Chapter Six
chapter six
NATE
“Why did Nolan tell me you skipped out on all your meetings yesterday and you’re planning to do the same today?”
I curse my assistant, who’s supposed to have my back and not spill shit to my dad, while I try to think of a valid excuse as to why I flew all the way to London to attend meetings about the hotel expansion, only to bail on them all.
When I can’t come up with a believable excuse, I go with the truth. “I met a woman.”
Stunned by my response, he doesn’t say anything for several moments. And when he finally speaks, he’s no longer in CEO mode, but instead talking to me as my father.
“What’s her name?”
“Paige Abrams. She tripped over some cobblestone, and I saved her from getting run over in the valet line.”
Dad chuckles. “Well, that saved the company a lot of insurance paperwork. ”
“She’s only here until Monday.”
I know that from seeing her reservation and looking up the wedding that’s being held here. Friday is the rehearsal and dinner, Saturday is the wedding, and she’s checking out on Monday morning, which leaves me today and Sunday to convince her to give me her number. I already tried to get it from the hotel, but the number on file is local, so it’s probably her ex’s.
“Okay,” Dad concedes. “Go have your fun, but make sure you’re still handling things.”
“Of course,” I say because business has always come first.
I’ve been working for Bradford Hotels since I was old enough to have a job, and before that, I spent every chance I could learning from my dad because when he’s ready to retire, I’ll be the one to step into his shoes. And from what he’s told me, it’ll be sooner rather than later—by the end of this year if Mom has it her way.
My brothers, Dustin and Carmine, also work for our family’s company. Dustin is the head of accounting. He’s always been a whiz with numbers, so it suits him. He loves his position as CFO and has no desire to change it. Carmine is the head of marketing and does a damn good job. I’d bet he and Paige would get along. When she spoke about working for Kingston Liquor, I could see the same kind of passion in her eyes that Carmine gets when he’s discussing his latest marketing idea.
Our father never pushed anything on us, but we’re a close-knit family, and working for Bradford Hotels was always what we wanted to do.
Dad and I hang up, and I shoot Nolan a text, letting him know I’m aware that he ratted me out to my dad. Then, I scan the room in search of Paige, hoping she isn’t going to stand me up, when I spot her staring down at her phone with a frown marring her beautiful face.
She shakes her head and sighs and then pockets it. Her eyes meet mine, and she smiles, but because I’ve seen what her genuine smile looks like, I know this one is forced.
“Everything okay?” I ask once I’m standing in front of her.
“Yeah,” she chokes out.
“Let’s try that again.” I palm her cheek. “What’s wrong?”
She releases a harsh breath, and her eyes ascend as she tries not to let her tears fall.
“Hey,” I murmur, pulling her to the side so we’re not standing in the middle of the lobby. “Talk to me.”
“Apparently, my friends have chosen sides, and it’s not mine.” She shrugs like it doesn’t bother her, but we both know otherwise. “It was bad enough John cheated on me with my friend, but now, the couple who’s getting married, who were my friends first, have welcomed them to attend the wedding together.”
“Ouch. That doesn’t sound like any of these people are your friends.”
“I worked with Marina, and Phoebe was my roommate. By default, their boyfriends and mine became friends. Phoebe and Steve broke up a couple of months ago, and he moved, so nobody had to choose, but now, she’s dating John, and that makes things awkward since I’m friends with Marina, but I’m also the only one who lives in a different country.”
She sniffles back her cry, trying to be strong. “Marina said she didn’t know, but she can’t let this ruin her wedding, and since they were both invited, John asked if we could trade seats. Since Phoebe and Steve only recently broke up, Steve is still on the guest list, so I’ll be sitting next to an open seat so Phoebe and John can sit together.”
“Why even go?” I ask, hating to see her upset and wondering what kind of friends would put someone who’s just been betrayed in that position.
“Because I’m in the wedding and it will look petty if I don’t show up. Technically, Marina didn’t do anything wrong. She’s switching me and Phoebe so there aren’t any issues, and honestly, I’d rather sit next to an empty seat than with John, but…” She huffs. “I guess I was hoping Phoebe would do the right thing and not go. John and I are both in the wedding, but she’s not.”
