The beating of a heart was what George awoke to the next morning. The sound was strong against his ear, the pulse against his warm cheek a steady rhythm.

He cracked open his eyes, the world groggy and out of focus. Even so, Nick's blurry form swam before him and caused a pleasant jolt.

That's right. The night before—their wedding night—they'd slept together. He stared dumbly at his hand rested on Nick's chest, aware of the silver band on his ring finger. He was now Mr. George Bennett-Morgan. He even silently mouthed the name a few times in awe as he watched the way the sunlight glinted off the ring.

Nick was still dead to the world as George stirred. He didn't want to budge from that spot, nestled up close to his husband. This moment was perfect, and he didn't want to ruin it by getting up.

The night before had been incredible as well. Tangled in Nick's limbs beneath him had left him feeling so light. He could've sworn Nick was more attentive and just as flustered as he was. When they'd been embraced like that, perhaps it was foolish to think, but it felt like they'd been making love.

George's heart drummed powerfully in his chest, and he feared that alone would wake Nick. A few moments later, Nick cracked open his eyes with a low groan. “Good morning. Did I wake you?” George murmured.

“No, I don't think so,” Nick responded, his voice low and scratchy from sleep.

Now that Nick was awake, George reached for his glasses on the floor beside the mattress and slid them onto his face. Now the world was crystal-clear. Well, about as crystal-clear as his prescription would ever allow. He was pretty useless without his glasses.

“Did you sleep well?” George asked. Now that Nick was awake, should he move away from the embrace? Nick's arm was still around him and wasn't moving anywhere fast, though, so he remained still to enjoy it.

“I slept like a rock. You?”

“Best sleep I've had in years,” George admitted lazily. “Should we get up now?”

“What's the rush?” Nick asked as he yawned, still looking completely at home while sharing the mattress.

George's heart soared as he lightly rubbed Nick's chest. The fact that Nick didn't seem to mind laying in bed with him pleased him to no end. He didn't feel any anxiety off Nick. It was like their waking up in each other's arms was the most natural thing in the world.

“Don't we want to go collect the money?” George asked, although it wasn't until after a moment of hesitation. He'd dreaded saying the words because it meant facing reality. But was reality really a bad thing right now? What stopped them from being able to wake up to more mornings like this?

“Yeah, I guess it'd be good for us to take care of that ASAP,” Nick said with a lazy stretch. It made George's heart flutter that Nick seemed to be preferring to stay in bed with him right now than filling the bank accounts.

“Then maybe afterward, we should talk some more about how we're actually going to handle this marriage, like you mentioned last night,” George suggested. “It'd be good if we're both on the same page about everything. Like, for instance, I'm assuming we're not going to be dating other people...” Although the way Nick had worded things the night before stung, it was important for them to discuss their future.

“Yeah, of course,” Nick said. “Once we get home, we'll properly sit down and talk about it.”

George blew out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes, then bolted upright. “Shoot! I have work this morning!” He flung the covers off himself and rolled over Nick, which was a very interesting sensation because of their naked skin pressing together.

“Right, you mentioned that last night. Can't you call in?” Nick groaned.

George hurriedly got dressed, almost falling over backwards as he bounced on one foot to get a stubborn sock on. “It's too late now. How about we do the money thing over my lunch break? It's at one.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Nick said.

When George was fully dressed, he looked back over at Nick. He looked so sexy laying in bed, his chest bare, his arms now behind his head, and the blanket down low enough to brush his hip bones. The temptation to jump right back into bed with his sexy husband was very strong, but he had to resist. Instead, he used that energy to crouch down and kiss Nick instead. It was fiery because of the adrenalin running through him at the thought of being late for work. Nick seemed surprised, his eyes wide, and it took a second for him to return the kiss.

Then George pulled away and whisked for the bedroom door. “See you at lunch!”

Today was going to be a glorious day.

* * *

When George strode through the front door of Dog Ears, he was whistling a wedding march and his heart was light.

“Good morning,” Davin greeted from a nearby bookshelf. “Someone's on top of the world.”

“I did just get married,” George said with a grin as he removed his coat and put it behind the counter.

“Judging by that bounce in your step, I'd say you had a good wedding night, too,” Davin teased.

George blushed instantly, little shivers of pleasure coursing through him. “I may have...”

“Good for you,” Davin laughed, then glanced around as if making sure they were by themselves before continuing, “Even though this is a wedding of convenience for you, I'm really hoping the best for you. You deserve to be happy.”

George's eyes almost teared up at the words. It was a given that he was in a bit of an emotional state right now with everything that was happening. “That's sweet... You deserve to be happy, too.”

Davin smiled in response, but said nothing as he wandered off to get back to work. George had tried encouraging Davin in the past to date, but, as far as he knew, Davin just didn't. He’d never told George why, either. Although he was a great guy, they never clicked. Perhaps it was just because George had his nose buried too deeply in books to notice anything.

George let Davin get back to work as he set about his own duties. He kept himself busy, glancing at the clock now and again to see how close to lunch time he was. He already couldn't wait to see Nick again, even if they were just going to take care of business.

Just a few minutes before one, George hurried to get a few more books onto the shelf before Nick was due to pick him up. With his armful of sci-fi titles, he turned around the corner of a shelf. “Oof!” he yelped as he fell backwards after smacking into someone else coming around the corner as well. It all happened within seconds, but George quickly found himself on his back with the books scattered and a strange but startled man above him.

The bell above the door rattled followed by a strong voice.

“What's going on here?” Nick demanded.