What The Magnate Wants: The Magnate's Mail-Order Bride / The Magnate's Marriage Merger / His Accidental Heir. Joanne RockЧитать онлайн книгу.
them as he continued to speak in low tones with her father. The older brother drew her eye in a way men seldom did. And was it her tired imagination or did his gaze return to her often, as well? “I competed for years to move into a top position with one of the most rigorous and respected companies in the world.”
Men never apologized for focusing on their careers. Why should she?
Cameron nodded but made no comment. She sensed him rethinking his marriage proposal in earnest. Not that it mattered—obviously a wedding wasn’t happening. But how to dig herself out of this mess for the sake of the cameras and her peers? If she wasn’t so drained from the long flight and the demanding practice schedule of this tour, maybe her brain would come up with a plausible, graceful way to extricate herself.
She noticed the members of her dance troupe moving steadily closer, no doubt trying to overhear what was going on in this strange powwow. Every last one of them had their phones in hand. She could almost imagine the tweets.
Will Sofia Koslov be too busy with her new fiancé to give her full attention to Fortier?
The dance world would go nuts. A flurry of speculation would ensue. Would Fortier decide he didn’t want to work with a woman who didn’t devote all of her free time to dance?
Her stomach cramped as she went cold inside. That would be so incredibly unfair. But it didn’t take much to lose a lead role. It was all about what Fortier wanted.
“And you were not actively seeking a husband?” Cameron asked the question with a straight face.
Did he not realize she’d forgotten him completely? Her eyes ventured over to Quinn, hoping the man truly had an idea about how to fix this, the way he’d assured her father.
“No,” she told him honestly. “I didn’t even know my father had hired a matchmaker until shortly before we landed. He signed me up without permission.”
“Then I apologize, Ms. Koslov, if I’ve caused you any embarrassment in my haste to find a bride.” Cameron lifted her hand and put it to his lips, planting a kiss on the back of her knuckles. The gesture had the flair of a debonair flirt rather than any real sentiment. “My brother warned me not to rush into this. And, once again, it seems the ever-practical Quinn had a good point.”
He straightened as if to leave, making her realize she would be on her own to explain this to the reporters. And the dance community. But she didn’t blame Cameron. She blamed her father.
“You were really willing to marry someone without even talking to them?” She couldn’t imagine what would drive him to propose to a stranger out of the blue.
“I was leaving it in the hands of professionals.” He shrugged. “But next time, I will at least call the bride ahead of time. Good luck with your dancing, Sofia.” He stuffed his hands into his coat pockets. “Quinn’s flight doesn’t take off for a few hours. If you need help with the reporters, my brother has a gift for keeping a cool head. He’ll know what to do.”
“You’re...leaving?”
“I only came to the airport to see you. It’s Quinn who has a flight out.” He nodded toward his brother, who had captured the full attention of her father. “But he’ll come up with a plan to help you with the reporters first. He’s the expert at making the McNeills look good. I’m the brother who seems to stir up all the trouble.”
It didn’t occur to her to stop Cameron McNeill as he pivoted and stalked away from her, the necks of her traveling companions all craning to follow his progress through the airport terminal. She noticed other women doing the same thing.
But then, these McNeill men were uncommonly handsome.
The whole thing felt too surreal. And now the two reporters turned from the large windows on the other side of the terminal and headed her way again. The sick feeling returned in the pit of her stomach. She should have been using this time to come up with a plan. Maybe she could tell the reporters that the proposal had all been a joke?
Except she’d trip over any story she tried to concoct. Unlike her PR consultant, Sofia was not a master of putting the right spin on things. Besides, her colleagues’ words about her not dating still circled around in her head.
About her lack of passion.
What would they say now that her suitor had ditched her publicly?
Her father and Quinn McNeill converged on her.
“You should listen, Sofia. McNeill has a fair plan.” Vitaly nodded his satisfaction at whatever they’d decided.
Fear spiked in her chest as the reporters drew closer. These men didn’t understand her world or the backlash this little drama would cause. How could she win the part in the Fortier ballet while her whole dance company gossiped gleefully about her five-minute marriage offer?
“No. I will handle this.” She looked to Quinn McNeill. “I need to save face. To come up with something that doesn’t make it look like I’ve been jilted—” Hell, she didn’t know what she needed. She couldn’t even explain herself to Quinn. How would she ever make sense in front of the reporters?
Quinn’s blue eyes gave away exactly nothing. Whereas his younger brother was all charm and flirtation, this man’s level stare was impossible to read. He seemed at ease, however. He leaned closer to her to speak softly while her father discreetly checked his watch, positioning himself between her and the oncoming dancers.
“Your father is livid at my brother’s antics.” Quinn’s voice was like a warm stroke against her ear. It gave her a pleasant shiver in spite of her nervousness. “I’d like to appease him, but it’s more important to me that you’re not embarrassed by this. How can I help?”
She blurted the first thing that came to mind. “Ideally, I’d like a fiancé for the next three weeks until I have a ballet part on lockdown.” As soon as the words tumbled out, of course, she realized that was impossible. Cameron McNeill was already gone.
But Quinn did not look deterred. He nodded.
“Whatever I say, please know that it’s just for show.” His hand landed on her spine, a heated touch that seeped right through her mohair cape. “We’ll give a decoy statement to the media and then you and I can iron out some kind of formal press release afterward. But I can have you happily engaged and out of here in less than five minutes. Just follow my lead.”
She didn’t even have time to meet his eyes and see for herself his level of sincerity, because the cameras were rolling again, the bright light in her eyes. Excited whispering from the other dancers provided an uncomfortable background music for whatever performance Quinn McNeill was about to give.
Strange that, when her reputation hung in the balance, the main thing she noticed was how his hand palmed the small of her back with a surety and command even a dancing master would appreciate.
Her father hung back as the flashing red light on the Nikon handheld swung her way. Blinking while her eyes adjusted, she thought she saw her father reclaim the velvet ring box Cameron had left behind and hand it to Quinn. Which made sense, she supposed. The brother of empty gestures left a diamond behind while the practical brother reclaimed it. Hadn’t Cameron assured her Quinn would take care of everything?
“Ladies.” Quinn’s voice took on a very different quality as he turned to the camera and the small audience of her colleagues who clutched their cell phones, surely eager to send out updates on this little drama. “Forgive me for spiriting away Sofia earlier. In my eagerness to see her again, I failed to remember her interview with the magazine. I didn’t mean for a private moment to be caught on film.”
Sofia could almost hear the collective intake of breath. Or was that her own? Her stomach twisted, fearing what he might say next while at the same time she couldn’t make herself interrupt. Like any strong partner, he led with authority.
Besides, he said it was only for show.
“Where is your brother?” one of the