“You already know they’re both shitty people,” I point out. “Neither of them thought about your feelings while they were together behind your back, so why would they consider your feelings now?”
“I know,” she says. “I just wish, for once, someone would put me first.”
Her words come out as a whisper, but they hit my heart like a bullet. If Paige were mine, I would put her first every goddamn day for the rest of our lives. She deserves for someone to think about her, to be there for her, to love her, but that can’t be me. I hate that our time is limited and that we can never be anything more than a London memory.
“It’ll happen,” I tell her, tipping her chin up and pressing a soft kiss to the tip of her nose. “Now, what’s on the agenda for today? You have over thirty hours before you need to think about that wedding, so put it out of your head, and let’s enjoy London.”
“I actually had an idea, but I’m not sure you’d want?—”
“Tell me. I’m down for anything.”
“I was thinking we could go to Bath.”
“The city? Isn’t it, like…”
“Two and a half hours by train. We could visit the Roman Baths, and they have the best tea and scones, and there’s this cute coffee shop?—”
“Hey,” I say, holding her chin so she’ll look at me. “If you want to get out of here, that’s all you have to say.”
“Thank you.” She releases a sigh of relief. “Phoebe’s checking in today, which means…”
“Which means we’re going to Bath. Give me ten minutes to pack an overnight bag, and I’ll meet you back down here.”
“Wait, an overnight bag?”
“If we’re doing Bath, then we gotta do it right. And that can’t be done in a day trip. Don’t worry. We’ll be back in time for your rehearsal and dinner tomorrow night.”
I shoot her a playful wink, and she smiles—a real fucking smile. And I vow to do everything in my power to make sure that’s the only smile she sports while we hang out.
“Okay,” she says with a glimmer of happiness in her eyes. “I’ll meet you back down here.”
After I pack a bag, I text my assistant to let him know I’m leaving and ask him to book us a room in the best part of Bath with two bedrooms and bathrooms. He also books us tickets to see the Roman Baths and makes a reservation for us at the best teahouse since Paige mentioned having tea.
Since I have no desire to ride on a train, I also have him charter us a private plane. It’ll only take about twenty-five minutes to get there.
“Umm, where are we going?” Paige asks when we step outside since we’re getting in my car instead of heading to the train station.
A burst of cold air hits us, and her hair whips around her face. She tightens her hold around her coat, and I open the door to the car I requested to take us to the airport.
“Bath.”
She glances at me suspiciously, but doesn’t comment on anything else.
The ride to the private airport is quick, and when Paige realizes where we are, she shoots me a quizzical look.
“Mr. B—” the pilot greeting us at the plane begins, but before he can say my last name, I cut him off.
“Please call me Nate. And this is Paige.”
“Welcome aboard. I’m Ron Poole, your pilot today. It will be a quick twenty-four-minute flight to Bath.”
“We’re flying to Bath?” Paige gasps.
“Quicker than the two-hour-plus train ride.”
“And a helluva lot more expensive.”
“Don’t worry about that,” I tell her as we climb the steps onto the plane.
It’s on the smaller side, so there are only four passenger seats. We have a seat across from each other, and the flight attendant comes over and asks if we’d like a drink.
“Can I have a hot coffee, please?” Paige asks.
“Of course,” the flight attendant says. “And you, sir?”
“I’ll have the same.”
The flight is, as the pilot said, quick, and once we arrive in Bath, we get into the car I have waiting for us. So that we don’t have to bring our luggage with us, Nolan was able to get us an early check-in. The hotel is in the center of Bath in a small courtyard area, surrounded by a quaint bookstore, a tea shop, and a few other shops.
When the car stops, Paige gets out and glances around, and then her eyes meet mine. “We’re staying here?” she asks, pointing to the building behind her .
I nod, and she throws her arms around my neck.
“Thank you, Nate. I know you couldn’t have possibly known, but this is the same area where my mom and I used to stay when we came here.”
“I’m glad you like it,” I murmur, kissing the crown of her head.
My time with Paige might be limited, but I’ll do whatever I can to make sure it’s memorable.