Charlotte & Nate (Royals of Valleria #4) (12 page)

Before she could recover from the compliment, Nate pulled her hand into the crook of his arm and was pleased when she left it there. He was even more pleased when she pulled closer to him, trying to get warm. “Come on, then. The night awaits.”

The air was quiet as they walked along the well-worn paved paths into the gardens. They walked for several minutes, and he turned down a few more paths before stepping through an opening between two hedges much taller than him. The hedges actually formed into a small square, casting the area in shadows and giving a modicum of privacy. Another entrance was to their left, giving a beautiful view of the Rhone River. But the true beauty lay above them.

“What is this place?” Charlotte asked as she turned, her head tilted upward.

Nate’s mouth lifted in a half-smile while he laid down a blanket over an area of chilled grass. “Do you like it?”

“It’s wonderful. I bet it looks even better in spring.”

“It does,” Nate said as he took her hand and led her to the blanket. “Lie down and I’ll tell you exactly what it looks like.” She wrinkled her forehead for a minute before nodding and doing as he asked.

Nate grabbed another blanket as he laid down and placed it over both of them. With one hand under his head and the other resting on his stomach, he gazed into the night sky through the open slats of a rounded arbor.

“In the spring, vines of purple and white wisteria cover the entire top of the arbor. With the variety in our garden, it blooms just before springtime. Its fragrance is so rich and seductive, I swear I can smell it all the way in the palace.” He turned his head to look at her. “I feel like it’s calling to me, and I just need to spend time here. Does that sound ridiculous?”

“It sounds romantic,” she said softly. “It’s a private spot.”

“It is. It’s my spot, where I always come to get away. We’ve each got one, you see, all of my siblings. Even in the summer, with the palace tours we provide to the general public, no one’s allowed to come here. With the hedges so tall, no one ever sees inside. If you peek through there, you can see the river.”

Charlotte lifted up on her elbows and gasped as she saw the moon reflected on the river below. “It’s beautiful.”

Nate was still looking at her. “It certainly is.” She turned her head and caught his gaze. For several long moments they simply stared at each other, nestled in the cool garden on an autumn night, far from the palace and their worries.

Charlotte broke their gaze first and settled against the blanket again, avoiding his gaze. “Why am I here?”

Nate reached over and brushed his knuckles against her cheek. Even in the dark of night he could see her blush. “I like you, Charlotte.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I suppose that means you don’t know me, either.” He sighed as he settled on the blanket, this time facing her with his head propped up on his hand. “I’d like to know you better, Charlotte. I’d like you to know me better, too. Though you may not want to.”

She turned her head to meet his gaze. “Why wouldn’t I want to? Because you’re a prince?”

Nate sighed. “Because I’m a prince who may have to fire you.”

She quickly sat up. “What? What do you mean?”

“Can I trust you, I mean really trust you? Not even my whole family knows what I’m about to tell you.”

She swallowed. “I suppose you’ll just have to take a chance and find out.”

With a furrowed brow, Nate nodded. He sat up, his eyes fixed on the river ahead of him, his arms propped loosely on bent knees. “Valleria’s in debt.”

After a moment, she said, “I still don’t understand. Aren’t most countries in debt?”

“This isn’t normal, the debt we’re in. Someone’s been embezzling funds, at least we think so.”

“But what does that have to do with me?” Her eyes widened. “You don’t think that I–”

“Absolutely not,” he said quickly, and took hold of her hand and kissed it. “That’s not what I meant.”

She pulled her hand away. “Well, what did you mean?”

“I’m delivering our annual budget to the Royal Council in a few days, where I’ll also need to announce the state of our economy, which includes this debt. I’m going to have to give a fairly conservative austerity budget; a lot of people will lose their jobs, including you.”

When she didn’t speak, he buried his hands in his hair and spoke almost desperately. “I’ve been trying for days, weeks to uncover the truth, to find another way out. I just don’t know what else to do. I don’t know how else to help. I knew I’d be useless at this job, but I never thought others would lose their job because of that.”

