Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty One
Candy
By the time Candy and Votra arrived at the launch party, the venue was packed.
The ballroom was magnificent, with several large, sparkling crystal chandeliers hanging from the coffered ceiling. Elegant pillars with gilded trim flanked the massive entrance archway.
Clusters of people dotted the room; some standing against the walls, others occupying the section of tables that was thankfully much smaller than what they’d started with.
And they were all drinking. Waiters in crisp suits and bowties moved languidly throughout the room with trays of what looked like champagne in plastic flutes.
The plastic was a little tacky, but Candy could get over it.
Xyxy was on them almost the second they walked in, brandishing two flutes and pressing them into Candy’s and Votra’s hands.
She looked incredible in a square-necked navy blue dress that clung to her hips and kissed her knees, two loose tendrils of long hair framing her angular face.
“Okay, my loves. Everyone is having a great time. People are testing out the app and they’re obsessed.
I can’t get people to actually get out of the virtual reality rooms so other people can take a turn. ”
Candy grinned, her heart pounding wildly. “Thank you so, so much,” she breathed, pulling Xyxy in for an embrace with her free arm. “Everything looks amazing. Thank you so much for taking care of this for us.”
“Oh, trust me, this was nothing.” She waved Candy off with a crimson-nailed hand.
“If I can get a bunch of sweaty wrestlers to be in the same place at the same time, I can definitely handle this.” She brushed her lips across Candy’s cheek, then pulled Votra in for a quick kiss, too.
“Go mingle. Don’t think for a second about stressing over anything. ”
One day, when Starcrossed made Candy rich, she was going to give Xyxy everything she’d ever desired. “Thank you so much, Xyxy,” Votra said, and Xyxy gave her cheek an affectionate squeeze before dashing off to do God only knew what.
Candy tipped back her flute and drained it in one go. It didn’t taste exactly like champagne, but it was bubbly and alcoholic, and that was all she needed. “Okay. Mingle. We can do that, right?”
Votra did the same, letting out a little gasp. “Alright, yes. We can. We should introduce ourselves to some of the users, right?”
“Probably–” Candy scanned the room for a second and her eyes fell upon a crown of white hair. For once, her uncle wasn’t the tallest person in the room–Kratos’s species could be pretty tall–but he was definitely still the tallest human. “My uncle’s here. Can I introduce you?”
“I would love to meet him.” They tossed their empty flutes into a bin by the door before Candy took Votra’s hand, leading her towards her mountain of an uncle.
Luckily, it would be difficult to lose him in the crowd. He was a nearly seven foot tall human with skin as white as his hair; he stood out, even among the tallest aliens. “Uncle Lochlan!” she called out, lacing her fingers through Votra’s as she practically dragged her through the crowd.
It took every iota of her self control to keep her cool, but the second he spoke, she dissolved into tears. “There’s my Can-Can,” he said, and Candy released Votra as he scooped her up into a bone-crushing hug.
That familiar citrusy, spicy smell of his cologne enveloped her. He smelled like home. “Hey, don’t cry, kid. You’re gonna screw up your makeup.” He carefully set her back on the ground and offered her his handkerchief.
Candy laughed through her tears, wiping her eyes with it.
“Too late.” Lochlan rubbed at the corner of one of her eyes with his thumb, probably messing up her eyeliner but she couldn’t even really bring herself to care.
It had only been a couple of weeks since she’d seen him last, but she missed him.
She tucked his now eyeliner-coated handkerchief back into his pocket with a pat.
He looked nice in his black blazer and muted red vest; she couldn’t help but wonder if Vince had something to do with that.
He’d even shaved, his face free of the stubble that always used to prickle Candy’s face when she hugged him.
The cuff links at Lochlan’s wrists bore metal sea serpent heads, which were so beautiful they could only be the work of Vincent Luque.
The man in question appeared beside Lochlan a few moments later, two flutes in hand.
Vince was the complete antithesis of her uncle; a lithe, elegant Mexican man a little over twenty years Lochlan’s junior with thick, feathery black hair that framed his elf-like features.
Tonight, he was in a crushed velvet suit the color of sapphires, the shirt underneath a satin button down of the same color.
A brooch with the same serpent head as Lochlan’s was clasped on his lapel.
“Here, take this. You look like you need it,” he said with a playful grin. While Lochlan hadn’t even seemed to notice Votra standing awkwardly by Candy’s side, Vince honed in on her immediately. “You must be Votra, right?”
