“We have,” James confirmed. “Don’t worry. It’s not too extravagant.”
“The venue already confirmed their availability, so I’ve got that covered…”
“You do?” I screeched. “Damn, you’re on it.” I opened my mouth to ask about it, but her reaction caught me off-guard.
She was smiling from ear to ear, her blue eyes animated. “I told you—I love this stuff. I think I’m more excited for the big ceremony than anyone.” She quickly looked back down at her tablet. “Do you two have a cocktail in mind?”
“A cocktail?” James echoed.
“It’s a trend that’s become popular in the last few years. You can either pick two drinks that you feel represent each of you individually or combine your personalities to make a single cocktail. I’ll put a note that you’re thinking about it.”
Hannah babbled on, going down her checklist and asking my opinions on food, decorations, and linen colors. James stepped away to serve the customers with Shi, who had a drop of chocolate smeared on their mouth. I grabbed a napkin, reaching out to wipe it away.
“Thank you,” they muttered, red-faced but offering me a grateful smile.
When I turned back to Hannah, I found her watching me with a raised brow. “What was that about?”
“Nothing.” I quickly changed the subject. “I don’t have a problem with you and James making these decisions. I trust both of you. As long as I have Luke Combs somewhere on theplaylist, I’ll be happy.” From the opposite side of the bar, James grinned at me. “Just tell me when and where to show up.”
In truth, I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Between the wedding planning, the Shi stuff, and the necklace burning a hole in my pocket, I felt like I was in over my head. Hannah confirmed that she had everything she needed, so after making sure James and Shi would be okay, I excused myself from the front before my stress became another full-blown panic attack.
Behind the closed office door, I let out a heavy breath, wondering what the hell I was going to tell James about the necklace. It could only mean one thing: The hunters had returned.
Chapter 12
That damn weddingcocktail became the bane of my existence. James and I thought that a single drink would make it easier on the bartender and simplify ordering. We were bartenders, if anyone could come up with a drink, it was us. Right?
Jack and Coke? Too simple.
Any sort of martini? Too difficult and too subjective to taste.
The Vampire’s Kiss? Too predictable.
Every cocktail we served that night only offered another option for us—and another one that we couldn’t agree on. By the time we closed that night, I was exhausted, both physically and mentally. I barely made it home to collapse into bed.
The next afternoon, I woke up alone. It wasn’t uncommon when James needed to be at the bar before me, so I rolled out of bed to get ready. Once I’d showered and dressed myself, I realized that in my exhausted state, I hadn’t taken my wallet out of my pocket the night before. Thankfully, James hadn’t tossed them in the laundry yet. I picked my jeans up and fished out my wallet, but something else in the pockets rattled—and my heart dropped into my stomach when that damn chain fell to the floor.
Shit… I’d been so tired last night that bringing it up to James had entirely slipped my mind. He was spending the firstpart of his shift observing Kian, who was nearly ready to work unsupervised.
I stood there longer than I should have and stared at the piece of jewelry in my hand. Therewasone surefire way to know if it belonged to hunters, and with both James and Kian busy, this might be my only chance. I winced. James wouldn’t approve.
I needed to visit Luke.
Not the Luke Iwantedto visit. Kian’s brother had been a source of contention between James and I since I first got into town. He’d never hidden his feelings for me, and the fact that I’d jumped into bed with him after James ended things only made our relationship with the man more complicated. Add in that he was Kian’s adopted brother? That gave me a headache.
So, why was I going to see him? Because I had to get the idea out of my head thathewas responsible for the strange piece of jewelry appearing outside my car. Sure, it was just a cross necklace and could’ve belonged to anyone, but I would recognize that specific cross anywhere. It had been burned into my nightmares for months.
After Luke showed up at the hospital when Kian almost died, he decided that he was done running. He was ready to work on mending relationships with the people he’d hurt, including me. Since Luke had betrayed the team of hunters he’d been working for by saving my life, James and Gabriel were offering Luke protection in return. I wasn’t privy toallof the details, but I knew where Luke was staying.
I made the decision and jumped in my car. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?
As I stepped up to Luke’s doorstep and knocked, I shoved my hands in my pockets—only to snatch them free again the second I touched the chain.
Christ, I needed to get it together.
The door opened, and my heart thundered against my ribcage. I felt James pressing against the bond, worried. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I fired off a text that I was fine, and that seemed to be enough to settle him—for now.
“Ryder?”
