Page 48 of Princesses & Pastries

"No."

"Someil?"

He chuckles. "No."

"Sovranetti?"

"No, Evie. I'm not going to be in any of those places," he responds.

My heart skips a beat. "You're staying in Falhaven?"

"I'm coming back to Falhaven," he corrects. "I have to go to Wafeland first in order to finish the job there and leave with a good recommendation, but I should be back before Yuletide."

"Back in Falhaven, or..."

"Back in the castle," he says, a wide grin stretching over his face. "I solved both of our problems."

I let out a very unprincess-like squeal and fling my arms around him. He responds by wrapping his arms around me in return, pulling me closer into his embrace.

"I take it you're happy with that news?" he asks.

"Yes, yes, yes," I respond, pulling back. "How did it happen? What happened? I thought there wasn't a job?"

"I thought so too. But Chef Martina asked to talk to me this morning."

A horrible feeling takes over me. "You didn't take a demotion, did you?" I don't want him to leave, but I also don't want to harm his career just so that he can stay.

"No, you made your feelings on that perfectly clear."

I grimace. "Sorry."

"It's a promotion, actually. I'm Falhaven Castle's newest pastry chef."

"Nate, that's amazing. I didn't think you were qualified for that position."

"Neither did I, but apparently I am. Chef Martina said that she remembered my originality, and now that I have more skills, I'll be even more of an asset to the kitchens. I'm actually going to be able to bring in a sous chef of my choice too."

"Do you know who?"

He nods. "I haven't sent the letter yet, but I know exactly who I'm going to ask. You're going to love her."

A strange feeling settles into me at his comment, but I don't understand what's causing it. "How is your father taking the news?" I ask instead of going further down that path.

Nate grimaces. "I don't think he knows yet. But it's fine. He wanted me to take the apprenticeship. He can't complain that I've got a job because of them."

I nod, trying to take all of it in. Nate returning is something I've been thinking about for years, and now it's really happening. The only downside of that is that I know how I feel about him now, and I have no idea how to tell him.

But I'll have a month to figure it out before he returns, and then we'll have all the time in the world to figure out what it means.