Page 32 of Will You (Not) Marry Me

Eva soaked in his words and breathed in the scent of him. This would probably be the last time she’d be able to do that… She quickly banished that thought and pulled back from Finn, officially ending the hug.

“Not that I want to get rid of you,” he said with a wry smile, still holding onto her hands. “But I figured you wouldn’t want to go back to the palace after my little announcement?”

Eva grimaced at the thought, which made Finn laugh. But even his laugh sounded sad right now.

“I think that would be a very bad idea,” Eva agreed, trying to match his smile with one of her own. “It would probably be safer to go swimming with sharks or taunting bulls with red capes or something.”

“Probably. So I took the liberty of booking you a ticket straight back to New York instead of back to Skärov. That’s where you belong. With your roommate and your camera in the middle of it all. Not out here being miserable.”

Even though his gentle smile had stayed, his eyes had returned to the floor. Eva took Finn’s jaw in her fingers and made him look at her for what she had to say next.

“Thank you, Finn.” She said it with every ounce of sincerity she could muster, weighing down every word with gratitude from the bottom of her soul. “Thank you for doing this. I could say it a million times and it will never be enough.”

He shrugged as if it were no big deal. “It’s just another change of plan, Eva. That’s all. Don’t you worry about me, okay? I don’t want you worrying about anything anymore.”

“I won’t, I promise,” she said, though it felt like a lie even as she said it.

* * *

Eva hadn’t brought a whole lot with her from New York, but all the same she took her time packing, desperate to avoid waiting around awkwardly for the car Finn had ordered to take her to the airport. She packed up her clothes and her camera, checking everything twice, pretty sure she had mental whiplash from the direction her morning had taken. She’d gone from accepting her fate—even looking forward to it a little bit, perhaps—to being freed from the whole thing without even having to take the blame for the engagement ending.

She should be dancing on cloud nine, kicking her heels up in the air. It had turned out all right after all. Her plan had worked, in a roundabout way, showing Finn the lengths she’d been willing to go to in order to avoid the marriage that she’d never signed up for. Instead, the mood between them was somber and heavy as Finn insisted on carrying her suitcase to the sleek black car that had pulled up in front of the cabin, the driver bowing to both of them.

With her suitcase loaded and the driver waiting by the car door, there was an awkward moment where Eva wasn’t sure how to say goodbye to Finn. They both stood with their hands in their pockets, and hugging suddenly seemed far too intimate, too informal, to do in the bright outdoor light with the driver watching.

Eva settled for a tight-lipped smile and a nod. “Well.” That was it. That was all she could think to say. Everything that had needed to be said, they had said to each other in the cabin.

“Take the world by storm, princess,” said Finn. “They won’t be ready for you.”

He smiled down at her, enough warmth in his eyes that his gaze could have melted the snow beneath their feet. Eva smiled back, properly this time, actually feeling it.

“Just so long as you lead how you want to, Your Highness,” she countered. “If you’re going to shepherd a country into the future, make sure that it’s the future you want.”

Finn’s smile grew just the tiniest fraction before he offered her a very formal bow. Eva curtsied, precise and elegant despite her boots and the snow.

After that, there was nothing else they could say or do, no more seconds that could be eked out together, and Eva stepped forward to the car. She climbed in, ducking her head, the driver closing the door behind her with athunk. It was so final, that door closing, like the end of an era.

Through the dark, tinted glass, Finn looked more like a ghost than a person, as if he were already fading away.

CHAPTER16

EVA

Eight long, slow weeks had passed, with time appearing to drag its heels. It was a strange feeling, like every day was a year long, and though Eva tried to stay busy, there were almost too many hours to fill to try and drown out the thoughts swirling around her head at all hours of the day and night. But things had worked out and life was going exactly according to plan, right down to the letter. After her mother’s disastrous surprise visit a few months ago, this was all she had dreamed of.

She had left Eschenberg in a rush on the plane Finn had booked her a seat on. She hadn’t bothered to rendezvous with her family beforehand, and had arrived back home to Abbie’s victorious celebrations, exhausted and with the worst jet lag she’d ever had. She had watched the headlines and online posts like a hawk, waiting to see if the press was going to tear her, or Finn, to shreds. Meanwhile, her mother had point-blank refused to speak to her ever since. Her father, as usual, was simply too busy to have an opinion either way. But Magnus, surprisingly, had texted her the day after her return to the U.S.

Any new photos you’re working on? I’d like to see them…

There was no mention of the engagement. No mention of her mother’s fury at the situation, which Andrea had been sure was somehow Eva’s doing. Just a question about her photography. That’s what had opened the floodgates and made Eva cry, a release from the past few weeks of pressure and stress and uncertainty. The simple little text from her brother, a white flag begging for a truce.

She’d sent him the photos she’d taken outside the cabin, the shadows and the trees reaching out into the ice in stark contrast. Magnus had replied almost instantly.

They’re really cool. Not that I understand art or anything. But are you gonna print them out or what?

They’d continued to talk like that, simple texts every day, checking in on each other while both Eva’s parents and (mercifully) the press pretended that she didn’t exist.

So the plan to subvert and break up the engagement had worked perfectly. Her mother had finally given up on her, and the press no longer cared because there was no meat left on the bones of the story for them to feast on, with both royal houses clamping down and refusing to give out any information. And she and Magnus had somehow managed to repair their relationship enough to start talking again. Eva had escaped scot-free. Not that she had escaped though, really… Finn had set her free, never having trapped her himself in the first place. He’d simply opened a door and allowed her to leave, unlike everyone else involved. Once he knew she hadn’t had a choice, he gave her one. He had been the only person to give her a choice.

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