The Billionaire Prince’s Surprise Son by Leslie North

17

Summer was able to avoid being “announced” at the fundraiser, thankfully, and she was too focused to feel out of place, even though several people shot her curious looks, trying to figure out who she was and what she was doing there. If she weren’t so angry, she’d probably be asking the same question. She didn’t belong here, not really, but she’d thought, for the briefest of moments, that Nic could love her, and love Harry, and that he’d make a place for them in his life.

Now, he couldn’t even be bothered to meet her at a party she hadn’t wanted to attend in the first place. Ain’t that a kick in the head. It was something her father used to croon, from some old singer he’d loved.

She clamped down on the sting of tears. Her father had sung to her mother, just little snippets of songs, more silly than talented. And her mother had swatted at him and rolled her eyes—and loved every second of it.

Is it too much to want to be loved like that?

“Summer,” Erik said, sweeping up to her in a tux with the top button unbuttoned, looking rakish and handsome. “So good to see you again.”

Ben was close behind him, nodding, less outgoing than the extroverted Erik. “Where’s Nic?” he asked, his eyes sweeping the crowd behind her.

Her back straightened, and something in her expression must’ve conveyed displeasure because Ben immediately started shaking his head.

“He rushed off to the hospital earlier,” Erik quickly said. “Something about an emergency–one of his patients. I assumed he’d be back by now, but he must’ve been detained.”

“You know how he is,” Ben immediately defended. “He’s the definition of responsible.”

“Actually,” Summer said, her voice tight, “that has not been my experience.”

Erik and Ben exchanged a quick look. Then Ben let out a low sigh. “He would never lie,” he said, and the earnestness in his voice was matched by the seriousness of his expression. “He would never hurt someone intentionally. I have a high bar for that kind of thing, and believe me, in all the years I’ve known him, Nic has been a good man.”

“One of the best,” Erik seconded.

Summer wanted to either burst into tears or punch them both. “You know. About me. About us,” she clarified, then lowered her voice to a near whisper. “About Harry.”

Another exchange of glances, then they both nodded.

“He’s constantly too busy for us,” she said, and to her mortification, her voice broke. She waited, clearing her throat and blinking quickly, before she got a grip on her emotions. “I understand his roles, and how important they are. But I don’t care who he is or how important the other elements of his life are. If he treats our son like he’s an afterthought… I am punting him into the damned stratosphere.”

Erik’s eyes widened. Ben, on the other hand, looked thoughtful.

“What has he told you about his brother?” Ben asked.

“Just that he died when Nic was in college,” Summer said. That was another bone of contention. He’d closed up like a clam after sharing that tidbit, and he’d kept any talk of his childhood and his past purely superficial, not revealing anything that could be interpreted as personal. The hurts were racking up at this point. “Why? Do you think that something about that is… I don’t know, some kind of reason why he’s treating us this way?”

Ben’s expression was hesitant. “It’s not my story to tell,” he said. “But I think it’s something you should discuss with Nic.”

“If I could find Nic,” she said, her voice sharp with despair, “I’d certainly try!”

Erik nodded behind her. “Looks like he just walked in,” he said.

She didn’t even say goodbye to them, just turned on one stiletto heel and beelined towards Nic. “We need to talk.”

He looked exhausted and irritated. “Do we?”

She couldn’t have been more surprised if he’d pushed her into a pool. “Excuse me?”

“I know you’re upset,” he said. “I saw the messages and heard the voicemails. I knew I’d see you tonight, and…” She could see the muscles bunching in his jaw. “Damn it. I almost lost a patient. I almost critically misdiagnosed something. We’re still zeroing in on the real problem, but they called me. What was I supposed to say? ‘Sorry, I know that this child can’t breathe, but I need to have a picnic?’”

“When it has to do with your son,” she said sharply, “then actually… yeah, you kind of do!”

Now her shock was mirrored on his face. He looked around, gauging if anyone in the crowd had overheard their conversation. He then quickly herded her out of the party, down an empty hallway and into a private sitting room, closing the door behind him. His light blue eyes glowed with anger. “Summer, understand this. A child could have died if I hadn’t been there.”

“Yeah, well, you know what?” Summer said, her voice raising. “Your child almost got hit by a car while you were dealing with your ‘emergency.’ The last time you could’ve seen Harry could’ve been as a body in your hospital. So you tell me: do we need to talk, or not?”

“What?”

“I was on the phone, trying to reach you,” she snapped out. “Just trying to find out what happened. Harry wanted to go to the beach… he was headed towards the road. And some asshole driving while yelling into a cell phone sped around the corner and blew past a stop sign.”

“Oh my God.” Nic’s already pale skin went white as parchment.

“I got to him in time,” Summer said, her voice shaking as she remembered the incident. “He’s safe. But if I hadn’t been so angry with you for ditching us, if I hadn’t been so intent on you being there for Harry, I never would’ve been so distracted. And if you’d been there, I would’ve counted on you to help me keep Harry safe.”

“That’s not fair,” Nic countered. “You’re blaming me for something I couldn’t control. Even if I were there…”

“Oh? That’s not fair?” Summer’s glare could’ve cut steel. “And what about that kid at the hospital? Are you telling me that you could control that? That you’re the only doctor on the island—including me—capable of keeping that child alive?”

