Chapter Fifteen
Grace
Elation cut through me as I zoomed on my green motorcycle through our sleepy little neighborhood. Oh, it felt good to be on a bike again. What Spencer had ordered for me was a perfect fit.
“Hey, you’re going a little fast,” Jett said over the coms in our helmets.
“I like to go fast.” But he was right. It was a Saturday morning. Kids could be out playing.
We returned to the driveway. Brennan and Riley were waiting. Evan and Wes had gone on a little date.
“How’d she do?” Brennan asked. He’d just come back from a business trip.
Jett took off his helmet. “Fine. It’s not like she doesn’t know how.”
“It is pretty much the same.” I rolled my eyes. This was my first time getting to test it out, since Brennan insisted I at least take the written test before using it.
Riley had her helmet in her hand. She looked at the two of them. “I get to ride, now?”
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Jett replied.
“Finally.” Putting on her helmet, Riley climbed into the sidecar. “Let’s test this fucker out.”
“Let’s go.” I took Riley for a spin around the neighborhood. “Everything going okay?” I asked over the coms.
“I told my sister Sonja that I was going to change my last name. Evan made me. We talked it through, and she’s okay with it. Which she should be, considering when she gets married, she and her doctor are changing their last names. You’ll like her.” Riley stated.
Right, she was a medical doctor and worked at the school Sonja was dean at.
“But…” I prodded, because I could feel a but coming on.
“She told Sasha, who then shit a cactus. Ugh.” Riley sighed. “Evan’s my guardian. Also, I belong to this pack. She can’t do fuck-all. But the fact she’s being a bitch about it hurts.”
“Yeah, it hurts when family’s mean like that,” I agreed as I rounded a corner, noting how having a passenger in the sidecar changed things.
“Speaking of family, I really like Mercy. We’ve been texting. Is it weird if I make your sister my bestie? She and I just, I don’t know, get along,” she admitted.
“Go for it. I want to be besties with Verity.” I loved Mercy and Tru, too.
“Are they coming to the party you and Spencer are having?” she asked.
I thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. Probably not? But I’ll invite everyone to the wedding next year. Maybe some of them could even be in it.”
“That sounds good. Mercy and Verity can be your attendants. Fuck, how boring is your and Spencer’s party going to be?”
“Hopefully not boring at all. It’ll probably be really fancy, though.
We’re not going to have much of a program.
Cocktails and appetizers with mingling, then dinner and dancing.
Probably no speeches.” It sounded good to me.
Also, Spencer wasn’t up for much still, but his mother was pushing this to be sooner rather than later.
“Elegant is fine. I want good music,” she agreed. “Speaking of music, can I take music off your laptop?”
“Yeah, take any music, movies, or books you’d like,” I replied.
“Back to the reception. Can we rent out a fancy restaurant?”
“We could. Spencer’s taking me to his club to see it.” What Wes had said about grill masters and bouncy castles hit something. Could we make a cookout elegant? Spencer was the grill master, so it could make sense to have that theme.
I finished our lap around the block. Another motorcycle pulled up next to us. Spencer was on his, which was a larger version of mine without the sidecar.
Shit, he looked fucking sexy on a motorcycle.
He rode with us as we took another lap. Finally, we returned to the house.
“You look beautiful on that,” Spencer said, taking off his helmet, as we parked in the driveway.
“Thank you.” I grinned. It was the nicest gift.
“Ri, how was it?” Jett asked her.
“It’s fine. Spence, can you add me and Grace to your club? Also, get us tennis lessons? Please? We want to play doubles with Kilroy and his mom. That’s their club. It’s not Hiro or Marco’s though,” Riley said as she climbed out of the sidecar.
“Of course. I was thinking of making it a pack membership, anyway.” Spencer nodded and turned to Brennan. “I know you have your own club that you use for business, but considering your family also belongs to it, I thought you might like options?”
“Thank you. Yes, I’m unwelcome there right now,” Brennan answered.
“The Queen Mum didn’t like your terms?” he asked.
“Not at all. Really, it would be better for her to trade, since forcing the sale of my building won’t get her the one she wants,” Brennan replied.
“People are still really mad about the Morris Foundation cutting the omega scholarships,” Jett added.
Spencer got out his phone. “Brennan, we should meet again about foundation things. How’s your week?”
“What about tomorrow?” Brennan checked his own phone.
“That works because Grace can now drive, so after we go to the carnival meeting at Hiro’s, she can drop me off at school.” Riley looked smug.
Right. The one for next school year. It seemed like mom-politics were the same no matter what world you were in.
“You can take my car.” Spencer nodded. “We should get you something. A pink convertible?”
“A pink pickup truck with a sticker that says Silly boys, trucks are for girls?” I grinned.
“I love it. If lessons are over, we should get going,” Spencer reminded me.
“Sounds good, let me get changed. Thank you. I love my motorcycle.” I pulled him down to give him a kiss. After putting our bikes away, I went inside. I had a text.
Fancy Wedding Planner
Have fun at the club. I’m familiar with their preferred vendors, so I can make recommendations. Also, if you don’t like it, I’m pretty sure we can get Zano. There are other clubs, too.
Good to know. Zano was a fancy restaurant.
Me
Thanks. Silly question. Could we make a cookout fancy? Like fly in grill masters? Serve nice meats? Perhaps have it outside? Spencer enjoys grilling, I’m trying to make it personal.
I sent her a little pin board that I’d made yesterday on my break at work. It had things like fairy lights, lemonade cocktails, and the most elegant picnic tables ever, covered in flowers, with real linens, fine dishes, and candles.
