Page 96 of The Billionaire's Royal Secret

Nate cleared his throat. “I’ll get you another paper.”

“Don’t worry about it. She must be really nervous about this dress shopping stuff. I guess they worry about finding the right one.” Charles shot his son a glance as he shrugged.

“That’s probably it,” Nate said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He flicked his gaze to the door again, his stomach tensing. Her behavior had been odd last night and again this morning. Was it nerves about the dress? Or was it something else?

“Don’t worry about it, son,” Charles said as he clapped him on the shoulder. “If you’re going to marry this girl, you’ll deal with far worse than that. Women do strange things sometimes.”

“Did Mom?” Nate asked.

Charles chuckled as he wrapped his arm more firmly around his son’s shoulders. “You have no idea. I remember when we had our first dinner party. She changed her dress five times. And in the end, she wore the same one she’d had on first.”

Nate loosened up a little as he laughed.

“Believe me, son, they get squirrelly over the least little things. You’re about to start planning a wedding with her, so you’d better be prepared for this stuff. You’ll sit dumbfounded as she talks for forty-five minutes about the choice between white and cream.”

Nate’s eyebrows squashed together.

“Son, a word of advice…whichever she picks…that’s the right choice. You nod, and you say, absolutely. That’s the right choice, darling.”

Nate bobbed his head up and down. “Right. She’s always right.”

“That’s it, son. Your wife is always right. Remember that, and you’ll have an easy life.” He squeezed his son’s shoulder. “Now, why don’t you head into the office. Try to get your mind off of the dress shopping. Your mother has it well in hand.”

“Okay, Dad. Thanks for the advice. I’ll see you later.”

His father offered him a reassuring smile as he backed from the living room. He slid into his car, Elena’s behavior still giving him pause as he made the short drive to the office.

After sliding into his parking space, he climbed from behind the wheel and pulled his phone from his pocket, hoping to find a message from Elena. Instead, he spotted one from Stephen.

He clicked to view the text his brother had sent him. The picture message showed Prince Julian at a table. Another message followed.You snooze, you lose, bro. Looks like I’ll lock down the royal deal.

His knuckles tightened around the phone as he stared at the message. His brother, angry and looking to lash out, may have just cost him a deal.

He sent a message back, reminding his brother that the company came first, not individual wins before he strode to his office.

As he settled behind his desk, he checked his phone again. No new messages. With a sigh, he tossed his phone down, resisting the urge to text Elena about how the dress shopping was going.

As he settled into reading the latest reporton his project, his door burst open. Stephen glared at him from the doorway before he stormed inside.

Nate instinctively rose from his seat, prepared to defend himself if needed.

“What kind of game is your royal friend playing?”

Nate screwed up his face as he stared at his brother. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the prince’s odd obsession with your girlfriend. I don’t know what’s happening here, but I have the distinct impression that this guy is playing a game and we’re not going to be the winners.”

The cryptic remark hung in the air as Stephen spun on his heel and left. A torrent of questions tore through Nate’s mind along with a gnawing sense of dread. Was this all part of Stephen’s plan to keep him off balance or was there something more sinister at play?

CHAPTER 21

ELENA

Elena’s heart rate slowly returned to normal as she sat in the back of the chauffeured vehicle with Nate’s mother and sister. She kept her gaze fixed on the buildings passing them by, hoping to avoid any conversation about her odd behavior at the breakfast table. Though her heart rate had slowed, her mind continued to race. Every laugh and shared glance now felt like a betrayal.

The weight of her secret pressed down upon her. Would revealing her true identity shatter the connections she’d built? The fear of losing Nate, the first person to see her for who she truly was beyond the crown, gnawed at her.

It had been all she could do to get that paper away from Nate’s father. She did not want to take the chance that her identity was outed by a newspaper picture.

---