The Billionaire’s Royal Challenge (Devotion and Dynasty Trilogy #2)

Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

NATE

N ate’s chest tightened as Elena stormed away from him. While he’d been disappointed to know her first dance at the ball would be given away to another man, he understood…somewhat.

Plus, then he wouldn’t be the center of attention. His dancing skills weren’t that good yet, though at least he felt a little confidence in himself.

Elena, however, had been exceptionally upset about the news. He only hoped the exception she took didn’t make her father even more critical of him.

While he was working hard to understand and live up to their expectations, to prove that he was an excellent candidate to be her husband, he worried her father wouldn’t agree. Especially because of Elena’s candid defenses of him.

She meant well, but what if her belief in him was misplaced?

“Hey, you want to practice again?” Maddie asked .

“Sure,” he said with a nod. “I wonder who we’re paired with.”

“Yeah, tough break,” she answered as he grabbed her hand and led her through the first steps. “That stinks.”

“Yeah. Although at least everyone won’t be watching me step all over her toes.”

Maddie giggled. “You won’t. You’re getting better already.”

“Ellie gave me some tips, but she also held my posture up. You’re not doing such a good job at that.”

“Hold your own posture up. Do you think there’s a chance I could be paired with Alexander?”

Nate rolled his eyes. “He’s way too old for you, Maddie.”

“Says who? I could be a princess.”

“Says everyone. He’s like ten years older than you.”

“But he’s so handsome. He’s way cuter than any of the guys at school.” She wrinkled her nose. “Watch me get stuck with Julian.”

“Maybe you’ll get stuck with me.”

“Please,” Maddie said with a shake of her head. “It’s bad enough you were my practice buddy.”

“Come on, I’m not that bad.”

“You’re no Prince Alexander.”

He laughed at the statement as they finished their dance, though the words hit him harder than he expected. He wasn’t royalty. He wasn’t the good-natured yet perfectly mannered royal cousin. Another thought nagged at his mind as he wondered if he could measure up to Prince Eric.

The man had loomed on the horizon since he’d learned of Elena’s true identity. And now they were on the eve of meeting him. His stomach clenched at the thought, jealousy already roiling inside him.

“Nate? You okay?” Maddie asked .

He forced a smile onto his face and nodded. “Yeah. All good.”

“Ellie’s back. You can practice more with her now.” She pointed across the room.

His fake smile turned real at the sight of her. “Everything okay?” he asked when she reached him.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, like she had been crying. He wondered if she’d had a massive fight with her father.

“More than okay,” she answered, her smile seeming genuine. “Father has relented, and while we will still not share the first dance together, I will not be paired with Prince Eric, either.”

Nate’s eyebrows raised. Had she really argued her way out of a dance with the visiting prince? “Who is your new partner? Oh, please not Stephen.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “No. My father.”

“Oh. Well, I guess that’s better than the other guy vying for your hand.”

“Much. Father is quite an accomplished waltzer. At my first royal ball, he was my partner.” She beamed at the recollection.

“At least this way I won’t step on your toes in front of everyone.”

“Have you been practicing? Let me see.” She held out her arms, waiting for him to match her stance.

“I have.” He wrapped an arm around her and took her hand before he started his steps.

“You are much better already.”

“Thank you. I still feel bad for whoever I am paired with.”

“Don’t. Supposedly, it is Isabelle, though I will speak with Father about that. It is highly inappropriate given what she’s done.”

He tugged his lips back in a wince. After the kiss she’d set up, he wanted nothing to do with her. The last thing he needed was another bad mark on his record thanks to her. He’d have to learn how to get along with her, but that would be far easier once he’d been accepted.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d appreciate that. I’d rather avoid her.”

“I would rather you avoid her, too. She is quite acrimonious. I just saw her in the hall, and she spewed more of her venom.” Elena rolled her eyes, color rising into her cheeks.

“It would be a major faux pas if I refuse to dance with her, right?”

