written before she sent it. He would show up when he showed up, and her nagging him about it would just make her seem needy. Of course, she
During the day, the garden was a beautiful oasis amongst all the glass and steel of the city. The wind was blocked by two tastefully low walls and by the bulk of the other two Lake Towers. Spring was in full bloom, beds of daffodils and early tulips making splashes of vivid color. A paved, circular path made its way through the flower beds, and at the far end of the garden were a pair of wrought-iron benches, one facing the beauty of the garden, one facing the breathtaking view of the city.
Now that the sun had gone down, it was a little too chilly to hang around outside, but Nadia had no interest in going back in. Instead, she kept warm by restlessly pacing the circular path, her hair whipping in the gusts that got past the wind breaks. Without the sun to shine on them, the flowers looked duller, less cheerful, and the panoramic view made Nadia feel very … isolated.
By 8:45, Nadia’s feet hurt from her restless walking, and she decided to sit on the bench facing the panoramic view. Moments after she sat down, she heard the sound of a footfall behind her, and she turned to look over her shoulder.
Relief flooded her when she saw Nate standing there, and she wanted to run to him and throw her arms around him. She hadn’t realized how afraid she’d been that he wouldn’t show up until he finally made his appearance. She rose to her feet, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth—and to discourage her desire to give Nate a hug.
“I thought you weren’t going to come,” she blurted.
Nate stuck his hands in his pockets and stood about an arm’s length away. “I don’t much want to be here,” he admitted bluntly. “I’ve had a sucky day.”
Nadia imagined being in the midst of that riot had been an ordeal for Nate, and she certainly pitied him the rude awakening he’d had this morning when she’d made her confession, but she was through making excuses for his self-centered attitude. Instead of acknowledging the hurt his words caused, she stood up a little straighter and looked him in the eye.
“Did you risk the arrest and torture of yourself and everyone you love, including two helpless children, today?” she asked, her voice as sharp as knives. “No? Then how ’bout you don’t talk about how rough you’ve had it, okay?”
Nate’s look of surprise would have been funny any other time. If he only knew how many times she’d refrained from telling him what she really thought through all the years they’d been friends … But that was over now. They weren’t friends anymore, not really, and she wasn’t going to censor herself anymore, either. They had made a pact together this morning, and he would hold up his end of the bargain even if she pissed him off.
Nate opened and closed his mouth a couple times as he floundered for something to say. Her natural urge to be the peacemaker made her want to let him off the hook, but she didn’t. Maybe the reason he was so self- centered all the time was because no one dared call him on it, and he didn’t know any better.
“I’m sorry,” he finally mumbled, rubbing the back of his head and looking down at his feet. “I know I’ve been unfair to you.” He scuffed his shoe against the paving stone, kicking at an imaginary pebble. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been going through.” He huffed out a deep breath and looked her in the face again. “I don’t blame you for doing whatever you need to do to protect your family. I just wish you’d trusted me enough to talk to me about it instead of going behind my back.”
For Nate, this was an abject apology, and Nadia should have been grateful for it. She
“Tell me the truth, Nate: if I’d told you everything from the start, would you have kept quiet about it? Or would you have confronted Mosely on the assumption you could protect me from his retaliation?”
Nadia could almost see him restraining his knee-jerk first response, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he thought about it. There was a shadow in his eyes, and his shoulders hunched in a bit. Whatever he was thinking, he didn’t like it. Shaking his head, he moved past her and collapsed onto one of the benches, his head hanging low.
Nadia took a couple of tentative steps in his direction, wanting to give him a hug, or put a hand on his shoulder. Anything to rebuild just a tiny bit of the connection they’d once had. But she wasn’t sure she could bear it if he rebuffed her, so she merely stood there wringing her hands uselessly.
Nate raised his head and patted the bench beside him. “Come sit down. We have a lot to talk about.”
Nadia sat beside him, but not in touching range. To her surprise, Nate slid over and slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close until their bodies were pressed against one another from shoulder to knee. He was warm and familiar, and, without thinking about it, Nadia rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, trying to pretend nothing had ever gone wrong between them. She felt the press of his lips on the top of her head and smiled. For this one moment, she would take what he offered without thinking about what the future would bring.
She didn’t know how long they’d been sitting like that, neither one talking, before another figure wandered out from the tower and into the garden. Assuming it was one of the servants, Nadia hastily sat up and put some distance between herself and Nate. She and Nate had posed for photographs where they were holding hands and had even kissed in public to uphold the illusion that they were a couple, but she still didn’t want anyone speculating too much about what they did together when
“Dante!” she cried in surprise, standing up. “What are you doing here?”
Dante looked quickly back and forth between her and Nate. Trying to figure out if she’d been spilling any secrets, maybe? “Looking for you,” he said. “You didn’t seem to be in any of the usual places, so I thought I’d take a shot at the garden.”
Nate stood up too, moving closer to Nadia and putting his arm around her shoulders again. “Want to introduce me to your friend?” he asked, and there was a barely perceptible edge in his voice.
“Um, sure,” Nadia said, though she wasn’t sure what to say. “This is Dante. He’s my dad’s new personal assistant.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Nate said insincerely, holding out his hand. Most Executives wouldn’t offer to shake hands when meeting a low-level Employee, but Nate had always ignored the snobbiest of the social conventions.
“You too,” Dante said, and Nadia suspected the handshake that ensued was of the bone-crushing variety. She was tempted to ask who won.
“So, you were looking for me?” she prompted, a little surprised that Dante had approached her out here when Nate was with her. She would have thought he’d want to talk to her in private. If he was going to try to separate her from Nate to have a private conversation now, she had a feeling it wouldn’t go very well. Nate might not be attracted to her, but he was still sizing Dante up like a rival.
“Yeah,” Dante said, giving Nate a sidelong glance. “About that matter we were discussing this afternoon. I’ve arranged a meeting. For
Nadia’s eyes widened in surprise. After all Bishop’s resistance, she hadn’t expected him to be willing to meet. “Really?”
Dante nodded. “That’s the plan as of now, anyway. He might not show up, especially if he gets a bad vibe.”
“All right, what are you two talking about?” Nate asked.
Dante waved his hand at Nadia, silently giving her permission to explain.
“Dante’s the one who put the note from Bishop in my napkin this morning,” she said. That was meant to be only the beginning of her explanation, but Nate didn’t give her a chance to continue.
“That so?” he asked, then hauled off and punched Dante in the jaw.
Dante went sprawling, and Nate gave a shout of pain, clutching his right hand to his chest and cursing. Nadia was paralyzed by shock, but only for a moment. Ignoring Nate and his cursing, she dropped to her knees beside Dante, who was rubbing his jaw as he shook his head as if to clear the cobwebs.
“Are you all right?” she asked, unable to believe that Nate had just thrown a punch. He just … wasn’t that