“Nate.” She placed her slim hand on his shoulder. “It’s not your fault. You said someone stole it, right? How does that make it your fault?”

His face was covered in despair when he faced her. He couldn’t show it to his father or brothers; but somehow it felt right to show it to her. “But your job. All those jobs. Loss of social services and God knows what else. Vallerians will suffer for it.”

She shifted closer to him, and he saw worry, not pity, on her face. “Vallerians are pretty tough, from what I’ve seen. Besides, I’ve been through tough times before, and I’ll survive more if they come. Don’t worry about me.”

He put an arm around her, pulling her close. She didn’t pull away, but instead ran her hand through his hair. He reveled in her warmth and comfort, and looked her straight in the eye as he spoke. “I can’t help worrying about you. I don’t know what brought you to Valleria, or to me. I don’t know why I feel like someone punched me in the gut every time I see you or think about you. I don’t know why the way you’re running a hand through my hair makes me feel like everything’s going to be okay. It just does. I need you, Charlotte. God, how I need you.”

He kissed her, his warm lips easily chasing the chill of hers away. He delved deeper, drawing the kiss out like the long, autumn night surrounding them. Wisps of their breath caught in the nippy air before dissipating, the only sounds their breathing and soft sighs. Eventually, he pulled his lips away. He laid them back down on the blanket so they were facing each other. and buried his face in the long line of her neck. He brought the blanket over them again, and nuzzled behind her ear, breathing her in.

“Nate.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m not sure what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” he whispered. “If you want to go back to the palace, I’ll take you back. I’ll understand.”

“Understand what?”

“I’ll understand if you don’t want to see me anymore.” He rested his forehead against hers. “I wish I could change things for you, and your job.”

“I met your mother today.”

Nate blinked and pulled back. “Come again?” Of all the things he expected to hear from a woman in his arms, it certainly wasn’t that. Though, that was one of the reasons he liked Charlotte so much; she wasn’t like anyone he’d ever met before.

Charlotte huffed a husky laugh. “I met the Queen. She was with Coco, and they were discussing the state dinner. Anyway, Coco summoned me during their meeting and basically told the Queen that she’s retiring and nominated me as her replacement.”

Nate’s mouth dropped open. “Coco’s retiring? Well, that is a surprise. If Coco recommended you, however, my mother is sure to take that seriously; she trusts Coco, we all do.” His eyes widened and he brought her even closer against him; he could feel the slight curves of her breasts against his chest, even through the layers they wore. “Your job would be safe. If you take over for Coco, you won’t have to worry about losing your job.”

“You’re right about that. But I would have to worry about getting involved with a prince.”

Nate let out a long breath. “I see.”

“We don’t make sense. It’s easier if we just accept it now. I can’t give up my job. I know it’s not as important as running a country–”

Nate put his warm fingers over her cool lips. “Stop right there. Your job is important. You make people happy, Charlotte. All I do is make them miserable. It’s not a contest, but your job is much more important, and you’re a hell of a lot more talented at yours than I am at mine.”

“Why do you say that? I have to say, you always seem so cocky and full of yourself when I see you on the news or in the papers. You’re almost a different person now.”

“I am a different person.” Who wouldn’t be when faced with fixing a debilitating economy that could have global ramifications? “You’ve heard of my past.”

She nodded. “You like women.”

He sighed. “It’s true that I’ve been seen with a lot of women in the last ten years. I drive fast cars, I’ve known frequent clubs late into the night. I’ve got more than a few tattoos, which just solidifies that image, but I’ve given all of that up. Well, not the tattoos – I love those – and maybe not the driving,” he ended with a smile.

“Why did you give it up?”

“I’ll tell you someday. I’m not hiding it, I just don’t think it’s the right time to discuss it.”