“Yes, that would make matters worse. If you must, you must, but I will do my best to see to it that you won’t.” They finished their dance, and Elena applauded him. “Excellent job.”

“Thank you,” he answered with a bow as Caroline approached.

“Excuse me, Your Highness, Mr. Kingsley, but I overheard your conversation and am pleased to say that I have just received the final pairings after the change your father made to your partnership.”

“Yes, I am now dancing with him first.”

“Correct,” Caroline said with a nod. “And Mr. Kingsley's partner will be Queen Sophia.”

Nate gulped down a swallow as his eyes went wide. He tried to smile, but it faltered.

“Oh, lovely,” Elena said with a grin as she clapped her hands together. “I am so very pleased with that pairing.”

He muttered a laugh, his eyes still wide. “I hope she can handle my awful dancing.”

“She can, I assure you,” Caroline answered with a grin. “And I can assist with some appropriate subjects of conversation if you’d like.”

“Oh, gosh, I hadn’t even thought of that. Yes,” Nate said, bobbing his head. “I thought we’d just dance. It’ll take all my concentration not to step on her toes.”

Elena rubbed his shoulder. “Mother is quite a good dancer and conversationalist. You’ll be fine.”

“Who is Alexander paired with?” Maddie asked as she shoved her hands into her pockets.

“Lady Margaret,” Caroline said as she checked her phone.

“And me?” the girl asked, her features showing obvious disappointment.

“Prince Julian.”

She plastered a grin on her face as Elena shook her head. “No, no, that won’t do at all. We’ll fix that, Maddie, don’t worry. Julian is far better to be paired with Margaret than Alexander.”

“Oh, but Your Highness,” Caroline began.

“Dut, dut, dut,” Elena said with a wag of her finger. “Alexander will thank us both. Let Julian be stuck with the boring lady.”

“Thanks, Ellie,” Maddie said with a grin.

Caroline offered more information on all of the dance pairings before they ended their practice. As they strode from the ballroom to change for dinner, Nate repeated the dance instructions in his head, worried he’d forget all the steps the moment he wasn’t practicing them.

With his first pairing being with Elena’s mother, he had to get it right. This was likely a test. He hoped to pass it.

His heart stopped as he turned the corner to the hall containing his room. Leaning against his door stood Isabelle.

He considered ducking back into the next hall and waiting until she left or seeking help, but before he could, she spotted him and pulled herself from the barrier with a smirk.

His heart raced as she set her gaze on him, her smile sending shivers down his spine. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to her agenda than met the eye. With every step closer she took, he sensed a hidden agenda lurking beneath her.

“Hello, Mr. Kingsley.”

He offered her a fleeting smile, keeping his distance from her. “Your Highness.”

“I love the way it sounds when you call me that,” she answered, her voice a low purr.

“What do you want?”

She pouted. “Straight to the point, are we? How unfortunate.”

He took a step back as she stalked closer to him.

“Really, Mr. Kingsley, I don’t have cooties.”

“No, but you do have a bad habit of kissing people who haven’t agreed to it.”

She threw her head back with a laugh. “Haven’t agreed to it? Have you never stolen a kiss before?”

“Not from someone who didn’t want to give one, no.”

“Really? And how was I to know you didn’t want to give one? All that…ogling you did at the dinner table made me think otherwise.”

“I did no such thing!” he argued.

“Didn’t you? Well, no one knows that but you and me. And that doesn’t matter. What matters is what others think.”

“No one will believe you,” he answered.

“Won’t they? It’s funny because I’m fairly certain Uncle Frederick believes me.”

Nate swallowed hard, his insides churning at the words. He shook his head instinctively, both in disagreement and in disbelief.

“Oh, yes, my dear Mr. Kingsley. I batted my eyelashes and pouted. ‘But Uncle, I thought he was attracted to me. All those lingering gazes. The light brushes of my hand during dinner.’ ”

He screwed up his face. “I didn’t touch you during dinner.”

