Page 8 of Treasured By 3

“Right, and the bride and groom are?” she asks, flushing as she looks at us.

“All of us. We’re right here,” Valerie states, without a trace of worry. “I’m the bride. These three are the grooms. We’re thrilled.”

“Very ... very well, the deposit is-” she starts.

I hand her my card before Hunter can. She nods again. “One ... just one second, please.”

“Asshole, I’m reserving the caterer,” Hunter growls.

“No fighting. There are plenty of costs to go around,” Valerie insists.

“And next to nothing for you to pay for,” Lief says as he pulls her back against him. “You’ll be outvoted.”

She huffs, but continues looking around. Valerie slips out of a shoe and dips her toes in the water, giggling. “It’s perfect. It is. The staircase, the study, the antique windows and luxurious hallways. It’s better than a Victorian house.”

I take her hand and pull her back from the water. “Are you happy?”

“I’d be happier if we were doing set up now. Oh, I have to get a dress,” she whispers.

I glance at Hunter and Lief. Valerie’s lips tick down, but she catches it and smiles at us. “That will be fun for Sophie, Danny and me to do.”

“Danny?” Hunter asks.

“Oh, that’s Sophie’s sister-in-law. I’ve met her a few times, and she’s cool. I’ll invite Elaine and Josephine ... and Vanya,” she nods like that, tics everything off the list.

I meet her eyes, but don’t bring up her mother. “What about Tristan?”

“Nope. Girls only,” she says, tapping my nose. “But good try, trying to get him to spy.”

“You’re really going to make us wait until our wedding to see you?” Hunter groans.

Valerie slips back into her shoe. “I am. It’s good luck.”

“You’re killing me,” he groans.

“And none of you get to see what I’ll be wearing under it until the night of.” She wiggles against me until I stop her hips.

Lief grins. “Maybe we’ll have to surprise you, too.”

She gapes, argues, but the woman returns with my card. “Well, we will see you all at the end of April. Here’s the date, my phone number since I’ll help coordinate all the décor, the caterer, and everything else. My name is Zoey.”

Her eyes go to Lief again and I note the blatant lust there. Compared to the almost immediate turn-off girls get from him, it’s kind of strange. Lief nods. “Appreciated.”

“Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions, if you need to set up photography sessions, or if you just have any questions,” she says in a breathy voice.

Lief just nods once. I swear, the girl nearly comes the second his eyes meet hers. Weird. Hunter’s too distracted with our fiancée to notice, and Valerie either doesn’t notice or is picking her battles.

We head to the bakery that was highly recommended. Lief scrolls through the reviews. “How many cakes are we eating?”

“We’retastingten cakes. I figure we’ll each try two and eliminate, and continue from there. If we don’t all like it, there’s no reason to have it. Also, I saw this new thing where the top layer is for us and the rest is for the guests, so I think that will be fun. We can make sure that it’s a flavor that others will like,” Valerie says.

“And we are not doing the cake throwing thing,” Hunter says. “I’m sure I’ll already be having trouble keeping my hands to myself at the ceremony and reception. I don’t need a reason to lick you, Dorogaya.”

“Cute to think you’d be the one doing the licking, Krolik,” she says, winking at him.

He groans. “I’m fucking you at that venue.”

“Agreed,” I say in her ear. “I don’t care how many layers you wear.”

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