Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
NATE
N ate slumped into his chair, releasing a deep, weary sigh that seemed to echo in the quiet of his office. His gaze drifted to the darkened monitor, where the ghost of his reflection stared back–lines of fatigue deeply around his eyes, a silent testament to the day’s trials.
With a shake of his head, he grabbed his phone, ready to text Elena. His shaky thumb hovered over the virtual keyboard, but he didn’t know what to type.
The wedding planning was starting off with a bang. His choice of best man had already declined and threatened to ruin the wedding.
He imagined typing the message to Elena. Hey sweetie, Stephen hates me and won’t be my best man and also said he’s going to put a stop to the wedding. Hope the planning is going better on your end.
He heaved a sigh, powering off his display. He couldn’t send that .
With the phone in his hand, he rose from his seat and grabbed his jacket, slinging it over a shoulder as he headed for the door.
After a short elevator ride, he pushed through the doors into the crisp air outside. He couldn’t stay in the office after his fight with Stephen. He needed to put some distance between them.
He made his way to the familiar park, each step drawn to the fountain that had borne witness to the early days of their courtship. The waters murmured softly, a gentle soundtrack to the countless moments they had shared beside its spray.
Before long, his feet were moving again, driving him toward the carousel they’d ridden on their first date. Memories of their first kiss floated through his mind, curving his lips into a smile.
The strains of the calliope reached his ears along with the laughter of the people riding it. He paid for a ticket and climbed onto one of the horses for the next ride.
The cool breeze whisked past him as he sailed around in circles, the memory of Elena’s laughter as they’d ridden it together echoed in his mind. He desperately missed her.
They’d been apart for a few weeks after their engagement. He’d returned home to work on several projects at GenoTech, and she’d returned to her royal duties. Despite speaking every day, he missed the warmth of her smile and the feel of her soft lips against his.
When the ride came to a stop, he climbed off of the platform and fired off a text before he hurried back to the office. Instead of heading upstairs, he went straight to his car. He aimed for his house on the outskirts of the city, pulling into the driveway thirty minutes later.
As he pushed through the door into the foyer, his mother froze, one eyebrow arching. “Everything okay?”
“Perfect,” Nate said with a wide grin .
She smiled at his enthusiasm. “Something I should know?”
“I’m going to Eldoria,” he answered as he mounted the stairs.
“We’re all going, Nate. Next weekend. For your engagement announcement. Oh, can you ask Ellie about her mother’s dress color? I want to compliment not match or clash.”
"I will ask her when I see her, as I'm heading to Eldoria today."
His mother slid her eyes sideways, her eyebrows pinched. “Did something happen?”
“Yes,” Nate said with a nod, the smile never leaving his face.
Victoria returned the expression, though confusion flitted in her eyes. “Mind sharing?”
“I want to see Ellie. I miss her. And I can’t wait another few days. I had a fight with Stephen–“
“Ohh,” Victoria said, lifting her chin. “That’s what this is all about?”
“I’m not running from my problems, Mom. It’s just…after the fight, I found myself at the park, drawn to the carousel. While I was riding it, I was flooded with all our best moments, all the reasons I fell in love with her. It made me realize just how much I need to see her face again.
“I want to see her. I want to spend some time with her before we announce the engagement and things get complicated with wedding planning and caterers and colors and flowers and all of that stuff.”
Victoria’s smile broadened. “Ah, young love.”
“Anyway, I’ll see you all in a few days, but until then, I’m going to go surprise her.” He hopped up a step before he twisted. “And, yes, I will ask about your dress.”
“Thank you. Hey, before you go,” Victoria said as she climbed the stairs behind him, “can we at least talk about the fight with Stephen?”
Nate rolled his eyes as he reached the top and threaded through the halls to his room. “Do we have to?”
“I’d like to know. I’m sorry things haven’t gotten better between you two, but he’s–“
“Hurting, yeah, I know,” Nate said as he pushed into his room. “Still doesn’t help.”
“What happened?” Victoria leaned against the door to his room as he grabbed a cell phone charger and tossed it onto the bed.
“I tried to be a nice guy, and Stephen couldn’t handle it.”
Victoria raised her eyebrows.
