Mack’s heart was still racing, even though he felt like a limp rubber band, as he gathered on the dais with his brothers for more pictures.

“Whose crappy idea was this?” Johan asked, shrugging back into his uniform jacket, medals clinking.

“Yeah,” Kristoff agreed. “Cass and I were supposed to be down on the boat half an hour ago.”

“We all have better things to do,” Mack muttered. His eyes were glued to the doorway of the throne room and the hall beyond. He still couldn’t quite believe he’d been bold enough to take Gloria in that dressing room the way he had. In spite of his irritation with the situation at hand, he smirked.

“What’s that look for?” Arne asked, checking his watch.

“Just thinking about the better things I have to do,” Mack answered, his grin growing more obvious.

Arne chuckled, glancing to Emma, who waited on one side of the room, chatting with Toni. “We all do.” He turned to Mack. “I like Gloria, by the way.”

“Good to know,” Mack replied, waiting to see whether some sort of teasing would follow those words.

But instead, Arne said, “She’s just the sort of woman I always imagined you with.”

Mack blinked. “Really?”

“You imagined him with a woman at all?” Viggo cut in, more like what Mack would have expected from his brothers.

Arne punched Viggo’s arm, then went on. “Gloria is strong. And she’s graceful. She’s just the kind of woman to beat you into shape.”

As badly as Mack wanted to argue with his brother’s assessment, Arne was right. “I’m trying to convince her to stick around for a while. I introduced her to Carl Gustavson the other day, and—”

“There. Didn’t I tell you?”

Mack and his brothers turned to the doorway as Marina barked her accusation. She and the queen rushed out of the throne room to whatever it was that had Marina so suddenly upset.

“What’s that all about?” Alek asked, glancing to Toni. Toni broke away from Emma and heading for the hall.

Mack would have been content to stay where he was…until he caught the words “British tramp” as Marina raged on. In a flash, he knew Gloria was the focus of whatever had Marina so worked up. Every protective instinct he had flared to life. He stepped off the dais and marched to the doorway.

As soon as he hit the hall, he knew there was trouble.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gloria was in the middle of saying to Marina. Her hands were held up to ward the woman off, and her eyes were round with offense. Aside from that, her cheeks were still pink from their previous activity, and her dress was slightly askew.

“You’ve been caught red-handed,” Marina went on. “Both of you.”

It was then that Mack noticed William standing by Gloria’s side, looking as disheveled as usual. “This is all just a misunderstanding,” he said. He appealed to the queen. “Poopsy, you know I would never even look at another woman besides you.”

“I….” The queen held a hand to her chest, color splashed across her face, as if she didn’t know what she believed.

“It’s as clear as day,” Marina overrode whatever she might have said. “We’ve all seen the way the two of you have been flirting since this one arrived at the palace.” She glanced down her nose at Gloria. “Touching and giggling together.”

“That wasn’t—” Gloria started.

“Do you deny it?” Marina snapped.

Gloria’s mouth hung open for a moment before she made an incredulous sound and said, “I admire Dr. Hayes, and I’ve found him to be a charming conversationalist.”

Marina snorted. “A likely story.”

Mack had heard enough. He pushed past his mother to stand by Gloria’s side. “Aunt Marina, stop acting like a fool.”

Marina balked, blinking fast and gaping at him. “Me, a fool? You’re the one who’s being cuckolded by this dusky British floosy.”

Mack saw red. He clenched his jaw so hard he thought he might crush his teeth and grabbed Gloria’s hand. “How dare you stand there making insulting accusations with no proof? I thought you were better than that.”

“No proof?” Marina sniffed. “Just look at the two of them. Look at the state they’re in.”

“I was just running back after the call I got about the gift I got you being delivered,” William said to the queen. “Only nothing was there. It was a false alarm.”

Mack narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“My assistant saw the two of you in the window from the other wing,” Marina went on with a damning finality in her voice.

A twist of embarrassment tightened Mack’s stomach. He should have realized that anyone looking out a window in the palace wing across the courtyard would have had a front-row seat to anything he and Gloria did in the window.

“It was me,” he said. His own embarrassment was unimportant if it would set Marina straight. “Gloria was with me in there. Obviously.” He fixed Marina with a hard stare.

Gloria sent him a wary but thankful smile. She had the distinct look of someone who had no idea what she should say or do.

Again, Marina snorted. “You’re only saying that out of a sense of misplaced loyalty. Or because you don’t want to believe your girlfriend would be false.”

“And why are you so certain that she would be?” Mack challenged her. “Why are you so certain William would cheat on Mother?”

“I would never!” William said, as though just catching up to the full implication of the situation. “Sweetums, you know that.” He scooted closer to Viktoria’s side. But Viktoria backed away, a hollow look in her eyes. “You know that,” William pleaded.

“Men cheat,” she said, her voice far too distant for Mack’s liking.

“And I will not let my darling sister be cheated on again,” Marina added.

The bottom dropped out of Mack’s stomach. Again? That could only mean that, at some point, his father had been unfaithful.

“It was me, Mother,” he said, wishing he could do something to wipe the stricken look from her face. “I can find a way to prove it to you, but I think you know that the only logical explanation in this situation is that I was the one who was with Gloria.”

