Chapter 15
Isabel
“Just grab your passport,” Nate had said.
That’s all the information he gave me before whisking me off to the airstrip like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Now, we’re cruising above the clouds in a private jet, and I still have no clue where we’re going.
I turn to face him, pulling the soft throw blanket up to my chin. “You know, most people like to tell their travel companions where they’re headed.”
He smirks, eyes sparkling with mischief as he leans back in his seat, ankle resting on his knee. “Most people are boring.”
I roll my eyes but smile anyway, stretching out beside him. “So what am I packing for? Beaches and bikinis or boots and coats?”
He slips his arm around me, tugging me gently into his side. “Just trust me.”
“Hmm.” I nestle in closer. “You’re lucky I do.”
His hand moves slowly along my arm, his touch soothing. “You're tired,” he murmurs. “Close your eyes for a bit. I’ll wake you when we land.”
I yawn against his shoulder. “I’m only closing my eyes for five minutes.”
“Sure you are.”
I’m not even sure when I drift off, lulled by the hum of the engines and the steady rise and fall of Nate’s breathing. But the next thing I feel is his hand brushing a strand of hair from my face.
“Hey,” he whispers gently. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”
My eyes flutter open, and for a split second, it’s déjà vu. His voice, his face, the way he’s looking at me—it takes me back to the first time he ever woke me up like this, and my heart does that soft flutter it always saves just for him.
“Mmm.” I stretch and blink, light spilling in through the window. “Already?”
He nods and leans in, brushing his lips across my forehead. “Welcome to Washington, D.C.”
I sit up slowly, confused and a little breathless. “Wait. What?”
He grins like a man who’s been dying to spill a secret. “We’re in D.C. Thought it’d be a good weekend to visit a friend of mine.”
I blink, trying to process. “You brought me to another country to meet a friend?”
“Technically, it’s not another continent,” he teases. “And Sebastian is more like family.”
I peer out the window as the jet begins to taxi.
The world outside is cast in early spring light—soft and golden, the kind that hints at warmth just around the corner.
The trees are still bare, but some are starting to blush pink with the first whispers of cherry blossoms. The air is crisp and clear, and the monuments rise in the distance like they’ve been waiting for us to arrive.
“Wow,” I breathe. “It’s beautiful.”
He watches me, content. “It’s even better with you here.”
I glance back at him, my heart skipping again. “So... who is this mysterious friend?”
Nate reaches for our coats as the engines slow. “Someone who’s going to make today very interesting.”
“Is he as dramatic as you?”
“Infinitely more,” he says with a laugh, taking my hand. “But he’s one of the few people I trust. And I wanted him to meet you.”
The words settle deep inside me. I don’t know why they mean so much, but they do. Maybe because every little step with Nate feels like a thousand unspoken promises. And I’m starting to believe them.
As the door opens and the cool D.C. air spills in, I squeeze his hand tighter.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
He winks. “Where’s the fun in that?”
And just like that, we descend the stairs into a new city—one I’ve never been to, with a man I’m falling for faster than I can admit.
And something tells me the best part of this trip is still ahead.
The coffee shop Sebastian picked is classy but understated—warm lighting, dark wood, the kind of place where power brokers sip lattes while closing deals. But it’s the man waiting near the window who steals all the air from the room.
He carries himself like he was born to lead. Sharp suit, sharp jawline, impossibly still. There’s no fidgeting, no shifting, just stillness. And when he turns to us, his eyes linger on Nate first, then flick to me. Assessing. Curious.
“Sebastian,” Nate greets him, reaching for a handshake that turns into a friendly shoulder-pat. “Thanks for making time.”
“I owe you more than coffee,” the man replies with a faint European accent. His voice is smooth, but there’s weight behind it.
Sebastian turns to me, and Nate immediately gestures between us.
“This is Isabel,” he says, pride in his voice that wraps around my name like silk. “My fiancée.”
Sebastian’s brow rises—barely—but I catch it. “Fiancée,” he echoes, glancing between us. “Well. That escalated quickly.”
I can’t help but smile. “Nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine.” He offers his hand with a quiet nod, not a kiss-to-the-back kind of gesture, just enough to tell me I’ve passed whatever test he’s already put me through.
We order our drinks, and once we settle into the corner booth, Sebastian leans back.
“So, how did you two meet?”
“We served together.”
He nods, but it’s Sebastian who picks up the story.
“I was conscripted,” Sebastian says, his voice shifting—losing that playful lilt and settling into something heavier. “Fifteen months. Had no say in it.”
The change in his tone pulls at my chest.
“Nate volunteered,” he adds, like it’s just a side note—but I hear the weight behind it.
