Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Oliver blinked awake to morning sunlight. With a jaw-cracking yawn, he rolled over and reached for Dave. The other side of the bed was empty. The sheets were cool. Oliver squinted as he took in the room, everything blurry without his glasses. No sign of Dave anywhere, but he did smell coffee.
He yawned again as he plucked his glasses from their case.
Checking his phone, he found a text from Robin that had come in sometime late last night.
Leaving it for later, he got up, stretched, and dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.
After a stop in the bathroom, he headed for the kitchen.
Dave sat at the table, his head in hands, phone on the table before him.
A cup of coffee sat by his elbow, and from the lack of steam rising, Oliver determined it had been poured a while ago and forgotten.
“Morning, handsome.”
Dave gave him a tired smile. “Morning.”
Oliver placed a kiss among the corkscrews of his hair. “Whatcha doing?”
“Trying to find a place for us to get married. Do you think we could fit fifty people here in the apartment?”
“I don’t even want to imagine it.” Oliver poured himself coffee and held up the pot. “Need a warm up?”
“Oh.” Dave sampled the coffee and made a face. “Yes, please. Forgot I even poured it.”
Oliver got down a fresh cup, filled it, and took both to the table where he sat across from Dave. “Having any luck with the suggestions Demetrius and Cody gave us last night?”
“Nope.” Dave took a drink. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Not just for the coffee,” Dave said. “For rolling with all of this despite the craziness you’ve got going on.”
“What, being marked by ancient, unknown spores, accused of murder, and stalked by a homicidal mummy?” Oliver gave a dismissive wave. “Just another late spring semester at Bishop Point University.”
Now more on his way to fully awake, Oliver read Robin’s text. “Huh.”
“What?” Dave’s face paled.
“No, nothing bad. Robin sent a venue suggestion text last night.”
“I don’t think their sister and brother-in-law will want us to use their backyard.”
“Even better.” Oliver leaned in slightly. “The botanical gardens at the university.”
“What?” Dave sat back, eyes wide. “Are they serious?”
“Seems to be.”
“The botanical garden attached to the building where you both helped set a murderous mummy loose on the campus? That botanical garden?”
“I mean, it’s not the worst idea.” Oliver shrugged. “Campus police have upped officers and patrols. And I know Detective Carter will be snooping for evidence to pin all of this on me. There’d be a lot of police protection.”
“Which is exactly why we shouldn’t even contemplate it.” Dave scrubbed his hands up and down his face before resting his chin in his palms. “Should we?”
“We could go talk to the garden staff members after my class today, see if it’s even available.
” Oliver checked the messages again. “Robin says their summer calendar is usually pretty open because only summer classes are in session, and most couples don’t want to get married in a university botanical garden. ”
“They’re not wrong.” Dave thought a moment, his brows drawn down.
“I don’t like the idea of being so close to all those murders.
But you’ve got a point about the security and Detective Carter.
” He shrugged. “Hell, we could even tell him what we’re doing so he can crash the party to keep you in his sights. ”
“I like the way you think, Mr. Bower.”
“Let’s test that theory with my next thought.” Dave closed one eye and wrinkled his nose. “How about if I ask Cody and Demetrius to meet us there?”
Oliver opened his mouth, an objection ready, but then paused. It actually made sense to get another opinion, since both had taken on the role of best man. “I think that’s a good idea.”
Dave’s eyebrows shot up. “Yeah? Okay. I’ll send Cody a text right now.”
“So we’re clear, I don’t hate your brother.”
Dave chuckled as he typed. “Nobody would blame you for it.”
“It’s just that he’s…”
“A stubborn man-child but also fiercely protective of the people he loves and has a generous heart?”
Oliver laughed. “It’s almost like you read my mind.”
“No, I grew up with him.” Dave leaned back in the chair, smiling. “Cody said they’ll meet us there.”
“It feels a little over the top.” Cody stared into a giant fuchsia bloom big as his head that sat atop a stem equal to his height.
Oliver ignored him. He turned slowly, taking in the setting.
Plants of all varieties crowded their beds, some with massive leaves in a range of greens.
A riot of blooms in different colors and sizes poked through, blazing above the leaves like fireworks.
The beds surrounded a stone patio—large enough for at least a hundred chairs—with multiple stone pathways curving off into the dense foliage.
The air was pleasantly damp and fragrant with the scents of roses and lilies and other flowers.
He faced the back wall, condensation clouding the corners of each pane of glass. It was easy to imagine Dave and himself standing in that spot, hands clasped as they recited their vows.
