Chapter 29
“Have you been to this restaurant before?” Cece asked as Briggs found a spot in the parking lot and shut off his truck.
“No, have you?”
“I haven’t.” Cece glanced at her phone before turning to Briggs. “Are you sure it’s okay that I go to this?”
Briggs nodded. “Ronin specifically invited you as well.”
“Are you close to Ronin?” Cece asked. “Is that why he invited us for dinner?”
“No, not really, but Hudson texted, and he and Rosalie are invited too, so I think it’s some sort of work thing.”
“That makes it even weirder that I’m here,” Cece said.
Briggs laughed. “No, it doesn’t. I’m pretty sure he invited us all to dinner so he can tell everyone about the Celine Dion concert.”
Cece stared at him in confusion, and Briggs grinned.
“He’s been on vacation, and he and Kat went to Vegas to see Celine Dion.
Ronin is obsessed with her. It would absolutely be like him to invite everyone from work to dinner so he can give us a play-by-play of the concert.
Hell, he’ll probably make us go to Celine karaoke afterward. ”
“Celine karaoke?” Cece asked.
“Some shit he made up. I’ve never gone, but Tori said basically Ronin takes you to a dive bar that has nightly karaoke and makes everyone sing nothing but Celine Dion songs.”
Cece laughed. “Oh my God, he’s so weird.”
“Yep,” Briggs said. “But he’s saved your life twice, so if he wants me to sing fucking Celine Dion songs, I will.”
She stared at him as warmth washed over her. She’d woken in her own bed this morning, relieved to see that the barrier spell had worked, but also convinced that things would be awkward between her and Briggs.
To her surprise, there hadn’t been any awkwardness. She’d come downstairs to find Briggs cooking them breakfast, and he’d been more relaxed and talkative than she’d ever seen him. He’d even asked for her opinion on a few of the decoration choices for his parents’ anniversary party.
After breakfast, she started working on some of Monroe’s potions in the living room. When she’d wandered back into the kitchen a few hours later, she’d nearly fallen over. Briggs had installed the new dishwasher that had been sitting in its box in the kitchen for over a year.
“You okay, little witch?” Briggs’s voice brought her back to the present.
“Yes. Thank you again for installing the dishwasher this morning.”
“No problem,” he said.
“It was really nice of you, and I honestly don’t think a thank you is enough.”
“True,” Briggs said. “A blowjob would probably be a great thank you.”
Her mouth dropped open, and Briggs made that - shouldn’t have been but absolutely was sexy - growl he did for her and her alone. “Little witch, you need to close your mouth. I only have so much willpower.”
She shut her mouth but was pretty certain her eyes were the size of damn dinner plates. Briggs glanced at her face, and when he began to laugh, she laughed too. “Oh my God, Briggs. I can’t believe you just said that. Do you always barter home repairs for blowjobs?”
“Only with sexy little witches who I’m certain would be incredible at sucking my dick,” he said.
Her face turned scorching hot, and she was suddenly so turned on that she could practically feel her pussy drip. Briggs inhaled deeply before a satisfied smile crossed his face. “I fucking love smelling how much you want me, baby.”
“Briggs,” she said, her voice shaky. “Maybe we should skip dinner and go home.”
“If we do, we’ll end up fucking,” he said.
“We can use the vibrator again,” she said.
He shook his head, his hot gaze never leaving hers. “No, little witch. Not tonight. I don’t have the willpower to use that goddamn toy on you instead of my cock.”
Her eyes dropped to his crotch, and he half-groaned, half-growled. “We need to go into the restaurant right now, Cece.”
He was right, she knew he was right, but every part of her screamed to slide across the seat, climb into Briggs’s lap, and grind her way to an orgasm.
“Cecelia,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Sorry,” she said and quickly shoved open the truck door and climbed out.
Briggs was beside her in an instant, studying the parking lot and the street, inhaling deeply as he did. After a moment, he said, “All good. Let’s go, Cece.”
They walked into the restaurant, and the hostess led them to a separate room.
