CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: HUDSON

WEDNESDAY, HUDSON tackled booking the Monarch Hotel for the date Kit wanted and of course got shot down. His dragon rumbled unhappily in his head when he was met with resistance. He didn’t bother arguing with whoever he spoke to, though.

Instead, he had Connie find out who the owner was and called him. After an hour of back and forth, and a not-so-subtle threat of forcing the owner to sell, Hudson had the name of the couple who had reserved the venue.

Thirty minutes after that, the human couple had a hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar check… and broke their contract so Kit could have the date he wanted.

“Well, that was relatively painless,” Connie said as he typed out a message to the caterer confirming the venue.

“Money well spent,” Hudson replied, leaning back in his desk chair. They were working from Hudson’s home office today. “What do you have on the agenda?”

“Now that we have the venue confirmed, I’m going to start searching for a wedding planner. I’m also going to order the invitations since we know the time and date,” Connie said.

“Smart.”

“I also want to get the flowers taken care of as quickly as possible, then we need to make plans about ordering a wedding cake. Usually, that involves going somewhere and tasting different types of cakes,” Connie said. “And don’t you dare say you’re fine with whatever Kit and I want.”

“I am, but I know Kit will still want me to go.”

“Of course. He wants you to be a part of this. It’s also your wedding.”

“I know. And I will happily go and eat whatever cake they put in front of me. Spending time with my mates is not a hardship, I promise you,” Hudson said.

“Excellent attitude. That’ll probably keep you out of trouble.” Connie smirked. “Also, check your itinerary. You have some emails you need to answer, a few contracts to look over, and then a conference call at two p.m. I’ll be in and out checking on you while I also take care of some wedding plans.”

“Sounds good to me.”

As Connie exited the room, Hudson took a moment to stretch his legs and stare out the window. Such a lovely morning. The sky was a clear blue. It kind of reminded him of the blue pant suit Kit had worn to work this morning.

He then settled back in front of his computer. Nothing required them to go into the city, so they were working from home. The first thing he did was write up everything he knew about that bookstore and the tunnels they had stumbled across. Then, he added the pictures Connie had sent him of the underground lake. Once done, he sent everything in an email to all the leaders of San DeLain.

Next, he clicked through his emails, which ranged from mundane corporate updates to more urgent requests requiring his immediate attention.

Just as he was drafting a reply to a particularly thorny issue regarding one of his overseas facilities, his phone buzzed, Kit’s name flashing on the screen. Hudson couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he picked up the call.

“Hey, babe, what’s up?” Hudson greeted.

“Just wanted to check on how the venue deal went. Connie texted me and said it was secured for November seventeenth, but I wanted to hear it from you.” Kit’s voice was bright and teasing on the other end.

“It’s all sorted. I didn’t have to threaten anything too dastardly,” Hudson replied, satisfied with the morning’s achievements.

“Oh God, did you really? You know what? No. I don’t want to know what you had to do to get that date. I’m better off not knowing. But thank you. It means a lot to me.”

“Anything for you,” Hudson said sincerely. “How’s your day going?”

“Good, good. Just doing some last-minute errands for the book signing this Saturday,” Kit said. “Austin always draws a crowd, so I want the place to look nice. I’ve got Beckett and some of the other staff members cleaning.”

“Please tell me you have Beckett in an apron or something like that,” Hudson joked.

“I wish, because I would certainly take pictures and send them to you and Connie.” Kit giggled. “But they are certainly working up a sweat. Beckett is already grumbling about how I can pay him in sweets. I had no idea he had such a sweet tooth.”

“Speaking of sweets, I hear that Connie is going to start looking into booking a bakery for the wedding cake. He wants to schedule a tasting for us as soon as possible.”

“I have some ideas on that too. I’ll share them tonight at dinner,” Kit said.

“Good. Make sure you tell Beckett about all the delicious samples we’ll get to try,” Hudson said.

“You’re so mean. I love it,” Kit admitted with a chuckle. “Looking forward to that. Also, we need to talk about if we’re going on a honeymoon.”

“We will do that, but it may not be immediately because, well, you know. There is a certain situation that needs to be handled before I feel it’d be safe enough,” Hudson said.

“I completely understand.”

The conversation shifted from there to lighter topics—the wedding guest list they still had to start, then finalize, potential honeymoon destinations, and what, if anything, they wanted to do after dinner.

When they finally hung up, Hudson felt recharged and ready to tackle the conference call and the contracts Connie had reminded him about. With renewed focus and determination, Hudson dove back into his workday. After responding to the most urgent emails, Hudson prepared for the conference call.

He dialed in, greeting each participant by name with his usual charm and efficiency. The discussion was vigorous, revolving around a new business venture that needed careful strategizing and innovative ideas to launch successfully.

Once the call ended, Connie popped his head around the door, his iPad in hand. “I found the most perfect wedding planner ever. She comes highly recommended. And I can’t stress this enough, she is highly recommended. And she is in the know, of course,” he announced cheerfully. “Marilyn Stokes apparently has the magic touch when it comes to luxurious weddings. Literally.”

“A magic user?”

“Yes.”

