Page 46 of A Marriage of Anything But Convenience

“I thought I heard you come downstairs, but I couldn’t find you. Then I saw a shadow on the deck. What are you doing out here? It’s freezing.”

“I just needed some fresh air. I’ll go in soon. You didn’t have to come looking for me.”

Instead of going inside, as he figured she would, she closed the door and plopped down on the chair next to him. “Here,” she said, offering him half the comforter.

He scooted his chair closer to hers and tucked the duvet around him. “Thanks. That’s warmer already.”

“The moon is bright tonight.” Nara pulled her knees up and hugged them to her chest under the blanket.

“Yes.” He looked down at the apple in his hand. He didn’t want to eat it in front of her. “Want a bite?”

As soon as he asked, he regretted it. Who offers an already half-eaten apple to someone? Gross. She was not going to want to eat off an apple he bit out of. What was he thinking? But instead of making a face and telling him he was disgusting she grabbed the apple and took a bite. “Thanks,” she said, around the food in her mouth.

He was too surprised to say anything. He simply stared at her.

“So, you come out here often?” She laughed, the melodic sound carrying over the night air. “Geesh, that sounded like a pickup line.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, it did.”

She nudged him. “Well, look at that. The Emperor can laugh.”

Her words stung and he sobered. He listened to her crunching on the apple for a few minutes before she stopped. He glanced at her. “You ate the core?”

“Yeah. Well, not the stem or seeds, but you can eat everything else.”

Why didn’t he know that?

She tucked the duvet around her shoulders. “I love the sound of that owl.”

For some reason, that made him like her even more. “Me, too.” Something poked him and he fiddled with the corner of the duvet, working out a feather. He wanted to ask Nara something, but couldn’t quite gather up the courage.

After another moment of silence, he decided he needed to just say it. “Why do you call me Emperor?”

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “What?”

He shrugged. “I mean, I guess I understand. You don’t like how serious I am. I’m not always easy to get along with. And I’m not like the guys you usually date. I’m pretty unlikable.”

Nara’s eyes widened and she held up a hand. “Wait a minute. You think I call you that because I don’t like you?”

His insides twisted and he scanned the trees, not sure exactly how to answer that. “Well, yeah, I guess that’s what it boils down to.”

She reached out to him under the blanket placing her hand on his. “That’s not it at all.”

He turned to look at her. “You called me Your Imperial Highness your entire senior year because you said I was too stuffy to be a commoner.”

“I was just joking around.”

“You said I had a stick so far up my—”

“Okay!” Nara closed her eyes. “I get it. I was mean to you.”

Derek swallowed down the lump growing in his throat. “You weren’t mean. You just hated me.”

Nara blinked and he could see moisture gathering in her eyes. “I didn’t hate you. Is that what you thought?”

Acid burned in his stomach. “Yeah,” he said, quietly.

“Geesh, Derek. I’m sorry.” She looked stricken. “I didn’t mean it that way. I guess my instinct is to always be snarky. And yeah, maybe I got mad at you sometimes, but I didn’t hate you.” She leaned closer to him, reaching up to touch his cheek. “I never hated you.”

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