hire to shoot campaigns and stuff. So, that’s exciting, you know.”

“Oh, yes. Very exciting,” said Andrea, having the decency to at least pretend to care. “I’m sure you’ll get the job, darling. Keep us updated, won’t you?”

“I will,” said Eva, her voice small.

“Anyway, darling, if that was all, I do need to go now.”

After an overly polite and hurried goodbye, Eva ended the call. She looked at Abbie, who was very still, perched on the edge of the couch with that unfamiliar frown still stuck on her face.

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