Votra looked almost surprised to be spoken to. “I am, yes.” Candy placed a supportive hand on the small of Votra’s back.
Vince passed her the second glass. “It’s so nice to meet you, Votra,” Vince said, his voice sickly sweet. He fluttered his mascaraed eyelashes at Votra, reaching a small hand out to shake hers. “I hope our Candy hasn’t given you too much trouble.”
“Not at all. She is wonderful,” Votra said, the tenderness in her voice making Candy’s heart lurch. She itched to reach out and grab her hand, but she stopped herself.
Lochlan would be much easier to approach without the context that Candy and Votra were dating.
He offered his hand to Votra for a handshake, his way of asserting dominance, but he let out a big, pleased laugh.
“Damn, you got a handshake on you,” he said, and Votra flushed with pride. That’s my girl.
Vince’s eyes were laser focused on Votra, and for a second, Candy thought she was maybe worrying about the wrong uncle. She knew he wasn’t going to drill Votra with questions about their relationship, but she could venture a guess that he’d probably already seen right through them.
“Oh, I forgot to get myself a drink,” Vince chirped, looping his arm through Candy’s. “Come with me to the bar?”
Something told Candy she didn’t have much choice. “Uh, sure.” She shot a glance at Votra, who gave her a little smile. She’d be fine. Lochlan immediately launched into a barrage of questions as they walked away.
Vince fell into step beside Candy as they headed for the bar. “So you didn’t wanna tell your uncle you’re dating your boss, huh?”
Candy froze in her tracks. “How did you know?” she spluttered, giving his arm a shove.
“I hate to break it to you, but you literally couldn’t be subtle if you tried. Neither of you. Votra looks at you like the sun shines out of your ass.” But he gave Candy’s arm an affectionate squeeze. “It’s cute.”
Candy sighed, giving in. “I just know Uncle Lochlan’s gonna shake her down and she’s already so high strung as it is. He can shake her down after the party, but just not right now.”
“Heard, chef. I’ll keep him on a leash, don’t worry. But after the party, I’m not responsible for what comes out of that giant mouth of his.”
That was what Candy was afraid of. Lochlan meant the best–he would probably love Votra immediately, but he was a bit like a bulldog at first. And her poor, anxious Votra definitely couldn’t handle a bulldog tonight.
“I probably should have warned her, huh?” Candy asked, grimacing.
“Probably.” He ordered a paloma from the bar–bless Xyxy’s heart, she’d made sure the bar was stocked with plenty of Earth liquor. Candy could really go for a margarita right now. “She’s sweet. Definitely not who I would have pegged as your type. I expected another greasy, weaselly film bro.”
“Hey, fuck you.” But she grinned, her eyes falling on Votra again. She was easing into conversation with Lochlan, though she still looked profoundly uncomfortable. But she sure was trying. “I love her. A lot.”
“I can tell.” Vince took her free hand and squeezed it, and Candy’s eyes immediately prickled with tears. “And she better be good to you, or I’ll kick her ass.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She laughed softly, pulling him into a one-armed hug. “Thank you.”
Candy and Votra broke away once Votra’s social battery started to dwindle; she’d made it through a solid hour of conversation with Uncle Lochlan, which Candy had to say was pretty impressive. But she had to reserve some of that battery for talking to the people who were here for the app.
“I like your uncles,” Votra said once they regrouped. “Lochlan is very… talkative.”
Candy laughed so hard she nearly choked on her third flute of sparkling wine. “He sure is. He’s where I get it from. But the fact that he talked so long is a good sign. That means he likes you.”
“That is–” Something behind Candy caught Votra’s eye, and she drained the rest of her glass. “Zeele is here.”
Candy’s mouth immediately ran dry. She guessed she shouldn’t be surprised. Why wouldn’t the owner of another dating app come to scope out the competition? “Where?”
“Over there. Speaking with your uncles.”
Fuuuuuuck. Candy whipped around on her heel to see Lochlan and Vince, roped into conversation with a qintaril nearly as tall as Lochlan. She tried not to laugh at the fact that Vince did not look happy.
“Shit. Okay.” Candy sucked in a sharp breath. “How do you wanna play this? We can ignore her if you want.”
“No, we should speak with her. I have no doubt that she knows I am here, but she does not know about you. Her interacting with your uncles is, unfortunately, just bad luck.”
Okay. Great. Candy was going to meet Votra’s ex and she was going to have to be professional because this was the launch party for their app. The last thing they needed was negative social media attention because Candy started a fight with one of their competitors.