The next morning, the air felt lighter and clearer between them. Like maybe Connall had fucked away the remaining vestiges of the awkwardness at the treehouse.

He hoped, at least, that they could never bring that up again. In his ideal world, Bernadette would live with him primarily in Seattle in some new venture she discovered due to this trip, visiting the sanctuary only as needed. And after his last surprise today, on their last day in Switzerland, he really hoped to make some headway in showing her other opportunities for pursuing her life’s work out of danger.

After a lazy breakfast in the suite looking out at the sparkling, snow-covered caps of the Alps, Connall called the car to take them to their destination. Bernadette was bubbly and eager to know about the surprise, but he revealed nothing during the half-hour trip. When they pulled through the wrought iron gates of the immaculate and world-renowned zoo, she seemed a bit confused.

“Is this it?” She squinted out the window. “Are we here?”

“We are.” The driver dropped them off at the front of the entrance area. Enormous stone lions reared back on hind legs, lining the main gates. Bernadette stepped out, hugging herself as she looked around.

“A zoo?”

The incredulity in her voice made him pause. “Not just any zoo. This is the world’s foremost example of preservation work in supporting endangered species. Switzerland’s supreme zoo.”

When the expected cooing didn’t occur, he covered her hand with his, leading her to the gates. “And we have backstage passes to talk with more scientists.”

Bernadette stumbled behind him, looking around suspiciously, confusion written on her face. “Wow.”

Once they were inside the gates, visitors filled the stone walkways. Signs pointed to various attractions in German, French, and English. Based on the arrangements he’d made, they would meet with the head zookeeper first and then visit various exhibits, so Bernadette could meet the animals while learning about their preservation work. They hadn’t gone far when an employee wearing a headset approached them. Once they’d introduced themselves, the employee whisked them toward a staff-only area, explaining in accented English some of the history of the zoo and the particular sources of the animals.

The tour was seamless and educational, with barely any breaks for Connall and Bernadette to chat. They visited sharks and then elephants, snakes and then pumas. By the time they made it to the grand finale—the wolf exhibit—she and the zookeeper were essentially speaking in their own private scientific language, one that Connall was happy to opt out of as long as it made sense to her.

The wolves’ enclosure was a large grassy area bordered by cement, with real trees crowded along one side, a miniature stream running through it. Tall, reinforced glass partitions protected the visitors and animals from each other, though he and Bernadette peered in from the staff entrance, where employees entered to tend the area.

“It’s so small,” she whispered after staring through the window for a long, long time.

Connall blinked. It was maybe a half acre. Up above, on the visitors’ level, hundreds of human faces were smashed against the glass, peering down at the animals. “Yeah.”

She watched as a few wolves sauntered by. The zookeeper had shuffled off to speak with an employee. Bernadette turned suddenly, her face creased. And then he noticed—she was crying.

“Oh, darling. Are you okay?” He gripped the sides of her arms.

She sniffed hard, nodding. “I just…I can’t stand it. I can’t stand that they’re in there. I know this place is doing good work—it’s just so hard to see such independent, majestic animals kept in such small spaces.”

She drew a shaky breath, walking away from the viewing area, smoothing her hands down over her shirt. He followed her, glancing back at the enclosure one last time.

“I’m sorry,” was all he could think to say. She wiped at her face, straightening her back as they lingered in the hallway and waited for the zookeeper.

“It’s okay.” She waved it off. “You didn’t know that zoos are…hard for me.”

He rubbed the sides of her arms, her words cycling in his head. Of course he hadn’t known…but now that she’d said it, he should have at least figured that. He squeezed his eyes shut, scolding himself for the oversight.

What were you thinking? Like she wants to see the animals she lives with trapped in a space the size of a postage stamp. He clenched his jaw, lacing his fingers through hers, faced with the uncomfortable truth once more.

Their lives didn’t fit. It didn’t make sense. But he felt down to the tips of his toes that this could somehow work out between them. There was a way, he just had to find it.

“I should have guessed,” he said, dropping his head. “I really thought you’d be interested in the preservation work. I…”

“Connall.” She smiled up at him, but it looked forced. “It was a lovely surprise, and I appreciate it.”

He nodded, realization striking him. He wanted to be with this woman, in every sense of the word. It wasn’t about the will, either. It was only about her. Even though the two of them made almost no sense, he could see himself with her…maybe forever. And he’d never once thought that about any woman, even the women who made the most sense for him on paper.

Just one small task remained: figure out how to merge their lives.

Two days later, Bernadette was at her father’s house again. It had been less than a month since her last visit, frequent by her standards, but it seemed like a year had passed. With all the emotional commotion of Connall in her life, she felt like everything had been flipped upside down.

She was still mulling over the Switzerland trip. They’d gotten back the night before, with Connall promising to send her back to Montana on his private plane whenever she was ready. But first, she needed to speak to her father about the grant. Get a business update. And find out what on earth his objection could be to this man who was so clearly thoughtful and attentive.

“So…” Her foot bobbed up and down as she sat in the leather chair facing his desk. He arched a brow.

“Yes?”

“I think Connall and I might have to break up.” She winced at the words. It was the first time she’d spoken them aloud, and she just wanted to test them, really. Send the idea out into the world to see if it might inspire the opposite to happen, as she was so desperate for. She’d be meeting him for dinner that night, and she planned to bring up them, the unit. The couple that wanted to work but, practically speaking, just maybe couldn’t.

