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But the unrepentant desire to have this golden-haired Adonis sit next to her, to feel his closeness, tugged at her heartstrings. The simple idea made her stomach clench in anticipation.

It was dark, she rationalized, and if anyone approached them, surely, she’d hear footsteps. With a nod, she acquiesced, and he settled next to her.

He was large, his shoulders broad, his muscled thighs taking up most of the bench. Heat radiated from him, warming her bare arms where the sleeves of her dress ended and before the gloves began. Victoria could not help but lean closer to him.

A mistake.

Now that he was so close to her, she caught his scent. An unfamiliar smokiness with a hint of spice and a touch of dark desires.

He smelled like sin.

She didn’t remember his scent from before, although she’d had a pretty congested nose at the time. His handkerchief, the one she was clutching in her hand, held no lingering trace of him as she’d washed it with soap a few times since their first meeting.

“Tell me more,” he said, staring at her as if looking straight into her soul.

Blue. His eyes weren’t as dark as she had thought before. They were frosty blue, the most beautiful color she had ever imagined seeing.

She dropped her gaze for fear of staring.

Another mistake.

His soft, full lips beckoned her to touch them… to kiss them.

He smiled, and Victoria could swear her body was actually on fire. Only this time, she couldn’t blame it on a fever. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything.” His reply was immediate, without a hint of hesitation. “Whatever is on your mind.”

She let out a sigh. After listening to dozens of men speak tonight, it felt nice to be asked to speak for a change. “I feel like a complete failure.”

“Why is that?”

Victoria smiled. “Because I cannot choose a husband from a bevy of suitors.”

William let out a hoarse laugh. “It’s only your debut. You shouldn’t feel this much pressure. You’re hardly expected to fall in love in one day.”

Victoria’s smile widened. “Fall in love? Oh, no, love is not even on the list of things to take into consideration while picking a husband.”

He raised a brow. “Truly?”

“Truly,” she said with a small smile and a nod.

“What things are on the list, then?” He cocked his head to the side, looking at her intently, waiting for her answer.

“He needs to come from a powerful family with vast political connections. But he shouldn’t be royalty so that he can follow me to Russia.” Victoria ticked off every item on her fingers. “He needs to be polite and charming but also strong-willed and resourceful.”

“What about passion, love?”

“Passion and love are not for marriage. That is what lovers are for,” she said confidently.

William gazed at her intently, a light frown between his brows, his full lips pursed in a thoughtful pout. “What if you marry for political reasons, but the man you love declines to be your lover?”

Victoria was startled by the question. She had never even considered this as a possibility. “Because he doesn’t love me back?”

“Because he has self-respect,” was his immediate answer.

She let out a laugh. “If he loves me, he’ll find a way for us to be together.”

Something dark flickered in his eyes as he looked at her, but he quickly masked it with a smile. “So, how much time do you have to find the perfect husband you don’t love?”