Page 56 of Lau Ahi
“Well, if you need a venue all I need is your date. There are enough Warren properties all over the country that we should have something available. Especially if you do something that is borderline winter time.” Nev was being messy and helpful in giving me free rein of their venue.
“Oh, that would be so pretty! You like the color blue anyway so we could have a winter wonderland theme.”
“Apparently that has been done in their circle once before.”
“How do you know that?”
“Oh, you’re right. I heard about JJ’s wedding. Definitely can’t do that again.” Tee was nodding and now I wondered just how many of these people she knew.
“And whom, pray tell, is JJ?” My sister was frowning at the camera because she hated not to have information on people. She was like the Spider fromGame of Thrones. She had plenty of intel on just about every major power broker there was. Her not having any information on Ori had me thinking he was just that good at covering his tracks. That made me feel better about the life he led. At least his name wasn’t being circulated out and about for all to see.
“I have searched every iteration of the name Ori Nakoa and I can’t find a single photo of him. So again, let me stop while I’m behind because this is feeling like more spy shit.”
Teegan closed her laptop and folded her arms across her chest, protecting herself from whatever we had going on.
“Okay, well now we need a picture of the groom so that I can determine if our genetics would blend well.” Sasha was looking at her screen and instinctively I knew she was waiting for me to do exactly what she was asking.
“Sasha, you’re not the bride.”
“Do you honestly think thatAshais gonna give a damn about anything that’s going on with this wedding?”
Two sets of brows rose in understanding and I just giggled as I continued to sip out of my bottle of wine.
“You’re not going to impede progress are you?” My twin knew me better than anyone so her question was valid.
“Nope. I’m here for the long haul. But they have someone who does a lot of their wedding planning.”
Nev nodded and I was sure she knew who the planner was. “Oh, Jada. Yeah, she does beautiful work.”
“What are her qualifications? I know that you’re saying things as if they’re absolutes but I need you to remember that our mother will do her best to make your life hell if every detail isn’t perfect. Not that I think you give a damn about what she thinks, but the last thing I want is for this time for you to be terrible. It might not be magical, but I don’t want it to be miserable either.”
“Thank you. And she really does beautiful work. Midas’ cousin is getting married next month and she pulled together ideas that I’ve never seen before. She’s incorporating his Persian heritage with his mother’s Creole background so beautifully. So I think she could do a great job with the two of you.” Nev was looking excited and I couldn’t understand why she hadn’t had a wedding of her own. Midas told her she could have whatever she wanted but she didn’t bother. Of course she kept getting pregnant so that probably had something to do with it.
“Well, let me know how that goes and take photos.”
“You’ll be there so I won’t need to.”
I couldn’t have heard her right and put down my wine bottle thinking I’d had too much to drink and wasn’t lucid. “Nev, you can’t just invite me to someone else’s wedding.”
“I’m sure that you’ll be getting an invitation soon. This will be the first time that people are getting a chance to look at her so I guarantee they’re going to be more than interested to see who Ori is going to be with.”
“I’m not a spectacle. A bloody mare for inspection. Christ, this sounds like something I’m going to be sick for.”
“Won’t matter. I’m sure they’ll have some magic cure that will heal you. Ask him. He’ll tell you that when the family gathers you’re expected to come. Birth and death are the only excuses and they have an on-call OBGYN so that first one is shaky.” She shrugged, my attendance was seemingly a foregone conclusion.
“You must be joking.”
“Ask your fiancé the next time you see him. Frankly, I can’t wait to see how the two of you interact.” The smug look on her face was grating on my nerves and souring the wine in my stomach.
Sasha’s lips were in a pout as she folded her arms over her chest. “How is it fair that you get a front-row seat but I’m relegated to the sidelines?”
“I mean… you could always marry in. Then you’d be right there with us. Tee would too if she gave Omega a chance.”
“Hard pass. You forget I do the psych evals on everyone in the company. He passed with flying colors.” Teegan shuddered and she had good cause.
My eyes bugged out at her words because that was a giant red flag.
“Why does Asha look worried? Why is everyone alarmed?” Sasha was staring at the screen in mild panic and Teegan wasn’t saying anything.
