15. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Kian
Everything is right with the world. My plan worked out, just like I hoped it would. I did it! I got Xane to agree to the interview! Nothing and no one can wipe the smile from these lips.
Not tonight, not ever.
This is huge.
It shouldn’t be a surprise.
Fated mates are destined, after all.
No one can stand in the way of that.
Not even hard-headed lead Alphas who like to be in control of every last detail of everything ever, apparently.
It’s still making my head spin that Xane said yes.
If there was any doubt that she was meant to be ours, his easy answer stomped it right out.
He might be pretending he didn’t feel something when he looked at her picture, but I know he felt what I did. That half-second of awe in his pale eyes was hard to miss.
He felt it, even if he couldn’t acknowledge it.
We both know who she is.
Our one true mate.
Her name is Sapphire Faris, and she’s a gorgeous blonde reporter who plays guitar and who once wrote passionately about the only band that could speak to her soul and set her heart on fire.
The gut instinct that drew me in with her picture, and then with her words, was imbedded so deeply that by the end I didn’t have a single drop of doubt left inside me.
She’s special to us, and she feels that connection already, too.
Sparks are going to fly when we meet. I can’t wait!
I sigh as I rest on the couch, beyond ready to get back to the hotel and slip into my room alone.
It’s gonna be hard to contain my excitement until then, but I guess it’s not like Riley will care enough to ask why I’m ready to bounce off the walls.
Trick’s usually got his own shit going on in his head. He’ll notice, and he might even ask, but no good can come from telling him about this.
He’s spent so many years thinking something was wrong with him that there’s no way he’ll buy having a true mate until he’s looking at her and feeling that connection for himself.
I bite down on my lip, knowing it’s gonna be hardest to keep from telling Trick.
I’m not used to keeping secrets, and if there’s one person I’m most likely to confide in, it’s him.
I can’t do that this time. If I could, I would have gone to his room before now to unload all of this, but I knew the second I found her the only person I might have to tell upfront was Xane.
Riley’s too into women to consider the idea of a true mate, and Trick has too many problems to think of a true mate positively.
They’re both gonna have to wait to meet her to find out.
I can hear Xane sighing from the other couch as he messes with the new strings on his Gibson.
Cracking an eye open, I glance over.
“What’s up?”
He frowns as he looks up at me. “Huh?”
“You just sighed like everything sucks, or something.”
“These strings feel off,” he says after a beat, obviously not willing to admit something’s bothering him beyond what he’s doing.
“You can get the hotel staff to go out and get another pack of them tomorrow,” I remind him, knowing it’s not really about that.
“Hm,” he mutters, still trying to tune it anyway.
If he knew what I knew as deeply as I know it, there’s no way he would care about a stupid set of strings, or whatever.
The instant he meets her he’ll figure that out.
He’d better, because if he doesn’t, the second part of your plan doesn’t work, and then what are you going to do, huh?
The second part of the plan is a little trickier than getting him to agree to an interview, for sure, but I’m not going to worry about that until Saturday.
He’s already got the private jet ready to fly out to Golden Sands.
All I’ll need to do is get a few minutes alone in the cockpit with him on the day, after he’s met her. I’m pretty sure he’ll agree to part two once he can see she’s meant for us.
I’m about to close my eyes again to try and take a nap when the door to the dressing room opens.
Sitting up, I get ready to chew Riley out for forgetting my beer.
I don’t get the chance when Trick enters and shows me the two bottles in his right hand.
“Riley sent these,” he says, voice as soft and quiet as always.
He closes the door, and even that sounds louder.
I get up, stuff the phone into my back pocket and take one of the beers out of his hand.
“Thanks! I was dying of thirst.”
Xane snorts, but he doesn’t say a word.
Trick goes to Riley’s icebox and puts the other bottle inside.
Huh. I guess they were both for me.
And this is before Riley knows I’ve got us extra vacation time?
I wonder what he’ll do when he finds out we’ve got a whole month off.
Trick moves back and leans against the dressing table we’ve never used.
I twist the top off my bottle and toss it into the air, catching it after I take a quick sip.
Favorite party trick. Kind of only works while I’m sober though.
One too many and my reflexes are shot to shit.
“I assume one of Riley’s favorite groupies are out there?”
