“Jace!” she gasped, took his hand, and dragged him toward the building. “I want to get married here.”
“Now?” he sputtered stupidly. Talk about spur of the moment.
She laughed and slowed her steps as they approached the open front doors of the church. “Not today,” she said. “We’ll have to make arrangements. But soon.” She tore her awe-stricken stare from the romantic building to smile at him. “You’re going to marry me here. Okay?”
He grinned, a bit overwhelmed by the sudden rush of emotion clogging his throat. He’d thought she’d never find the place, even though she’d insisted, “we’ll know it when we see it,” and she’d chosen here of all places.
“Okay,” he said. “I’m ready when you are.”
“Yeah?” she said, lighting up like a child on Christmas morning.
“Yeah.”
She threw herself into his arms and kissed him excitedly. He was very much enjoying participating in her enthusiastic make-out session until someone cleared her throat. Jace pulled his reluctant lips from Aggie’s and turned his head, expecting to see the tour guide. A woman he was sure he’d never seen before was standing at the top of the church steps, looking down at them with a knowing grin.
“Would you like to see inside?” she asked.
“Oh yes!” Aggie said, grabbing Jace by the sleeve of his leather jacket and yanking him up the steps before he could blink.
She entered the church a bit more respectfully and sucked in a deep breath while Jace tried to get his eyes to focus in the dim light.
“Oh, Jace, isn’t it perfect?”
From what his spotted vision could see, yeah, it was nice.
The woman standing beside Aggie handed her something and she used it to dab at her eyes. Aggie didn’t cry often. She’d cried when he’d been shot and they’d been reunited in the hospital. She’d cried when he’d told her of the most painful experiences of his past. She’d cried when he’d proposed to her. And she was crying now. Something monumental was happening for them. He was just going to go with it.
“It’s even more romantic on the inside,” she said and leaned her head against Jace’s shoulder.
He took in the diamond-patterned floor, the rich mahogany of the pews, the intricately carved woodwork above the pulpit, and the spectacular stained-glass windows in arched frames along both side walls and behind the altar. It was the chapel most girls dreamed of getting married in. But Aggie wasn’t most girls. Or maybe she was.
He kissed her temple and rubbed her lower back.
“When can we get married here?” Jace asked.
“That would depend on what kind of ceremony you have planned,” the woman said, smiling kindly.
“What kind of ceremony do we have planned?” Jace asked Aggie.
She laughed and dabbed at her eyes. “We’re open to suggestions.”
The woman’s smile broadened. “Would you like to go to my office and talk?” she said. “I’m Charity Watson—the event planner for the castle. I’d love to help you two make plans to tie the knot.”
Jace nodded enthusiastically and with his hand on Aggie’s lower back, directed his soon-to-be wife to follow Charity out of the chapel.
Aggie finally had agreed to marry him. He thought his chest might burst from the mix of love, excitement, and pride stirring within him.
Yeah, he was stoked that they were finally going to get married.
Even though the place she’d chosen was probably haunted.
Chapter Five
Aggie wiped her inexplicably sweaty palms on her jeans as she watched Charity circle her desk and sit across from her and Jace.
“We want to get married in that gorgeous little chapel as soon as possible,” Aggie told her.
“Are you both American citizens?”
Aggie nodded. “Will that be a problem?”
“Potentially. You have to be in England for a minimum of fifteen days before the ceremony for it to be legally recognized.”
“We could do a two-week honeymoon before the wedding,” Jace suggested.
“Can we have a ceremony here and then have a legal get-hitched-quick courthouse wedding back in the States?” Aggie asked.
“I don’t see why that would be an issue,” Charity said.
“Would anyone be horribly offended if we got married in the chapel even though neither of us are members of the Church of England?”
The wedding coordinator smiled at them. “Who could be offended by two people so obviously in love as you two getting married in their church?”
Aggie glanced at Jace, who was very red in the face.
“So how soon can we do this?” Aggie asked. Now that she’d found the place, she wanted to get married as soon as possible.
“What’s the rush all of a sudden?” Jace asked. “Afraid I’ll get away?”
Aggie kicked him out of sight of the woman on the opposite side of the desk.
“If you want a spring or summer wedding, keep in mind that the castle is open to tourists,” Charity told them. “It’s not usually a huge concern, but if you wait until the castle closes for the winter, you’ll have more privacy.”
“I like privacy,” Jace said.
Charity smiled. “I thought you might.” She flipped through the day planner on her desk. “The first possible date in our off-season would be November first.”
Jace breathed a sigh of obvious relief. Aggie scowled at him.
“That will give us enough time to plan something special,” Jace explained. “We need a few months to organize. And you don’t really want a bunch of strangers gawking at us while we get married, do you?”