Page 51 of Charmed By Destiny

“He’s annoyed with your father, not you. Gabriel dared mention business and wasn’t pleased by yet another diversion by us to keep everything focused on the wedding. Now, tell me what happened.”

“Mom?” Eric called out a second before he found them. “Have you seen Gabriel? Wait, what’s wrong, Richard?”

“Enough of this,” their mother said. “Let’s find everyone and have a chat in the kitchen.”

Richard allowed himself to be led to the kitchen. As promised, his mother located a scowling Gabriel and a curious Maribeth, and brought them along with Eric, Richard’s father, and David into the room with the stone-gray cabinets.

Gabriel tugged Eric close, and Richard nearly smiled at the sour look he gave Clark.

“Okay, secrets are done,” Rosalind announced. “We were going to wait until after dinner to tell you this, but Eric and Gabriel, you have one more thing to do today. You need to pack. The two of you are spending a week at the house in California. This is not optional. A car is picking you up. Work talk can wait until your honeymoon is over, understood?”

“I can’t argue against a week with Eric,” Gabriel replied. “Thank you for your thoughtfulness. But you could’ve told us instead of lecturing me about staying focused on the wedding this weekend when I asked a single question about work.”

“Rosalind made me swear not to spoil the surprise,” Clark protested.

“No fighting, gentlemen. Your gratitude isn’t necessary, Gabriel. All we want is for you and Eric to relax and enjoy yourselves. Weddings are stressful.”

Eric smiled. “Honestly, we barely did anything thanks to everyone here.”

“No thanks are necessary, we were happy to do it,” Rosalind said. “Now, Richard, since we’re no longer keeping secrets, is everything okay with Douglas?”

“Why did he slam the front door?” Gabriel asked.

“Wait, he did what?” Maribeth inquired. “First he needs to speak to you privately, and now he’s slamming doors. Did you two fight, Richard?”

Richard ran his hands over his face and acutely felt his lack of sleep as fatigue settled into his bones. “It wasn’t a fight. Douglas was angry. He believed something was between us, and I didn’t agree. I couldn’t lie to him, and he was understandably upset. Hopefully, we’re still friends.”

“Did he tell you he has feelings for you?” Gabriel inquired.

“Did you know?” Richard asked, his gaze widening. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know for sure, I wondered. But that was many months ago now. One of the nights at the club, I thought he had feelings for you. I never spoke about it with him. I thought if I was right, he would’ve acted on it by now. But nothing came of it, so I assumed I was wrong.”

“Again, why didn’t you mention it to me?” Richard demanded. “Maybe I could’ve changed the way I interacted with him so he’d know that I wasn’t interested in going to bed with him to find out if we’re soulmates!”

“Richard, I was assuming,” Gabriel insisted. “And if I’m being honest, I didn’t think about it again. I was dealing with my own shit.”

“And by shit, you mean finding out that you had a soulmate,” Eric remarked with a mischievous grin for Gabriel.

“Exactly that,” Gabriel replied.

“Richard, relationships are frightening,” his mother said. “But a soulmate is a beautiful thing. You deserve the happiness of a partner. Take a chance. A little risk can hurt sometimes, but you know there’s only one way to find your soulmate.”

Maribeth slung her arm around Richard’s shoulders. “Life is different for everyone. Richard has made it clear he doesn’t want to be involved with anyone. When he’s ready, he’ll try to find his soulmate, right, Richard?”

“It’s okay, Mari, I’m discovering quickly that secrets aren’t my thing,” Richard stated. “I told Eric and Mari I didn’t want a soulmate, but—”

“Richard, sometimes what we need isn’t what we want,” his father interrupted.

“Would it really be so bad to find your soulmate?” his mother asked. “You’ve been dear friends with Douglas for years. Think of all the time you spend together. Perhaps the universe or destiny is trying to tell you something. You’ll never know if you don’t take a chance.”

Richard glanced around the room and wondered what the fuck to do. Which was an absurd line of thinking. He had a single choice. And he hoped Lucas would forgive him for blurting out the truth.

“I can’t do that—”

“Richard, yes you can,” his mother insisted, her blue gaze growing annoyed. “Nothing is more important in life than your soulmate.”

“Please, just listen,” Richard countered, proud of his ability to speak so clearly through clenched teeth. He hadn’t expected days of such violent swings from one emotion to another after finding his soulmate, and he was over it. “I can’t have sex with Douglas to find out if he’s my soulmate. And before anyone gives me a million reasons why I’m wrong, let me ask you a question. How soon after you discover your soulmate does the equipment stop working for someone else? I need to be sure so I can give you every bit of information you need to stop arguing with me.”

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