Chapter 28

I t was Saturday, and Grant was ready to relax. For the past couple of weeks, he'd been inside his head wondering about his past and his connection to this Reginald character, or knee-deep in parade planning. Arranging security for such an enormous project was a monumental task, but Grant was aided by a great committee, and he was erring on the side of caution.

With so many important people involved in the parade, Grant refused to overlook anything. Although it was the weekend, he'd already put in several hours of work, assigning combined teams of fallen knights, dragons, sentinels, and harpies to posts around the parade route. Now, he wanted a cold beer, some delicious dinner, and a couple hours of cuddling with Roman before he dragged him to bed.

Discovering a window into his past wasn't something Grant had wanted. And what had shocked him the most was Roman's involvement and the secrets he'd kept. Thankfully, he hadn't interacted with Roman much while he was human. He wasn't sure why that was such a consolation, but perhaps it was because he didn't want Roman to have beautiful memories with another person—even if that other person was a former version of himself.

However surprising the mystery of his past was and Roman's connection to it all, Grant had forgiven him for keeping the truth to himself. In the end, it mattered little in the present. Roman was his, and Grant adored his mate.

Things had easily gone back to normal between them, despite Grant's inability to shove the entire debacle fully out of his mind. He supposed it was due to his detective abilities. What had happened to his human self? How had his life ended? And the most important question—why couldn't he let it go and move on?

Grant yawned and headed for the kitchen. Plucking a beer from the fridge, he popped it open and drank deeply. Roman had disappeared at some point to run some errands, but Grant was hoping he'd return soon. As if he'd summoned him, the front door opened. Roman stalked in, and Grant immediately set his beer down.

"What's wrong?" Grant asked. Roman's blue eyes were a bit wild, and his expression was both frazzled and intense.

"Wrong? What? Huh?"

Scowling, Grant crossed his arms. "What in the world has gotten into you?"

"Oh, nothing. You know, I was just thinking we should go out to dinner."

"You're acting really weird," Grant replied. "I don't want to go out for dinner. I've been working all day. All I want is some good food ordered from the kitchen menu and some heavy petting on the sofa."

Roman's shoulders sagged, and his chin dipped toward his chest. "Are you sure I can't talk you into a night out?"

The disappointment radiating from Roman was palpable, which Grant hated. He supposed going out and sharing a meal with Roman wasn't the end of the world. "Promise me I still get plenty of making out when we get home."

"In what world would I say no to that?" Roman asked. "If you don't want to go, we could do it another night."

"No, no, it's fine. Are we going to grab some pizza at Andra's or maybe a burger someplace?"

"About that," Roman said. "Can you come to the bedroom with me?"

Grant grinned. "Oh man, was that whole going out thing a ruse so you could surprise me by seducing me before we eat? Because I'm totally game for that."

With a sigh, Roman grabbed Grant's hand and led him into their bedroom. Roman kissed the corner of Grant's mouth, then let go of him and disappeared into his closet. A few seconds later, Roman emerged with a garment bag.

"Go into the bathroom and get dressed in this."

"This isn't some weird costume, is it?" Grant asked, taking the bag from Roman. "I'm not wearing anything stupid in public."

"Why would I ask you to put on a costume?" Roman asked.

"I don't know. You're being weird."

"Just go, please."

"Fine," Grant replied and trudged into the bathroom. He stuck the bag on the hook on the back of the bathroom door and unzipped it. Inside was a black jacket, a white-and-lime-green pin-striped shirt, and dark jeans. It was fancier than Grant usually dressed outside of work, but he was cool with it, so he quickly changed.

"There are a pair of new boots for you in the little closet in there," Roman called out.

"Okay."

As promised, Grant found the boots, and he sat on the toilet to tug them over his socks.

"Am I allowed to come out now?" Grant shouted through the door.

"Yeah, come on."

Grant stepped into the bedroom and discovered Roman in an outfit similar to his own—only his shirt was a vibrant blue that brought out his fabulous eyes.

"You look good," Grant said.

"So do you, baby. You ready to head out?"

"Give a man a kiss first."

Roman stepped close, and their gazes locked. "I love you, thanks for coming out with me."

