Page 16 of The Billionaire's Royal Secret

“There are no bars open right now,” Stephen shouted after him as he strode from the dining room, his blood boiling.

His relationship with Stephen wasn’t easy, though he’d had as much of a hand in that as his younger brother. Maybe more of a hand in it.

He blew out a steadying breath as he arrived in the expansive foyer. As his fingers curled into fists, he struggled to maintain his cool. He slid his eyes closed, the rage still burning through him at his brother’s comments.

The buzz of his phone pulled him from his thoughts. He reached into his pocket and slid the phone out, checking his notifications.

Some of his anger dissipated as he discovered a text message from Ellie waiting.Genuine kindness, a sense of humor, and someone who is comfortable being themselves. Those are the traits that leave a lasting impression with me.

Her message was punctuated by a smiling emoticon that made his anger melt away. Her answer suggested she was the antithesis of Chloe, and someone that he desperately needed in his life.

“Super funny meme?” his younger sister asked as she bounced down the stairs.

He clicked off his display as he reached to pull her into a half-hug. “Yeah, funny meme.”

She smiled up at him. The baby of the family, his sister,Madeline, was one of the few family members who still treated him normally, not aggressively like his brother or with kid gloves like his parents.

“You’re going to be late for breakfast, Maddie.”

“I know. I hope I am,” she answered. “I’m trying to avoid school today.”

“You really need to go to school.”

“But I don’t. I’m doing okay in school. I can miss a day. And it’s almost summer break, anyway.”

“Good luck convincing Mom and Dad of that.”

“That’s why I’m hoping to be late to breakfast,” Maddie answered.

“All right,” he said with a grin, “I’ll help you out.”

She offered him a devilish grin. “Yeah? Take me with you? I’ll ditch school, you ditch work.”

“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “But I need your help. But this has to be a secret, okay?”

Maddie’s eyebrow arched, tossing a lock of her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Ooh, super-secret stuff? Okay.”

“I’m serious, Maddie,” he answered. “I don’t want anyone to know. Not Mom and Dad. Definitely not Stephen.”

“Okay,” she said with a bob of her head. “Yeah. You can trust me.”

He sucked in a breath as he lowered his voice and took a step closer to her. “I met someone. We went on a first date last night.”

Her eyes lit up, and she sucked in a breath. “Nate! Aww. What’s her name? Is she pretty? I bet she’s pretty.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty. Her name is Ellie. And I…really like her.”

“Did you kiss? Was it magical?”

“Maddie, focus,” he said as his exuberant little sister’s teenage hormoneskicked in.

“Ohhh, you kissed her, and it was magical. Fireworks!” She hopped up and down with excitement.

“Yes, I kissed her, okay. Yes, it was perfect. Which is why I need your help. I want to get her something before our next date. But I don’t know what.”

Maddie wrinkled her nose. “Jewelry? Girls like jewelry, right?”

“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “No, she’s not that kind of girl. She’s…different. She just…I just want her to know I was thinking about her and paying attention to her.”

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