Arranged love

APRIL

After I watch Grave exit the shop, I pick up my cell to call Alexa but then pause, afraid of what she’ll say about my date with him tonight after what her brother told us about the Kings. So instead, I dial up Jasmine. We traded numbers that first night when we went out after leaving her own party.

“Hey, doll.” She answers on the first ring.

“I need to talk to you,” I say in a rush. My heart’s still pounding from our kiss. It was a mistake. I know it was. It was so unexpected, but again, it was what I wanted. When he asked me out on a date tonight, I didn’t think twice about it.

“Everything okay?” she asks.

“I’m not sure.” I bite my bottom lip.

“Tell me everything and we’ll figure it out together,” she assures me.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I like Jasmine. I don’t know her all that well, but she seems to be a good kind of friend to have.

“You know the Kings, right?” I come right out and ask.

“Yeah …” she trails off. “Why?”

“I have a date with Grave tonight.” I close my eyes and bow my head in shame. Why did I say yes? Why did he have to kiss me like that? My heart still pounds. He looked at me like he was seeing something for the first time. My skin still tingles from where he touched me.

She whistles. “Oh, girl. What are you doing around noon today?”

I frown, but answer, “I’ll be at the shop.”

“Okay, I’ll come pick you up then,” she states.

“Why?” I ask.

“We’re going to go have lunch with the girls.”

_______________

Jasmine and I pull up to Kingdom. “What are we doing here?” I ask, getting out as the valet slides in the driver’s seat of her car. I’ve never been here. But the hotel and casino dominate the Las Vegas Strip. It has four towers-one for each King-and is its own city.

“The girls and I have a tradition that we meet up for lunch at Empire.”

We walk into Kingdom, and it’s exactly as I expected. White marble floor with the same black circle with a golden K in the middle. We entered the hotel side. I can see off to the right where it opens into the casino.

She grabs my hand and pulls me to a bank of elevators. We make our way up to the twentieth floor, passing slot machines, and enter the restaurant. I see the girl from the other night; Emilee I think was her name. And another woman I don’t know.

“Hey ladies, this is April.” She introduces me before she slides into the booth. I sit down beside her since both women are on the other side, facing us.

“It’s good to see you again.” Emilee nods.

“I’m Haven.” The brunette reaches out her hand to shake mine.

“Nice to meet you.”

We all open our menus. “What’s good here?” I ask.

“Everything,” Jasmine answers, licking her lips. Then she lifts her eyes to look over at the entrance. “Haven, how long is Nite gonna be on babysitting duty?”

I follow her eyes over to a man I didn’t see when we entered the place. He’s standing with his arms over his chest and legs spread wide. His eyes are on our table, and he’s dressed in a black three-piece suit with an earpiece in his ear. He looks like he belongs in the Secret Service. Who is this Haven chick? Haven sighs. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Emilee rolls her eyes, and Jasmine just laughs. Then a silence falls over them.

“So, uh, Jasmine mentioned you girls have lunch here often,” I add, breaking the silence. I like Jasmine, but I’m confused as to why she brought me here.

“Yeah.” Emilee nods and then it’s quiet again.

I look over the menu trying to figure out what I want when I hear Haven speak. “Hey babe. That was fast.”

I look up and meet a set of dark eyes that I know well.

“April,” Luca says my name in surprise.

“You know her?” Jasmine is the one who asks.

“Yeah.” He places his hands on Haven’s shoulders “April is my favorite florist.”

“Oh.” Haven’s eyes light up. “I love all of the flowers he brings home. And your vases, they are gorgeous.”

“Thank you.” I blush at her praise. But it’s not hard to figure out who she is-his wife.

“You own a flower shop?” Emilee smiles at her own question.

I nod.

A man I remember seeing on my computer comes to stand next to Luca behind Emilee. His name is Weston Mathews-aka Titan-one of the owners of Kingdom. Now shit is starting to make sense. The dots connecting. “Do you do weddings?” he asks me.

“I do.”

“Oh, my gosh. Will you do our wedding?” Emilee asks. “I’ve been looking for a florist.”

“I’d love to but …”

“Yay.” She claps her hands excitedly. “I’ll come by after lunch, and we can go over what I have in mind.”

“Okay,” I say smiling, happy to help them out. “How many people are you thinking of?” I ask. I’m not a baker, but the number of guests will give me an idea of how big it’s going to be.

She looks up over her shoulder at Titan. “How many were on our final list, babe? I think it said two hundred and twenty.”

If I was eating food, I’d choke on it. “That’s a lot.” I almost gasp.

“Yeah.” He nods. “Something around that.”

“There was more, but she started scratching names out.” Titan adds.

“When is the wedding?” I ask.

“We’re thinking November.”

“That’s in two months.” My eyes bug out.

“What’s the rush?” Jasmine asks.

“We just don’t want to wait.” Emilee shrugs. “And I put you down for a plus one.” She winks at Jasmine. “Who are you bringing?”

She waves her off. “I’m riding solo.”

“You’ll be riding something.” Emilee laughs.

“As long as it’s not Trenton.” Haven pulls her lip back with disgust at the name.

“Okay, ladies, we have to go. We just came by to say hello.” Titan leans down and kisses Emilee on the forehead. “We have a meeting with the rest of the Kings in ten.”

The couples say their goodbyes, and once we’re alone, Jasmine speaks. “We need to go shopping after this.”

“I’m down,” Emilee says. “Then I’ll come over to your shop?” she asks me.

“Of course,” I answer.

“Sure.” Haven nods. “Occasion?”

Jasmine elbows me. “April has a date with Grave tonight.”

“No fucking way!” Emilee gasps.

“That’s awesome.” Haven tilts her head to the side, smiling. “This must mean he’s done with Lucy.” She shakes her head. “She’s as bad as you are with Trenton.” She points at Jasmine.

“Who is Lucy?” I ask. I know nothing about Grave except what I read on the internet. And all that told me was that he is the youngest heir to Kingdom and the most likely to end up in prison. He had a few mugshots. Mainly for DUIs and reckless behavior. It’s no secret why Kyle Reed is known as Grave. The guy has a death wish. He’s an adrenaline junkie.

“Lucy is a train wreck,” Haven answers.

“They have a bad past,” Emilee adds.

Haven snorts. “I was never friends with her. Hell, I didn’t even know who she was until recently. But she’s bad for Grave. Feeds into his addiction.”

I go to ask what she means by that when the waitress walks up to our table and takes our orders.