Pleased by the surprise despite his dream of a quiet night, Grant smiled and lifted his chin for Roman's soft kiss. "I love you too, and I expect to be awed."

"Let's fucking hope you are," Roman muttered. "Meet me at this Dérive station?"

Grant took a quick glance at Roman's phone and waited for Roman to dematerialize. The second Roman vanished, Grant followed him to their destination. Roman laced their fingers together and led him out of the building. A pleasantly cool breeze hit Grant's face as Roman walked them along a dock to a large yacht. There were others ahead of them boarding the ship, which gave Grant a moment to appreciate Roman's plans for their night.

"We're eating on this ship?" Grant asked.

"Yep, two-hour cruise around the bay. It's run by merpeople. We have a private table right against a window, so we'll have to keep an eye out for mermaids and mermen."

"Wow, good job," Grant said, stealing a quick kiss.

Roman smiled winningly and rolled his shoulders to relax them. Grant brushed their lips together again.

"You've earned some major making out later," Grant said. "Like, major ."

Since it was their turn to board the ship, Roman winked and they wound their way through the yacht to their table. As promised, the linen-covered table was pressed close to one of the large windows along the side of the ship. Grant allowed Roman to handle the wine order since he had no clue what was good and immersed himself in this new experience.

Couples and larger groups filled the surrounding tables, and some minutes later, they were leaving the dock behind. The rocking of the boat was so gentle, Grant barely felt the waves. They ordered steaks, and Roman readily pointed out each merperson springing above the top of the water. Their scales were vibrant, brilliant colors, and the setting sun glinted off them spectacularly. The boat never cruised close enough for the passengers to see their faces or even tell if they were men or women, which didn't matter anyway. Some had long hair, while others had their tresses cropped short. Like their scales, the strands caught the light of the slowly sinking sun.

When Grant and Roman's steaks were delivered to the table, the merpeople appeared in pairs or trios and dived through the waves in sync. It was obviously something they practiced for the cruise patrons, which made it no less awe-inspiring.

"This is really cool," Grant told Roman.

"Agreed."

"How'd you come up with this idea?"

"If I could keep a secret without you seeing right through me, I'd lie and say I thought of this all on my own, but I had help. Samson found this. He was going to take Brynn to scout it out for a possible recommendation to Zane because Tiri is curious about merpeople."

"Samson should still take Brynn. Did you steal his idea?"

Roman pursed his lips. "No, I asked for help to wow you. When I imagined the first time I would tell you I love you, it was a romantic moment with no parallel. In real life, it didn't happen that way because I wasn't honest. So, I wanted to surprise you with something special. It took me far too long to plan this though. I forgot how annoying clothes shopping is, and I had to wait for your other surprises."

"Other surprises?" Grant asked, shocked. "Like, how many places are you taking me tonight?"

"Not destination surprises. After our cruise, I'm taking you home."

"For heavy petting."

"I think we can do better than that."

"Damn right we can," Grant said. He leaned in close. "Are these other surprises related to what you plan to do to me in our bed later?"

"Hey, drag your mind away from how good our sex life is. We're going to be romantic tonight if it kills us."

Grant chuckled. "We're immortal fallen knights. Nothing can kill us. But I'll behave. You obviously planned this with great effort, and I'm grateful. You apparently thought of everything, and I like this outfit."

"Good thing I didn't make you wear a tie, right?"

"How would I even know how to tie one?"

"I didn't think of that," Roman said with a laugh. "Yeah, why would you know? Shit, I can barely tie one. I have a uniform. I love it. No ties involved."

"So, are my other surprises of a romantic nature?"

"Can you pause your investigative instincts for a few hours?"

Grant was taken aback. "No. How would I do that? It's literally in the spell that created me. Plus, I don't want to."

"Fine, but this isn't an interrogation, and I'm not answering your questions."

"Spoilsport."

"Change the subject, Valerius."

"Can I talk about something unrelated to this incredibly romantic gesture?" Grant asked.

"Of course, baby."

"This whole past life thing is still in the back of my mind. Like, it doesn't matter to who I am now, but I have these questions."

"Did you want to talk to the lawyer again? Reginald?"

"Maybe. But I think he's a liar. I don't trust him. How did I go from telling you I was leaving this guy to showing up as a fallen knight?"

"You died. That's how."

