Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Nate
“I heard you corrected your professor,” Noah says urgently, and he sounds out of breath behind me.
I look back and see him running towards me.
I thank all the saints that no one else seems to be in this hallway right now because he wasn’t particularly quiet.
“I did not,” I protest and turn back around to keep walking.
Noah isn’t a runner, but if he wants to be mean then he can try to catch up.
“But you were right,” he cries. “I heard he was impressed. That’s a good thing, Nate.”
“Whatever,” I mumble.
I should’ve kept my mouth shut. I should’ve kept my smart-assery in check, now I’m probably on the dude’s shit list and that’s really not something I want to deal with when I have other important shit to think about.
Shit like meeting the lord and lady for dinner tonight.
It’s the first time I’ll see them since the hospital a few weeks back, and despite everything that happened that day, I do want to make a good impression—a better impression.
“Mate,” Noah complains, then grabs my arm and pulls me back with surprising strength.
“What?” I snarl, and I feel bad immediately.
“What’s with you?” he demands.
“I’m just—” I can’t even explain it.
“Nothing bad’s gonna come from this,” he tells me, his voice soothing and not excited this time. “Everyone’s impressed, not only me or the professor.”
I let out a long breath then finally look him in the eyes. I search there for the truth, and when I find nothing but understanding and patience, I relax slightly.
“Sorry for snapping at you,” I tell him.
“It’s fine. Is this still about those pictures in the society pages?”
“Ugh, no.” I groan and resume my walking.
About two weeks ago, Ru and I were photographed walking down the damn street and holding hands. I could tell Ru was having lots of feelings about it, but I could do nothing for him. Our picture was splashed across the pages of multiple “newspapers” that are insults to journalism.
According to Ru, Petra, and Jenna—who we met for lunch a few days after—everyone was talking about it, and mostly in a good way.
“Then the next lot of gossip about who-knows-which aristocrats came along and now everyone’s talking about them instead of us.”
“Then what’s the matter?” he demands.
I consider not telling him as we walk the rest of the hallway then come out to the beautiful lawn of Oxford, but when a ray of sunshine hits my face, I stop to feel it and just start talking.
“We’re going to Ru’s parents’ estate later, for me to officially meet them or whatever. I don’t know shit about royals or lords, not really. And the last time I talked to his dad I was a bit of a smartass?—”
“That’s your natural state,” Noah interrupts me, and I shut him up with a narrow-eyed glare.
“I’m fucking nervous here, Noah.”
“Sorry, sorry,” he says, but doesn’t sound or look sorry at all, even if he holds up his hands in surrender. I snap into attention, though, when he takes a good grip of my shoulder and looks at me seriously. “You are Nate Waterford, a genius on the stock market and a good person who comes from a good family,” he emphasizes. “If you were a woman, no lord would be against you being with their son?—”
“But I’m not a woman.” I point out the obvious.
“I know,” he says through clenched teeth. “And Ru’s father knows it too. What I’m saying is that he has no ground to stand on. You two love each other, you’re good together, and nothing he says will change the state of your relationship. Try to win him over maybe, or don’t. Just be yourself and you’ll have them eating out of the palm of your hand. You’re a charming bastard, Nathaniel, so buck up and stop whining.”
The verbal slap works wonders for me. So much so that I’m even smiling when we get in the car to drive from Ru’s place here in Oxfordshire to his parents’ estate an hour later.
“You seem calm,” Ru says with enough bitterness to make me snort.
“I am.”
“Why?” he asks suspiciously.
“Because nothing they could say or do will affect our relationship. We’re solid, you and me. But I do want them to like me. I think I can break your father down with enough time, and we have time, don’t we?”
He stops the car at a crossroad and stares at me like I’m an alien for a long moment, then that beautiful smile takes over his face.
“We do have time,” he murmurs. “And I promise I’ll win over your family as well when we go in autumn for Thanksgiving.”
The way he promises that, so earnestly and adorable as always, melts my insides.
“Please, you just have to talk and Mom’s gonna swoon at your accent, and my sister will start having doubts about her fiancé. And my father already loves you. When I talk to your family I bet they think I’m a hillbilly or something.”
Ru laughs out loud at that, which just proves my point.
“Just remind Father of your Aunt Shirley and he’ll forget all about your origins in the deep south.”
I push his shoulder a little and he accelerates again.
“Sorry, sorry,” he says, still laughing, but he snatches my hand to his. “You know, I think Father might like you if you don’t threaten him with your contacts.”
“I’ll think about it,” I say, mock-dismissively. I know he doesn’t believe a word because he laughs again, long and loud, and I love it.