“What? I did. Look, Stephen stirred the pot at GenoTech, firing off an email riffled with insinuations that I was on my way out. Dad came by to talk to me and lecture, and I–being a nice big brother–decided I’d let bygones be bygones.”
“That’s very admirable.”
“I went to Stephen’s office. I told him I wanted to talk. He accused me of setting up the entire thing with Chloe–“
“He’s hurting, Nate.”
“I know that, Mom,” Nate shot back, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “I denied that and said she cheated way faster than I expected. He naturally got mad.”
“And you two had another falling out.”
“No,” Nate answered with a shake of his head. “No, I told him I didn’t want to fight. And that I wanted him to be my best man.”
Victoria’s eyebrows shot toward her hairline. “And?”
“He turned me down and said he’d do whatever it took to make sure the wedding didn’t happen.”
Victoria sucked in a breath, her eyelashes fluttering. “And now you’re racing off to Eldoria.”
Nate tossed a shirt onto the bed. “I’m not going there because I’m worried, Mom, I’m going there because I want to see Ellie. I just…I want to spend time with her. I want to see her. We've been apart for too long.”
“Honey,” Victoria said as she stepped forward to stop him from rolling his sweater into a ball and tossing it onto the bed to be packed. “Do I sense some nerves again?”
“No. For the first time, no. I’m happy. Thrilled. We’re engaged after passing the whole royal test. I’m sure the wedding will be a whirlwind. And personally, I’m prepared for that and the toll it will take on Ellie. Dad prepared me well for this.”
Victoria arched an eyebrow. “Oh, did he?”
Nate grinned at her, recalling his father’s advice. “Oh, yes. She’s going to ask which white is best. And whichever one she picks, it’s the right answer.”
“Hmm,” Victoria said with a nod. “That’s interesting. I’ll keep that in mind for the next time we have a discussion about color choices for a party.”
“Sorry, go easy on him. Guys don’t see the difference between red and…red.”
Victoria offered him an amused glance. “Actually, what I was getting at was nerves about how things are going to work once you’re married. You aren't planning on stepping down at GenoTech, which means you'll be spending a lot of time in the States—time away from her while she's in Eldoria.”
Nate pressed his lips together as he stared down at his feet. “Yeah, I…we’ll work out the details. I’m sure after the wedding–”
“If you think it’s going to be easier because you’re married, honey, it won’t be. It won’t be easier. Marriage is hard. It’s not a magical bandaid that’ll fix things or make things easier. ”
Nate puckered his lips as he sucked in a breath. “Wow, way to suck the air out of the room, Mom.”
“I’m sorry, Nate, but…I understand you want to see her. But I think you need to be giving some thought to how things are going to work after you’re married. Can you stand to be away from her while you work at GenoTech?”
“So, what are you saying? That you agree with Stephen that I should step down?”
“No, honey, I don’t. I’m not saying anything one way or another. I’m just telling you to think about it. It’s something you and Ellie need to discuss. And you need to be realistic. I’m not saying you need to step down, but I do think you need to think about how hard it will be to split your time. Especially after the kids start to come.”
Nate scrubbed his face as he sat down in his armchair. “Oh, why is everyone determined to spoil my nice time?”
“I’m not trying to spoil the nice time.” Victoria eased into the chair next to him. “You’re young, you’re in love, you’re getting married. It’s a wonderful time. Enjoy it. But go into it with your eyes open. Not to spoil the nice time, but to make sure the wonderful times continue. You don’t want to get married and have things fall apart minutes after.”
“Like Stephen?” Nate asked. “Ellie’s not Chloe.”
“No, she isn’t. But that doesn’t mean you two will have a fairy tale marriage. You’re going to have to make decisions and compromises. Talk through all of it now.”
“You trying to make sure there’s not another situation where you and Dad have to ground the plane until I come to my senses?”
Victoria chuckled as she patted his hand. “So, he told you about that, huh?”
“He did, yes. Thank you.” Nate squeezed his mother’s hand. “I was being a complete idiot. And you’re probably right about this, too. I’ll make it a point to talk to Ellie about all of this. We’ll take some time to think about it and discuss it together. “
“Good,” she answered. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your packing. What time are you leaving?”
