Page 84 of The Billionaire's Royal Secret

“I’ll bet.”

“Hey, where do you think I should propose? I can’t pick a spot,” Nate asked.

His mother shifted her weight, pressing her lips together as she narrowed her eyes. “Can I think about it? There are lots of nice places, but I assume you’ll want to have some privacy when you actually pop the question. You’re doing it at the end of the night, right?”

“Yeah,” he answered. “Location unknown. I need an expert female opinion.”

“You came to the right place. I’ll give it some thought and let you know. It might be nice to surprise her with some roses, so we may want to set up somewhere out of the way.”

“Good idea. I just…don’t know. It’s so different from what happened the last time…” His voice trailed off as his mind flitted to the fated engagement. Chloe had pretended to be surprised despite orchestrating the entire event complete with a string quartet and a custom-designed dress.

Victoria squeezed his arm. “It’s a lot better than last time because I get the feeling no matter which way you do this, Ellie will love it.”

He offered his mother a tight-lipped smile. “I hope so. I want things to be perfect for her, but you’re right, she wouldn’t fuss no matter which way it happened.”

His mother pulled him into a hug. “We’ll talk details soon. Good night.”

He eased the door closed as she strode down the hall,reflecting on the conversation. Things would be so different this time around. Instead of a well-orchestrated charade, he’d actually be deepening a real relationship with a woman he had fallen head over heels for.

He sucked in a breath as he took a step into his room when another knock sounded at the door. Stepping back to it, he laughed while he pulled it open. “What’d you do, come up with a dozen thoughts already?”

The grin faded from his lips as he stared back at his brother’s face. “Stephen.”

“Nate,” his brother said.

“What are you doing here? Don’t you think you caused enough upset tonight?”

Stephen pushed past him into his room, spinning to face him. “I don’t think so.”

“Give it up, Stephen. This little game you’re playing isn’t going to work. And you’re going to be the one burned here.”

“Oh, really? Is that a threat?”

Nate shook his head as he strode across the room to stare out one of his windows. “No. It’s not. Your own actions are going to be what hurts you.”

Behind him, Stephen scoffed. “Oh really? Care to elaborate?”

Nate twisted to eye his brother over his shoulder. Maybe his happiness with Elena was making him soft, but he didn’t want this war to continue. “Chloe’s dangerous. Don’t make the same mistakes I did just because you want to stick it to me. It’s not going to work, and you’re going to be the one who pays the price.”

Stephen pinched his eyebrows together as he crossed his arms. “Oh, I see. Big brother to the rescue to save me from big, bad Chloe. Did it ever occur to you that you’re the only loser she wasn’t interested in?”

“No, Stephen, because Chloe is out forone thing. Chloe.”

Stephen’s derisive laugh betrayed his disbelief. “Maybe you just don’t know her like I do.”

“Oh, really? You think you’re somehow special? That she’s not after just one thing with you, too?”

Stephen lifted his chin. “She’s not. See, because she never wanted you to begin with. She told me that.”

Nate stepped closer, his chest puffed out as he matched his brother’s icy stare. “Oh, right. I’ll bet. Let me guess, did she tell you thatafterI caught you two together?”

Stephen flicked his gaze away with a shake of his head. “You’re not going to convince me that she’s the problem, Nate. You’re not going to twist what happened between us. You were the problem all along.”

“Right,” Nate said with a bob of his head. “I was the problem. Let me ask you this. If I was the problem, why didn’t she just dump me and go with you?”

“She was afraid of you,” Stephen answered.

Nate sucked in a breath, astounded at the twisted story Chloe had sold to his younger brother in a desperate attempt to rekindle some relationship with a Kingsley. “Afraid of me? And that’s why she kept her relationship with you a secret. I guess she figured you couldn’t protect her, huh?”

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