I love him so fucking much that I feel a physical need to tell him. So when he makes a turn into what seems like a huge driveway, I do.
“I love you, my lord.”
He stops the car again, turns his head quickly, and kisses me hard. I love that he’s so free.
“Love you, my smart himbo,” he murmurs. I know he’s trying to be cute and romantic, like when I call him my lord, but... a snort escapes me.
“That’s an oxymoron, Ru,” I point out and he huffs, then the car’s moving again.
* * *
The lord is not impressed with me.
I knew it would be like that, but it’s still a bummer. He barely looks at me when I shake his hand, and then he sits back down and asks Ru something about work. That’s a dismissal if I’ve ever heard one.
Thankfully, though, Petra and Ru’s mother are there and I charm the hell out of those women.
By the time the butler—he has to be the butler, right?—calls us for dinner, everyone’s silent to the point that it could be considered awkward, but Ru takes my hand and pulls a chair out for me, then takes my hand again under the table and rests it on his thigh. The silence continues as dinner is served, until Ru’s father breaks it.
“I had another talk with my doctor,” Chester announces out of fucking nowhere. Everyone at the table freezes after we turn to look at him. He’s clearly pretending we didn’t, though, and keeps eating. “He informed me the last few weeks where I’ve had more rest have done wonders for my heart, but that I need more recovery time. More... prolonged recovery time,” he hedges. After a long pause he turns to Ru and nods decisively. “I appointed you interim CEO while this was going on, but you’ll be promoted to CEO by the end of next week.”
Like that’s all the information we need?
Ru deserves more than that, dammit!
He deserves for his father to tell him how much he trusts him and how amazing he’s been doing without him at the office. He deserves to hear that his father’s proud of him.
“That’s great news, my dear,” Ru’s mother says, and by her smile I suspect it’s genuine. “We’ll spend more time here at the estate with more fresh air and you’ll be better in no time.”
“Yes, well...” Chester trails off and that’s it.
That’s it?
I want to shout the question, but Ru’s hard grip on my hand stops me.
“Thank you, Father,” he says quietly, and bows his head slightly, then he too goes back to eating. The grip he has on my hand, though, tells me he’s feeling a lot more than he’s showing, so I keep my silence like everyone else.
Petra breaks the silence again by asking her mother about a ball or something, and for the rest of the dinner it’s only meaningless chit chat.
It’s not the best case scenario... but also not the worst. I remind myself of that through the rest of the evening, and I’m back to being relaxed when we say our goodbyes.
“That was delicious, thank you,” I tell Ru’s mother and kiss her cheek. “And thank you,” I tell his father and offer him my hand. He doesn’t say anything, only nods, but this time he does look at me for a longer time when he shakes my hand.
That’s a win.
“I miss Carter,” I say on our drive back. Ru only sighs, so I know I’m going to have to pry the words out of him. “Right now he’d probably know exactly what to tell you to make you laugh. I mean, you’ve just been made CEO of a huge company before you’re thirty and you’re so quiet. And I know it’s because your dad’s an ass of epic proportions who has the emotional capacity of a rock, but I wish Carter was here.”
Ru doesn’t say anything back for a long moment, though I see his mouth curve up slightly.
“Carter would say the lord’s finally pulled his head out of his arse, but I don’t think I’d laugh at that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m pretty sure I’m having an existential crisis.”
“Why?” I demand, now worried. Any type of crisis mentioned isn’t good.
“Tonight, I achieved everything I’ve ever wanted. Everything I ever dreamed. And more than that, I got it while openly being in a relationship with an amazing man, which is something I never thought would be possible. The job, the company, those were possible as long as I kept in line, but everything else...” He shakes his head and now I’m the one keeping silent.
I have no clue what that would be like, achieving everything you’ve ever wanted.
Rewarding for sure, and I believe he’ll feel that at some point, probably when the official announcement of his new position comes. And if he doesn’t feel at least a little bit proud of himself by then, I’ll take matters into my own hands.
He parks the car expertly, and I get out right away to meet him on the other side.
“I’ve never had dreams,” I start in a low voice. “Not like that. All I’ve ever really wanted is to not be miserable.” I chuckle lightly. “I’m definitely not miserable, but I think it would be cool if we could dream up new goals, wouldn’t it? I mean, I’m sure Chase can help there.”
And they’ve been talking a lot since his father semi-passed the reins, even to the point that I think Chase has become a kind of mentor for Ru.
“He can help with the work goals, and you and I can figure out the rest, right? Nothing’s over, Ru.” I lean in to kiss him softly in the moonlight.
I see my future in his warm eyes when I step back.
“In fact, I think it’s just beginning.”