Page 13 of The Billionaire's Royal Crown

“I tried to be a nice guy, and Stephen couldn’t handle it.”

Victoria raised her eyebrows.

“What? I did. Look, Stephen stirred the pot at GenoTech, firing off an email riffled with insinuations that I was on my way out. Dad came by to talk to me and lecture, and I–being a nice big brother–decided I’d let bygones be bygones.”

“That’s very admirable.”

“I went to Stephen’s office. I told him I wanted to talk. He accused me of setting up the entire thing with Chloe–“

“He’s hurting, Nate.”

“I know that, Mom,” Nate shot back, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “I denied that and said she cheated way faster than I expected. He naturally got mad.”

“And you two had another falling out.”

“No,” Nate answered with a shake of his head. “No, I told him I didn’t want to fight. And that I wanted him to be my best man.”

Victoria’s eyebrows shot toward her hairline. “And?”

“He turned me down and said he’d do whatever it took to make sure the wedding didn’t happen.”

Victoria sucked in a breath, her eyelashes fluttering. “And now you’re racing off to Eldoria.”

Nate tossed a shirt onto the bed. “I’m not going therebecause I’m worried, Mom, I’m going there because I want to see Ellie. I just…I want to spend time with her. I want to see her. We've been apart for too long.”

“Honey,” Victoria said as she stepped forward to stop him from rolling his sweater into a ball and tossing it onto the bed to be packed. “Do I sense some nerves again?”

“No. For the first time, no. I’m happy. Thrilled. We’re engaged after passing the whole royal test. I’m sure the wedding will be a whirlwind. And personally, I’m prepared for that and the toll it will take on Ellie. Dad prepared me well for this.”

Victoria arched an eyebrow. “Oh, did he?”

Nate grinned at her, recalling his father’s advice. “Oh, yes. She’s going to ask which white is best. And whichever one she picks, it’s the right answer.”

“Hmm,” Victoria said with a nod. “That’s interesting. I’ll keep that in mind for the next time we have a discussion about color choices for a party.”

“Sorry, go easy on him. Guys don’t see the difference between red and…red.”

Victoria offered him an amused glance. “Actually, what I was getting at was nerves about how things are going to work once you’re married. You aren't planning on stepping down at GenoTech, which means you'll be spending a lot of time in the States—time away from her while she's in Eldoria.”

Nate pressed his lips together as he stared down at his feet. “Yeah, I…we’ll work out the details. I’m sure after the wedding–”

“If you think it’s going to be easier because you’re married, honey, it won’t be. It won’t be easier. Marriage is hard. It’s not a magical bandaid that’ll fix things or make things easier.”

Nate puckered his lips as he sucked in a breath. “Wow, way to suck the air out of the room, Mom.”

“I’m sorry, Nate, but…I understand you want to see her. But I think you need to be giving some thought to how things are going to work after you’re married. Can you stand to be away from her while you work at GenoTech?”

“So, what are you saying? That you agree with Stephen that I should step down?”

“No, honey, I don’t. I’m not saying anything one way or another. I’m just telling you to think about it. It’s something you and Ellie need to discuss. And you need to be realistic. I’m not saying you need to step down, but I do think you need to think about how hard it will be to split your time. Especially after the kids start to come.”

Nate scrubbed his face as he sat down in his armchair. “Oh, why is everyone determined to spoil my nice time?”

“I’m not trying to spoil the nice time.” Victoria eased into the chair next to him. “You’re young, you’re in love, you’re getting married. It’s a wonderful time. Enjoy it. But go into it with your eyes open. Not to spoil the nice time, but to make sure the wonderful times continue. You don’t want to get married and have things fall apart minutes after.”

“Like Stephen?” Nate asked. “Ellie’s not Chloe.”

“No, she isn’t. But that doesn’t mean you two will have a fairy tale marriage. You’re going to have to make decisions and compromises. Talk through all of it now.”

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