“Yep, you found it. This is pretty much the perfect spot for the ceremony to take place.” Chris, a cute, bearded staff member, spread his arms to indicate the full area.
“This is really beautiful,” Dave said.
“You have bees in here?” Cody asked.
“Hey, let’s go see what’s down here.” Demetrius took Cody by the hand.
“What? I’m asking important questions. People might be allergic.”
“Come on, big guy. If you’re good, I’ll let you pollinate my stamen.”
Once Demetrius had led Cody out of sight, Chris smirked and shook his head. “We’ve caught so many couples having sex in here.”
“We can get fifty people in here?” Dave sounded cautiously hopeful.
“Oh, sure. Absolutely.”
“What about access points? Entry available only from within the hall?”
“There’s an emergency exit in the back wall. Going through it triggers an alarm. There are doors on either side, but the plants have kind of taken over each one, and we don’t use them anymore. ”
“And who would be responsible for setup and breakdown?” Dave asked.
“We do that. It’s part of the rental fee.” Chris’s brow furrowed. “Did your other venue fall through because you’re a same gender couple?”
“No,” Oliver said. “They were very open. Their sewer line collapsed, and the place flooded.”
Dave turned to Oliver. “What do you think?”
Chris smiled. “I’ll give you two a few minutes to talk.” He walked off, a pair of pruners in hand.
Oliver moved to the long edge of the patio in front of massive blooms in a range of colors. “This would be the perfect spot for us to exchange our vows.”
Dave stood across from him and reached out. Oliver took his hands and they smiled.
“You don’t think it will be too dangerous?” Dave asked.
“No more so than calling Roman to tell him the wedding’s postponed.”
That earned him a tired smirk.
“Here’s what I know.” Oliver squeezed Dave’s hands.
“We’ve been planning and anticipating being married for a long time.
I want to stand up in front of our family and friends and let everyone hear the strength of what we feel together.
I really want to be married to you. And I want it to happen on the date we’ve planned it. ”
Crinkles formed at the corners of Dave’s eyes as his smile widened. “I want that, too.”
“Then let’s book this place, right now.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely. Let’s split it between our credit cards.”
Dave’s scowl was adorable. “We don’t have to do that. I can put it on mine.”
“Has Gina sent back the deposit yet?”
“No, but it should arrive in the next couple of days.”
Oliver grinned. “This place is less expensive.”
“Now you’re working my frugal side?”
“I know what gets you going.” Oliver waggled his eyebrows.
“You absolutely do.” Dave held him close a moment. “All right, I’ll track down Chris. You go find Cody and Demetrius.”
“I’ll make plenty of noise as I approach.”
Oliver took his time, pausing now and then to inspect an interesting flower. There was a curve ahead, and he could hear Demetrius and Cody talking, their voices low. The topic seemed to be about what type of plant something might be, and he was grateful it wasn’t lovey-dovey talk.
He took a step toward the curve, then paused and looked behind him at deep green leaves—some half as tall as him—twisty vines, and a number of unfamiliar flowers. Had he heard something, or was it his imagination?
Shadows darkened the spaces between the leaves. Was it his imagination, or had something moved deep in the greenery?
He took a step back, his gaze locked on the plants.
Someone touched his shoulder. He jumped and turned, then let out his breath at the sight of Cody.
“God, you scared me.”
Cody was beside him in a second, fists clenched and jaw stuck out as he scanned the plants surrounding them. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I didn’t hear you come up behind me.” He blew out a breath. “I want to check something.”
Oliver approached the plant bed. Bracing a foot on the stone edging, he parted the leaves and slowly leaned forward. His heart banged, and his breath had caught in his throat. Any second the bandaged and sunken face of Amenmose could pop out, grab him, and drag him off into the dense foliage.
He leaned in a little farther.
“Ollie…”
“I’m okay…”
Oliver placed his foot on the soil of the bed. He stretched his neck and torso to see deeper into the greenery.
“What’s going on? Oliver?”
Demetrius’s voice made him jump. He retreated onto the path, forehead beaded with sweat and his pulse racing.
“Hey.” Demetrius touched Oliver’s arm. “What is it?”
“I don’t know, probably nothing, but…”
Cody stepped into the plants and disappeared.
“Cody, no!” Oliver called after him. His feet wouldn’t move.
“What’s he doing?” Demetrius approached the bed, then turned and lowered his voice. “Is it the mummy?”