“Well, then who’s the real you? Have you really given all that up? Or is this all a lie? Who are you, Prince Nathaniel?”

“Right now, I’m just ‘Nate’, the lucky son of a bitch who gets to hold you in his arms.”

“And what about tomorrow? Or the next day?” She tried to push away but he wouldn’t let her leave the warmth of his arms. “You’re only pursuing me because I turned you down. You’ll find someone else, someone more appropriate. You’ll be fine. I’ll have my job and I’ll be fine.”

“Aren’t you two people, too?”

“What do you mean?”

“In my arms, in my dreams, you’re ‘Charlotte’. In the kitchen, you’re ‘Charlie’. Aren’t you one person at work and another on your own, just like me? And, just like me, aren’t you really the same person underneath it all anyway? You’re bold, brash, and incredibly talented.” He kissed her lips gently. “You’re beautiful and soft, but oh, so tough. What if you’re exactly what I’ve been looking for?”

***

Charlie couldn’t think with Nate’s wide, full lips against hers; who could? She felt beautiful and lusted for, desired for more than just her talent with a whisk. She wasn’t naïve; no one with her background could be. The two of them couldn’t last. They
wouldn’t
last, but the Prince – no, Nate – seemed to think that they might have a chance.

“I’m not what you’re looking for.”

He snuggled her closer, despite her efforts to prevent it, and damn it if she didn’t like to be snuggled against him in the first place. “We’ll never know unless we take a chance and find out.”

She sighed in exasperation. It was time to be blunt, prince or no. “Don’t you get it? We’re in different leagues. The way I grew up, it could never work out. People like you don’t end up with people like me.”

His eyes narrowed and he shifted their bodies, so he now loomed over hers, blocking out even the moonlight. “What do you mean? Why are putting yourself down?”

She bristled underneath him. “I didn’t mean anything by it, and you, well, you’re a womanizer. You can’t just suddenly decide you want to be exclusive with me.”

“You’re right.”

“I am?” Her breath caught despite herself as an ache settled inside. She didn’t expect to be right. No, that wasn’t true; she hoped she wasn’t right.

“Yes, but you’re wrong, too. I
was
a womanizer but, like I said, I never treated any of them with disrespect. A royal son – heir or no – cannot afford to be cruel.” He brushed her still damp hair away from her face; she thought the sizzling heat of his hand might have even dried the strands. “Shall I tell you about the first time I tasted you?”

She blinked. “You mean the kiss in my room last night?”

His lips barely brushed hers. “No. It was long before that.”

“I don’t understand. We’ve never kissed before then.”

“The first time I tasted you, Charlotte, was through your double chocolate espresso truffle pie.”

She opened her mouth to speak, then shut it just as quickly. Finally, she managed to eek out, “Pie?”

A sinful smile slid over his face as his lips began to kiss her cheek and neck. “Oh, yes,” he whispered against her skin. “You asked once how I knew you had baked something I’d tasted. I knew you since that first bite of incredibly rich chocolate, even if I hadn’t met you yet.”

“That’s crazy.”

“I inhaled that piece of pie. It tasted so different, so rich and masterful. It was full of passion and delicate flavors all mixed together. At the end, I scraped my plate and licked my fork, just like this.” His sharp tongue abraded the delicate, salty skin of her neck, and she shuddered.

“There are people who bake and then there’s people with a gift. You have a gift, Charlotte. There’s just so much
more
to your dishes. I can always tell when it’s you I’m tasting.”

Her hands reached up to fist his hair, pulling it away from his face. “Are you serious?”

“Deadly,” he said, his staid face indicating the truth of his words. “I never joke about chocolate. It’s one of the only vices I still have.”

“That’s why you sought me out? Chocolate?”

“At first, I just wanted to compliment the chef who’d made it. Coco never thought anything of it; we’ve all been sneaking into her kitchen for years. I certainly didn’t expect to find a woman like you behind the pie.”