“Don’t make it too extravagant,” Jono warned, walking over to deposit Lillian onto Patrick’s lap.
“I won’t,” Sage promised sweetly, with a glint in her eyes that toldJono it probablywouldbe extravagant—for them—and she’d expect them to like it.
Jono winced and looked away, catching Patrick’s eye. His lover looked back with a desperate expression on his face and mouthedElope?at him.
“I’d like to live to see our honeymoon,” Jono said.
“Don’t eventhinkabout eloping. I will confiscate every last form of ID you both have,” Sage promised, clearly a mind reader, a talent she’d picked up once Lillian started walking.
“What’s eloping?” Lillian asked.
“It’s when we escape your mother’s clutches,” Patrick said blithely.
Lillian let out a dramatic gasp she must have learned from Wade. “Why would you want to escape Mom? She’s the best!”
Jono threw back his head and laughed at her clearly affronted tone. He shared a fond look with Patrick over her head. “That she is.”
Marek came out of the kitchen just then, holding a pot that smelled like the fried zucchini pasta he’d been eating often since he and Sage had returned from a weeklong vacation in Italy the other month. Jono had no idea what it was called, but it was good.
“Honey, stop terrorizing your alphas and put your torture instrument away,” Marek said.
Sage sighed but did as asked. She and Marek always made it a point to share at least one meal a day as a family, and half the time, it included someone from the pack at their table. “You both have suit fittings tomorrow afternoon. I’ll email you the location. Don’t be late.”
“What if I had work?” Patrick asked, getting to his feet and carrying Lillian with him to the table.
“I’m throwing enough money at the designer they’d have stayed open until midnight if I asked.”
Being married to a billionaire meant Sage had access to an amount of money that was still difficult to comprehend sometimes. That she had her own successful career as an attorney outside the pack was impressive as well, her expertise in the law something that had gotten them out of plenty of corners over the years.
Patrick set Lillian in her chair next to Sage. Wade immediately took the other spot, grinning at her and pretending to tickle her to get her to laugh. He sat down opposite them, and Patrick joined him. Marek came back a second time with a platter of baked chicken breasts, and Sage followed him with a casserole dish of steamed green beans.
“Do we get to help with anything?” Jono asked as he set about serving himself some of the pasta before passing the pot to Patrick.
“I have it covered,” Sage said.
“What about the cake?” Patrick asked.
“That’s my job,” Wade said.
“Will there be any left for the wedding?”
“Oh ha, ha.”
“I’ll be with him,” Riordan said.
“I have a plan,” Sage said firmly. “It will go exactly how I want before the news gets wind of it. I want you both to have some peace during the ceremony.”
Jono reached beneath the table and gripped Patrick’s thigh for a moment. Neither of them liked dealing with the media, but that was their role as alphas of a god pack. After the Battle of Samhain and then when Patrick returned, they hadn’t gotten a moment of peace for months. The media had followed them everywhere for a while, making it difficult to help the packs under their protection like they were supposed to.
Things had eventually settled down, but Jono could see interest ramping back up again once people found out about the wedding. It didn’t help that the hostage situation yesterday had made national news, and they were once again playing hide-and-seek with the paparazzi.
Sage must have seen something on his face because she offered him a soft, comforting smile. “Don’t worry. It will be a private affair if I have to sue people into bankruptcy to get it.”
Patrick snorted, but the scent that came off him was quietly pleased and relieved. Jono gave his thigh a gentle squeeze before letting go to finish serving up his plate as the food got passed around.
“We appreciate your help,” Jono said.
Sage waved off his thanks. “That’s what pack is for. Oh, and Patrick? You’re picking up Nadine tomorrow morning from the airport.”