She wasn’t planning on suggesting breaking up, but it seemed inevitable. She’d go back to Montana. He’d stay in Seattle. What could possibly be waiting for them other than heartbreak?

“Hm.” Her father nodded, the corner of his mouth turning up. “Well. I can’t say I’m not relieved.”

She creased a brow. “I love him, you know. And I think he loves me.” Her heart raced once she said the words. It was true. She’d fallen for him the moment she laid eyes on him, which just made the whole situation so much more unfair.

Her father grunted. “Is that so?”

“Yes. I don’t want to break up with him…I just think it’s going to happen.” She paused, clenching her jaw. She was about to wade into territory she normally avoided like the plague. “What do you have against him, anyway?”

Her father’s gaze turned stony. “His family is conniving.”

She narrowed her eyes. “How so?”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news…but there’s no way he could truly be in love with you so quickly. Not with the time limit.” He cleared his throat, his green eyes glancing over some papers on his desk. “When the Beaumont grandfather, my client, passed, his will dictated that his majority share of his grandson’s company would be sold to outside investors unless—and this was a big unless—his grandsons could find love and get married by a certain date.”

Bernadette swallowed hard, looking at her hands in her lap.

“They’ve each gone to wild lengths trying to find ‘love’ and comply with this requirement…because if they don’t, they’ll lose the company.”

Bernadette furrowed a brow, unable to meet her father’s gaze. “When is their time up?”

“In three weeks.”

A puff of air escaped her. God, it made sense. Ridiculous dinners, impromptu trip to Switzerland. Connall was fast-tracking their relationship so they could get married in time to save his company. She rolled her lips inward, trying to calm the roiling waters of emotion threatening to topple her.

She swallowed the swell of anger, straightening her back. “I’m glad you told me. This changes things.”

“I’m sorry, dear. It’s better to break it off with him. Any offer he might make you would be disingenuous at best.”

Bernadette pushed to standing on wobbly knees, needing a break, a breath of fresh air, the chance to cry into a pillow for a little bit. “Thanks, Dad. I’m going to go take care of some paperwork stuff, and we can meet again after lunch, all right?”

“Sure.” He stood as well, closing his laptop, forwarding his calls from his desk phone to his cell. “I’ve got a lunch meeting anyway, so let’s reconvene after that.”

She shuffled out of his office, lingering in the hallway to stare out the window at the front lawn, thoughts clamoring for attention in her head. Anger spiked and then ebbed, followed by sadness. Were you duped? She crossed her arms over her chest, sending a tight smile to her father as he left for the lunch meeting. Connall seemed so genuine. So serious.

She clutched at her head. It just didn’t feel right. If anything, she thought she’d be able to sniff out a liar. Connall hadn’t seemed like a liar. Eager, sure, but not falsely so. She winced, replaying her father’s words in her head. So this whole time, he just wanted to use you. To save his company.

She watched her father get into his car in the driveway and drive away. The silence of the house consumed her, amplifying her thoughts. And then suddenly, she was so angry her hands shook. How dare he?

She drew a shaky breath, turning back to her father’s office. If Connall wanted to play her for a fool, she’d be the first to show him that she was the farthest thing from one. She headed for her father’s file cabinet, knowing exactly where he tended to store client documents, from her brief stint as his assistant in college. Showing up to confront Connall wouldn’t be enough. No, she needed proof. And it had to be inside this room.

Finding the Beaumont file wasn’t hard, but there were years’ worth of documents stowed away. She rifled as quickly as she could, the intrusion into her father’s private files pressing down on her throat, making it hard to breathe. She scanned hundreds of documents, seemingly inconsequential stuff, until she came across a manila envelope that looked promising.

She fumbled to get it open, breath catching when she read the words at the top: The Last Will and Testament of Rupert Beaumont. She rocked back onto her heels, trying to make sense of the words while so much adrenaline coursed through her.

She made a copy of the multipage will, and then stuffed it back into its home. She needed time to look this over, and then she’d go to wherever Connall was and end this thing right away.

You want love, not a pressed-for-time executive who’ll take the first woman who looks his way. Tears filled her eyes as she stormed upstairs, ready to lock herself in the bedroom for at least an hour and have a good, solid cry. Good on him for doing what he needs to do to save his business…but you will not be his wife of convenience.

She crumpled onto her bed, letting a wave of sorrow and disappointment overcome her. She’d been so close with Connall. So close to finding that sweetness and tenderness that she’d been wanting her whole life. A partner to share things with. And even though there were challenges reconciling their lifestyles, she still believed, deep down, that they could have overcome them.

But this changes everything.

She sniffed, wiping tears from her cheeks, but a new wave overcame her as she settled on another truth: if Connall had asked her to marry her sometime in the next three weeks, she probably would have said yes. And if he’d suggested a fast wedding, she wouldn’t have thought twice. Because that’s just how Connall lived: going after what he wanted.

And he would have duped you more than you could have imagined.

Tears dripped onto the papers, and she wiped them away hastily. The trickery hurt so much more because she’d been so sure about him. Their lifestyles might have needed tweaking, but Connall as a companion had just felt right.

But thank God she’d found out in time…before making the biggest mistake of her life.