I snorted. “If you saw what we did, you’d realize it yourself. Lachlan and Seiji are dating. Well, barely dating, but Lachlan’s completely gone on the man already.”
“Get out!They are not!”
“Not long, mind you. But yes, they are. And Lachlan looks at Seiji like he would battle hell itself for the man.”
Brandon tacked on, “And he’s acting like an anchor, although I don’t know if he realizes it. He’s protective of Seiji, guards his back, and was the one to carry him back when Seiji collapsed. It might take them a few months to work around to the idea, but I see the potential.”
“Would Lachlan immigrate for Seiji?”
Sylvia was clearly scheming things over there. “I think it’s too soon to ask that question. But if you want to maybe plan out a welcome packet to lure them into staying, I’d do it.”
“Hint taken. All right, you’ve cleared the ghost town in a single day—seriously, good job there—and now have Black Rock left. How long do you think that will take?”
“Longer,” I said with a sigh. “Just because we’re dealing with inhabited businesses and homes. We need to work around other people’s schedules. There’s a few problem spots, too, where I want Seiji to clear the energy. I think half of the reported hauntings are residual hauntings more than anything, and Seiji’s best suited to handle those. We believe we’ve gotten rid of all of Joey’s minions, but we don’t want the power vacuum to create a whole new ghost gang, so we’re intent on clearing this place.”
“How long do you expect it to take, though?”
I guessed I hadn’t answered her question. “Two, three weeks? Depending.”
“Okay, I’ll plan for three, just to be safe. Then give you an extra week to rest.”
“That sure would be appreciated.”
“Keep me posted, and hint to Seiji I would love to have him.”
“Will do.” I disconnected.
I had no idea if Seiji actually wanted to be a government grunt, but at least the option was open to him. If nothing else, he could continue to freelance with the FBI. I was just very invested in keeping him as a friend. He was a great guy.
Brandon leaned back and sighed deeply. “A good day today, but it was exhausting. Oh! I did steal a moment while we were waiting on the mine explorers to email the Crescent Hotel and ask about availability. She gave me a bunch of dates in response. Want to look them over?”
“Sure.” Locking in the date was the first step, really.
He shifted his phone to his left hand so I could comfortably see the screen too. I read through the welcome email and the list of dates, most of which were in spring or summer next year.
All except one.
“Mon cher, that’s a December date.”
“Huh. It is. December 2.” Brandon regarded it, then looked at me. “Is that too soon?”
It might be, but… “It’s damn tempting. Would we have time to pull a wedding together in one month?”
“I do like the idea of getting married the same month we met.”
Yes, that appealed to my romantic side as well. I wasn’t really one for pomp and ceremony—to me it made no sense to spend that much money on a single day—but I did want a party. This was a milestone well worth celebrating.
“I did hear from Lauren’s college friend who’s an event planner, but she’s booked for the next year.” Brandon indicated the phone screen. “They have a wedding planner on site who can handle it all for us.”
“Oh? Then I say we use them. They know everything about the options there anyway.”
“Also true. Should we lock it in, then?”
“Let’s do it. If it’s too much to handle in too short a time, we can always move the date out.”
“I’m all for it.” Brandon took control of the phone back and started typing up a response.
I looked at him, this sweet man who had moved the world for me several times, and I was so excited to marry him it felt like the emotion was a superball bouncing around inside of me. Funny how life could throw you plot twists. Two years ago, if you’d asked me what my life would look like, Brandon would never have come to mind. An anchor was a fantasy, never mind having a husband. I didn’t picture an amazing career withfriends I could rely on. I didn’t envision a cute apprentice to protect and guide. I didn’t think I’d live in a beautiful house.