“Even better. Thank you, sweetheart,” Hudson said. “When can we meet her?”

“She’s free tomorrow afternoon. I thought we could all meet at her place of business. It’s called The Ivory Rose. We’ll go through some initial ideas and see how well we click.”

“Perfect,” Hudson said. He trusted Connie’s judgment implicitly, but meeting Marilyn would ease his mind. His dragon insisted he meet the woman before he let Kit anywhere near her.

“I’ll be back in an hour to grab you for lunch,” Connie reminded him.

“I appreciate that.”

HUDSON SURFACED long enough to go eat lunch with Connie, then he went back to his office. Connie stopped by at one point to drop off a couple of nuggets of gold, which reminded Hudson about the rings. After a quick phone call, he had a date for when to deliver the gold and rubies to a jeweler he knew.

The next thing on his list was checking on Kage. Hopefully, the building inspector had his report about the damage done to the Dominion.

Picking up his cell, he called Kage.

“Good afternoon,” Kage answered.

“Hey. I’m just checking in. Any news from the inspector on your building?”

“It’s actually good—the building is structurally sound. So, not as bad as first thought,” Kage said. “Embers is going to need a complete makeover, so the restaurant will be closed for the time being. I dodged a bullet.”

“That’s a relief to hear,” Hudson said, genuinely relieved for his friend. “If you need any help with the renovations or anything, you know who to call.”

“Appreciate it, Hudson. So? How are things on your end? Was the damage done to your outbuildings and cabins it?”

“Yes. I’ll most likely hire Kayden to either tear down or repair the damaged property. But it will probably be after he finishes with the gargoyles’ project.”

“Speaking of that, how’s construction going?” Kage asked.

“It’s going. Work on the master bedroom and bath is progressing nicely, as is the addition of space for Connie’s hoard. Kayden added another crew so they could wrap it up quicker since there was damage at Ward’s castle.”

“Is everything okay there?”

“I really have no idea. You know how private they are,” Hudson said.

“That’s true.”

“The only other big project I have going on is wedding planning. We started that recently too.”

“Sounds fun. It’s going smoothly?”

“As smoothly as one can hope for,” Hudson said with a smirk he knew Kage couldn’t see but could probably sense. “We’re meeting a wedding planner tomorrow. Turns out she’s a magic user, which should make things... interesting.”

“A magic user, huh? That does sound like it could add some extra... sparkle to your day,” Kage said.

“Exactly.” Hudson’s tone lightened a bit as he played along with Kage’s pun. “We’re looking forward to seeing what kind of magic she can whip up for the occasion.”

“Just make sure she doesn’t literally whip anything up at the wedding that you aren’t prepared for,” Kage joked.

Hudson laughed. “Duly noted.”

The conversation then shifted to discussing the damage to Kage’s building and the upcoming book signing. Kage planned to be there, which came as no shock to Hudson. Denisha and Maia were also going to be there. Again, no shock.

Hudson planned to have several of his dragons attend, along with the ones who already worked at Kit’s bookstore. They absolutely were not taking any chances.

After hanging up, Hudson sat back in his chair, allowing himself a few moments of contemplation. His life had certainly become interesting here of late.

He wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

With a slight smile, he got back to work. The rest of the afternoon passed swiftly as Hudson attended meetings and reviewed documents that required his attention.

HUDSON WAS just closing his laptop when Connie showed up in his office.

“Are you done?”

“I am. You?”

“Yes.” Connie checked his watch. “Kit should be home any minute now. Want to play a round of pool while we wait on him?”

“I’d love to,” Hudson said. There was a communal living area that had a pool table, a dartboard, and video games that his dragons could use.

They’d just finished when Kit and Beckett walked in the door. Since they’d eaten in Hudson’s private quarters the last several nights, they decided to eat in the communal dining room.

Kit, of course, mentioned something in passing about their wedding plans, and suddenly it was the only discussion at the table. All of Hudson’s inner court was enthusiastically involved.

Dinner turned into a lively dialogue about everything from potential wedding cakes—Audrey was enthusiastic about a lemon elderflower option—to the prospect of meeting Marilyn Stokes the next day.

Kit was very excited about meeting the wedding planner, but also a little nervous. As far as Connie knew, Kit had never met a magic user outside of the one who was part of Kage’s clan.

“She’s just a person, Kit. Her abilities may be different, but she’s still just a person. Besides, I hear she’s the best,” Connie said as they ate dessert. “Marilyn’s expertise could elevate the whole experience of our wedding planning.”

“I’m all for elevation,” Kit agreed. “Sorry, I don’t know why I got a little wigged out about her being a magic user.”

“It’s something new you don’t have experience with,” Hudson said. “That’s understandable.”

“I’m really looking forward to it.”

As they laughed and planned into the evening—with help from half of Hudson’s court it seemed—it felt like nothing could dampen their spirits.

After dinner, they retired to their quarters and spent the rest of the evening on the couch, discussing everything from flower arrangements to guest lists.

It was just so normal, and Hudson loved that feeling. It was those moments of ordinary joy that reminded Hudson why every effort was worth it—because it led back here, to this feeling of home with Kit and Connie by his side.