Page 62 of Beyond the Darkness

“Money well spent,” Hudson replied, leaning back in his desk chair. They were working from Hudson’s home office today. “What do you have on the agenda?”

“Now that we have the venue confirmed, I’m going to start searching for a wedding planner. I’m also going to order the invitations since we know the time and date,” Connie said.

“Smart.”

“I also want to get the flowers taken care of as quickly as possible, then we need to make plans about ordering a wedding cake. Usually, that involves going somewhere and tastingdifferent types of cakes,” Connie said. “And don’t you dare say you’re fine with whatever Kit and I want.”

“I am, but I know Kit will still want me to go.”

“Of course. He wants you to be a part of this. It’s also your wedding.”

“I know. And I will happily go and eat whatever cake they put in front of me. Spending time with my mates is not a hardship, I promise you,” Hudson said.

“Excellent attitude. That’ll probably keep you out of trouble.” Connie smirked. “Also, check your itinerary. You have some emails you need to answer, a few contracts to look over, and then a conference call at two p.m. I’ll be in and out checking on you while I also take care of some wedding plans.”

“Sounds good to me.”

As Connie exited the room, Hudson took a moment to stretch his legs and stare out the window. Such a lovely morning. The sky was a clear blue. It kind of reminded him of the blue pant suit Kit had worn to work this morning.

He then settled back in front of his computer. Nothing required them to go into the city, so they were working from home. The first thing he did was write up everything he knew about that bookstore and the tunnels they had stumbled across. Then, he added the pictures Connie had sent him of the underground lake. Once done, he sent everything in an email to all the leaders of San DeLain.

Next, he clicked through his emails, which ranged from mundane corporate updates to more urgent requests requiring his immediate attention.

Just as he was drafting a reply to a particularly thorny issue regarding one of his overseas facilities, his phone buzzed, Kit’s name flashing on the screen. Hudson couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he picked up the call.

“Hey, babe, what’s up?” Hudson greeted.

“Just wanted to check on how the venue deal went. Connie texted me and said it was secured for November seventeenth, but I wanted to hear it from you.” Kit’s voice was bright and teasing on the other end.

“It’s all sorted. I didn’t have to threaten anything too dastardly,” Hudson replied, satisfied with the morning’s achievements.

“Oh God, did you really? You know what? No. I don’t want to know what you had to do to get that date. I’m better off not knowing. But thank you. It means a lot to me.”

“Anything for you,” Hudson said sincerely. “How’s your day going?”

“Good, good. Just doing some last-minute errands for the book signing this Saturday,” Kit said. “Austin always draws a crowd, so I want the place to look nice. I’ve got Beckett and some of the other staff members cleaning.”

“Please tell me you have Beckett in an apron or something like that,” Hudson joked.

“I wish, because I would certainly take pictures and send them to you and Connie.” Kit giggled. “But they are certainly working up a sweat. Beckett is already grumbling about how I can pay him in sweets. I had no idea he had such a sweet tooth.”

“Speaking of sweets, I hear that Connie is going to start looking into booking a bakery for the wedding cake. He wants to schedule a tasting for us as soon as possible.”

“I have some ideas on that too. I’ll share them tonight at dinner,” Kit said.

“Good. Make sure you tell Beckett about all the delicious samples we’ll get to try,” Hudson said.

“You’re so mean. I love it,” Kit admitted with a chuckle. “Looking forward to that. Also, we need to talk about if we’re going on a honeymoon.”

“We will do that, but it may not be immediately because, well, you know. There is a certain situation that needs to be handled before I feel it’d be safe enough,” Hudson said.

“I completely understand.”

The conversation shifted from there to lighter topics—the wedding guest list they still had to start, then finalize, potential honeymoon destinations, and what, if anything, they wanted to do after dinner.

When they finally hung up, Hudson felt recharged and ready to tackle the conference call and the contracts Connie had reminded him about. With renewed focus and determination, Hudson dove back into his workday. After responding to the most urgent emails, Hudson prepared for the conference call.

He dialed in, greeting each participant by name with his usual charm and efficiency. The discussion was vigorous, revolving around a new business venture that needed careful strategizing and innovative ideas to launch successfully.

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