“Actually, that’s what I wanted to tell you,” Lucien said, straightening. “Kai and I set a date.”
I wanted to give him shit, but he just looked so damn happy that I couldn’t find it in me to hate on his news.
“Congrats, man,” I said, grasping his hand and pulling him in to clap him on the back.
“Aren’t you supposed to send that in writing?” Lachlan said. “Like a?—”
“Save-the-date?” Lucien finished for him. “Yeah, but knowing the way one of us is always out of the country, I figured the sooner I told you, the better.”
He wasn’t wrong about that, and I moved back to the keyboard to pull up my calendar. “When’ll it be?”
“A month from today.”
I let out a low whistle as I marked the day as busy. “Not wasting any time.”
“Well, it was the only day Father Vitale had availability.”
My fingers froze, hovering over the keyboard, and I slowly lifted my head. “You askedhim?”
“Of course. Who else would I ask?”
“Anyone,” I said, shoving to my feet. “Literally anyone else.”
Lucien’s brow creased, like he was taken aback by my response, but fuck that. He knew better.
He doesn’t really know anything,the little voice in the back of my brain reminded me, but I pushed that thought away.
“Besides,” I said, “he’s Catholic. He can’t officiate shit for you.”
“Not officially at the church, no. But he’s making an exception for us. For Kai.”
It felt like another blow to my chest, and after the last twenty-four hours, it was the last thing I’d wanted to hear. I couldn’t seeRafael at a wedding. Especially spouting vows for two men when he couldn’t even…
I swallowed hard and dropped my gaze to the floor to get a hold of myself, to breathe through the irrational anger rising inside me.
“I thought you’d be okay with it,” Lucien said, a little more gently than before. “You’ve been talking to him regularly?—”
I let out a loud, sharp laugh that had his mouth snapping shut.“Talking,” I repeated. “Is that what you’d call it?”
Lucien glanced at Lachlan and back at me, frowning. “Is something going on?”
“No.” The word came out too fast, before he’d even finished asking, and he narrowed his eyes.
“That wasn’t convincing?—”
“Drop it,” I snapped.
What had been a teasing, chill atmosphere had suddenly turned tense, but if Lucien was bothered by my threat, he didn’t show it. Instead, he looked curious.
“It’s what Kai wants,” he said finally. “He trusts him. And we don’t know any other priests.”
“I could’ve given you an introduction.” I folded my arms over my chest and tried to keep my emotions in check. I needed to stop giving myself away. I’d done too much of that already, and the last thing I wanted was to spill my guts to these two as well.
“Alessio.” Lucien waited until I met his eyes to continue. “You need to work that out. Whatever it is. Don’t let it consume you.”
There was no judgment in his tone, no accusation.
It made me feel like shit.
