Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
“Darling, it’s only a scheme if she doesn’t like him. And I, for one, see the look in her eyes when she talks about him. That’s not hate. That’s a spark.
“I’m not some mustache-twirling villain. I happen to think they’re perfect for each other. And if I’m right, that makes me a romantic, not a conspirator.”
“A man who was perfect for her wouldn’t force her to leave the ocean.” Selene, in her anger, took a step closer toward Arden. Iris swore the air sparked between them. She wasn’t sure if that was the witch’s magic or something more.
“I believe that honor belongs to Her Majesty the queen, not Finn.” Arden tucked his chin to look down at Selene.
There was a silence following that. Because they all knew he was right. Sure, Finn had wanted an advantageous marriage to a paranormal figure. But it had been Tatiana who’d volunteered Iris for the position, whether she wanted it or not.
“Anyway,” Arden said. His voice sliced through the tension in the store. “For the seating chart for your friend here, I think we should place her somewhere strategic,” he said, opening up his binder. “Close enough to witness true love conquering in the end. Far enough that her scowling won’t ruin the photos …”
Despite trying to keep her lips in a firm line, Selene’s smile and snort indicated that she wasn’t quite as immune to the demon’s charm as she’d claimed.
“I mean, I’d consider putting her at the singles table. But we don’t want to risk her sparking an anti-romance rebellion mid-toast.”
To that, Selene rolled her eyes. “Why is he here?” she asked, her arms crossing as she nodded her head toward the demon.
“He shows up randomly and insists we talk about fonts and centerpieces.” Though why he wanted to keep her in the loop when she was so insistent on there not being a wedding was beyond her.
“Hmm,” Selene said. “Hey, we could use that.”
“Use what?”
“The wedding planning as a form of sabotage.”
“No, we cannot,” Arden insisted.
But Selene ignored him. “You could insist on absolutely unhinged centerpieces. Bioluminescent fungus comes to mind. It glows and smells.”
“Absolutely not,” Arden interjected. His handsome face was horrified.
“Set the color scheme as ‘rotting kelp’ or ‘barnacle gray.’” The tension slipped from Selene’s body as her ideas took shape.
“The palette is soft summer.” Arden hugged his binder closer to his chest.
“Insist on inviting every ex he’s ever had. With a plus-one. Say it is traditional that they regale you with stories of their first time being intimate.”
“That’s unhinged,” Arden said, reaching up to loosen his tie when Iris didn’t immediately agree with him.
“Have a signature scent for the event. Eau de Old Aquarium Water would be a good choice. Instead of a DJ, maybe consider a pod of melancholy dolphins …”
“Ooh, I know an eel barbershop quartet!” Iris said.
“You can’t be playing along with this,” Arden grumbled. “We have plans in place. Good, non-smelly plans.”
“Don’t listen to him. This is all gold,” Selene said.
“There’s an obvious flaw here,” Arden insisted.
“What’s that?”
“That if we get all the way to the wedding, nothing is going to stop it from happening.”
“Ugh,” Selene grumbled.
“It’s okay, darling, you can admit that I’m right.” He seemed immune to the concept of being cursed for life, because the guy shot a wink in Selene’s direction.
“I’m not your darling.” She turned back to Iris. “Okay. What plans do Finn and the PR guy have lined up now after your hard launch?”
“I’m not sure, but I do remember Finn mentioning that this was the crunch time, from now until the election, and that Finn’s calendar is jam-packed. I guess I assumed it was just Finn’s calendar. But it might be mine too, now that I think about it.”
“Well, it seems like the usual things will involve town halls, late-night TV shows, charity events …”
“And cultural events. The fae parade is coming up,” Arden supplied.
“I thought you weren’t helping,” Selene said.
“Hey, so long as we continue to do the wedding planning as we agreed, I’m willing to toss out some ideas. Even if I still believe you guys are going to fall madly in love. Which reminds me, this was supposed to be a quick stop to stock up on books on our way to taste-test cakes.”
“Cakes?” Selene asked, perking up even more at the thought of sweets than she did over sabotage. Which was really saying something, since the woman was an evil mastermind when it came to dismantling a political marriage.
“I don’t remember actually agreeing to the cake testing,” Iris said. “You just assumed.” Even if it would be really hard to turn down such a treat. Iris had to admit that the surface people got one thing right. And that was food. Especially if it was deep fried or covered in icing.
“Oh, no. We’re cake testing for sure,” Selene said, rushing behind the counter to shove various items into a big crossbody bag.