Chapter 15
Fifteen
The following Friday, Elio was in unusually high spirits as he fell into a seat next to Felicity on the train.
He had learned that she was an attorney, specializing in entertainment contracts and disputes.
She liked to touch base with one of her clients, a film producer, on Fridays before she left town and went home to Connecticut on the weekends.
“Is that a smile I’m detecting?” she asked, leaning in and searching his face. “I can’t see any hint of a scowl.”
“Keep that up and you will,” he said but Elio tilted and bumped his shoulder against hers.
“There has been a development: I’m…seeing someone,” he said with an uncomfortable wince.
That sounded so common, yet impossible for Elio.
“I hope you’re not too disappointed. I know how fond you are of Daniel and how much you were hoping to meddle in our affairs. ”
She made a dismissive sound and flailed a hand. “I’ll find a way, don’t worry. Spill. I want to know all about this someone. He must be special if you’ll own up to actually liking anything and you’re smiling.”
“Milo is very special,” Elio confirmed and she pointed and gasped when his smile spread.
“Milo? What does this Milo do and how did you two meet?”
Elio gestured for her to calm down, people were starting to notice them and stare.
“That part is a little complicated and why I’m not telling Matteo or the other two yet.
They know Milo and our families are connected.
My cousin, Max, abdicated and ran away with a Manhattan nanny named Reid.
Then, Leo married a New Yorker named Jonathon after he became Margrave.
Thanks to Reid and Jonathon, we gained an Aunt Muriel, Milo and the Ashbys, the Camerons, the Mosbys, the Tuckers…
I’ve been staying at Aunt Muriel’s place. ”
“Hold on…” Felicity raised a finger, her brow furrowing. “Max abdicated and your brother is a margrave? That’s…like a prince.” She turned in her seat, pinning him with a hard look. “Isn’t it?” she said accusatively.
“Yes…” Elio held up his hands, shrugging. “I don’t like to tell people because they get weird and I couldn’t give a single fuck. I forget most of the time, if I’m being honest.”
She stared for a moment, then snorted. “I wouldn’t tell anyone either. What’s it like, having a prince for a brother and being…fourth in line?” she guessed but Elio shook his head.
“Even in German there isn’t an adequate word to sum up the loathing and resentment.
Being Margrave is a huge burden on Leo and a pain in my brothers’ arses.
The Foundation tried to make it my problem too but I’ve made it clear that they can go fuck themselves.
I’ve got more important things to worry about than PR and marketing and shares. ”
Felicity’s head tipped from side to side. “I might not mind the burden. Let Leo know I’m available if he wants to abdicate or take a long vacation.”
“That’s what the other two are for but I’ll let him know,” Elio murmured, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t wish that title on my worst enemy, let alone a friend.”
“Hmmm… Maybe we should rescue Leo,” she suggested and Elio chuckled. At the time, he didn’t think he had a choice but he was glad that they were friends.
“I think about it regularly. But they do let Leo out of his castle from time to time so he can cut a ribbon or give an award and he’s much happier now that he has Jonathon.”
“That’s something. Your brothers don’t trust you with Milo?” Felicity asked. “What’s that about?”
Elio shrugged. “They know how I am and they have no idea what to expect because I’ve never done this before. I don’t know what to expect or how I’m supposed to act.”
“You might be overthinking this, Eli. Milo already likes you so keep doing whatever you’re doing.”
“He does and he’s one of the few people in the world capable of understanding me. No offense to Daniel. He seems lovely, but I can share my wildest ideas with Milo and he doesn’t laugh at me or tell me I’m mad,” Elio explained and she clutched her chest, sighing dreamily.
“He’s the one!” she declared, then held up a hand so she could whisper behind it. “Don’t tell my mom or my aunt, but I’ve changed my mind about Daniel.”
“Oh?” Elio stood when the train started to slow and offered Felicity a hand up.
She accepted it and curled her arm around his once they were on the platform and headed up the stairs.
“We went to an escape room last weekend and he was a flop. Totally useless. We would have died in a zombie apocalypse if I hadn’t carried our team on my back.
From now on, I’m taking all my first dates to escape rooms. I have to weed out the weak before I get invested. ”
“That’s smart,” Elio said and snorted. “Milo would do very well in an escape room. He has terrible anxiety but he manages it well and can think critically, even when he’s flustered.”
“Yeah, he’s the one.”
“I was afraid of that but I’m trying not to panic. If Milo can overlook my many flaws, the least I can do is try. Matteo says he could come to his senses at any moment so this might resolve itself on its own soon.”
“Don’t say that!” Felicity protested as she turned them toward the coffee shop. “What’s there to panic about? People fall in love every day and survive. People fall out of love just as often and manage to recover.”
“True… Although, Milo and I aren’t like other people.
The work we’re doing could change the world.
We need to make a good impression and I want Milo to have a win: for his own confidence and so he’ll be taken seriously.
