“Your mother spoke to me today.”
Nate leaned casually against the railing, his eyes focused on hers and his back to the beautiful garden view below them. “She told me. She said she apologized.”
“She did.”
“You don’t want to forgive her?” No judgment again, just a question.
“I find it hard to forgive people, even if they are a queen. I know I should. I know that if I really want this job, I should’ve forgiven her right then and there.”
“But?”
“But I keep hearing her say those awful things to me, over and over again. The memory just won’t go away.”
“Make a new memory then, and replace it.”
“What kind of memory?”
“A memory where you forgive her and we both live happily ever after.” His knuckles brushed her cheek. “Would that be so terrible?”
“Nate.”
He turned her to face him, his hands firm on her shoulders, his face half bathed in shadow and the other half fierce like an avenging angel. “What are we doing here then? What are we working towards? I’m not saying we’re ready for marriage yet, but I can’t deny how I feel about you.”
She shook her head and tried to leave, but he wouldn’t let her. “Don’t say it. I won’t believe it.”
She could sense him pulling back, holding back that well of emotion brimming and bursting near the surface, ready to explode. A few heavy breaths later, he said, “All right. I won’t say it. But, damn it, you’re going to feel it.”
Their mouths crashed together like two waves at high tide. She tried to fight it but it was no use; she was caught up in the rip current that was Nate, and she couldn’t get loose.
After he pulled away, their heaving breaths leaving puffs of dissipating clouds in the night, he nuzzled her cheek. “Believe in us, Charlotte-mine.”
“I’m trying.”
“Try harder.” He pressed a soft kiss to her temple and rested his forehead against hers. “I know you care for me. You don’t want to hear words you can’t say back. That’s it, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“The words aren’t easy for me, either. I haven’t said them to anyone in over ten years, and even then I didn’t mean them as much as I would now.” He wrapped his arms around her. “I have faith in you, Charlotte-mine. We’ll find our way through.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I have faith in you, too. You’ll do great tomorrow, you’ll see.”
When a buzzing sound interrupted them, Charlie realized it was her phone. She grimaced at the message she saw. “I’ve got to go back in. Apparently, there’s some sort of catastrophe in the kitchen.”
He pressed a fleeting kiss to her lips. “I’ll find a way to see you tomorrow. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not.” With a last look, she turned and slipped back inside.
***
Nate was still watching the door through which Charlie had exited when the sound of heels tapped softly behind him. Expecting one of his sisters, he was surprised and dismayed to see Katya. “Katya, how are you this evening? I didn’t realize you’d be here.”
“Your Highness,” she purred and slithered up to him. “How do you do?” She pressed against him, her long, slim frame even taller in the five inch heels she wore. As she curtsied, she managed to slide along his body in the process. When she stood up again, she tossed her bleached blond hair over her shoulder.
Nate stepped back and looked for a way out. “Who are you here with?”
“Jasper, the man who runs the Department of Commerce.”
Nate’s eyes narrowed at the mention of an alleged suspect. “Are you?” he murmured. Coincidence? He wasn’t sure.
“Yes, but he’s not nearly as yummy as you.”
“Back off, Katya. I’m not interested.”
She scoffed. “That’s not what you said the last time we were together.” She leaned into his ear. “You know, when I was under you?”
He stepped back again, fully aware that he was essentially being chased around the terrace. “I’m seeing someone. Jasper’s single and loaded – that’s all you want, right? Someone to cover your shoe habit for the rest of your life?”
She rested a hand on her hip, the bright red polish of her nails clashing with the garish silver of her dress. “You’re not single anymore? I find that hard to believe. Besides, his money is nothing to yours.”
“You forget that a prince doesn’t own his country’s wealth. It’s a job. You get paid for it like any other job. Though I always forget you don’t know what a job is.”
“Stop being so cruel.”
She wasn’t Charlie, and he was sick of the past haunting them, getting in the way of their future. “Stop incessantly messaging me, stop stalking me, and go find someone else. I told you I’m not interested. Shall I make a scene and have security escort you out?”
“You wouldn’t, not with dignitaries visiting.”
Nate crossed his arms over his chest. “Wouldn’t I?”
After a few moments indecision, she smiled again and sidled up to him. “You just need to remember what it was like between us, Your Highness.”
Her cloying perfume wrapped around him as she threw herself against him. He managed to barely dodge a full-on kiss, and pushed her away.
But it was already too late.
Nate and Katya spun around at the sound of the plate crashing to the floor. Nate’s eyes widened and his heart fell as he saw Charlie standing there, and cake and plate lay crushed on the stone terrace.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said, her voice so small and broken. “I was just delivering these to the Prince. Your Highness.” Despite the moisture he saw welling in her eyes, she curtsied then turned to go.