She shrugged. “Perception is reality. And we are paired for the first dance at the ball.”

“No,” he answered with a shake of his head. “We’re not. His Majesty changed the pairings. I’m paired with Queen Sophia now. You are paired with Prince Eric.”

She raised her eyebrows at the words before a frown settled on her face. “We’ll see about that.”

With a huff, she stormed past him down the hall, leaving him alone. He blew out a long breath as he hurried to his room and locked himself inside. That woman really had it out for him…or Elena…or both.

Either way, he was glad to be rid of her. He hoped she’d stop causing problems, but it seemed like there was no end in sight.

He grabbed his phone, ready to text Elena about the incident before he shook his head. He had to learn how to deal with her family himself. He couldn’t text her after every little problem.

But still, maybe it would make him feel better. His thumbs hovered over the keyboard before he shook his head and tossed it down.

Instead, he’d practice his dance steps a few more times before he had to change for dinner. He lifted his arms into his frame and tried to keep his footsteps light as he counted in his head. In the large, full-length mirror, he caught sight of himself, causing him to stumble.

He slowed his steps, staring at his reflection. With a hard swallow, he raised his arms again and checked that his arms weren’t slumping or he wasn’t leaning over his imaginary partner.

He imagined Queen Sophia in front of him, making his heart pound hard against his chest. “Hi, Your Highness…no, stupid Nate. Your Majesty.”

Through the glass, he bobbed his head at himself. “Not hi...Good evening, Your Majesty.”

He bowed, his hands still stuck in his closed form waltz frame. With a roll of his eyes, he shook his head. “No, first a regular bow.”

Hinging at the hips, he practiced his bow. “Good evening, Your Majesty.”

He raised his arms again into position before he danced around the room. “Yes, I am enjoying the ball. Did you have fun at the parade?”

He pressed his lips together. “No, don’t say that. Say…The parade was most exciting, wasn’t it?”

With a wince, he slowed his steps. “That sounds ridiculous. Ummm, yes, I am enjoying the ball, and I thought the parade was…was…was what?”

He snatched his phone from the bed and searched for synonyms for nice. “Marvelous? No. Superb.”

His nose wrinkled. “I’m never going to be able to dance and talk to Elena’s mother at the same time.”

He sighed and sank onto the edge of the bed, convinced he’d lose any chance of winning Elena’s hand after the first waltz at the royal ball.

A deep sigh escaped him as he tossed his phone aside. “Buck up, Nate. You need to impress the woman. Ellie’s counting on you.”

He pulled himself from his seat on the bed’s edge and changed his clothes for their informal dinner. He’d ask Caroline for the appropriate topics of conversation and practice a few before the ball. He could speak with people. He’d done it lots of times at galas and benefits.

His upbringing had been filled with social events, though none of them compared to the pomp and protocol of royal life.

And he’d never tried to impress his future mother-in-law. Chloe had been insistent that he never meet her mother, likely because she had been a money-grubbing grifter. Who was now married to his brother, he reminded himself.

He pushed into the hall and strode down it, shaking his head. Why had Stephen married her? And right before his trip to Eldoria?

Not that he wanted any parts of his ex-fiancée, but he also didn’t want to be reminded of her at every turn.

He turned the corner, his brows furrowing. He must have made a wrong turn. He’d never been in this hall before.

“Great, I can’t even find my way around the country estate,” he murmured.

He spun in a circle, debating whether to continue down the hall or turn back, when voices caught his attention. He turned towards them, hoping he had wandered into friendly territory and that someone could guide him to the dining room.

Laughter filled the air as a door opened. Without realizing why, he sneaked back around the hall and peered around the corner. Maybe if he was caught in this hall, it was some social no-no.

Two figures appeared at a door, leaning closer to kiss.

His blood ran cold, and his eyes went wide as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Around the corner, Chloe backed into the hall, her arms around a man’s neck as she pressed her lips against his.

Only the man was not her husband. It was Prince Julian.