He took a step back, like she’d struck him. And in that second she realized that, in whatever messed up way… Nic truly believed it.

She and Harry would never come first.

“I can’t do this,” she said. “I’m done. Harry and I aren’t going to be with you anymore.”

Nic let out a deep exhalation. “You don’t have to move out,” he said. “Harry’s room is all established, and his caregiving is settled. I can always stay here at the palace, in my old room.”

Summer blinked away tears. “I meant we’re leaving Mynia.”

Nic froze.

“Unless you can think of another reason that we ought to stay here?” Summer challenged, lifting her chin, looking him right in the eyes.

When he stayed silent, she swallowed hard. Every remembered hurt—every foster family that disappointed her, even her own parents dying—rolled over her.

She wasn’t going to let Harry feel unwanted, or abandoned. And she was done feeling it herself.

“I didn’t think so,” she finally said, and then strode out of the room.

* * *

Nic felt numb all over. He’d watched as Summer walked out, unable to get his feet to move.

Harry had almost died?

And he’d been so frazzled, so fraught from the misdiagnosis, he’d… made excuses for not being there?

What the hell was wrong with him?

Before he could chase after her, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Out of habit, he answered. “What?”

“Dr. Hansen, it’s Dr. Buckham.” The older doctor sounded taken aback.

Nic felt his stomach drop unpleasantly. “Has the patient gotten worse? Her breathing?”

“Actually, I think we may have zeroed in on the problem. We ran a CT scan on the girl who had trouble breathing. It looks like she may indeed have a tumor in her sinus cavity. That’s what’s blocking her breathing.”

“Is it cancerous?”

“We’ll need a biopsy,” Dr. Buckham answered. “You may want to look over the scan to be sure, but…”

“Send it over,” Nic said quickly. He wanted this resolved. “I’ll review it tonight.”

You came too close to making a mistake.One that still might cost a child’s life.

He’d been trying so damned hard to keep up with everything: the earlier policy meeting, the misdiagnosis. Now, being confronted by Summer, he realized he was failing at being a father and partner as well.

He couldn’t stop being a Crown Prince. His country needed him. His parents needed him… he was focused on health care now, but he still needed to learn the statecraft of running a whole country when his father died, something he frankly couldn’t think about right now.

He couldn’t stop being a doctor. He’d promised Tom and privately sworn to live a life for his brother. He couldn’t, and wouldn’t, stop being a father to Harry. But Summer had made it quite clear that she didn’t need him and, at this point, didn’t want him.

He finally forced himself to move, heading back to the party, searching for her in the throng. Ben and Erik intercepted him at once, looking concerned.

“Are you all right?” Erik said.

“Where’s Summer?” Ben asked at almost the same time.

“I don’t know,” Nic said. “You haven’t seen her?”

“No,” Ben said, “and I’ve been keeping an eye out for both of you. She seemed quite… upset.”

An understatement, granted, but Ben’s worried expression showed that he meant more than he was saying. Ben was always the most insightful of the three of them.

“She says she’s leaving,” he said, his voice hollow. He could barely wrap his mind around the words.

“So she left the party?” Erik said. “You should get back to the house, then. We’ll cover for you here.”

“I’ll let your parents know,” Ben added.

The two of them had been his best friends. Nic valued their loyalty. Since Tom’s death, they were the closest thing he had to brothers.

“No, don’t.” Numbness still settled around him.

What’s best for Summer and Harry?

“What are you talking about?” Erik said, nudging him.

“I… this is for the best.”

They both gawked at him. Ben was the first to recover.

“You can’t possibly mean that.”

“I couldn’t bloody well get to the park to see them,” he said. “I keep thinking that I’ll be able to manage, that I won’t shortchange anything… and then I make a promise, and break it. And I can’t keep doing that.”

Ben looked stern. “Then don’t. There’s got to be another way…”

“How? Can you add more hours to the day?” Nic said. “Because I’m cutting out sleep and juggling everything I can, my duties to my country and my family and my patients, and I am failing.”

“Oh, come on,” Erik said, his eyes flashing. “That’s being way too harsh!”

Nic kept steamrolling ahead, ignoring the pain in his chest. Ignoring that every word out of his mouth felt wrong. He’d done his best and he’d failed. He never failed. But to fail at this…? “Summer doesn’t need me. Harry doesn’t even know me. Or at least, he won’t remember me. By the time she’s established somewhere else, Harry won’t even know what he’s missing.”

“He’ll be missing a father,” Ben said quietly. “Whether he knows that’s you or not. And the fact that you’re out there and choosing not to be with him will hurt him more, don’t you think?”

“I love him. But I can’t be what he needs. I can’t be what either of them needs.” Nic’s throat felt like it was filled with gravel. “If that ever changes, I will always be here for them. Always. But if my presence in his life, and Summer’s life, only causes more problems… then I shouldn’t be there.”

Erik and Ben looked at him, their expressions a mixture of sadness and frustration. Still, Nic knew he was right. If he were being honest with himself, he’d known, ultimately, that this was going to have to happen.

He just hadn’t known it was going to hurt like this.