Page 37 of The Rough Rider

Except she didn’t feel like they were. Nothing felt the same as it did before. They felt altered. Unutterably. And she wasn’t sure why he didn’t feel the same way.

“I’m fine.”

“I’ll get you a water.”

“Thanks.”

He came back with a glass, and she drank from it, but it didn’t do anything to help with the light-headedness. But thankfully, everyone was lost in their revelry now, and they weren’t paying attention to the small breakdown the bride was having over in the corner.

She peered up at Gus. He didn’t look...Worriedwas the wrong word. She didn’t think he did anything half so uncertain as worry. But there was a little bit of concern etched into his face, and that was...sweet. She supposed. Not a word she would normally use to describe him. He knelt down in front of her.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He looked up at her. “How are your feet?”

“Fine.” She frowned. “Why?”

“Pregnant women. Their feet hurt.”

“When they’re big their feet hurt,” she said, feeling flustered. “I don’t even show yet.”

Still, he stayed where he was, and then he slipped one of her shoes off, pushing hard into the arch of her foot, and she flexed her toes.“Oh.”

It felt good.

No one had ever...rubbed her feet before. And there were people all around them. “Relax,” he said.

“Gus,” she said. “We’re...”

“I’m making sure you’re comfortable.”

But she was... They had kissed. And suddenly, all she could think about was his mouth. And the way it had felt.

It was funny, to compare. She shouldn’t. It was weird and wrong and kind of messed up. Travis had been confident. His kisses forceful. But they were choppy and the rhythm was off. It was a confidence that seemed toinsistupon itself.

That wasn’t the way that Gus’s confidence worked.

His was slow. Deliberate. Controlled. Like there wasn’t a thing in the world that he had to prove.

Not a thing.

And it was the same with this.

He hadn’t asked. Not really. He was just...making her feel good. Handling her body like he knew just what to do. And it was strange, the way that he had anticipated something she hadn’t even thought she would enjoy. But it turned out her feet did feel a little bit sore, and this felt good.

“We don’t have to stay,” he said.

“It’s our wedding.” She sounded sulky. And she was annoyed with herself. And she wondered where the hell all her certainty had gone. “There’s cake. The Kings brought meat.”

“Well,” he said, his tone flat. “Far be it for us to turn down the generosity of the King family. So rarely is it shown.”

She was pretty sure Gus was actually funny. You just had to pay close attention.

“They’re not thatbad,” she said.

“Jury’s out,” Gus said.

“We’ve known them all of our lives.”

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