Page 82 of Glitz & Goals

The photo ops feel like they go on for a million years. I can smell the food Cooper and his staff have put out, but there’s no way in hell I can reach the table through this throng. A few of the servo-bots make a valiant effort to play butler, but it’s a shitshow. People want pictures of Lenyx, and they want to buy the very limited amount of exclusive new merch, and they’re all screaming, and I’m already over it.

I can’t believe my faux boss signed this kid without even consulting me. If nothing else, I should have been in the loop. But if he can play at the NHL level, I guess I’ll forgive all of them.

I take Vivian’s arm and shout over her head in Noah’s general direction. “We have to let Blade out! See you next week for dinner?”

My future father-in-law gives me a mute thumbs up over the heads of the crowd.

I try to do a body block to make sure that nobody elbows Vivian on our way to the door. At least Dante and Sergio are so busy that they won’t notice us leaving. Unfortunately, it’s going to be an uphill battle.

I swing around when someone grabs my arm, but it’s only Cooper. He hooks his thumb toward the back of the restaurant. “You can use the back exit, past the kitchen!” he hollers.

I grin and mouth,Thank you. The perks of knowing the staff, I guess.

Our retreat is much easier than I feared. Vivian and I both breathe a sigh of relief when we step out into the alley.

“I couldn’t wait to get out of there,” she admits.

I slide my arm around her waist. “I couldn’t wait to get you alone.”

“This is the off-season. We’re always alone.”

This is not strictly true. Now that I’m not always on the road, Vivian’s friends and family come and go in a steady stream, helping me unpack, helping her move in, helping set up the new Gnome Gloam, and helping plan the wedding… I’m grateful for them, but we don’t get much downtime.

As if to illustrate my point, Vivian spends most of the drive home weighing the pros and cons of possible wedding venues.

“Getting married at the Mona Lisa is practically Venom tradition,” she muses. “But is that too predictable? Maybe we should pick somewhere outside the city?”

“Most of our guests live in the city.”

“I know. I keep thinking we could do something different, but the Mona Lisa is so convenient… and Dante offered us a really good discount…”

“If there’s someplace more expensive that you really want to go, that’s no problem,” I remind her. “It doesn’t seem like any of the other venues have thrilled you, though. It seems like you’re drawn to the Mona Lisa, but you don’t want people to think you’re being unoriginal.”

Viv groans and lets her head roll back. “Oh, my God, I’m doing it again, aren’t I? I’m making it more complicated than it needs to be.”

I reach over to lay one hand on her knee. “You’re making sure that you know what you want before you commit. Nothing wrong with that.”

She layers her fingers over mine. “Thank you. I’m sorry if I’m being over the top about this.”

“It’s a big deal. I plan to be married to you for the rest of my life. If you ever get married again, you’ll be at least eighty-six, and you won’t have the energy for all this planning.”

Viv snorts. “You’re ridiculous. If you die before me, I’m not getting married again. My pussy will end up moldy, and I’ll meet you in heaven with a crusty vag, so be prepared.”

“Thanks for that visual, fiancée. You don’t have to decide right now, anyway. Weren’t you looking at a place near Red Rocks?”

“Yeah.” She squeezes my hand. “Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

At the house, I let Blade out to pee. Vivian follows me to the back door and gives me a little nudge forward. “Will you be joining him?”

I blink. “What?”

“I hear you have a habit of peeing in the backyard.” Her smile widens to a wicked grin.

“No.” I cover my face. “Oh, my God. You mean that blackmail material my sisters gave you? Because I’m pretty sure they failed to mention we had one bathroom and there was always a woman in it.”

“Good thing you have six bathrooms now.” She bends down to pat Blade as he trundles through the door, looking mighty pleased with himself. Since he’s calmed down a lot with most people, I don’t bother closing him in his room all the time these days. Instead of aiming for the hall, he makes a beeline for the couch.

---