Page 79 of Mystique of the Fallen
“This is really complicated,” Roman lamented as he tried to imagine Grant being swept off his feet with either an elegant night out or something laidback. “He’s only been resurrected for several months. Grant is still learning about what the world offers.”
“Then no matter what you do, make it an experience he hasn’t had yet,” Conley suggested. “You’re after memories and making him feel so loved, he’s enveloped in it like a blanket.”
“I guess I’m wowing him one way or another,” Roman replied.
“If you need wardrobe options, we have his uniform measurements on file,” Conley reminded him. “You can arrange for something to be tailored if necessary.”
“What if you chose something in the middle?” Samson asked. “Jeans and a sport coat.”
“With a lime-green button down,” Arvandus threw in.
Roman smiled as he pictured it in his head. “Liking that. Where do I take him?”
Pulling his phone out, Samson tapped on the screen. “So, I was looking into this cruise. Instead of a river, they do a dinner thing out in a bay. It just opened, and it’s run by the merpeople. They guarantee you’ll have views of merpeople. It’s not their home—they are way too private for that—but I assume they pay merpeople to swim in the bay during the cruises. I was going to take B and see how cool it is, then suggest it to Zane since Tiri is fascinated with mermen. You could check it out instead and let us know how awesome it is. They supposedly have hired a great chef.”
“Well, unfortunately, it’s no Henry Gennevios restaurant, but that doesn’t mean the food will suck,” Arvandus said. “This looks like fun.”
Roman skirted around the table as Conley hopped off his perch to get closer to Samson.
“Show me,” Roman requested. It was a two-hour cruise that included a menu with several appealing options. “Okay, I’m sold. Now, do I take him to a hotel afterward, or could we go home?”
“What if Drys and I snuck into your condo while you’re on the cruise? We could set out some champagne or whatever?” Conley asked.
“B is going to kill me for telling you this, but he’s experimenting with a recipe for key-lime-infused popcorn. He could make it for you guys that night.”
“And we can ask Killian and Dravyn to create a flower for you guys,” Arvandus suggested. “It’ll make your matebond ceremony special to use them a second time on that day.”
“This is why I dragged you guys in here,” Roman enthused. He couldn’t wait to see Grant’s face as he asked him to be his bonded mate. It hadn’t started out as his idea to pop that question yet, but he dearly wanted it. And Grant deserved to be swept off his feet a bit. “This is perfect. I hope he loves it.”
“He’s getting you,” Conley said. “Of course he’ll love it. Now, pick a date and give me instructions. I need to get downstairs before Drys murders me for leaving him alone with the Council all morning.”
“Thanks, I’ll get all the details to you once I have them,” Roman replied. He hugged Conley, and the Reverent Knight dashed out of the conference room.
“This is going to be great,” Arvandus predicted as he stood.
“You guys are the best, thanks for your help.”
“Now I have to think of a way to compensate B for telling you about the popcorn recipe,” Samson muttered as he rose and headed for their office. “He was saving that for your matebond ceremony.”
“Oh man, you’re in deep shit,” Arvandus replied.
“You’re a romantic person like your mate,” Roman said. “You’ll think of something to smooth things out.”
“Wow, Roman, thanks so much,” Samson replied, sarcasm so thick it was impossible to miss.
Roman tried a winning grin, but when that did nothing to change Samson’s baleful expression, he rushed to his desk and busied himself with his laptop.
“If I think of something to help you, I’ll let you know,” Roman called out helpfully.
“Please, he needed us for his own mate,” Arvandus scoffed.
“Right,” Samson agreed. “I’m not holding my breath for his help.”
A pithy response was on the tip of Roman’s tongue, but he refused to give in to the part of him that wanted to argue with his coworkers. They were probably right anyway. He was terrible at romantic planning. Thankfully, he had enough self-awareness to ask his friends for their aid. Now, Roman just had to pull off a night for Grant to remember fondly forever.
Chapter 28
It was Saturday, and Grant was ready to relax. For the past couple of weeks, he’d been inside his head wondering about his past and his connection to this Reginald character, or knee-deep in parade planning. Arranging security for such an enormous project was a monumental task, but Grant was aided by a great committee, and he was erring on the side of caution.
