“And Shi, and Kian. Your parents are in on it too.” He checked his phone. “In fact, their flight should be landing in a few hours. Your mom wanted to fly in early so she could sight-see.”
“That means the slot machines are in for one hell of a ride.” The news was a balm over my injured feelings. I shook my head in disbelief, then lunged into James’s lap. “God, I love you.”
I silenced his reply with my lips on his. He grunted into the kiss, letting his hands fall to my hips.
“Please don’t tell Hannah that her whole secret TLC plan unraveled,” he said between assaults from my mouth. “We’ve been working so hard to keep it quiet.”
“Of course.”
I relaxed into James’s lap, letting him feed me a bite from my plate.I could get used to this…
“So,” I began.
“I don’t like the tone of that voice, Ryder Clark.”
I ignored him. “How close were you to breaking?”
James laughed. “Closer than you’d think. I hated not being able to tell you thatRaleighwas in on it all. But between planning, training Kian, finding Dani, learning about your family history, navigating things with Shiloh, whoever attacked you outside of Victoria’s, and all the supernatural shit that’s been happening…” He trailed off.
“Aw, is the big, strong vampire ready to admit that he’s tired?”
“Bastard,” he growled, pinching my thigh. “But yes, I’m?—”
I shut James up with another chaste kiss, and he urged me back into my own seat so I could finish my food. As I ate, I grilled him on the rest of the details—which he was suddenly tight-lipped about. The only thing he would tell me was that the venue was outdoors, and Raleigh offered up the Hopyard for drinks after the rehearsal.
For a while, we were able to press past the heartbreak we’d experienced that night and enjoy being engaged. The thought of our betrayal of Shi still sat heavy, but as much as I hated to admit it, James was right: The only thing we could do right now wasgive Shiloh their space. They were upset, and they lashed out. Even I could see that. And if the past were any indication, if and when Shi was ready to talk, they would come to us.
It wasn’t as comforting as I wanted it to be, but it was something.
When my alarmwent off Monday afternoon, I groaned and slammed around on the nightstand until I silenced the incessant blaring. I was on my sixth day of seven days straight before we took our time off for the wedding.
We were scheduled to fly to Vegas on Thursday, two days before the wedding. That would give us plenty of time for James to officially meet my parents, and to catch up with Raleigh and Angel before things got too hectic—I just had to get through my last two shifts first.
As excited as I was, I was alsoexhausted. James and I had stayed up until well past sunrise planning last-minute details and trading kisses in bed, thumbing over our freshly polished rings.
James promised to bring me coffee in exchange for me letting him stay in bed a little longer, so I headed to the bar. Shiloh had the day off, and I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about missing them. Since the fight, we’d only gotten a smile if someone was watching. They hadn’t been as cold to us as I’d feared—Kian was none the wiser—but I missed their stolen glimpses, the secret smiles they reserved only for us.
I was working with Kian up front that day, and James would be settling paperwork in the office since he wouldn’t get a chance to do so for a while.
When I arrived, Kian’s car was already in the parking lot. Unwilling to brave the longer walk in the cold to the back door, I unlocked the main entrance. Kian had already disabled the alarm, and, thankfully, already turned up the heat.
I flipped on the lights in the front room, then made my way down the hall and toward the office to put my jacket away. As I approached the door, Kian’s soft voice filtered out of the kitchen. Once I realized he was on the phone, I continued to the office—until I heard Hannah’s name, and it sounded like Kian was soothing her.
“Han, trust me. If anyone knows how you feel, I do.”
I tiptoed back to the entrance of the kitchen, where it sounded like Kian was making coffee. “I know it sucks, and I know my accident threw a wrench in things. But as soon as we’re back on our feet, we can start saving for our own wedding. I promise.”
I didn’t stay to hear anymore of the conversation, already feeling guilty about what I’d overheard. I thought back to when Hannah offered to help us, and I remembered the flash of emotion I’d seen cross her deep blue eyes.
She’d been pouring all of her energy and spare time into helping us plan our own wedding, I never noticed she was grieving the one that she didn’t get to have.
Shaking it off, I hung up my jacket and stepped out of the office just as Kian left the kitchen. “Morning.”
I snickered. “It’s past noon.”
“Still counts as morning if I walked in my door at two a.m.”
“Pour that out,” I told him, indicating his mug. “James will be here any minute with the good coffee.”
