“Surely yes,” I argue, forcing what I hope is a loving smile as I lean into King and look up at him. “At least, I’m hoping it was a marriage license we just signed and not a contract with the devil.”
“I’d never share you with the devil,” King says. More like growls. He moves me so I’m directly in front of him now, both arms tucked around me, and then presses a kiss to my neck.
My whole body erupts in goosebumps, and I have to put all my focus into breathing. The old King never pulled that move.
“But…” Mrs. Pinnock looks like she wants to both argue against our marriage and call us out for being indecent in public. She waits another moment, during which King leaves a trail of kisses up to my ear, and then she waddles toward the courthouse without another word.
As soon as she’s out of sight, King takes a step away from me and leaves a chilled gap between us. “That was the high school principal, by the way,” he says calmly. “I told you about her before, right? She’ll verify that we really did get married, and then she’ll spread the word that the rumors are true.” How does he look so normal right now? I feel like I might melt into the pavement. “We should really get back. I have to open the surf shack, and Meg doesn’t like being on her own for long.”
Swallowing a huge gulp of air, I hold it in my lungs until my heart stops trying to beat out of my chest. Then I lead the way to my car, telling myself that I’m being ridiculous. There’s no reason for me to have that kind of reaction to the man when he’s only going to be in my life for a few weeks. No matter how attractive he is, he’s never going to be more than a means to an end.
I made sure of that when I ran away.
We’re halfway to the boardwalk when I finally speak. “Maybe don’t do that again.” I figure being direct is the only way I’ll protect myself from more unexpected contact with the man next to me.
King keeps his eyes out his window. “Yep. Other rules?”
“Hand-holding is fine,” I decide out loud. “But I’d like a warning if you ever think a kiss is necessary.”
“Likewise. And if you could avoid smiling at me, that would make this a lot easier.”
I scoff. “I can’t smile at you? Why not?”
His jaw clenches so tightly that a muscle bulges near his ear.
Though I wish I could get a better look at his face, I force my eyes back to the road as I drive. “Are you attracted to me, Royal?”
He groans. “There was a time when I wanted to marry you, Georgie. Of course I’m attracted to you. And don’t call me that.”
“I don’t think you ever told me why you don’t like your name.”
“Because it’s ridiculous.”
I finally feel like I’m relaxing, and I need to embrace this feeling as long as I can. As soon as we get to Coral Berry Boardwalk, we’ll have to perform again. “I always liked the name Royal.”
“You’re not the one who had to grow up with the name Royal Kingston.”
“No, but now everyone is going to think I’m Georgie Kingston, which isn’t much better. They might as well call me King George.”
He finally turns his head and gives me a glance, some of the tension leaving his body. “Yeah, that’s pretty bad. Maybe I should take your name.”
“And be named Royal Carpenter?”
He snorts. “Definitely not.”
We settle into a sort of silence until I pull into the parking lot off the boardwalk. The ocean is rolling in the distance, wispy clouds floating lazily above the horizon, and a soft breeze brushes across the grasses in the sand. Willow Cove really is beautiful, and I missed the beaches and the sunshine. Yeah, New York has sun too, but it’s blocked out by all the skyscrapers and pollution.
I can breathe here in a way I couldn’t there.
“Well…” King says, unclipping his seatbelt and sitting up straight. “Back to work?”
I grimace. “We’re going to have to tell Meg that we just got married,” I say, wishing I’d spent more than a few hours with the young woman. She seems to like me well enough, but this is kind of a big thing. “Something tells me she’s not going to like that.”
All of the tension floods back into King’s body, and I almost grab his hand to offer some sort of comfort. But I don’t. “Oh, she’s going to hate it,” he says. “I didn’t think about that.”
“It will just take some time for her to get used to—”
“No.” He shakes his head and then slips out of the car, waiting until I’m outside as well before he explains. “Meg is…” He squirms a little, his face twisting up as if he’s searching for the right words. “She, uh… I…” Then he blushes.
I gasp. “Were you and Meg mixing business with pleasure?” I instantly hate the idea.
“No!” He runs a hand through his hair, which doesn’t seem to be enough to ease his discomfort because he tugs his tie loose and slips out of his suit coat as well. He looks around, probably making sure no one is nearby, and then he lowers his voice. “No, of course we weren’t. I would never… She seems to like me. I mean, she looks at me like…”
I fold my arms. “Like you’re one of the most attractive men in Willow Cove? Well, obviously. Look at you.”
My comment only deepens the color in his face, and he growls a little as he starts pacing. “Georgie, that’s not helping.”
“What? You said it about me.”
“Exactly. I don’t…” He stops with a huff, and for the first time since he found me on the boardwalk when I first got here, he seems to drop whatever walls he’s put up so now I can really see him. He looks lost. Worn down. Even more so than before. “I don’t know how to navigate this, Georgie. With our history, this is…complicated.”
The relief at knowing I’m not the only one who is getting confused by all this falls flat when I realize what he’s saying. “This marriage isn’t real, King.”
“I know that.” But he frowns as he leans on the hood of my car, staring at the metal beneath his fingers. “And it has to stay that way. I can’t get caught up in your orbit just for you to leave me drifting again.”
His surprising admission shouldn’t sting, but it does. I know I hurt him when I left, but it’s not like I was the only one in that relationship. I wouldn’t have ended things if he had just talked to me before dropping to one knee. Everything was changing at the end of that summer, and he decided he knew what was best for me.
“I’m not meant to be in a place like this forever,” I whisper, speaking as much to the King of ten years ago as to the one in front of me.
