CHAPTER FIFTEEN: CONNIE

“I’M ALL for wearing an ownership claim,” Connie declared, grinning at Kit.

“As am I,” Hudson added.

“That sounded way more possessive than I meant for it to,” Kit said.

Hudson raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, so maybe I meant it to sound like that. But good grief, have you two seen yourselves? Every time we go somewhere, I have to beat the twinks off you two with a stick.”

“And a wedding band will make a difference?” Hudson asked in apparent confusion.

Where were these twinks that Kit was supposedly beating off him and Hudson? He certainly hadn’t noticed anyone flirting with him or his mates. His dragon would have had something to say about that.

“Well, no, but it’ll make a difference to me,” Kit said.

Hudson nodded. “And that’s all that matters. So, wedding bands. I’ve read that diamonds are the preferred gemstone for wedding bands, and—”

“And diamonds are a girl’s best friend, right?” Kit asked Hudson, grinning.

“Well, that’s what all the commercials say. And why are you grinning at me like that? It was what the commercials said.”

“I like diamonds, don’t get me wrong. I mean, who doesn’t?” Kit asked. “But if we’re talking about the stones that will be in our wedding bands, diamonds are not the first thing that comes to mind.”

They weren’t? Connie found that interesting. Like Hudson, he thought humans were hung up on diamonds too.

“Oh? What comes to mind first, then?” Hudson asked.

Kit stared at Hudson for a moment. “I’ll get to that in a moment. Connie?” Kit glanced at Connie. “Do you have a preference as far as stones go?”

“Honestly? Not really. Hudson’s dragon is the one who’s attracted to stuff like that. But I do like gold. Pretty much all dragons do because of the monetary value, but artwork is my thing,” Connie said.

“When you talk about gold, you mean what the band will be made out of, right?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, yellow gold or white gold, then? Or hey, what about platinum?” Kit asked.

Connie shrugged. “I like yellow gold. It just seems like it’s… warmer. It kind of reminds me of the different colors you can see in fire.”

“That makes sense. I like yellow gold too.” Kit turned to Hudson. “Hudson?”

“The color of the band doesn’t matter to me, but if Connie is partial to yellow gold, then let’s do that,” Hudson said.

“Now back to the stones,” Kit said. “You know, the first time I saw your hoard, I remember thinking that you’d emptied out all the jewelry stores within a hundred miles of us.”

Hudson chuckled. “I remember.”

“But I kept noticing one color over and over. And that was red. You like the color red, don’t you?” Kit asked.

“It just so happens that I am partial to it, yes.”

“Because you’re a red dragon.”

“That’s probably part of it. Plus, that’s the gemstone color my dragon is attracted to.”

“I see. And you’re leaning toward which stone?” Kit asked. “Rubies, maybe?”

“My mate is incredibly smart. You’re right. I did think of several other stones, but I discounted them for a variety of reasons. I kept coming back to rubies. I also thought about pearls, but they’re very delicate.”

Kit nodded. “The real ones are, yes. If you don’t mind me asking, why pearls?”

“Because you seem to be obsessed with them lately.”

“Well, duh, and we have you to thank for that,” Kit pointed out. “You are the one who gave me the pearl body chain.”

Connie chuckled. “Speaking of, when are you going to wear that for us?”

“It’s a surprise. But speaking of pearls, I am incorporating them into our wedding, so I hope that’s okay,” Kit said.

“Whatever you want to do is fine by us,” Hudson said.

“You do realize how dangerous that is,” Kit joked.

“It would be dangerous if he didn’t mean it,” Connie said. “But he does. Whatever you want is fine by us. We can certainly afford it.”

Kit cringed. “I know, I know. But I’m also still trying to wrap my head around how fabulously wealthy the both of you are.”

“He’s actually wealthier than me,” Connie pointed out.

“I don’t know, Connie, I’ve seen the artwork in your hoard. Anyway,” Kit said, waving his hand as if he was closing that subject. “Red roses are going to figure greatly at our wedding. I like roses, but I chose red because of you guys.”

“Because we’re red dragons?” Hudson asked.

“Of course.”

Connie was touched. This might be a human wedding, but Kit was trying to tailor it to the three of them.

“Thank you. It just so happens I like red roses,” Hudson said.

“Same,” Connie agreed. “And I guess it’s fitting that we do rubies for our wedding bands.”

“Rubies and red roses,” Kit mused. “I like it.”

“Excellent. So, next question. What type of wedding band do you want?” Hudson asked. “Do you want something with a big stone that sits on top of your finger or—”

“No, no, no. A big, honking ring that could put my eye out is fabulous and all, but I’m a working man. I’ll knock that sucker off its setting in no time. I want something that’s channel set.”

