In that moment, as he stared into the gray, stormy surf below, he had to believe all of this had happened for a reason. That there was some sense in this.
* * *
As the minutes ticked closer to Sofía and Nik’s first official appearance together, Sofía’s general demeanor vacillated from a numbness that shielded her from it all to a stubborn defiance that this media frenzy wouldn’t get to her.
“It doesn’t matter what I wear,” she told Stella, who was putting the finishing touches on her hair. “They wanted a countess. They’re going to crucify me regardless of what I show up in.”
“Give them time,” Stella soothed, wrapping a wayward strand of Sofía’s hair into the sophisticated updo she’d engineered. “Once they get to know you, they’re going to love you.”
She already had that in New York. Her friends appreciated her. Her clients appreciated her. And yet in her first public appearance here, a visit to a youth charity with Stella, she’d been pegged as lacking in charisma. Stiff.
What did they expect? They had spoken of her as a foreigner from day one, incapable of understanding the nuances of Akathinian society. Nik’s scandalous acquisition rumored to be pregnant. A far cry from the countess they’d been teased with, and the influence the Agieros exercised across Europe.
Was she supposed to have walked into that charity event and shone under that criticism? Under the barrage of it that seemed to come daily—when all she really wanted was to be back at the boutique, where business was booming as her face became a household name. The only upside that seemed to be coming from all this!
Stella eyed her in the mirror. “I was skeptical about you in the beginning, you know, like everyone else. Women have treated Nik as a prize to be won for so long we’re all a bit jaded about it. But I can see that you care about him. That you are true, Sofía, in everything that you do. And that’s exactly what Nik needs after that piece of work he was with.”
Sofía frowned. “What do you mean?”
“A woman, of course. A nasty piece of work he could have done without.” Stella made a face. “Rather than risk Nik’s ire at divulging his secrets, I won’t get into the whole sordid story. Suffice it to say he has reasons to be as cynical as he is. Give him some time, some latitude. He’s worth it.”
She closed her eyes as Stella engulfed her in a cloud of hair spray. If only she could confide in her future sister-in-law as to the lows her and Nik’s relationship had hit. How they were hardly talking. How his mistrust of her was killing them. But as warm as her and Stella’s relationship had gotten, Stella was still Nik’s sister and she wasn’t about to go there.
With Katharine busy running the boutique, she would have only her mother and Benetio, her fiancé, by her side tonight.
“Stop frowning,” Stella murmured, fussing with one last wayward curl. “Don’t you know frown lines never go away?”
Frown lines didn’t happen to be her biggest concern at the moment. Faking she and Nik were supremely happy in front of the world was. The only thing that kept her from a full-on pity party was the knowledge that Nik had placed himself on enemy territory today in an attempt to find a diplomatic solution with Carnelia. It made her stomach churn every time she thought of him meeting with that madman.
What if Idas tried something? Surely he wouldn’t do anything provocative, the rational side of her brain proclaimed. The pulse pounding at the base of her neck suggested she’d be fine once he was back here all in one piece. Which was really rather traitorous behavior on her part because she hated him for thinking the worst of her. Hated he thought she could be so duplicitous as to trap him into marriage.
Stella made an approving sound and stepped back. “Oriste. You look spectacular.”
“Indeed she does.”
Both of them whirled around at the sound of Nik’s deep, resonant voice. Sofía’s pulse took off at a dead run. Not only was he in one heart-stoppingly gorgeous suit, there was a triumphant glitter in his eyes, an aura of power about him that did something crazy to her insides.
“What happened?” Stella demanded.
Nik shrugged off his jacket and tossed it on a chair. “Idas has agreed to back off while we discuss an economic renewal plan for Carnelia that Akathinia will help facilitate.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I hope not,” he said drily. “I was looking forward to giving the council some good news.”
“And so you shall.” Stella flew toward him and gave him a hug. “I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that meeting.”