I want to hear her say it. I want to hear her admit out loud the way she feels about me. Just once, I want her to be honest about what is happening between us.

She looks down at her feet. “Andrew…you can’t keep saying things like that.”

“Why not? It’s the truth. Leaving it unsaid doesn’t make it any less true.”

“Saying it out loud doesn’t make it any more right. Or possible.”

“It’s always possible, Victoria. We always have a choice, even when it feels like we don’t.”

She still hasn’t looked at me. I want to wrap my arms around her, pull her into my chest and hold her close and let her body tell me what her words can’t. When we’re in each other’s arms, there’s no ignoring the depth of what is happening between us.

But if she is intent on denying it…I cannot force her. I can only continue to remind her that my feelings haven’t changed.

“My father agrees that a public apology is the best course of action,” I say. “He’s also changed his mind on the issue of me marrying Lady Clarissa.”

Victoria finally looks up at me, her eyebrow raised. “He has?”

“Mainly because he’s back to deciding that the best way to resolve this is for me to marry Princess Justine instead. He says that King Maximilian has agreed to give up his claim to the royal scepter as a wedding gift. Of course, he’s also demanding a compromise concerning the land rights of Amhurst Valley. My father isn’t pleased about that, but he still sees this as the only way to save face and win back the respect of our citizens.”

I can’t read the look in Victoria’s eyes—is she upset by this news? Relieved? Angry? She takes a step away from me, putting some distance between us again.

“See?” she says. “Marrying Princess Justine is still the best option for you.”

“It might solve my immediate dilemma, but that doesn’t make it the best option.”

“Doesn’t it?”

“No.” I step toward her, closing the distance between us again. “My view on the matter hasn’t changed. I do not intend to marry her.”

“And your father’s okay with this?”

I frown. “Not exactly. He didn’t want to hear what I had to say, so I stopped trying to have a logical discussion with him.”

A wrinkle appears on her brow. “What does that mean? How did you leave things?”

“There’s no ‘leaving things’ with my father, unfortunately. He believes his word is law. He’s convinced I will eventually come to see his side on the matter—but I assure you, I won’t.” I catch her gaze in mine. “There is only one woman I want, Victoria.”

She looks away. “I don’t want to be in the middle of this.”

“It is unfortunate, yes,” I say. “I sincerely regret the part I played in putting you in this position. But denying my feelings for you won’t solve anything. I want to be honest—with you, with my family, and with the world.”

“Sometimes being honest isn’t the right thing. And sometimes we can’t have what we want.”

I dip my face slightly, lowering my voice. “And what do you want, Victoria?”

“This isn’t about me. This is about you. And your family. And Montovia.” Her eyes flick to the door. “What is your father going to make William do?”

“Lady Clarissa did not take kindly to my decision to end things,” I say. “Or my attempt to throw her out of the palace. Unfortunately, she’s still a guest here. But fortunately, given my current circumstances, my father no longer considers her the top choice for my potential bride. She must still be handled carefully, though—she is still family, after all, and she has the potential to make this entire situation worse if we don’t appease her somehow.”

“And where does William come in?”

“Since Leopold is engaged, William is the next eligible bachelor in line,” I say. “My father wants William to publicly court her for a few weeks until my marriage to Princess Justine can be finalized. He’s already spoken to Lord Boris, Clarissa’s father, and they’ve come to a private settlement. But part of their arrangement was for my father to find a way to help Lady Clarissa save face—and unfortunately, that’s where William comes in. They plan to spin a story for the press about Clarissa falling for my brother and deciding to leave the pageant of her own will.”

Victoria rubs her face. “God, this is like one giant soap opera.”

“Unfortunately, when you’re in the public eye these things can’t be avoided sometimes.”

“This could have been avoided.”

“I know. I should have listened to you from the very beginning. You told me this pageant was a terrible idea, and you were right. I didn’t realize so many people would get dragged into this.”

“Poor William. Do you think he’ll actually agree to help?”

I look down at my hands. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen him cross our father before, but to be fair he’s never faced the prospect of being forced to court someone like Lady Clarissa before. Even if it’s for show, I do not envy him. I’m ashamed to call that women part of our family, no matter how far away she is in the family tree.” I’m ashamed of my own behavior toward her, too, but I don’t say that out loud.

All of this—this big, dramatic farce happening around us—is my fault. I know that. I’ve only ever done what I thought was right—but if I’d taken a moment at the beginning to truly think about what I was doing, so much of this could have been avoided.

I’ll make it up to you, William, I think. I’ll make it up to you and everyone. We brothers have to stick together, to help each other through the madness that comes with being a prince—and sharing a father like ours. I’ve covered for Leopold more times than I can count—and I suspect I’ll have plenty of opportunities to help William, Nicholas, and Sophia too as they get older and wilder. Sophia especially is probably going to get herself into all sorts of trouble. But I also know that, despite our differences and our arguments, many of them would help me, too. Why, part of the reason this business with the scepter remained a secret for so long was because Leopold shouldered the blame with our father.

