“There’s been a mix-up.” Quinn stood between the two men, making her grateful she hadn’t pulled the referee duty herself. “I told my brother as much before we realized who Sofia was.”
Sofia couldn’t decide if she was more incensed that she’d been mistaken for a bride for hire or that one of them wanted to marry her based on a photo. But frustration was building and the walls damn well had ears. She peered around nervously.
“Who is she?” Cameron asked Quinn, setting the conspicuous velvet box on a nearby table. Sofia felt all the eyes of her fellow dancers drawn to it like a magnet even from halfway across the waiting area.
“Sofia Koslov, principal dancer with the New York City Ballet.” He passed Cameron his phone. He’d pulled up her photo and bio—she recognized it from the company web site. “Her father is the founder of Self-Sale, the online auction house, and one of the most powerful voices in Ukraine, where I’m trying to purchase that historic hotel.”
The two brothers exchanged a meaningful look, clearly wary of her father’s international influence.
While Cameron whistled softly and swiped a finger along the device’s screen, Sofia’s father looked ready to launch across the sofa and strangle him. Maybe her dad was regretting his choice of matchmaker already. Sofia certainly regretted his arrogant assumption that he could arrange her private life to suit him.
“You call that a mix-up?” Her father’s accent thickened, a sure sign he was angry. “Why the hell would you think she needed a green card when she is an American citizen?” Her father articulated his words with an edge as he got in Quinn McNeill’s face. “Do you have any idea how quickly I can bury your hotel purchase if I choose to, McNeill? If you think I’m going to let this kind of insult slide—”
“Of course not.” Quinn didn’t flinch. “We’ll figure out something—”
Sofia missed the rest of the exchange as Cameron leaned closer to speak to her.
“You’re really a ballerina?” He asked the question kindly enough, but there was a wariness in his eyes that Sofia had seen many times from people who equated “ballerina” with “prima donna.” Or “diva.”
“Yes.” She lifted her chin, feeling defensive and wondering if Quinn could overhear 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