Page 183 of Beau and the Beast

“Fuck you,” he said, smiling. “Are you chopping or what?”

She set to work, stepping over to the cutting board that Beau had set up.

“Who all’s coming tonight?” she asked.

“Song, James, Alfie, and Geoffrey—“

“Naturally. You know if you ever offer food, they’re going to come. You spoiled the hell out of us.”

“Jeremy—the centaur who just moved in downstairs.”

“Oh, nice.”

“Richie and Eleanor said they might come. Ferryn will be here if her flight’s on time. Oh—and Janet is supposed to come.”

“Do I know her?”

“I’m not sure,” Beau said. “I don’t think she’s been to the center yet. She’s a wendigo, new in town.”

“Well, I’ll be pleased to make her acquaintance.”

There had been an adjustment period for Violet, of course. Maybe it came naturally to Beau, the ability to treat everyone equally without batting an eye about horns, fangs, feathers, tentacles, or extra heads. Either he had an incredible poker face or he simply wasn’t fazed.

But working at the center, Violet had gotten to know so many incredible non-human people that she no longer even thought about it. There was no real difference between having a conversation with her sister or a satyr, in the end.

* * *

Wolfram and Noahshared a taxi on the way back to 330 East. As the meeting stretched on, Noah had noticed Wolfram looking more and more often to his wristwatch, antsy for them to leave and go home.

It was all he could do not to laugh and clap Wolfram on the shoulder. He loved seeing how much Wolfram loved his brother, how worried he was about making sure that everything was perfect.

Noah had liked Wolfram from the first moment they met.

Beau had done everything he could to prepare Noah, explaining the curse, what had happened, who Wolfram had been and who he was now. He’d described the way Wolfram looked and assured Noah that he need not be scared.

But all of the preparation had been unnecessary. When he met Wolfram, the only thing Noah could think wasOf course this is the man Beau has chosen to love. The situation was illogical and wonderfully strange, just like his brother always had been.

And it was easy to see how good they were for each other.

So when Wolfram had approached him the week before to talk about his plan to ask Beau to marry him, Noah had been only too delighted.

“I know that typically, a man is expected to go to the parents of the person he intends to marry to ask for their blessing,” Wolfram had said. “But you’re the part of Beau’s family that matters, and you’re the one I want to speak to.”

Noah had ruined whatever speech Wolfram had prepared because he was too busy laughing and crying and shaking Wolfram’s hand and telling him yes—yes, of course I want you to marry my brother!

* * *

When Wolframand Noah stepped through the doors, they were greeted by the sounds of bubbling conversation and laughter in the back of the condo.

Wolfram’s senses lit up, recognizing the smell of people—his friends—along with Ferryn, another unfamiliar centaur, two satyrs, and someone who might have been a bear but could just as easily have been something else.

“We’re not late, are we?” he asked, looking back to Noah as he took off his jacket and leaned on his cane.

“Not at all. But you know people always show up early and stay late when Beau throws a party,” Noah said.

And it was true. In the fourteen months since Beau had broken them from their prison, he’d entertained enthusiastically and often. His dinner parties had become notorious at the center and in the neighborhood, and invitations were coveted by people who were outside the inner circle of Beau, Wolfram, his brother and brother in law, and the staff who had been with them in the penthouse.

“Ah, there they are!” Lincoln said, delighted as Noah and Wolfram stepped into the room. He crossed quickly to slap Wolfram on the back and catch Noah in a kiss. “We were just talking about you.”

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