Page 55 of Charmed By Destiny

Luke laughed. “I like your hair.”

“Of course, the one thing that makes me look a hot mess. I was about to tell you how well those jeans suit you, but you’ve ruined my mood.”

“Congratulations on an eternity with Richard,” Gabe offered.

Richard pulled away but grabbed Luke’s hand. “You forgot to tell Lucas that if his soulmate was a necromancer, he’d be immortal too.”

“I wasn’t expecting to explain soulmates to anyone.”

“But you know how it works. Now, play nice or I won’t help Eric pack for your trip. He’ll probably put thirty shirts and zero pants in a suitcase. You’ll spend your entire honeymoon shopping for clothes so the man is presentable in public.”

“Not that I want to get involved in this disagreement, but the man is going on his honeymoon, why does he want his soulmate wearing pants?” Luke asked.

“Thank you,” Gabe replied. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“Come on, Lucas, we have an interrogation to attend, then I need to explain to you how loyalties work.”

“Congratulations again, Luke,” Gabe snickered.

“Ignore him. Thank fuck my brother is the one who has to deal with him for eternity.”

“Richard, be nice to Gabriel, he was married yesterday,” Rosalind demanded as she entered the foyer. “Lucas, we’re so pleased you could join us. Can I get you anything to drink?”

“I’ll grab you a beer,” Gabe said on his way out. “You’ll need it.”

“And I’m the one getting yelled at for not being nice,” Richard grumbled.

Luke remained nervous about the evening ahead, but he was also enjoying the easy camaraderie of the Marwoods. Did destiny believe he’d fit into their lives with ease? Luke hoped so; he wanted Richard to have happiness in every avenue of his life. And Luke dearly wanted to get to know everyone who was important to Richard.

Chapter 20

As Luke took a seat at the dining room table, he was caught between appreciating the kindness of the Marwoods and feeling fearful that he’d make a poor impression on them. Richard winked at him as he passed him a platter of mashed potatoes. They were new to being soulmates, but Luke couldn’t detect any awkwardness between himself and Richard.

Of course, he was also no expert on the necromancer, so he could’ve been wrong.

“Everything okay?” Richard asked as Luke piled roasted chicken on his plate.

Luke leaned toward Richard. “Nervous.”

“They don’t bite, I promise.”

“I’ll bite if I’m asked nicely,” Maribeth remarked with a grin.

“Just start asking Lucas your questions so he can relax,” Richard instructed.

“We’re not planning on interrogating the man,” Clark said.

“No, definitely not,” Rosalind added. “But we want to get to know him and learn about the plans you two have made.”

“Mom, we haven’t made any plans,” Richard replied. “We haven’t even had a day to process being soulmates.”

Rosalind narrowed her eyes at her eldest son. “Actually, I have some questions for you too, Richard. You were upset about Douglas and told us about Lucas because we were prodding you. When were you planning on telling us about finding your soulmate? Why didn’t you say a word at breakfast?”

“Because our breakfast was literally a precursor to Eric and Gabriel opening their wedding gifts,” Richard countered. “The last thing I wanted to do was make their weekend about me. Our plan was to talk to you and Mari tonight after Gabriel and Eric left for their honeymoon.”

Eric’s mouth dropped open. “You were going to keep it a secret from me and Gabriel?”

“Out of respect for your recent wedding, yes,” Richard answered.

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