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Maybe then we’ll be even for my two years of being obsessed over her.
Four hours later we’re back from dinner with Jonah and Linnea, who helped fill her in on what to expect when we get to Cara. They warn her that people, especially the King, will be displeased the wedding happened in the US instead of in Cara. That doesn’t seem to faze Abigail and I know it’s because she thinks that being a princess who isn’t all that well-liked will actually help in the end.
Which makes me irrationally cranky. She’s right in that assumption. It will make ending the marriage easier.
I suppose if I wanted the marriage to end, I’d be more on board.
Linnea tells us she’s going to handle our social media and spin the story so people believe the relationship has been happening over two years—true, for me—that I’ve been in the US working on my proposal—also technically true—and that we simply couldn’t wait any longer and just had to elope—also true.
But, despite all the official talk, dinner is very pleasant. Abigail seems comfortable around Jonah and Linnea and it feels more like a double date with my best friend and our girlfriends than four people setting up a marriage of convenience to further a political, business, and personal agenda.
We get back to the hotel and Jonah leaves the SUV with the valet. We all head inside.
"Hey, Torin, can we talk for a second?" Jonah asks. “Alone?”
I nod. "Of course.” It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s gotten an earful from staff in Cara, passed down from my grandfather. I’ve been gone for longer than I expected and I’m sure my grandfather is beyond annoyed.
“I’ll meet you upstairs,” Abigail says as the elevator doors swish open.
“I’ll be right up.”
She and Linnea step onto the elevator and the doors shut on them. Linnea will be sure Abigail is settled upstairs.
I turn to my best friend. “Is there something from Cara?”
“No. Well, yes, but that’s not what I want to talk to you about right now.”
“Are you going to congratulate me?”
He isn’t. I can tell.
Jonah stuffs his hands into the pockets of his pants. He regards me with a serious expression. "Should I congratulate you?"
"The woman of my dreams proposed to me. She’s going to be the princess. I’ll have the throne within the next year. Her farm will make a number of positive changes for our country. Isn’t that all cause for congratulations?"
"Yes. I heard her lay out all of the practical reasons why the two of you getting married was a good idea."
I sigh and lean back against the wall. “What’s the problem, Jonah?”
“I just want to be sure that you still think this is the right idea."
I frown. "Of course. This was the plan when we got on the plane in Cara. I’m crazy about her. You know that.”
Jonah moves closer. He pulls his hands from his pockets and crosses his thick arms. "I do know you're crazy about her. That's what concerns me."
"You're concerned that I'm crazy about the woman I'm going to marry?" But I feel a niggle behind my breastbone. I know exactly what he’s worried about. And once he says it out loud, I’m going to have to acknowledge it. To him. And to myself, officially.
"You’re in love with her."
The words hit me directly in the chest. But I don’t even have to think about them. I nod. “Yes.”
"And does she love you?"
I open my mouth to answer with a flippant what’s not to love, but I stop. This is my best friend. He knows me better than anyone. And he just hit on something I’ve been trying to ignore.
Of course, he did.
I take a deep breath, then ask, "What are you asking me exactly?"
