And she smiled at that, because how could she not? He was excited to marry her. Her. Goofy Taylor who fell over her own two feet. “Me, too, but I’d feel weird eclipsing Gretchen’s marriage, what with me being a bridesmaid and all.”
Kinda felt disloyal just thinking about it.
“Wouldn’t she be happy for you? She’s the one that put us together.” He drew a T-shirt over his head.
She sat up in the bed, thinking. He had a point, but weddings were sacred things to women. You didn’t fuck with someone’s wedding, and Gretchen’s wedding had had a ton of snags already. “I suppose. I just don’t think she’ll like it is all.”
He moved to her side and kissed her forehead. “How about we do something small at first, and then we do something bigger and more lavish once Gretchen’s wedding is over and she’s out of the limelight? Would that make you feel better?”
“It would.” Taylor smiled up at him. “Great idea.” He looked so sexy and sporty in his athletic gear that she felt like the luckiest girl in the world all over again. She wanted to show him just how lucky she felt, especially after spending the weekend at the convention, where she was in nerd paradise and he was clueless. “Hey, can I go jogging with you?”
The look of surprise on Loch’s face was priceless. “You . . . want to jog? Have you turned over a new sporty leaf, my sweet couch potato?”
“Well, no.” The idea of jogging and working up a sweat actually sounded about as fun as a root canal. “But you’ve been working hard to do all these things that I like, and the least I can do is take some interest in your hobbies.”
For some reason, he looked unhappy at the thought.
“Is that bad? I don’t have to go with you—”
“No, no. I think it’s wonderful. I think you’re wonderful.” Loch gave her another hard, firm kiss on the mouth. “And if you don’t get dressed in five minutes, I’m leaving you behind.”
She shot up from the bed—and banged her head into his. “Ow!”
He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I suppose I should get used to that.”
“You probably should,” she agreed, and then trotted off to find a pair of yoga pants.
***
Funny how he felt like a bigger arse now than when he’d proposed.
Loch jogged through Central Park with Taylor at his side, and he couldn’t help but feel like a prick. She wanted to spend time with him and learn his hobbies because she cared. That was why she was next to him in the heat of the day, huffing and puffing and gamely trying to keep up with his longer strides. She fell behind, and he stopped to a walk. “Everything all right, Tay?”
“Oh, sure,” she wheezed, bending over and putting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. “I didn’t need lungs.”
He chuckled. “You want to take a break and sit down for a minute?”
“God, I never thought you’d ask.”
They found a nearby park bench and Taylor collapsed onto it. The collar of her T-shirt was soaked with sweat and her ponytail was plastered to her face. Her cheeks were bright red, but she gave him a brave smile as their eyes met. He felt a surge of affection for her. She wanted to please him.
It also made him feel like a prick, because he’d proposed marriage simply for selfish reasons. “You don’t have to go jogging with me, you know. I’ll like you just the same if you don’t.”
“I know, but you’ve been working hard at playing Excelsior and I know it’s not your thing. The least I can do is try jogging, you know? I’ve never tried it before.” She wiped her brow. “At what point do I get the runner’s high?”
“In about six months?”
She made a pained groan. “I might not be cut out for this after all.”
He leaned in and kissed her, sweat and all. “And I love you for trying.” The moment the words escaped him, he felt like an ass all over again, especially when she beamed. “Do you want to go back to the hotel?”
Taylor perked up. “Are we done?”
“Actually, I usually do about three or four more circuits of this end of the park.” At her pained expression, he squeezed her hand. “Why don’t you go back and shower? I’ll be up in a bit.”
“Normally I wouldn’t bail like this, but I think you’d have to carry me for the last few laps.” She shook her head. “Who knew Central Park was so damn big?”
He bit back a laugh. They were only jogging a fraction of the paths that went through the park. “Indeed.”
“Okay, I’ll head back, but when you come home, we need to talk about living arrangements,” she told him. “It makes no sense to rent a hotel room when I have a perfectly good albeit small apartment. And we should probably talk about green cards and see what sort of paperwork we need.”
The enormity of getting married hit him again. There was a lot to do—he needed to see where they were at on the prenuptial agreement. He needed to let the prime minister know after they got married so he could spread the word and dissolve any dissident hope of Loch taking the crown. And then there were living situations—did they really need an apartment in New York City when Loch wanted to go back to Bellissime? He hadn’t asked Taylor if she wanted to go.
Someone’s life was going to have to change, or their short-term marriage would be even shorter than he’d imagined. And for some reason, that thought made things worse. Now he was potentially screwing up Taylor’s life.