It was true. Max had accepted, the night of Marie’s wedding, that Mother was never going to be who he wanted her to be. But somehow, he still hadn’t expected her to sink into abject and total sorrow at Father’s passing the way she had. He’d thought her more cunning than that. But she seemed genuinely felled by grief and had been barricaded in the ducal apartment, refusing visitors.

“I can deal with her if she needs dealing with.” Seb grinned and typed something into his phone.

Honestly. “If I’m getting in the way of you texting your boyf—”

“Max.” Seb set down his phone. “What have we learned in the last year?”

“What do you mean?”

Seb rolled his eyes. “We’ve learned that love is more important than duty, you numbskull.”

Could Max really do this? Could he just get up and fly to New York and leave the mountain of bureaucracy that needed his attention? Decide to scale it later? “Do you really think I can—”

“Excuse me, Your Grace.”

It took Max a moment to realize that he was the Your Grace in question. He turned to the door to find Mr. Benz? “What are you doing here?” Although perhaps this was something that happened when one was a duke—the king’s equerry showed up unannounced.

“I understand you will be traveling to New York,” Mr. Benz said.

Sebastien smirked and set down his phone.

“What did you do?” Max said to his brother.

“I’ve taken the liberty of booking you a flight,” Mr. Benz went on, “but we need to leave now.”

Max shook his head at his grinning brother. “All right. Let me pack a few things.”

“No time,” Mr. Benz said brusquely, handing him a leather envelope. “Here are the necessary documents. You can get anything else you need in New York. I have a car waiting.”

Well. Apparently he was going to New York.

Dani turned on her phone when the plane touched down in Zurich, expecting a text from Leo, who was picking her up. There was none, so she typed one to him, telling him she’d arrived, as she made her way off the plane.

The passengers were disgorged into a glassed-off area in the terminal and directed by signage toward customs. Dani stretched and yawned as she shuffled along. She hadn’t really thought through what was going to happen once she arrived. It was close to one a.m., December 11. The first day of Christmas. Too bad it was too late to go to Max.