Sixty Days In The Billionaire's Arms

Chapter 6

Nate’s Pov

Victoria stood ten feet away with that smug little smile, the photographer’s camera already clicking like it was feeding on our mess. Serena’s hand was still in mine, but it felt ready to slip away any second. Her green eyes searched my face like she was looking for the lie she expected me to tell.

“Why shouldn’t you run?” I repeated her question, keeping my voice low so only she could hear. “Because I’m asking you not to. Because for the first time in ten years, something in my life doesn’t feel like a transaction. Stay, Serena. Not for the contract. Not for the debt. For this.”

Her lips parted, but no words came out right away. The wind tugged at the hem of her green dress, the one that made her look like she belonged in my world even if she still didn’t believe it. Victoria took another step closer, heels sharp on the pavement.

“Touching,” Victoria said, loud enough for the camera. “Real fairy tale material. Should I congratulate you both or wait for the engagement to implode like everything else Nate touches?”

Serena’s fingers tightened around mine. Not pulling away this time. That small squeeze hit me harder than it should have.

“Walk away, Victoria,” I said without looking at her. My eyes stayed on Serena. “This isn’t your show.”

The photographer snapped another picture. I didn’t care. Let the world see. Let them print whatever garbage they wanted tomorrow. Right now the only thing that mattered was the woman in front of me who had every reason to hate me and still hadn’t let go of my hand.

Serena swallowed hard. “You said you want the real me. But real me is tired, Nate. I’m scared every single day that my dad is going to get worse and I won’t be able to fix it. I don’t know how to play rich fiancée. I don’t know how to trust someone who can erase my problems with one signature and still hide pieces of himself.”

“I know,” I said. I brushed my thumb over her knuckles, feeling the calluses from years of waiting tables and stacking books. Real hands. Honest ones. “I’m not asking you to stop being scared. I’m asking you to let me stand in it with you. Sixty days. We figure out the rest after that.”

She let out a shaky laugh that sounded close to tears. “You make it sound so easy. Like we can just decide to make this real in a dirty alley while your ex watches.”

“It’s not easy. Nothing worth keeping ever is.” I stepped closer until I could smell her vanilla shampoo under the city grime. “But I’m not letting you go back to two jobs and worrying about collectors. Not when I can give you this. Not when I’ve waited ten years to even say thank you for pulling me out of that water.”

Her eyes softened just a fraction. “You really looked for me all that time?”

“Every quiet moment I had. Private investigators. Old coast town records. Nothing. You disappeared like smoke.” I gave her a small, crooked smile. “Then you walked into my office with that same determined look, asking for sixty more days like it was the end of the world. I wasn’t letting the universe take you away again.”

Victoria made a disgusted sound behind us. “This is pathetic, Nate. She’s using you for the money. Everyone can see it.”

Serena turned her head toward her, chin lifted. “And you’re here because… what? You still want him even after he clearly doesn’t want you? That’s not pathetic?”

I almost smiled. There was the fire I remembered from the girl on the beach who hadn’t hesitated to jump into stormy water for a stranger.

Victoria’s face twisted. The photographer kept clicking. I tugged Serena gently toward the end of the alley where my car waited.

“Come on,” I murmured. “Let’s get out of here. We can fight more in the penthouse if you want. Or not fight. Your choice.”

She let me lead her away. Her steps were unsteady in those heels, so I kept my arm around her waist the whole way. Not for the cameras this time. For her. When we slid into the back seat, the city lights streaking past the tinted windows, she leaned her head against the seat and closed her eyes.

“I didn’t run,” she whispered after a long silence. “I should have. But I didn’t.”

I reached over and took her hand again. “Thank you.”

The ride up to the penthouse was quiet. Grace had left a note on the kitchen island—dinner reheated in the oven, stylist clothes already hung in Serena’s closet, and a gentle reminder that the will executor wanted confirmation photos from tonight’s dinner. I ignored it for now.

Serena kicked off her heels the second we stepped inside, sighing in relief as her bare feet hit the cool floor. She looked smaller without them. More like the girl who worked double shifts and still smiled at her dad like everything was okay.

“You hungry?” I asked, heading toward the kitchen. “They barely let us eat at the restaurant.”

She followed me, arms wrapped around herself. “A little. But mostly I just want to stop pretending for five minutes.”

I pulled out containers from the fridge—simple stuff, not the fancy plates from earlier. Grilled chicken, rice, vegetables. Nothing that screamed billionaire excess. I warmed it up while she watched me from the island stool.

“You cook?” she asked, surprised.

“Sometimes. When I want to remember I’m still a person and not just Calloway Financial.” I slid a plate in front of her. “Eat. Then we talk. No contract stuff. Just us.”

She picked up the fork but didn’t take a bite right away. “Why me, Nate? After ten years. You could’ve found someone polished. Someone who already knows which fork to use and how to smile for cameras without wanting to throw up.”

“Because it was always you.” The words came out simpler than I meant them to. I sat across from her, no barriers, no desk between us. “That night on the coast… you didn’t know who I was. You just saw someone drowning and did something about it. No one in my world does that without expecting something back. You did.”

She stared at her plate. “I was just a kid trying to do the right thing.”

“And I never forgot it.” I reached across and tilted her chin up so she’d look at me. “These sixty days? I want them to be real, Serena. Not pretend. I want to know the girl who reads at night after two jobs. The one who fights for her dad even when she’s exhausted. I want to be the guy who makes sure you never have to fight alone again.”

Her eyes glistened. “You’re dangerous when you talk like that.”

“Good. I want you scared. Means you’re feeling something.”

She finally took a bite, then another. We ate in comfortable quiet for a few minutes. Then she set her fork down.

“I’m still mad about Victoria,” she said. “And the secrets. But… I believe you when you say you want this to be real. I just don’t know if I can survive it when the sixty days end.”

I stood up and walked around the island. She turned on the stool to face me. Slowly, giving her time to pull away, I cupped her face with both hands.

“Then let’s not think about the end tonight,” I whispered. “Just this.”

I kissed her.

It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t for cameras or contracts. It was soft at first, testing, until she made a small sound and kissed me back. Her hands came up to my chest, gripping my shirt like she was afraid I’d disappear. Ten years of wondering, of searching, poured into that moment. She tasted like relief and fear and something sweet I couldn’t name.

When we broke apart, both breathing hard, her forehead rested against mine.

“Nate…” she started.

My phone buzzed on the counter. Once. Twice. Then it wouldn’t stop. I ignored it until Serena glanced over.

“You should check,” she said quietly. “It might be about my dad.”

I picked it up. Missed calls from Marcus. Texts too. I opened the most recent one.

The words hit like ice water.

Marcus: Diana just landed in New York. She’s telling people she has proof Robert Voss stole money from your father’s old company years ago. She’s going public tomorrow unless you stop her. This is going to destroy the engagement story.

I looked at Serena. She was watching me with those trusting eyes, lips still a little swollen from our kiss.

“What is it?” she asked.

I wanted to lie. I wanted to protect her from the storm coming. But I’d promised no more secrets.

“It’s Diana,” I said, voice tight. “She’s back. And she’s coming for your father.”

Serena’s face went pale. “What do you mean, coming for my father?”