9
Lorenzo
“So, when is your honeymoon?”
Raja nearly choked on his fruit at the breakfast table. Kali folded her hands and smiled. She practically hadn’tstoppedsmiling since the wedding ceremony.
“Well?” she prompted again.
“Koto asked me the same thing last night,” Raja muttered. “Why is everybody in this family so nosy?”
Kali frowned and tugged sharply on her son’s ear.
“Ow, hey!” Raja protested.
“Be nice to your mother,” I chided Raja gently.
He shot me a deadpan look while Kali patted my arm. “Thank you, Lorenzo. Raja has always been such a naughty boy.”
“Because you wouldn’t let me do anything,” Raja mumbled. “I had to have funsomehow.”
“Well, now that you have Lorenzo to protect you, you can have all the fun you want,” Kali said with a glance. “So,willyou have a honeymoon?”
“Yes,” Raja said with a sigh.
Instantly, Kali perked up. “Excellent.” She pulled out some papers seemingly from out of nowhere and placed them on the table in front of us. They appeared to be maps. “Now, here are the best places nearby.”
The edges of Raja’s lips turned down again. “What if I don’twantto go somewhere nearby?”
Kali returned his frown. “You should. I still don’t want you wandering too far off.”
Raja sputtered. “That was the whole point of me getting married!”
“Remember those poachers?” Kali asked pointedly. “They’re still around. All the locations I’ve marked off for you are far away from them, but not too far.”
They’re talking about the poachers again,I thought. Raja still hadn’t explained what that meant. Were there people after him? Again, it didn’t seem like the right time to ask.
“I’m not gonna live my life in fear of some poachers I ran intoonetime,” Raja protested. “And besides, look, Lorenzo is right here with me, and he’s strong as hell. He’ll protect me from anything and anyone. Right, Lorenzo?”
He shot me a pleading glance.
“Of course,” I replied with a firm nod. “It’s my duty to protect my mate. Nothing will happen to him under my care.”
Those were the magic words his mother wanted to hear. She sighed and smiled. “Okay. I trust you, Lorenzo.”
Raja sighed in relief. The gratitude on his face was unmistakable.
“Will you at least take the maps?” Kali asked, offering them to me instead since her son wanted nothing to do with them.
“Yes, thank you.” I smiled and took the maps. Even if Raja didn’t want them, a map was always a good thing to have.
“Well, after breakfast, I won’t bother you two anymore,” Kali announced, putting her hands up. “But since it’s still breakfast: Raja, I expect you to finishallof those mangos on your plate.”
Raja groaned. “Mom!”
* * *
After packingour belongings for a few days, picking out the location, and reassuring Raja’s mother that we would stay safe and I would protect her son, we set out for the seaside cabin.
