Page 6 of Braden

You actually. He barely kept himself from saying that out loud as he joined her at the small table. Elodie appealed to him in so many ways, although he’d admit her curves were what he’d noticed first and continued to appreciate. She was dressed in cute pajamas now, with a six-eyed Spican kitten print and big fluffy slippers. “You choose first—I’m good with any of these. Or we can split them.”

“I’m not sharing this,” she warned him as she picked up the plate with hot fudge cake and ice cream. “My reward for surviving this day.” Returning to the chair, she took a big bite and closed her eyes in ecstasy. “This was a great idea.”

Braden sipped his coffee and tried a bite of pie. “So tomorrow is flag tisba, from what Renald said, and then what?”

“A big beach party with live music for the afternoon and the evening. The next night is the bachelor party for the guys—I assume you’ll be invited. And all of us ladies are going to the bachelorette party, which Ivoria the maid of honor coordinated. Knowing her there will be rivers of feelgoods and probably male strippers, if Resort Planet offers those. She’s kind of a basic appetites girl.”

“So we won’t be together that evening then.” The news didn’t make him happy.

Elodie finished the cake. “I was thinking maybe you should stay here tonight.” Raising the fork as if to ward him off, she added hastily, “To sleep on the couch, I mean. We’re supposed to be in a relationship so people would expect us to be sleeping together. It’ll seem odd if we don’t share a room.”

Braden patted the cushions of the couch. “I’ve slept in much worse conditions when I’ve been outside the fence on missions. No problem.”

After they finished their desserts and coffee Braden set the tray outside the room in the corridor and Elodie brought him pillows and a blanket from the bedroom. She said an awkward goodnight and retreated to her room. He heard the lock click as he got himself settled on the couch, which fortunately was long enough to accommodate his six foot four height. Reflecting on what a strange day it had been and how he was now in the middle of the Sectors’ hottest celebrity wedding party, he chuckled, punched the pillows up a bit and closed his eyes.

Chapter Two

An early riser both by inclination and military training, Braden was awake with the dawn. He didn’t hear any stirrings from Elodie’s room and there were things he had to do this morning, so he wrote her a note and propped it up on the small table where they’d eaten their desserts the night before.

Got to check in with my people this morning. I’ll be back in time for the tisba game. Renald sent me the invite last night. And one for the bachelor party tomorrow. Take a headclear and eat a good breakfast, okay?

He hated to duck out without speaking to her but he guessed she wasn’t going to be in the mood for conversation. Between the club and the cocktail party she’d had a lot to drink, which he had the feeling wasn’t her normal, and the hangover might be intense this morning. He’d be back in a few hours and if she wasn’t out and about he’d definitely be knocking on her bedroom door. Remembering he didn’t have a room key at this hotel, he hoped he wasn’t going to have to resort to using his all access Special Forces code when he returned. They weren’t supposed to use the ability for personal reasons.

No one will ever know if I do.

When he got to his hotel after walking down the nearly deserted promenade, Braden stripped and showered, then went to the pool to swim laps. He ran into Derius, who’d been having the big fight with his assigned date at the club last night and didn’t look too happy this morning either. After a brief conversation he continued on his way upstairs and got dressed for the day ahead, packing a few necessary items in a kitbag to take to Elodie’s hotel with him.

Making a call to the concierge desk, he requested the agent on duty to order him a dress uniform for the wedding, giving her the specific military standards without specifying whose wedding he’d be attending. Then he called his friend Nikko, who was actually the Grand Duke Nikko of Winddome on Ardanna Prime, a cousin of the king, and the senior Royal in charge of this contingent of Ardannan men here for the five day dates.

“Need to chat with you,” he told his friend. “Is now a good time to drop by the suite?”

“How about I meet you for coffee in the restaurant downstairs?” Nikko replied. “Kath’s getting ready to occupy the bathroom for an hour or two by the looks of it and I don’t think she’d want you here while she’s in the midst of whatever she’s got to do.” He lowered his voice as Kath could be heard in the background protesting and laughing. “She looks fine to me just the way she is but what do I know, right?”

“See you downstairs in ten,” Braden said. He was happy for his friend that his date was going well so far.

Once they were both seated at a table by the window with an ocean view and had given their order to the human waitress, Nikko leaned back. “So what’s up? Did your date ever arrive?”

“That’s what I need to talk to you about. The resort manager called me in and told me she’d gotten married to her ex at the last second.”

“Did he have a replacement date?”

“No. He said everyone here has a dating profile and is supposed to be available to serve as a backup but no one matched. Or at least not closely enough for the Ardannan contract.” He shrugged. “You probably know more about the details than I do.”

“That’s too bad but at least you get a nice vacation out of it. You’ll have to repeat the whole thing next cycle though.” Nikko took his coffee from the waitress with thanks and added creamer. “Or of course you can go back up to the ship and wait it out there but who in the seven hells wants to be cooped up on a military ship when there’s paradise right here? Am I right?”

“Actually I do have a date as it happens.” Braden had to suppress a smile remembering how Elodie had asked him to help her out. “I met a girl from another part of the resort. She’s here for a big wedding and needs a date. Long story short, her ex is here, he’s a snake, two timed her with three women at once and she walked in on them.”

“Ugly.”

“Yeah, she’s kinda traumatized by it, I can tell. Anyway she asked me to pretend to be her new boyfriend and run interference for her. The wedding is huge and there are all kinds of events planned for the next few days. She’s a bit out of her element—well, I am too, not used to hobnobbing with celebrities.”

Nikko’s eyes narrowed. “Whose wedding is this?”

“Renald and Tamarind.”

There was a moment of utter silence and Braden enjoyed his friend’s reaction.

“The Tamarind?”