Hudson raised an eyebrow. “And what is that?”

Kit got his cell out. “Hold on just a sec, and I’ll show you.”

Hudson waited patiently as Kit scrolled.

Connie, on the other hand, knew what a channel setting was, but there were also a hundred different ways of achieving that look.

Kit found something, then handed his phone over to Hudson. “Is it me, or does that look like the stones are in an X and O design?” Hudson asked.

“Really?” Connie held his hand out. “I want to see.”

Hudson handed Kit’s cell over.

“Oh, wow, it does look like that. Doesn’t XOXO means kisses or something?”

“The X represents a kiss, while the O represents a hug,” Kit said. “Supposedly the X is a stylized way of showing two mouths kissing, and the O looks like two pairs of arms connecting for a hug. XOXO is a symbol of love.”

“That’s perfect.” Connie handed Kit’s phone back to him. “I never in a hundred years would’ve thought of that. I love the idea.”

“It’s very fitting,” Hudson said.

“But is the design too feminine-looking for you guys?” Kit asked, biting his lip. “Maybe we should just get the normal, everyday channel-set rings.”

“Absolutely not. As Connie said, it’s perfect. It fits us, Kit. The ring you showed us has diamonds, though. Do you want that too?” Hudson asked.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind. We need some stone to represent the O’s part of it.”

“I agree,” Connie said, then looked at Hudson.

“Yes, I will supply the gemstones. Of course,” Hudson said.

“I’ll supply the gold,” Connie volunteered. “That way the ring is made out of something from both mine and Hudson’s hoard.”

“And I picked the design we’re going to use—something from all three of us.” Smiling happily, Kit looked back at his cell phone. “It really is perfect, isn’t it?”

“It really is,” Hudson said. “Tell us what you have in mind for the roses.”

Kit crackled. “Red roses everywhere—the centerpieces for the tables, on the wedding cake, the several arches I want, the tables with a buffet. Any and all columns wrapped in red roses. I want them everywhere. And I mean everywhere . Of course, that means it’s going to cost a fortune.”

“Not a problem,” Hudson said.

“I hope you feel the same when you see the bill.”

“I will.”

“Also, usually, a wedding party has bridesmaids and groomsmen. And a maid of honor and a best man who stand with whoever is getting married. I don’t know if you guys want to do that but be thinking about it. The thing is, I honestly don’t have anybody who is in the know to stand with me outside of Austin.”

“I read about that too,” Connie said.

“We can worry about that later, though. It doesn’t have to be done. It could just be the three of us up there. And I’m perfectly fine with that,” Kit said. “Now, clothing.” Kit rubbed his hands together. “I’m wearing white, of course. Already have in mind what I want.”

“Are we not getting a hint?” Hudson asked.

Connie snickered.

“Oh, my love, you are not ,” Kit exclaimed. “I guess nobody’s told you, but you’re not supposed to see the bride before the wedding. I’m the bride, by the way.”

Hudson huffed.

“Yeah, good luck with that.” Connie outright laughed. “What do you want us to wear, though?”

“I know you guys usually wear black leather when the paranormal leaders meet, but I was hoping we could do something a little dressier.”

“What are you thinking?” Connie asked.

“Well, how do you feel about tuxedos done in white and red?” Kit grabbed his phone again. “Let me show you what I’m thinking, and you guys tell me if you’re agreeable. I want you to like whatever you’re wearing. Here are some examples.” Kit handed over his phone when he found what he was looking for.

“I like the red shirt, vest, and pants with the white duster,” Hudson said. “And I really like the white top hat. It almost has a Victorian feel to the suit.”

“Victorian Goth, maybe,” Connie added.

“That’s Raven, sweetheart, not me. But I do like this.” Hudson tapped Kit’s cell phone. “It’s very… elegant.”

“Of course you do,” Connie said, laughing as he took the phone from Hudson and scrolled to the next picture. “Oh, I like the white suit with the red scroll work on the pants and arms.”

“Those are just ideas,” Kit said. “I mean, seriously, feel free to do some looking around. I just wanted to give you an idea of what I was thinking. I know you guys like red, and we’d be keeping to the color theme too.”

“We have a color theme?” Hudson asked.

“Well, I guess? I mean, there will be a lot of crystals in the décor, and red is definitely my main color, thanks to the roses. Our wedding bands match too—red and white. I don’t know if I’m going to carry a bridal bouquet, but if I do, it’ll probably be red and white roses. So, yeah, red and white are our colors.”

