two bathrooms?”
She pushed up on her elbows. “Fancy.”
Once again he helped her up. This time, he kissed her softly. “Get changed. We’ll walk up together.”
Madi wanted to stay, to find herself in his arms, to kiss him more thoroughly, but decided it really was the best plan to head straight to change.
Ten minutes later, with her hand snug in Wyatt’s and having studied the layout of the boat included in the folder, they made their way to the top deck.
By then they were underway, though barely. The yacht pulled away from the dock slowly as they met Yvette and Nicklaus on the top deck.
A buffet waited for them on the bar toward the front of the yacht. Madi breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it all looked like normal food.
They all filled their plates then headed forward to a cozy seating area and ate. Madi curled up under a blanket to guard against the breeze created by the ship’s movement.
Yvette took a sip of her drink. “So how did you two meet?”
As Wyatt struggled to find the words to tell the royal couple about the made-for-tv wedding, Madi jumped in with the story about how she ran into him then were matched on a dating show.
“What about you two?” he asked, hoping to get the attention off himself and Madi. “Did you know your whole lives you were going to get married?”
The silence lasted a full five or six seconds before Nicklaus looked at his wife. “This should be easier by now.”
She patted his knee. “Most people we meet already know so it’s not something you have to share.” Yvette turned back to them. “I knew my entire life that I was supposed to marry Nicky, but all of us, except possibly my parents, thought he was dead. His parents were assassinated via car accident. Nicky’s nanny rescued herself and him then went into hiding until a couple of weeks before our wedding.”
Wyatt blinked. How did he not know any of this?
Madi snapped her fingers as she thought of something. “I remember seeing a special on TV. You lived in the States, didn’t you? And your nanny married your sister’s head of security?”
Nicklaus nodded. “Basically. Michaela managed to get both of us to safety. We lived under assumed names in the States. I always thought my parents were successful, politically connected businesspeople. I always knew they wanted me to marry their best friends’ daughter, Eve. There were even pictures of her around, updated every couple of years. We didn’t meet until a week before the wedding.”
“Not too different than your story, in some ways,” Yvette pointed out. “But probably no threats codified in international agreements if you decided not to go through with it.”
Her grin told Wyatt it was okay to laugh a little bit. “No, no international treaties, but by the time we found out the production company had put us between a rock and a hard place, it was too late. We both would have had to back out of contracts that would have hurt us personally, professionally, and financially.” He reached over and took Madi’s hand. “So far it’s working out pretty well, though. We had such peace about the decision that we’re pretty sure God had a hand in all of it, even in the ridiculousness.”
“He has a hand in pretty much every aspect of all of our lives.” Yvette brushed the back of her fingers against Nicklaus’s cheek. “He knows the number of our days before we’re born. He knows the number of hairs on our heads. Surely something as big as a partner for a lifetime is on His radar. If He gave you peace about it, then He’s in it.”
Clearly there had to be something more going on in their lives, but Wyatt and Madi didn’t push.
The rest of the day was spent lounging around the hot tub area. Topics of conversation remained general and light. After dinner, Nicklaus went behind the bar as Madi and Yvette tried to pick a movie they all wanted to see.
“What can I get you to drink?” Nicklaus asked. “I think Yvette and I are going to have Ravenzario Ravenzinis.”
The mere word took Wyatt back to a time he’d rather not remember. A time he still needed to talk to Madi about.
“No, thanks,” Wyatt told the prince.
“You sure? They’re good. Do you want to try a little bit?” He wasn’t being pushy, just clarifying.
“I had them once. They were great. I just got really drunk.