Page 35 of Coaching Prince Charming

I didn’t mind. My guiding principle was to give him all the time he needed. The fact that we had gotten together at all was enough to keep me satisfied for a long time.

We climbed the few short stairs to the front porch when the door opened. A kindly man stood on the other side with a warm smile under a thin mustache. “Welcome to Eagleton. I hope your drive here went well.”

“Terrific,” Nate said while the man who introduced himself as Eric led us through. The interior was as charming as the exterior of this house. It looked like a historic inn, all wood and red brick, traditionally decorated and made so warm that I wanted to live here for the rest of my days. How wonderful would that be?

Eric showed us briefly the staircase that led to the upper floor where our apartment was but led the way into the secluded restaurant. Light, soothing classical music filled the empty dining room that was lit by countless candles and only offered a single table with two chairs.

My hand tightened around Nate’s elbow. “Are you kidding me?”

“Nope,” Nate said. “Thank you, Eric.” That was to the man who just pulled a chair out for me. I murmured my thanks while Nate pulled his own chair back and sat down.

“The inn is yours, Mr. Partridge,” Eric said politely as he retreated.

I looked around once again. The dining room’s walls were painted dusty yellow, and ornate frames with paintings of lakes and landscapes were hanging from all sides. Large windows let the candlelight create a reflection against the night outside. My gaze went over the table, where there was a decanter, wineglasses, and neatly stacked plates. On them, elaborately folded napkins made me feel slightly out of place. It had been a while since I’d been exposed to high standards. Dad’s resort vacations didn’t entail a lot of luxury and often included bottomless mimosas for breakfast.

“You could have warned me to put something fancier on,” I muttered, but the joy I felt at being treated like a prince was too much to keep out of my voice. I lifted my gaze and found his kind, handsome face glowing.

“You look absolutely perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing,” Nate said. He wore a very nice dark blue shirt and a pair of cream pants paired with a brown belt and classy brown sneakers. I should have suspected something was up if he dressed so nicely for a quick ride.

“The guy knows your name,” I pointed out.

Nate wasn’t concerned. “I would imagine he read it on the NDA.”

I chuckled politely, but it was a scary reminder of who we were. He was a famous winger, even if he was retired, and NDAs were his everyday occurrence.

Footsteps approached us lightly from somewhere behind me, and a middle-aged woman with black hair and dark eyes paused by our table. “Good evening, Mr. Partridge,” she said. “Would you like to order?” She scanned the table and lifted the decanter. She had a timeless beauty to her that made me want to watch everything she did.

As I gazed up at her, I didn’t notice Nate’s expression until he spoke. “Ana? God, how are you?”

The woman visibly lit up. “Very well, sir, thank you for asking.”

I looked at Nate with a curious frown on my face, but he went on. “How’s Suzie? Has she made it into Everett Hills?” He lost me there. I had no idea what was going on.

Ana smiled broadly as she finished pouring wine. “Made it and graduated from it, sir.”

Nate blew out a breath of air. “Time flies. I bet you’re a proud mom.”

Judging by the way she beamed, that was a safe bet to make. She thanked Nate again and then wrote down our orders. We each picked very light starters and easy main courses. Eating wasn’t high on the list of things I wanted to do.

Ana went away with the orders, and I stared at Nate. “You know each other?” Why would he bring me to a place where he personally knew someone? Was he coming out?

Nate simply shrugged. “I’ve been here before, oh, four or five years ago. I didn’t expect to see a familiar face.”

He didn’t know it then, but that was the moment when I pulled my heart out of my chest, put it in a nice little box, and gave it to him for good. “You remember a server from four years ago,” I whispered. And the server’s daughter and the name of some school I had never heard of.

Nate looked bewildered that I would even talk about it.

“Does being recognized worry you?” I asked gently, just to make sure.

Nate sucked his teeth and shook his head. “It’s alright. This is a discreet establishment. Why else do you think they rent out the entire house to just one couple? Many more popular people have stayed here, I’m sure. Not that anyone here would tell me if that’s true.”

“I’m going to go on a limb and say you had a date here,” I teased him.

Nate flushed and waved his hands nervously, explaining how it should have been a date, but the guy was a no-show, probably scared off by the fact that this wasn’t some back-alley hostel but a fine inn. “That’s how I met Ana. I was a loser who got stood up.”

I moaned with sympathy. “Oh, poor baby.” It made him laugh.

Our starters arrived. Feta cheese baked in crusty dough and drenched in honey was the greatest thing that had ever come from an oven. After that, we each had a very good salad, followed by a chocolate cake that was nearly as good as orgasms.

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