“I like it. You can’t go wrong with red,” Connie said.

“I agree.” Hudson handed Kit his cell phone back. “I like the examples of clothing you picked for us. We’ll figure out a time to actually go look at things in person,” Hudson said. “How does that sound?”

“Excellent. And for something this big and elaborate, I’m going to need the best paranormal wedding planner there is in San DeLain,” Kit said.

Connie dragged his cell phone out of his pocket. “Let me do some asking around, and I’ll get a name for you. But we definitely need a wedding planner. All the research I have done stresses that.”

“And we need recommendations for everything. Just everything. Flowers, food, the cake, and wow. I’m already stressing out,” Kit joked.

Hudson reached across the table and grabbed Kit’s hand. “This wedding planner? Is that not what they do? Plan the wedding?”

“You make it sound so easy.” Kit giggled.

With his other hand, Hudson pointed at Connie. “He is not only my Right Hand, he’s also my assistant.”

“In other words, organizing things is what I do. I’d love to help plan our wedding,” Connie said.

“And I will happily help also. I’m not sure how good I’ll be at organizing things, but I am excellent at growling at people,” Hudson said, flashing his fangs. “Most excellent.”

Connie smirked. Hudson was good at that, but he really didn’t know what all was involved in a wedding. For that matter, neither did Connie, except for what he’d read. But the feeling he was getting was that big fancy weddings were very involved.

There were invitations to be picked out and printed, cakes to be ordered, clothes, venue, flowers, catering, and the list just went on and on and on. Things a wedding planner would handle, but those things still had to be picked out by the three of them.

Kit had touched on how he wanted red roses at the wedding, and lots of them, so that was one hurdle out of the way. And Connie wasn’t worried about the venue. One way or the other, they’d get the place and date they wanted, thanks to Hudson.

“Okay, before we go any further, we need to set a date,” Kit said. “And we’ll probably need to set it a year from now.”

“A year?” Hudson asked. “That seems to be a long time to wait for something you want.”

“It usually takes that long to plan a big wedding, though,” Kit pointed out.

“Ordinarily, yes, I could see that. And if you want to wait that long, that’s fine with us,” Hudson said. “But we don’t have to.”

“What do you mean?”

Hudson shrugged. “What’s that old saying? Oh yeah, money talks. Pick a date, and I will make it happen.”

Kit’s mouth fell open. “That’s crazy, you know that, right?”

Again, Hudson just shrugged. “Anything for you.”

Connie jokingly stuck his finger under Kit’s chin and closed his mouth. “He’s not kidding when he says any day, but could I remind you that the Halloween Bash will be happening in October, and the masquerade ball happens in December. It would be easier not to do it in those months.”

“But we will if that’s what you want,” Hudson said, glaring at Connie.

“Okay, okay, let’s not make things too hard on Connie. You might be able to make it happen soon, Hudson, but it still takes time to print invitations, cook food, and custom make wedding finery. Just… just give me a second to think here.”

Hudson reached over and patted Kit’s hand. “Take all the time you need.”

“I’m going to go take a walk for a second. And think. I’ll be back in a bit,” Kit said, getting up and walking toward the pool.

“Can I just point out that doing it in October or December means he would have to share the limelight with the other two events? And he doesn’t want that. That’s why I suggested not having the wedding during those two months,” Connie said quietly.

Standing up, Hudson moved to where Connie was sitting and kneeled next to him. “You’re right, of course. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t think.”

“Your dragon is wanting to give Kit whatever he wants, whenever he wants, right?”

“Yes.”

“Which I completely understand. But your dragon doesn’t understand that things take time, no matter how much money you throw at something.”

“You’re right. You’re the expert in planning things.” Standing, Hudson bent down and kissed Connie on the cheek.

Connie turned his head so their lips met. After the kiss was done, Connie poked Hudson in the ribs. “Just keep repeating that, and we should be fine.”

“Repeating what?” Kit asked as he made his way back to his seat.

Connie smirked. “That I’m the expert, and that I’m right.”

“I called my mom and dads right quick to make sure they didn’t have anything going on in November,” Kit said as he sat down. “We don’t have anything going on in November, do we?”

“No,” Connie said. “So, you’re looking at the month of November? If so, that would work. Just maybe not the last Thursday, since humans in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving then.”

“I thought about that. I’m going to assume that’s something you guys don’t do?” Kit asked.

“Not usually, no, but we can if you wish,” Hudson said.

Kit shrugged. “The reason for the season is kind of offensive, if you ask me, although I wouldn’t mind having turkey and dressing sometime.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Connie said. “So? What date did you pick?”