“Wait,” he called to Charlie and she halted in her tracks.
“Are these for us?” Katya asked with a frown. “You know I don’t eat gluten.”
“Jesus, woman. How many times do I have to say it? Get it through your thick head. There is no us. Stop throwing yourself at me. I told you I’m involved with someone else. Guards.” Within a moment Royal Protection Service agents had their arms around Katya and were pulling her away, her heels scraping against the terrace while she fought their grasp. “She’s Jasper’s date. See that he finds out about this, but not until after you remove her from the palace grounds.” The agents nodded and Katya’s protestations were soon a distant voice in the night.
Nate spun around, and almost sagged in relief to find Charlotte still there. He wrapped his arms around her from behind. “It was nothing, Charlie. She threw herself at me.”
Charlie forcibly broke his hold. “God, I can still smell her on you. Still see her lipstick on your cheek.” She was sobbing now, and he knew she wasn’t the type to cry, would never show weakness if she could help it. He didn’t know what to do, or what to say besides the truth.
“I never lied to you about my past. I’ve been with Katya before, but I haven’t seen her for several months, not since I came back to Valleria. She’s the one who sent me those messages last night that pissed me off, because I keep telling her I’m not interested and she won’t listen.”
Nate took a chance and stepped close enough to wipe her tears away with his thumbs. “There, there, Charlotte-mine. You may not be ready for the words, but you’re going to get them.”
“D-D-D-Don’t,” she sobbed as she pushed his hands away and wiped her face with the sleeve of her chef’s coat.
“I love you. I can’t help it. I’d say I’m sorry for it, but I’m not. I love the way you bake. I love the way you make love. I love the way you smell and the way you taste: sweet and sinful. I know I shouldn’t have you, but I can’t fucking help myself.”
He cupped her face. “I love your big, blue eyes, and the way they focus in the kitchen. I even love the way your nose crinkles when you cry, though I only want to see happy tears.”
She half-sobbed, half snorted in laughter. “N-Nate.”
&
nbsp; “Don’t give up on me. Please don’t give on me.” He was pleading, he knew. He stepped down onto both knees and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Don’t give up on me, on us. I love you, Charlotte-mine. I need you. Please don’t leave me.” His voice broke at the end, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He couldn’t lose her, he just couldn’t.
She sniffled. “Nate. Oh, Nate, I don’t know what to think.” She tentatively ran a hand over his hair, pulling off the band holding it back. “Are there other women like her?”
“Yes.” He tightened his hold when she tensed. “I won’t lie to you. I dated a lot of socialites like her. She broke up with me when she found someone else who could give her more attention than I could. I wasn’t interested in anything long-term and she knew it. But now he’s gone and she’s back.”
“I can’t believe she dumped you. I mean, you’re a prince.”
“I was also an asshole.”
“You’re still kind of an asshole.”
He smiled against her stomach. “Not so much since I met you.”
“No. No, you’re not.” Her hands tightened briefly in his hair before she let out a sigh and let go. “I have to go back to work.”
“Are we all right?”
“I don’t know,” she answered too honestly. “I just don’t know.” He stood up as she pushed away. “Thank you for what you said to me. I know you meant it, but I don’t know if I can risk my heart again.”
“I’ll wait for you, Charlie. I’ll find a way to prove myself.” He paused, trying to phrase his words carefully. “Charlie, why did you come out here again? Did you really come to see me?”
She nodded. “The disaster in the kitchen was pretty much taken care of once I got there, so I brought out a piece of cake for us to share. I thought you might want to try it,” she added in a small voice.
“I loved that you thought of it. You understand me, Charlie, in ways I didn’t think possible.”
“Maybe.” She turned and paused near the door, shaking her head at the broken plate and cake. “I’m always dropping cakes around you.”
“I don’t mind it so much.”
“You’re lucky I dropped them. I wanted to smash it in both of your faces.”
He smiled broadly. “I’d never deny you anything it’s in my power to give, Charlie.”
She snorted. “I’ll send someone to clean this up,” she said, and disappeared inside.
She wasn’t sold on him, not yet, but she would be. He would make sure of it.
Chapter 16
Charlie struggled to regain her composure as she wound her way through the dining hall. Dancing was apparently over, as most were now seated and waiters were bringing out plates of appetizers. Soon, it would be time for dessert, and that would be her moment.
So, why did her heart feel fuller from Nate’s words than from completing a job well done? She wanted so desperately to believe they were true, that she was loved.
It almost seemed too good to be true.