Grant rolled his eyes. "I know that, Roman. How did I die? Fallen knights are warriors with unfinished business. What didn't I finish? Why was my soul chosen? How old was I?"

"I'm not great at human ages, but I'd guess thirties, maybe?"

"So, presumably healthy dude in his prime and I just died."

"Given what we've learned about the few people who either carried their memories over or ran into a relative like Samson and Brynn, those aren't the people who get resurrected. You didn't go to sleep one night and pass away from some benign, undiagnosed cause."

"I was murdered."

"Highly likely."

"Or my unfinished business was my mate, and I had to return for you."

Roman sighed heavily. "Okay, I've thought about this. Here's the deal. We barely knew one another. It wasn't a love at first sight thing. If you were destined to die from natural causes and become a fallen knight to be with me, why did we meet when you were a human? What was the point? Why did I need those few memories of a man you can't recall and I didn't like?"

"You keep rubbing that in. That you didn't like me."

"I'm not rubbing it in. I want you to understand that I love you . VK Valerius. Not human Grant. You have my heart. Not him. Not anyone else."

"I know. I believe you. Did we meet because there is a mystery here that should be solved? Like, I was murdered and we have to unravel the truth?"

"If you want to investigate the past, I'm willing to help you. I'm curious too. But be prepared. Should we get fortunate enough to put the pieces together, justice is unlikely. The humans won't be interested in anything we bring to them."

"Maybe they already know," Grant suggested. "But no, I understand. We're just zombies to them, and they won't believe us anyway."

"So, this is what you want? To put on our detective hats and figure out what happened to human Grant?"

"First thing we do is find out his last name, so we don't have to keep calling him human Grant. Sounds weird."

Roman chuckled. "I don't know how else to say it, but you're right."

"Gentlemen," the server said from beside them. Grant nearly jumped; he hadn't heard the man arrive, which was sad given all the abilities Chander had given him at his resurrection. "Can I interest you in something from the dessert menu?"

"Um, no, I'm not going to do dessert," Roman said. "Grant?"

"Ice cream?"

"Of course, Venerable Knight. Chocolate or Vanilla?"

"I'll go vanilla."

The second the man walked on to the next table, Roman frowned. "Don't fill up on ice cream, we have dessert at home."

"Can I eat it off you?"

"Negotiable. But uh…I have something to ask you first."

"Okay, shoot."

Roman's mouth thinned, and he tossed his napkin on the table. "Romance, Valerius. That's our aim, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, right. Sorry. Dear, what lovely question did you have for me, oh love of my heart?"

To Grant's surprise, Roman stood. He tugged awkwardly on his jacket and pulled something from his pocket. Grant's gaze widened as Roman lowered himself on the carpeted floor of the yacht onto one knee. Roman held out his hand and popped open what Grant realized was a ring box. Inside was a thin band that shifted from black to silver as the light hit it.

"Grant, you are the answer to every wish my heart made for my other half since I was first resurrected in 1369. Would you do me the honor of becoming my bonded mate for eternity?"

Biting his lip as he desperately tried to hold in the tears that were already wetting his cheeks, Grant shoved his seat back and ignored everyone but the man kneeling at his feet. Grant cupped his beloved face and kissed him as tenderly as he knew how.

"The honor is mine, Roman," Grant whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too," Roman said. He grabbed Grant's left hand and plucked the thin ring from the box and slid it on as the other passengers Grant had forgotten existed burst into applause. "Thanks for being my everything."

Grant brushed their lips together and loved the way Roman dipped his tongue in to taste him. "Thanks for taking care of my heart and planning this night. I never expected anything like this. You're wonderful."

"Does that mean I can have half your ice cream?"

Delighted with Roman and life in general, Grant laughed. "Stand up and take a bow for our audience so they'll stop staring and I'll be happy to share my dessert. But you better not have been lying about there being something sweet waiting for us later."

"Trust me, there are people sneaking into our home as we speak."

"Okay, that's terrifying," Grant muttered as Roman stood and thanked the passengers for their patience.

Roman returned to his chair and held his palm out. Grant eagerly grabbed Roman's hand. His incredible, thoughtful mate had delivered on romance and given Grant memories he'd cherish forever. Just as he did Roman himself.