They stepped inside, and Cece stared in surprise at the number of people who were standing around the long table.
Hudson and Rosalie were there, standing with Judd and Tori, but she could also see Mal and Willow, Bishop and a curvy redheaded woman, Garth, Davis, and Fenton with a small brunette.
Two couples she’d never seen before were standing with Kat and Ronin, and she waved hesitantly at Ronin when he glanced over.
“Tiny tree witch! C’mon over!” Ronin hollered.
She and Briggs joined them, and Ronin grinned happily at her. “Hey, glad you could make it.”
“Sorry, we’re late,” Briggs said. “Traffic was worse than I expected.”
“No problem.” Ronin slipped his arm around Kat’s waist. “I think you know everyone here but these folks.”
Ronin turned to the couple standing next to them. The man was tall and dark-haired with blue eyes, and while he was handsome enough, there was something about him that made Cece nervous.
The woman holding his hand looked enough like Kat that Cece wasn’t at all surprised when Ronin said, “This is Kat’s sister, Emerson, and her mate, Clay. Emerson and Clay, this is Briggs and Cece.”
“Nice to meet you both.” Emerson had a warm smile and a firm handshake.
Ronin turned to the other couple, grinning at the woman. “This lovely lady is Kat’s best friend, Bria, aka Stripes, and her disgustingly handsome mate, Jace.”
“Hi Cece, I love your top,” Bria said with a pretty smile.
“Thank you,” Cece said. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You as well,” Jace said.
There was a moment of awkward silence before Cece said, “So, um, is it someone’s birthday or…”
Kat grinned at her. “Not exactly.” Her smile growing larger, she said, “You missed the news because you’re a bit late and someone couldn’t keep it quiet even a minute longer.”
Ronin slid his arm around her waist and kissed her forehead. “Can you blame me, Kitten? Our server was eyeing me like I was an extra-tasty snack. I needed to let him know I was a married man.”
“Married… you two got married?” Cece said as Briggs chuffed in surprise.
“We did.” Kat held out her hand, and Cece studied the gorgeous diamond ring and simple silver band on her left hand. “We eloped while we were in Vegas.”
“Congratulations!” Cece hesitated before hugging the cat shifter.
“Thank you,” Kat said as Cece turned to Ronin.
He went to hug her, and when Briggs growled softly, Ronin grinned and said, “Relax. I’m a married man now, remember, big guy?”
Cece hugged Ronin hard. “Congratulations, Ronin. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks, Cece.” He slipped his arm around Kat again.
“So, did you specifically go to Vegas to get married?” Cece asked.
“Not exactly,” Ronin said. “We went to Vegas to see Celine Dion, but I was overcome with feelings while Celine was singing The Power of Love, and next thing you know, I’m on one knee.”
“You proposed during the concert?” Briggs said.
“Don’t judge me,” Ronin said. “It was very romantic.”
“It was,” Kat said with a soft smile.
“Kat saying yes was the best moment of my life,” Ronin said.
Kat laughed. “No, the best moment of your life was when someone on Celine Dion’s PR team saw the video that the llama shifter posted of you proposing during the concert, told Celine Dion, and she invited us backstage after the concert.”
“Wait… did you know this llama shifter?” Cece asked.
“Nope. Well, we’d bonded over our mutual love for the Canadian songbird a couple of songs earlier, but he was mostly a stranger,” Ronin said.
“So a stranger posted your proposal online?” Cece said.
“Before I even got off my knee,” Ronin said. “That’s what happens when you live your life out loud, tiny tree witch.”
Bria laughed. “It also gets you a meet and greet with Celine Dion.”
“You really met her?” Cece asked.
“We did,” Kat said with a teasing smile at Ronin. “And my mate managed not to pass out or babble incoherently when we did.”
“It was a hard-fought battle,” Ronin said solemnly.
Kat laughed. “I’ve never seen you that quiet in my life.”
“It’s because I was trying to think of a casual way to invite her to the wedding,” Ronin said.