“Three,” he answered. “I’ll find you before I leave.”
Victoria rose. “And I will have a talk with Stephen. He’s not going to do anything to stop your wedding.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Nate said as he pulled a few more shirts from his drawer. His mind whirled as the door clicked closed behind his mother. He should buy something for Elena, something to surprise her with.
He glanced at his watch before he tossed a few more items onto his bed, raced to his closet, grabbed his suitcase, and tossed everything inside. He zipped it closed and left it behind as he raced from his room.
A few minutes later, he revved his engine and tore out of the driveway, heading back to the city. He swung into his spot at GenoTech and left the car behind, exiting onto the sidewalk and hurrying to the shopping district.
He pushed into the antique store and wandered to the window, holding his breath as he searched the display. His lips formed a grin as he spotted the item he’d seen when walking past the shop last week.
“Can I help you?” The owner approached, eyeing him over his reading glasses.
“I got what I needed.” Nate lifted the wooden box in the air.
“Oh, the carousel music box. Good choice. That carousel horse was hand-painted, you know?” The man led him to the register.
“My fiancé loves carousels. I saw this the other day and thought of her. I’m going to see her and wanted to take her something. ”
The man peered over his glasses again. “Oh, you’re…you’re the one dating the princess.”
Nate shifted his weight. They weren’t supposed to be making an announcement about their official engagement yet. Was it wrong to admit it?
He grinned at the man. “Uhhh–”
The man waved his hands in the air before he announced the total. “You don’t have to say anything. I bet you value your privacy, but that’s about to change, I think. People love royals. And they love to know everything about them.”
“Well, Ellie…Elena…my fiancé loves carousels. So, I’m going to give her this the moment I see her.”
The man grinned. “I’ll be bragging to all my friends that I sold a carousel music box to a man for a princess.”
Nate matched his expression. “Yeah, definitely. Tell everyone.”
The man wrapped and bagged the item carefully before he handed it over.
“Thanks,” Nate said as he raised it in the air.
He left the store behind and hurried back to his car to make the trip back to his house. With the bag in hand, he pushed into the foyer.
Maddie skipped down the stairs, still in her school uniform. “Hey, I heard you’re ditching us for Ellie.”
“I am,” Nate said. “Just a few days early, that’s all. I’ll see you soon.”
“Can I go with you?” Maddie asked.
“No,” he answered over his shoulder as he ascended the stairs with her trailing behind.
“Come on. I can miss school. I’ll work on all my assignments and not get behind. I need a change of scenery.”
“You mean to Alexander? I don’t know if he’s there.”
“No, but I wouldn’t mind seeing him. Come on, Nate. I can be packed in twenty minutes. ”
“I’m not taking you out of school to go to Eldoria. Just come with Mom and Dad for the weekend.”
“I don’t want to go with Mom and Dad. Come on, Nate. I need to get away.”
“What are you doing? Avoiding a test?”
“No,” Maddie answered as he pushed into his room. “I’m…”
“What?” he asked as he tugged his suitcase from his bed.
“Dan asked out Chelsea,” she said, pouting, “and I hate both of them now.”
“You’ll be okay.”
“You know, when you were being an idiot, we all pitched in to help you so you could be happy. You could return the favor.” She crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow at him, her expression challenging.
Nate furrowed his brow. “Was everyone in on the plane thing?”
“Yep. We all knew you were being an idiot.”
He rolled his eyes. “Okay, yes, I was, but…”
“But nothing. Help me out, Nate. Please…it’s only a few days.”
He heaved a sigh, checking the time on his phone. “Go pack. Fast, though, I wanted to leave at three.”
She bounced on her toes as she clapped. “We don’t have to leave at three on the dot. We have a private plane, duh.”
She raced from the room as he dragged his suitcase behind him into the hall.
Victoria hastened down the hall toward him. “Oh, good, I caught you.”
“Yeah, I was just about to leave, but…Maddie’s having a tough time at school, so she asked to come with me. I told her she could. I hope that’s okay.”
Victoria shook her head, her eyes clouding with concern. “ I don’t think either of you will be going anywhere. We have a problem.”
Nate’s heart plummeted at the words. His surprise visit was on the verge of falling apart.