“Well, there you have it,” Victoria says. “William courts Lady Clarissa. You marry Princess Justine. Everything is solved. See? The situation isn’t so hopeless after all.”

“As I’ve already told you, I have no intention of marrying Justine.”

“Andrew…” She shakes her head. “We both know it’s the right thing for you to do. Don’t fight it.”

“Of course I’ll fight it! How many times do I have to tell you, Victoria? You are the only woman I want. The only one I’d ever consider marrying.”

She spins away from me. “We’re friends. We can’t be anything more than friends.”

I jerk a hand through my hair again. God, this is getting frustrating—why won’t she just admit that we belong together? Why is she still refusing to accept the inevitable?

“You never answered my question,” I say to her back.

She doesn’t turn around. “What question?”

I step closer until I’m standing right behind her. Close enough to feel the warmth of her body but not actually touching her. “I asked you what you want. What would you choose if you only had yourself to think about? If none of this other nonsense existed? I want to know your deepest, most selfish desires.” I lean my head closer until my lips are right by her ear. “I don’t care if you think they’re wrong, or impossible, or even foolish. I want to hear them. Right now, in this moment, I just want you to be honest with me.”

She doesn’t say anything for a long moment, but I sense the stiffness in her body, feel her trying to fight whatever it is she’s feeling.

Finally, she lets out a long sigh.

“Fine,” she says. “Fine—I’ll tell you the truth. But you have to make me a promise first.”

“Anything.” I’d promise her the moon if she asked it.

“You say you love me.” Her voice is so soft I can barely hear it. “Prove it. If I tell you what I want, then promise me you’ll do everything in your power to make it happen.”

I pause. “Victoria—”

“Promise me.”

I want to wrap my arms around her and pull her back against my chest, but I don’t. “Of course. I promise.”

She gives a single nod, as if everything is settled.

“The one thing I want most,” she whispers, “is for you to find your way through this. To win back the love of your people and be the beloved king you were always meant to be.”

I blink, confused. “Of course, but—”

“I’m not done. We both know what needs to happen for that to come to pass. I want you to marry Princess Justine.”

I straighten. “I will not—”

“You promised me,” she says, spinning around to face me. “You promised you would do everything in your power to give me what I wanted, and that’s what I want. I want you to marry her and fix all of this. I want you to be the man—the king—you were born to be.”

I stare down at her, my entire body rigid. “You tricked me.”

“No. I just told you the truth you don’t want to hear.”

“I ask you want you wanted—for you.”

“That is what I want,” she says, and her eyes are suddenly shining with something that looks like tears. “Is that so hard for you to believe? The one thing I want most is for you to get everything you want and deserve?”

“For the last time, Victoria, I don’t want Princess—”

“You were born to be king. To serve the people of Montovia. And you’ll make a brilliant king, Andrew. I know you will. All of this will pass and they’ll come to love you again. You were meant to do this. And I will never, ever, stand in the way of that.”

“Victoria,” I say. “This is absolutely ridiculous.”

“You promised me,” she says. “Are you saying you don’t intend to keep that promise?”

I just stare at her. I don’t know what to say, what to do, to make her see sense.

“I just want you to be happy,” I tell her finally.

“That’s what would make me happy,” she says. “Seeing your people love you again. Watching the world forgive you. You might not be perfect—no one is—but the people of this country will see you’re doing everything in your power to make it up to them.”

I shake my head. This is pure foolishness.

“It won’t matter,” I say. “Even if I do as you ask, the press will tear me apart. The story only broke today. It will be worse tomorrow. And the day after that. You were the only friend I have in the press, Victoria. The rest just want to sell magazines or get hits on their websites.”

Her lips tighten.

“You’re right,” she says after a moment. “You do need a member of the press on your side. If you will agree to uphold your promise, then I will stay and cover the story—at least through your public apology and the announcement of your betrothal to Princess Justine. I will make sure people see the truth and I’ll do everything in my power to help you win your citizens back to your side.”

She’s agreeing to stay. To help me. I hardly dare believe it—but it comes at a cost I’m not sure I’m willing to pay.

But she’ll be here. Isn’t that enough? To spend one more day—one more hour—with her would be a blessing. And, at the back of my mind comes an even better thought: That gives you time to change her mind. To make her admit the truth.

If I have to agree to this ridiculousness now, then so be it.

“Fine,” I tell her. “I promise.”

She looks almost surprised at my agreement, but she recovers quickly.

“Good,” she says stiffly. “I’m glad to hear it. You’ve made the right decision, Your Highness.”

Only for now.

“You should go tell your father the good news,” she says, turning away from me.

I start to reach after her. “Perhaps we should go work on my apology speech—”

“Later,” she says without looking back at me. “I need to go shower. And see if my suitcase has arrived.”

I hate to see her go, but if I chase her down, she’ll know the truth—that I’ve lied to her. That I still have no intention of marrying Justine, promises be damned.