“She went to your wedding?” Cece’s eyes widened.
“No,” Kat laughed again. “But she did wish us all the best, took selfies with us, and she signed a bunch of stuff, including Ronin, and then he immediately found an all-night tattoo place and had them tattoo it.”
“Wait… what?” Cece said.
Ronin hiked up his shirt, and Cece stared at Celine Dion’s signature nestled between the tattoo of an old school skull and dagger and a portrait of an older woman.
“Oh my God,” Cece said.
“I know, right?” Ronin stared at her with undisguised delight. “Isn’t it awesome? I got her to sign right next to Grandma’s tattoo. She’d be so happy if she were still alive.”
“Your grandmother was a Celine Dion fan as well?” Emerson asked.
“Big time,” Ronin said. “Anyway, we decided since we were in Vegas, why not get married in Vegas, so my parents and Kat’s parents, along with her brother, her sister and Clay, and Bria and Jace, came to Vegas a few hours later, and next thing you know, we’re getting married by -”
“Let me guess, an Elvis Presley impersonator,” Briggs said.
“Dolly Parton impersonator,” Ronin said. “She even threw in an impromptu performance of I Will Always Love You at the end of the ceremony.”
“My ears are still bleeding because of it,” Jace said, making Bria, Emerson, and Kat laugh.
“It was so bad,” Emerson said.
“I’ll admit, singing might not have been her forte, but she had the wig to perfection,” Ronin said.
“It sounds really nice,” Cece said politely.
Kat laughed. “It was… something. We’ll have another ceremony here in Ashdale for friends and extended family in a few months, but we wanted to share the news and have a celebration dinner with a few people from the office.”
“Well, congratulations,” Cece said. “I’m so happy for you both.”
“Thank you, Cece,” Kat said with a warm smile. She turned to her sister when Emerson nudged her. “What’s up?”
Emerson showed Kat her phone screen, and the two sisters broke out into laughter before Kat said, “Oh God, Ronin. Your mom took my mom to the Chippendales show.”
“Sweet,” Ronin said. “Where’d they stash our dads?”
“Apparently, they’re at a Cirque Du Soleil show with our brother,” Emerson said.
Her phone dinged, and she read the message before making a face.
“Oh no. I think Mom’s drunk. She just sent me a text that said the half-naked boys have her so worked up, she’s gonna ride Dad like she’s in heat when she gets back to the hotel. ”
“Ew,” Kat said. “Someone needs to remind Mom that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”
“I knew letting my parents stay in Vegas without us was a mistake,” Emerson said to Clay.
He grinned at her and slipped an arm around her waist. “We can always go back tonight if you need to check in on them.”
Cece didn’t see how that was possible - there was no way they’d get a flight to Vegas before the night ended, but Emerson seemed to consider it before shaking her head. “I don’t want to be anywhere near Vegas when Mom finds Dad after the Chippendales show.”
“Smart,” Kat said before taking Ronin’s hand. “C’mon, let’s get everyone to the table so we can order. I’m starving.”
“Whatever you want, Kitten.” Ronin kissed Kat’s knuckles before leading her toward the table.
A faint wave of jealousy washed over Cece, and she couldn’t help but glance at Briggs. She wanted to touch him, wanted to enjoy the casual intimacy that the others had with their mates, but she couldn’t, and it made her sad.
Briggs returned her look, and as if he could read her mind, he growled softly to her before saying in a quiet voice, “It’s all right, my mate.”
Despite knowing it was his polar bear making him call her his mate, Cece was still comforted by his reassurance.
She ignored the slight trepidation that it brought on.
So what if she liked it when Briggs called her his mate?
Someone was trying to kill her, she’d lost her job, and she’d probably be homeless soon.
Why shouldn’t she take a little comfort in Briggs’s possessiveness? Even if it wasn’t real.
“Cece?” Briggs said.
She smiled at him. “Sorry, I was up in my head for a minute.”
As they joined the others at the table, Cece pushed away her anxiety and her worries about her future. There would be plenty of time to worry about it later.