At last, the queen dragged her gaze to meet his. There was something far deeper going on than was originally apparent. She’d never talked about her relationship to his father before. As far as Mack was aware, the two of them had loved each other, even though it was more of a political marriage than a love match. He remembered the two of them from his childhood, and nothing that he could conjure up from his memory from those days gave him any indication that his father had been untrue. But he could see it now in his mother’s eyes. She’d been hurt at some point, and his father was behind it.

An odd burst of affection for her blossomed in Mack’s chest. Maybe that was the reason she’d fallen so hard for William to begin with. He was the last person in the world who would cheat on her. As undignified as he could be, William was unfailingly loyal. He hadn’t once stopped to consider how deeply she might need something like that.

“Vickie,” William said in a quiet, steady voice. He reached for her hand, and she let him take it. “I swear, there’s nothing unseemly going on here. I love you, only you, and I don’t want anyone but you.”

Viktoria turned slowly toward him. Her eyes softened, but the doubt was still there in the way her face pinched. “I—”

“Don’t do it, Viktoria,” Marina blurted. “I can’t bear to see you hurt again.”

Frustration boiled up through Mack’s gut. “She won’t be hurt. This is all a misunderstanding. You need to stop stirring the pot, Aunt Marina.”

The queen held up her free hand. “It’s all right, Mack. I can handle the situation myself.” She cleared her throat and turned to William. “I believe you, darling. I do. It’s just that….” She turned to Marina.

Marina straightened her back and tilted her chin up. “I think we should all just take a break. Viktoria, let me help you change out of that dress and into something more comfortable. Anything to get away from these people.” She glared at Gloria as she rested her hand on the small of Viktoria’s back to lead her away.

“But—” William started, taking a step after them.

Mack grabbed his arm to hold him back. He noticed the cluster of his brothers and William’s sons gathered around the doorway to the throne room, watching. “William, why don’t you spend a little time with your sons this afternoon. You haven’t seen them in ages. And if I know my mother, she probably just needs a little time to sort things out in her head. She’s not stupid enough to fall for this.”

William rocked back on his heels, letting out an anxious breath. “You’re right. And I know all about her past and your father.” He sent a guilty look Mack’s way. “For the record, it wasn’t that bad, all things considered. It was only once, and—”

“You really don’t need to tell me,” Mack said, his voice flat. If his mother wanted him to know, she would tell him.

William nodded and started down the hall toward his sons, tripping over his feet as he did.

Just like that, the situation was over and everyone who had been watching went their own ways. Mack turned to Gloria, eyebrow arched, letting out a low whistle. She made an ironic sound and rubbed her forehead.

“That is not how I imagined this afternoon going,” she said, sounding weary.

“Me neither. Come on.” He took her hand and started down the hall with her.

They made it no farther than the intersection between the formal wing of the palace and the hallway leading to the living quarters when Gloria pulled Mack to a stop. With her head tilted down, she said, “Mack, maybe it’s time I go home.”

A spike of terror hit Mack. “You don’t have to.” He pulled her into a light embrace. “Don’t let one little incident ruin the whole thing.”

She looked up at him. “Your family is just so busy right now. And something about that whole confrontation wasn’t right.”

“You can say that again.”

“I don’t want to go,” she rushed on. The softness in her eyes underscored the truth of what she was saying. “Believe me. I’m starting to feel like I could stay here forever.”

Mack caught his breath. He’d suspected she felt like that for days, but she hadn’t come out and said it. Not in so many words. “I want you to stay here,” he said. “Right here.”

He leaned forward, brushing his lips lightly over hers. His heart swelled in his chest. There were so many more things he wanted to say, but the intensity of those thoughts was so overwhelming he couldn’t find words for any of them. All he could do was kiss her again, from his heart.

“This is such a beautiful fairy tale,” she went on with a sigh, leaning closer to him. “Things like this don’t happen to ordinary people.”

“No,” he agreed. “But you’re extraordinary.”

She laughed, the sound coming from her chest, from her heart. “I could stay here forever and never get enough of your sweetness, Mack.”

“Stay,” he said. “In spite of my family and all the craziness of this wedding. Stay with me.”

Her expression tensed, longing deep in her eyes. “You don’t know how badly I want to take you up on that. But we’ve known each other less than a week. I need to find a job.”

“There are jobs here,” he said. “At the air field. I know Carl has a place for you. But more importantly, I have a place for you, here.”

He leaned in to kiss her again, catching her hand and bringing it up to his chest. He was certain she could feel the intense beat of his heart as he drank in the sweetness of her lips. If there was any hope for true love flourishing at all, it was there, between them.

“I know it’s only been a few days,” he said when he paused to take a breath, “but I love you, Gloria. And if it makes me a fool to believe that love can happen so fast, then I don’t mind being a fool.”

“It’s crazy,” she said with a sigh. “We’re not kids in school, making things up. But I think you’re right.” She leaned into him, kissing him with her eyes closed. “I think I love you too.”

“Then stay,” he went on. “At least until the wedding. Come to the wedding as my guest. I can’t imagine going through all those festivities without you by my side.”

Her sudden laugh invigorated him. “If the wedding itself is anywhere near as strange as all the other things that have been going on, then I wouldn’t want to miss it for the world.”

Hope flooded Mack. “So you’ll stay?” he asked, sliding his arm around her waist.

She nodded, breaking into a beaming smile. “I’ll stay,” she said. “At least for the wedding. Because right now, I can’t imagine my life without you and without Aegiria. But after the wedding, we’ll see.”