“It marks you as off-limits to any of the other families, declaring you as ours,” I say, trying to find a way to make it sound less scandalous.
“At the end of the party, all the guests leave except for the other family heads,” Patrick says calmly. “We claim you as ours. They witness it to validate the claiming, and we all go home and pretend it never happened.”
“They watch while we have sex?” Charlotte asks, turning to face Patrick.
I slide my hands over her hips, keeping contact so she can’t run. “No recording devices are allowed. It’s carefully locked down.”
“It really only needs to be one of us.” Patrick shrugs. “But if you want to put on a show, you can take all three of us and really set the bar for whoever has their claiming ceremony next.”
Charlotte leans back against my chest and laughs. “And you were going to warn me about this when?”
“We’ve had a lot going on,” Patrick says. “I actually discussed the possibility of canceling the party with Wilder. That’s why hewas here. He reminded me how important it is that we make some kind of announcement about breaking the contract with the Chapmans. It’ll also be the perfect opportunity for us to introduce our fiancée.”
“That’s you,” I tell her, bending to kiss her temple from behind.
Charlotte snorts. “No way, I never would have guessed. Well, I guess you gentlemen better get to asking. I haven’t said yes yet.” With that, she pulls out of my hold and walks to the door. “I need to check on my kid.”
“Our kid,” I call out after her.
“Yep, just as soon as there’s a ring on my finger.” She holds up her empty left hand, laughs, and leaves Patrick’s office.
I scratch my beard, turning back to Patrick. “That went better than I was expecting.”
He snorts. “You poor, dumb bastard.”
“What am I missing?” I ask, baffled.
“You came in here to get laid. Not one of us is getting our dick wet.” He laughs. “We need a monster-sized rock. I want everyone’s jaws to drop when they spot her engagement ring.”
That makes two of us.
Well, I guess it’s time to start ring shopping.
The warehouse the Boston families use for parties is considered neutral ground. On occasion, someone will choose to host at their home, but I’m not big on having enemies in my safe space.
Fine, they’re not all strictly adversaries.
Though, I’d be hard-pressed to call them friends.
The wordwarehouseis a bit of a misnomer. It’s been completely renovated inside with an entryway with coat closetsand weapon storage lockers. Once the guests stow what they need to, they’re ushered through the metal detectors, patted down, and gone over with the wands. The security at the entrance is handled by a neutral third party that has allegiance to no one outside of Wilder. They give everyone the same treatment.
Once the guests step into the ballroom, the host family’s security takes over. So it’s our responsibility to stock the ballroom with enough of our guys to ensure any problems are quickly squashed.
In the same vein, all the decorations and event planning is left up to the host. While the facilities always remain the same, there are changes in decor and layout that happen with every party.
Since we won’t be serving more than snacks and appetizers, the dining room just past the ballroom has been converted into the space where the claiming ceremony itself will take place.
It has a stage against the back wall where speeches are given, and we’ve opted to have the bed placed on it rather than removing the tables and chairs from the dining room floor. This will allow the viewers to have an unobstructed view, but it will also put some much-needed space between us and them.
I can’t believe my fathers went through thistwice. Once is enough to give me an ulcer. Trying to find ways to strategically cover Charlotte without risking invalidating the claiming is about to send me over the edge.
Patrick spends most of the next few days at the venue, ensuring everything is set up to his specifications.
Cormac and I prep the men on what to expect and who will be allowed to stay for the claiming itself. The latter is a balancing act. We need men we trust to be present for safety reasons and to scan the crowd to make sure there are no recording devices or anyone doing anything disgusting. At the same time, I hate the thought of any of our guys seeing Charlotte that way.
We just have to make it through tonight, and we can finally get started with our lives. Steve and Miles flew out yesterday, and I couldn’t have been more ecstatic.
Only, we then got roped into a final meeting with Vanessa’s brothers and Wilder. It was boring but necessary. They have sixty days to remit payment or propose some type of payment plan. Either way, that’s a problem for the future.
