Page 17 of I Dated a Holiday Hero (Blind Date Corporation #19)

Dex said, “I can set all queries for data bursts during breaks and do calls on lunch. Evenings for tastings and fittings.”

Hever smiled. “We are professionals.”

Zera snorted. “Krauz is doing a private party for you before the new year in one of the private rooms. You can each bring a plus one.”

Dex chuckled. “I will leave Hever to it. I don’t have a plus one.”

Zera looked sly. “I could set you up with an escort.”

Dex looked at her wryly. “Dumb enough to not know who I am?”

“Ah, right. Well, what would you like instead?”

Hever looked at her nails. “Spa day. Our bodies get messy and dirty. Spa day would fit.”

Dex beamed. “That, I would be up for.”

Zera nodded. “I will save the private night for me and mine.”

Hever laughed.

Zera looked at them. “What are you coated in?”

“The latest active Kritz sent exudes a paralytic. Don’t worry. I didn’t let Hever touch him.”

Hever blinked. “He did?”

“Yup. It acts on my skin like dental freezing. I can feel through it, but it doesn’t really matter. He kept trying to get you to touch him, so I am guessing he was a shadow walker and shit himself when he saw me.”

Hever blinked.

Zera added. “She’s a Rhodian. Shadow killers. If he had flickered in front of her, he would have found out if it was true or not.”

Dex grinned. “But I do want to work in R&D. However, if I am there, nothing is getting to you.”

Hever laughed. “I knew I liked you.”

Dex inclined her head.

Zera sighed and walked off.

Hever finished her donut and mumbled, “You move like a bodyguard.”

“I move like a warrior. Generally, if I fixate on someone, they are dead or in bed with me, and you are not my type.” She grinned. “I don’t play with omegas.”

Hever laughed. “Fair enough.”

“Do you have an emergency button?”

“A what?”

“A panic flare to your com that brings defenders running.”

“No, but it’s a good idea.”

Dex grinned. “Put me on the list. I do love a good fight.”

Hever laughed and set the program up on her com. She was hoping she wouldn’t need it, but if Krix couldn’t make it, she was oddly sure that Dex would.

Hever got home and took a shower before Krix finished arriving with his stuff. The guesthouse was spacious, and she was ready to make it into a home.

Krix hugged her. “How was work?”

“I got a new assistant.” She hugged him. “Did you chat with Sgoth?”

“Yes, he had a wealth of information on Bennari weddings but not a lot on Aksallan ones.”

“My new assistant was a wedding planner and a mechanic and a heavy-hitter.”

“Wow. Looks like you have it settled. Your mother contacted me and asked us to the house for dinner.”

“All right. Well, I already showered and changed.”

“I showered at work and will just change into casual clothing, and we can go.”

She nodded and said, “I will supervise.”

Krix snorted and went to the bedroom to get changed.

Hever leaned in the doorway. “So, my assistant caught someone trying to sedate me today. She took the hit and didn’t flinch.

She’s earning her salary already. Also, she’s an amazing driver.

We got so filthy, and then we went for coffee.

Zera freaked, and now we are getting a shower in R&D. ” Hever was laughing.

“Save the rest for a discussion over dinner in case we need to break up Nautilus and Veradil smiling at each other.”

They held hands as they walked across the pathway that led to the main house.

Krix paused when they followed voices to the living space. They came around the corner to see two older couples sitting there talking. “Mom?”

Krix’s mother smiled, her eyes relieved. “Oh, good. You are home. Your father came into town for this, so I called Veradil, and she invited us for dinner.”

Hever looked at Nautilus and whispered, “Blink if you need help.”

He snorted. “I am fine.”

Veradil sighed. “Hever, your sense of humour is not appreciated.”

Nautilus smiled. “I appreciate it. She has removed any nerves I had about courting you, Veradil.”

Hever mumbled, “If that were courting, I would hate to see foreplay.”

Veradil covered her eyes, and Nautilus grinned.

“Sorry, Mom. I am on good behaviour, I promise. From now on.”