She turned a corner on her way to the staging area, where all of the food was placed before being brought out. Having one working kitchen far away from the dining room meant that it was essential to have a staging area.
“Fuck that,” an angry voice said. “We need to take care of this and now.”
“But they can’t place the bomb yet,” another voice said, exasperated. “Damn agents have the Council chambers surrounded.”
Bomb? Holy shit. Charlie stood frozen, horror and adrenaline coursing through her system. If she moved now, would they see her? What should she do?
“It was your job to make sure we got away with this.”
“And it was your job to stop before we got this far. What the hell do you need all that fucking money for anyway?”
“It wasn’t the money. I meant to destroy those sanctimonious assholes ruining my country.”
“You’re full of shit.”
“And you’re wasting my time. Deal with the bomb and make sure it goes off at the right moment, and that we aren’t affected by it. There’ll be hell to pay if I get injured in this.”
“We’ll probably both be killed,” the second man murmured. “Look, it’s not safe to talk here.”
Charlie gasped, praying they didn’t hear it. She crept back down the hall and around the corner; hopefully, it would be far enough if her plan was to work.
A few moments later, as the sounds of footsteps came down the hall, Charlie took a deep breath and pasted a slim smile on her face. “Coco, is that you?” she called out. As she rounded the corner, she bumped into the men. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry. Are you lost? Would you like some help?”
A man gripped her arms and her eyes widened in surprise. “How long have you been here?”
She tried to figure out if she’d seen him. His face looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him. “Sir? I’ve working at the palace for about a year, sir.”
“I know who she is,” a third voice said. This voice was slightly French and the sound of it made her skin crawl. Pierre. “This one’s Prince Nathaniel’s latest whore.”
“What? What are you talking about? Why are you here? You were fired.”
Pierre walked over with a smirk and she recoiled when brushed a finger down her cheek. “I still have some friends here, my dear.”
Her gut clenched at the phrase Nate had used so often with her. Did Pierre really know about them? Or was he reaching for something he wasn’t sure was there. “Let go of me,” she told the man holding her.
Pierre gripped her chin, and forced her to look at him. Gone was the taunting smile, replaced with a sneer. “He’ll let go of you when he’s good and ready.” His gaze raked over her, undressing her down to the skin; she felt violated though she was still fully clothed.
“I saw you on the terrace, you know,” he said with a leer. “I saw you whore yourself for the Prince. Didn’t know I was there, did you?”
He’d been there? He’d seen?
“I also saw you chase after him, even after finding him with another whore. You don’t have any standards, do you? Not in the bedroom or the kitchen. Sloppy work, all around.”
She’d had enough. She kneed the man holding her, who let go and stumbled back into Pierre. Free, she ran down the hall, the men yelling after her. She prayed someone would hear her before it was too late.
When the gunshot rang through the hall, she knew help would come. She knew it.
She chanced a glance back, seeing the men fleeing in the other direction, Pierre letting out a roar of frustration. He fired at her once more just as she turned a corner.
But it was too late.
She’d been hit.
Dark red seeped into the crisp white of her chef’s coast and expanded over her left side. She hadn’t felt the gunshot, but she’d felt the blood.
Her vision went blurry, but she kept going, needing help. Her mind forced her awake even while her body pleaded sleep. She need to tell someone, anyone about the bomb.
Nate.
***
As soon as the shots rang out, the entire palace went on lockdown. Marcello sprang into action, closing down all entrances and ordering agents from all over the palace and the city beyond to shut down operations. The airport was shut down, along with train and bus service. Local police coordinated with government agencies to set up checkpoints along the roads, too.
Guests cowered under tables while Gabriel and Genevieve, along with the Prime Minister and his wife, were taken via secret passageway to an underground bunker, along with Alex, Rebecca, and Grace, who’d gone at Marcello’s insistence. Royal Council members were taken to a separate bunker, just in case.
Nate watched them go, his heart clenching. He had to remain behind, as did his other siblings. Would he die? Or would they all live to see each other again?
When Marcello bolted out of the room towards the staging area, his heart leapt furiously. Charlie.
“Marcello, what is it?” Nate called out as he ran towards h
im.
“Someone in the hall was hit.”
His gut clenched, sharp and rancid. “Who?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
They ran down the corridors, agents trailing in front of and behind them.
“Here, Sir,” an agent called out.
“Charlie!” Nate yelled when he saw her. Someone was pressing a towel against her left side and she was pale, deathly pale. Nate pushed people out of the away and went to her side. “Charlie, my God.” He took her hand and squeezed it, then brought it to his lips for a fierce kiss. Her hand was cold, too cold. “Who was it? What happened?”
Charlotte & Nate (Royals of Valleria #4) Page 20