Fancy Wedding Planner
Oooh. Let me ponder this. The club lets you bring in your own chef if it’s someone worth having.
Me
Thanks.
I didn’t know what that meant. But I had discovered an upscale wedding forum online and figured out that things like that were what fancy wedding planners were for.
Want a gourmet chef flown in? Or a specific band that normally played amphitheaters?
Need plates that matched the ones you ate off of on your first date?
Flowers from the farm he proposed at? That’s the sort of shit they did.
Brennan came down the stairs. “Grace? Before I forget, I got you something from Italy.”
He handed me a box. He’d gotten me something on his business trip? Last night we had delicious wine and chocolates, and he’d gotten Riley a leather jacket.
“Oh, thank you.” Inside were glass earrings in the shape of quarter notes. I sucked in a breath. “They’re beautiful.” I kissed him on the cheek, then my own cheeks burned as I realized what I’d done.
“I’m glad you like them. You can wear them when we go and listen to Volkov being played properly.” With a grin, he ruffled my hair and left the room.
Jett laughed behind me. “This is going to be fun.”
“Is he courting me?” I blinked. He’d also gotten me piano music. At the same time, he hadn’t asked me or announced it or anything.
“I think he is, but he doesn’t realize it. Just go with it, Babydoll.” Jett spun me around, then went into the living room.
What did that even mean? But I’d take nice Brennan over mean Brennan any day.
“What do you think, my good doctor?” Spencer asked, as we got a tour of the grounds at his country club. We’d already seen the ballrooms, which were lovely and had balconies.
“It’s so pretty here. Do you have an outdoor space? It doesn’t need to be tented,” I asked.
“We do, but there’s a party there right now. We can take a look, as long as we don’t disturb them,” the beta from the club told us.
She led us through a beautiful garden. “This area is perfect for pictures. You can also use it for a cocktail reception.”
The sound of children greeted us as she led us into a tree-filled outdoor area. There was a tent, tables, and a bouncy castle.
Granted, it was the fanciest children’s birthday party I’d ever seen. Yes, I could work with this. I took a couple of photos.
“We don’t provide tents, but there’s some on our preferred vendor list,” she explained.
But I knew that already. I also knew that picnic tables were from another vendor, but the tent people had nicer linens. The fancy wedding planner was earning her fee and had been sending me all sorts of pictures and vendor suggestions.
We finished the tour, and she took us into the main dining room. “I’m here to answer any questions you or your wedding planner might have.”
“Thank you. Shall we?” Spencer held out his arm.
I took it. Spencer wore a button down with rolled up sleeves, pressed khakis, and really nice shoes. I wore a floral dress and ballet flats.
A server led us to a corner table with a nice view of the golf course.
“What did you think?” he asked as the server handed us menus and brought us water.
“This place is really beautiful. I love all the trees.” Yes, I could see why he suggested it.
I perused the menu, and we ordered.
“You have ideas, I see it in your eyes.” He took a sip of merlot.
“How much is my budget? Because, yes, I do,” I replied, taking a drink of my spiked lemonade.
He thought for a moment. “I try very hard to never do anything that might be considered wasteful or a spectacle. Elegant, not excessive. Would you be willing to share your ideas with me?”
“I know that you were thinking of a simple dinner in one of the ballrooms, but hear me out. These are also just ideas. I’m not even sure everything is possible.” I got out my phone and started showing him photos.
“Oh. I do love that idea,” he agreed.
“If we have kids at our party, we could have the bouncy castle.”
“Let me see the list of the grill masters she suggested?” he asked.
I handed him my phone.
“Him. I actually know him, so if he’s available it’s not extravagant, it’s a friend showing off what he’s known for.” Spencer tapped on a name. “See what I’m saying.”
“Right, an old friend making food with a hometown flair. Wine from someplace someone owns?” I nodded and took notes.
“Precisely. My aunt has a vineyard with some decent vintages.”
Our food came, and we went through everything as he made incredibly thoughtful suggestions.
“You’d be fine with all of this?” I added, worried a little it wasn’t fancy enough.
“You’re suggesting things that are us. A little of my home, a little of yours. It will be perfect.” He leaned in and gave me a kiss.
That man.
“How about music? Should we fly in a band for dancing?” I grinned. While that seemed fun, it also seemed a little ridiculous.
“I’d like some traditional live music for dancing. You know, my cousins have a band.” He took another sip of wine.
“Yeah? A famous one?” I took a bite of my pasta.
“More like infamous, because a bunch of Thanukos business tycoons have a band that plays traditional Greek music and keep being allowed to play because of their name. They’re not awful. But they’re not playing any music festivals.” Spencer grinned over his glass.
“That sounds fun. Are we doing any special dancing?”
He leaned in toward me. “I’d like that very much–if you would.”
“Only if you teach me in the living room. I miss our dance classes,” I told him honestly.
“You just like excuses for me to touch you.” His look went smoldering.
“Oh, I do, Dearest. You know… everyone’s left for the afternoon.” I looked at my phone. “While we could join them, we could also go home. How are you feeling?”
“Like if I don’t take care of you soon, I’m going to burst.” He squeezed my hand.
Check, please. Things with Spencer had been very gentle while he healed.
“No need to rush, though.” He leaned back and took another sip of wine. “We have all the time in the world–just like we will when I get you home.”
Oh? Heat flooded my core. I raised my glass. “Here’s to it being well worth the wait.”