My eyes swing to Nate, brows knitting.
He volunteered?
Nate never talks about this part of his life. Not once. It’s like some invisible line I never dared to cross.
“Volunteered my ass,” Nate snorts, shaking his head with a wry grin. “We were forced to babysit his highness over there.”
I blink.
His highness?
“Wait—are you a royal?”
Sebastian straightens in his chair with mock regality, raising his chin just enough to look dramatically pompous. “Prince Sebastian Alexander the Third, Prince of Greendale, at your service, my lady.” He ends it with a smirk and a half-bow, as if we’re at a royal court instead of… well, breakfast.
My jaw drops.
He’s joking. He has to be joking.
Right?
But then I glance at Nate, who just shrugs, all casual-like, as if this isn’t blowing my mind.
“I—” I stutter, because really, what’s the protocol here? “Should I bow? Or curtsy? Do I kiss a ring or something?”
Sebastian winks. “Depends which one.”
Nate groans loudly, “And that’s why we couldn’t leave him unsupervised for more than five minutes.”
I cover my mouth to stifle my laugh, even though I’m still kind of stuck on the prince part.
“We met in the middle of hell,” Sebastian continues. “Hot, dusty, relentless. At first I thought he was cocky, Britt, and too eager to get into trouble. He thought I was arrogant and soft.”
“You were arrogant,” Nate throws in with a grin.
“And you were reckless,” Sebastian counters smoothly, but there’s warmth in his eyes now. “But somewhere between the drills, the silence, and the nights we didn’t know if we’d see the next day… we became brothers.”
I glance at Nate, and he’s watching Sebastian with something raw and honest in his eyes. A quiet bond forged in fire.
“I trust him with my life,” Sebastian says finally, looking at me. “So if he’s chosen you, I already know you’re worth something.”
It knocks the air out of me. The depth of it. The respect. The friendship that runs deeper than blood.
“Thank you,” I manage.
Nate takes my hand, lacing our fingers together beneath the table.
Sebastian lifts his coffee again. “And now he’s getting married. Didn’t think I’d see the day.”
“Well, surprise,” Nate murmurs, pressing a soft kiss to my temple like it’s the most natural thing in the world. “You’d be surprised to know the whole story.”
His voice is teasing, but there’s something beneath the surface—something he’s not saying yet. My heart does that stupid skip thing again.
“Melbourne did a miracle for sure,” Sebastian chuckles, sipping his drink like he’s watching a movie unfold.
Nate rolls his eyes with a groan, like he’s been waiting to get something off his chest for a while. “Don’t blame Melbourne, even though we met on the plane on my way back home.”
Blame?
That word hooks in my chest. Wait—what?
“She’s not…” Sebastian starts, then stops himself with a shake of his head.
Who’s not? My eyes flick from Sebastian to Nate. Something twists in my gut.
“Christ, no,” Nate finally says, exasperated. “When I got there, her husband greeted me like I was a bottle of champagne at a swinger party. Asked me to join them in a poly thing.”
Sebastian bursts into laughter, practically choking on air. “Interesting. And let me guess… you chickened out?”
“Faster than a rabbit spotting a wolf,” Nate deadpans, but even he chuckles at the memory.
I stare at him, trying to hold onto my expression, but I’m already slipping.
To find out a lie. Nate’s words on the plane crush into my brain.
Oh, God. He was dating someone. That’s why he went to Melbourne.
The conversation feels like it’s spiraling out of my reach—until Nate turns to Sebastian and says something that slams the brakes on my thoughts.
“Do you remember Izzy?”
Sebastian looks at me like someone just lit a firework between us. “No way.”
“She’s the girl from all those years ago,” Nate says softly, turning toward me with that smile—that slow, intimate one that makes the world quiet. He lifts my hand and kisses my knuckles gently, reverently. “Call it fate.”
My heart stutters.
He… talked about me?
Me?
All those years ago, he remembered me. Mentioned me.
I’m on the verge of tears and laughter all at once. My chest is tight with something I can’t name—hope, maybe. Or disbelief. Or both.
“Why am I expecting a but?” he murmurs, unable to keep the tremor out of my voice.
Nate sighs—long, frustrated, and deep, like he’s tired of fighting shadows that won’t leave him alone.
I squeeze his hand before I even realize I’m doing it. Just… something to let him know I’m here. Still here. Still listening.
“I get it now,” he mutters, voice thick. “The fucking tradition that haunts you.”
Sebastian’s eyebrows shoot up. He sits straighter, expression sobering. “Oh man… she’s your chosen wife?”
My breath catches.