But what have I done? I’ve risked it all by having a crush on the one person who can help me achieve my dream. ”
Felicity waited so he could get the door for her and thanked him. “I can’t decide if you’re full of yourself or you’re being overly dramatic here.”
“Could be both. What if choosing Milo means I can’t be the scientist my parents wanted me to be?” he asked her and she snorted.
“Overly dramatic it is! I’ll have a soy vanilla latte with an extra shot at one-sixty and he’ll have an espresso con panna,” she told the barista at the counter, then stepped aside so Elio could pay.
He had insisted after their first visit because it was technically his idea to make it a weekly ritual.
Not ready to admit that she was becoming one of his favorite people in the city, Elio claimed that getting coffee with an attorney was a better excuse for skipping work than fucking off at the skatepark.
Their coffees in hand, they headed back out. “Why are you so sure your parents wanted you to be a scientist?” She asked, her tone softer as they headed towards the park.
Elio shrugged with the arm hugging his skateboard and sipped from his little paper cup.
“It’s just something that came to me when I was ten, when I learned that my name meant ‘sun’ and ‘god of the sun.’ My name isn’t like my brothers’ and I don’t think they picked that name by accident or on a whim.
I’ve never been able to make sense of losing them, unless I was meant to study the sun and physics and do something huge that could change the world.
” He stopped just short of telling her what that huge thing would be because she wouldn’t understand and she’d probably think he was unstable.
“I’m so sorry,” Felicity said but she shook her head. “I don’t think they’d care, Eli, as long as you were happy and doing something you were passionate about. Isn’t that enough?”
He smiled and hummed thoughtfully, despite the loud ‘No!’ in his head.
Happiness and passion couldn’t replace all the things he’d gain by knowing his parents and experiencing their love for himself.
“Possibly, but I’m giving Matteo’s and Milo’s hypotheses time, on the off chance that I can remain a competent scientist and be an adequate…
boyfriend. Am I his boyfriend? How do I know?
Why is dating more complicated than physics? ”
She shushed, sensing that he was getting overwhelmed. “You’re overthinking again. This isn’t physics, it’s biology and…vibes. Have you kissed and are you two exclusive?”
Elio laughed softly. “We are exclusive in every sense. This is Milo’s first time as well.”
“Oh, bless your geeky hearts!” Felicity made a giddy sound. “He’s probably just as nervous about everything as you are. Do you have to sneak around at work?”
That made Elio laugh. “Me? They wouldn’t say a word unless I harassed or assaulted someone. But I don’t recall seeing anything in the institute’s policies and I’m aware of other couples in the department.”
“That’s good. You don’t need that to stress about,” she said, making Elio pause.
“I would tell everyone and tattoo his name on my face or my knuckles but they already tease him at the institute. I wouldn’t want to make it worse for him.”
“They’re teasing our Milo?” she asked angrily and shook her head. “The nerve of them.”
Elio grunted in agreement. “They don’t do it when I’m around but I know it’s bad. Milo has a terrible anxiety disorder and I’ve done what I can to isolate him from the Mean Guys. I just wish I could do more or put a stop to it once and for all.”
“Aww! You’re already an amazing boyfriend.
” She squeezed his arm encouragingly. “I love our coffee dates because you’re surprisingly chivalrous for someone who looks like he bites the heads off of snakes.
I get all the perks of dating a baddie for an hour or two without the arguments about where to park or who’s supposed to take out the trash.
You were raised right and you worry about the right things. I think you’re going to do fine.”
“Do you really think so?”
She nodded. “I’d still let you date my cousin, even though he’s a disappointment. I can’t tell my aunt that I almost set Daniel up with a real prince, though. She would be on the next train from Connecticut with a pie and a foolproof plan to change your mind.”
“What kind of pie?” Elio asked, making her laugh. She had given him an idea, though, and the plan that was evolving in Elio’s brain was both devious and inspired. “I’d like to learn more about these escape rooms.”
“Why? You already know Milo can hold his own in an escape room. Besides, your first date should be something quiet and romantic since he has an anxiety disorder. If your goal is to get into his nerdy pants,” she qualified and Elio huffed in disgust.
“It is. I’ve devolved into a caveman like my brothers,” he muttered, making her giggle. “What should I do for our first date? Milo has his routine and places where he feels safe in the city, but I don’t know him well enough to pick something for him yet.”
“Stay in, then,” she said simply. “Find out what his favorite meals are and light some candles or lay down a blanket for a picnic. Anyone would like that.”
“That sounds easy enough…” Elio already had the perfect spot in mind. “Seth will know what Milo likes, he orders most of our meals while we’re at Starlight.”
“There you go! Keep it low key and about Milo and you’ll never go wrong,” she advised and Elio tossed his empty cup at a trash can and put his arm around her, giving Felicity’s shoulders a squeeze.
“Thank you. I feel better about this boyfriend business and I think I know how Milo can put these Mean Guys in their place, once and for all.”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Felicity pumped her fist excitedly. “Now you’re talking. Can I help?”