“Well, he’s not in here,” Xane murmurs, shrugging.
Trick makes a face before he shakes his head.
“He’s looking after drunk fans.”
Xane puts his guitar down. “Do you mean he’s having his kind of fun, or holding back some puking girl’s hair?”
“Neither. They were completely wasted but not like that,” Trick interjects quickly. “He ordered them a ride home, and I think he’s waiting with them until it gets here.”
“I don’t think I’m used to gentleman Riley yet,” I admit, as I take another sip of my beer.
“Don’t tell me he ordered them a limo?” Xane asks.
Trick shrugs, not saying a word, just doing what Xane asked, and by the stormy look on his face, our lead Alpha knows exactly what his silence means.
“He’s taking the gentleman bit too far.”
“It’s a limo, not a private jet,” I remind him.
Trick’s eyebrows disappear under his hat.
Xane blinks at me, not speaking.
I take another sip of my beer.
“Not a private jet,” Xane murmurs, making me a little nervous.
“It’s a couple hundred bucks at most, I mean,” I explain, when he doesn’t say anything else. “Not thousands, or whatever.”
“Thousands, or whatever,” he echoes, sounding bemused.
I don’t know what’s going on inside his head right now, but I know he’s worrying about something he absolutely, positively, does not need to be worried about.
We have hundreds of millions spread out over several bank accounts and trusts.
It’s not like we’re on the brink of bankruptcy or something.
“What?” I ask, a little concerned when he gets up and starts packing his guitar away.
“I should sell the Chaos Flyer. I barely get time to put in the annual hours to keep my licence, anyway.” Xane sighs softly before he glances at me. “Don’t worry, Ki. I’ll wait until after we’re back from vacation.”
“Uhhh …” I stammer, not sure where to even begin.
Trick clears his throat. “I don’t think that’s what Ki was trying to say.”
“Yeah,” I agree, wondering where the rest of my words have gone.
I can’t seem to find any to pull through my shock.
Clearly, Trick can tell, because he spoke up in my place.
“I know,” Xane says, nodding. “But I think it’s time.”
“It’s time?” I ask, still dazed and trying to make sense of his sudden decision.
The door opens while I’m staring at Xane, trying to figure out what’s wrong with him.
“Time for what?” Riley asks as he enters the room.
“For Xane to sell the private jet, apparently,” Trick offers.
Riley blinks. “I thought we were taking it to Golden Palms in a couple days! Don’t tell me the vacation’s cancelled …”
“It’s not,” I cut in. “It’s not cancelled. In fact, we’ve got a whole month to relax in the sunshine.”
“Oh,” Riley murmurs, relaxing. “Well, you should have started with that.”
He goes to his icebox and pulls out a beer without looking inside.
I wait for him to talk some sense into our lead Alpha, but he just cracks the bottle open and takes a long swig, while I exchange a troubled glance with Trick.
“Ughk!” Riley sputters, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
He’s looking at the bottle in his other hand, which I now realize is the second flavored beer Trick put in Riley’s icebox for me. I guess I’ll have to get another for after tomorrow night’s show.
“What is this crap doing in there?” He pulls a disgusted face as he moves over to the sink to empty the rest of the bottle. “Fucking gross.”
Trick looks vaguely guilty, almost like he’s about to confess.
I shake my head at him while Riley’s back is turned.
He nods once and keeps his mouth shut.
“My bad,” I tell Riley as he sets the empty down and returns to the icebox.
“No shit,” Riley mutters, as he takes another bottle out of the box, checking it this time before opening it and drinking.
Well, that’s probably the last time he does me any favors, I guess.
I turn my attention to Xane as he goes back to his seat.
There’s a dark cloud lingering over his head.
I don’t know what it is, but I know we can’t let him sell the jet.
Thankfully, we’ve got almost a month to get him to see some kind of sense.
Maybe the rest will help him realize everything doesn’t have to be this hard.
I sip at my beer while we wait around for our ride to the hotel.
When my drink is done, I slip my phone back out and sneak another glance at our future true mate. Those vibrant blue eyes are enough to convince me that everything’s gonna be okay.
We’ve got ourselves a date with destiny.
It’s less than two days away now.
My smile comes back, and it’s twice as bright as it was before.