reason. And yes, Tyler had certainly grown into himself, in a way that Nathaniel found it impossible to ignore.
“When are you meeting again?” Sonia asked instead.
“I,” Nathaniel gasped out from his strangled throat. “Don’t know.”
“Ah, well, hopefully soon. He was good for you,” she said.
“Sonia,” he said, trying to tell her to stop.
They both knew that anything between him and Tyler, even a friendship, presented a lot of risk. That she had been witness to the hints of more than friendship and had said nothing against it indicated she wasn’t going to try to stop him. Which she should, because it would invite more problems for him.
Sonia sighed. “However, I do have to ruin the mood by telling you that your father wants to see you immediately. In his office.”
Nathaniel froze. “Oh?”
“I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, though I can’t be sure,” Sonia told him carefully.
Nathaniel winced. He knew better than to keep his father waiting. “Then I suppose I should go see him.”
“Good,” Sonia said, walking off. “And he doesn’t know anything, as far as I can tell. So don’t get paranoid.”
“I’m not paranoid,” Nathaniel lied.
Her chuckle was the only answer she needed as she disappeared into the hall. Nathaniel took a moment to recover himself, glad that his mortification had been enough to kill whatever arousal might have shown on his pants. Turning toward one of the mirrors in the room, he adjusted his hair and clothes, making sure nothing was out of place. Once he was satisfied, he stepped out of his room. Crossing the hallway, he pushed through the double doors, nodding at the blond and black haired bodyguards standing resolutely outside.
As expected, they followed him down the stretch of hallway leading him from the wing of the manor where he stayed. He crossed over the second-floor foyer. They stopped just short of the door as he knocked briskly, waiting until his father’s voice hailed him to come in.
Everything was exactly as the last time he’d been in his father’s office. His father had always been fastidious about placement and cleanliness. Everything had to be precisely where it had been before, and anything changed was by his order and nothing else.
His father looked up from his desk on his approach. “Ah, Nathaniel, good. I was hoping you would show up sooner.”
“I was preparing for a workout, so I wasn’t properly dressed,” Nathaniel told him, a little surprised by how easily the lie came.
His father nodded approvingly. “Good, it’s important that you maintain a healthy body. No one is going to be interested in a flabby, pasty member of office.”
Not that Nathaniel had any interest in public office. But then again, it didn’t matter what he wanted. His father’s sincerest wish was that one day, Nathaniel would carry on after his father had retired from office for good. Of course, he also suspected that even if he did that, his father would still try to run things from behind the scenes.
“Though it would be good that we find you a decent partner soon. A wife makes anyone look better, so long as they are complimentary,” his father continued.
Nathaniel said nothing. His lack of agreement or condoning of the plan the only rebellion he could muster. They both knew full well that Nathaniel would be as interested in finding a wife as his father would be in talking to a homeless person. But it was a fact of Nathaniel’s life neither of them openly discussed. His father would sooner pretend it wasn’t an issue, and Nathaniel just...went along with it.
After a moment, his father leaned back in his seat. “I imagine you’re wondering what I called you in here for.”
Nathaniel kept his face still. “I assumed you had a reason, yes.”
His father watched him carefully, unmoving as he studied his son. “I have no choice but to leave town for a few days, possibly a week.”
Nathaniel would have been lying through his teeth if he’d been told this news and had to say it saddened him. In fact, he felt a thrill of excitement shoot through him, even as he kept his face in an approximation of neutrality.
“Business?” Nathaniel asked.
The elder Carter grunted softly. “As I’m sure you know, there are many aspects of politics that require outside help. I must meet with a few people to guarantee their help in the upcoming election.”
Nathaniel worked quickly to try to find out what his father wanted to hear. “Understandable. With re-election season coming up, I can understand