“Sir Gregor? Or is it Your Highness?” Livinia smiled brightly at Gregor. “I’m sure Heath doesn’t mean any offense, he’s just new to the whole wedding planning world.”
Gregor’s smile was so hollow, Heath almost thumped it like a watermelon to see if it was ripe. “It is just Gregor. In America, I no longers use my title.”
“Go easy on my new son.” Bowman pointed to Heath’s leg brace. “The boy’s been through a lot.”
Son? He’d love nothing more t
han to be Bowman’s son, but he wasn’t there yet. He had no idea how Lyric felt about him, and he wasn’t sure he could stand Gregor long enough to plan the wedding.
“What about the date?” Livinia’s voice was hopeful that everyone would get along. A real peacemaker she’d turned out to be. “We really can’t plan very much without setting a date.”
Tomorrow was probably too soon. “Like I said, I’m not much of a waiting man. How about a month from tomorrow, since that’s the ninth.”
Livinia looked like she was about to keel over with joy, and Bowman’s whole body smiled. Damn, if Lyric didn’t marry him, he hated to think of the consequences. Thank God he was a glass-is-always-full kinda guy.
“Excuse me? Did you say a months from tomorrow?” Gregor looked from Livinia to Heath and back again, like he was waiting for the punch line.
“That’s right. One month from tomorrow.” It was good to know that Heath didn’t have to kill Gregor for being annoying, because the man was going to collapse in a puddle of shocked fake royalty right here.
Sometimes it really was grand being him.
Gregor held a finger up like he needed a moment. He closed his eyes, did some deep breathing in a pattern that sounded a little like a chain-smoking asthmatic, and then opened them again. “It cans be done.” It was said with all of the gravity and put-upon-ness that Jesus must have felt when he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” right before he died on the cross.
Had Livinia gotten this guy off of Groupon? Surely there was another wedding planner who was less annoying and didn’t have a fake accent. Then again, this was San Angelo, and the wedding was a month away.
“Don’t worry.” He nudged Gregor with his elbow. “I’m calling in reinforcements. It’s the off-season, and the whole offensive line’s got nothing better to do than come down here and plan this wedding.”
“Are they all likes you?” Gregor liked to throw in random s’s to remind everyone he had a fake accent.
“Well now, they aren’t as pretty as I am or as decisive, but they can lift really heavy things, and they all have cute hair.” Who didn’t love a man with big muscles and good hair? His PR team said he polled high in both areas, thank God. After all, a winning smile wasn’t the only thing that mattered.
Gregor looked like he was trying to figure out how either of those qualities were useful in planning a wedding.
On second thought, he was keeping Gregor. Messing with him was going to make all of the wedding tasks so much more fun.
“Okay, good. It’s settled.” Livinia fished around in her purse and pulled out her smartphone. She tapped the screen and then her face fell. “That would be June 9, and it falls on a Tuesday. I think we should pick a different day.”
“A different day for what?” Lyric walked into the room carrying a Starbucks cardboard cupholder in one hand and several brown Starbucks bags in the other. She shook the bags. “I brought chocolate muffins.”
“A different day for your wedding. Heath wants it on Tuesday, June 9. I say the weekend is better.” Her mother took the cupholder and set the drinks on the rolling tray next to her father’s bed.
“I don’t know. A good, solid Tuesday sounds about right for our wedding.” Lyric handed the bags around. “I got everyone caramel macchiatos. I didn’t know what y’all like to drink.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want.” Livinia’s tone suggested that she’d rather roll around in garbage or pole dance at the local VFW, but she’d do whatever her daughter wanted. She grabbed the muffin Lyric was about to eat right out of her hand. “You need to get into your wedding dress.”
Lyric rolled her eyes, grabbed Heath’s muffin out of his hand, and took a huge bite. She winked at Heath as she handed it back to him. She said around the food in her mouth, “I have a year and a month to get into my wedding dress.”
“Dear, don’t talk with your mouth full.” Her mother turned to Heath and handed him the extra muffin.
“That’s not fair. He gets two muffins. He’s in the wedding too. Why does he get two muffins?” Lyric continued to talk with her mouth full. Rebellion looked good on her.
“He’s too skinny.” Livinia looked down her nose at Lyric, who immediately closed her mouth and chewed. “Besides, the wedding isn’t a year away, it’s a month away.”
Lyric’s jaw fell open, and Heath was afraid some muffin might fall out, so he reached over and gently closed it for her.
“Our love is real … why wait?” He pulled her into a hug.
Lyric plastered on her bright fake smile and managed to whisper, “I’m going to kill you,” without moving her lips. If the whole astrophysicist thing fell through, it was good to know she had a future in ventriloquism.