Krix chuckled. He introduced her to his parents, and they all sat around talking about their day.

When it was Hever’s turn, she smiled. “I have a new assistant. It pays more than being my mechanic.”

Veradil chuckled. “What are they like?”

“Dex is really tall. She has a few inches on Krix, actually. Just a little shorter than Nautilus.”

Veradil smiled. “That’s interesting. Heavy-hitter, mechanic’s skills?”

“Of course.”

Krix snorted. “And apparently immune to toxins.”

Nautilus leaned forward. “And tall, does she carry a sword?”

“Not in her skirt and heels.”

Krix frowned. “There is something nagging at me, and I can’t remember why.”

The housekeeper called them for dinner, and the conversation changed to the wedding.

Krix lifted her left hand and kissed it. “Yes, a fun subject.”

Krix’s mother, Xelia, smiled. “That is complicated, but do you want a long engagement or a short one?”

Krix muttered, “Short.”

Veradil smiled. “Our family and friends can be gathered in about ten days.”

Xelia looked to her mate, Kenovar. “How long does the Stronghold need?”

“For a party? Anything would be fine.”

Hever paused. “You mean hold it at the Stronghold? No. I have a lot of friends and family who are not welcome there. I want to have the party here.”

Veradil said, “Salmet has offered the Aksallan gardens for the ceremony and a reception at the prefect’s residence.”

Kenovar sighed. “Fine. How soon can it be managed?”

Hever said, “Can I ask Dex?”

Everyone nodded.

Hever smiled. “Can she come over?”

Veradil laughed. “I think it is wise at this point.”

Hever sent Dex a message and got a laughing emoji followed by the notice that she was on her way.

The knock on the door happened a second later, and the housekeeper returned to them with wide eyes. “Miss, a Miss Dex to see you.”

“Bring her in.”

Dex walked in, and Hever blinked. Kenovar scrambled to his feet and charged up his hands. Dex snorted. “Oh, please. I am here as Hever and Krix’s wedding planner. I am not starting anything.” She gave Kenovar a calm look. “Nor am I finishing them tonight.”

Kenovar looked to Hever. “You know this person?”

“She’s my new assistant. She’s great. I am guessing you know her?”

“I know her kind. They are dangerous.”

Dex smiled. “If I say my name is Dexandra Sion, will that calm your tits?”

Nautilus was grinning. “She’s a shunned Rhodian. If she meets any of her kind, they have to destroy her.”

“Well, they have to try. No one has managed yet.” She lifted her tablet. “Now, as to the wedding. Do we have an estimated guest count? I was spit-balling four hundred, but—”

Kenovar asked, “You are truly Sion?”

“Yup. Twelve years now.”

“Why?” He blurted.

Dex sighed and looked at him. “Since this won’t progress without the chat, I defended my father against my mother and gave him time to escape.

He had been coming to get me away, but she caught him.

She was going to kill him, so I got him away and let him return to the shadows, while I fought my mother. ”

“Your mother is?”

“Dorix. Chief of the Rhodians. I am her only daughter and greatest disappointment, and one of my brothers is a florist, so you can see how far I have fallen.” She grinned.

Hever had to know. “Why did Kenovar ask if you had a sword?”

“Oh, if you see a Rhodian’s blade, they are going to use it.”

Krix frowned. “Are you safe to be around Hever?”

“No one safer. I am not bound by blood nor honour. I have a service contract with Aksalla, but that’s it. No one has a claim to my blade.”

Hever nodded and looked around. “Right. Now, how many does each of you want to invite? Dex guessed at four hundred, but I know we are missing someone.”

Xelia put her hand on her husband’s and said, “If you are counting, we have fifty direct relatives, some children, with about sixty from my husband’s association.”

Dex nodded and got to the seriousness of friends and relatives who were not in Sethir.

Hever grinned at Krix, and he looked relaxed. “Looks like things are in good hands.”

He sighed. “Dex is impressive.”

“Keep eating, you are going to need your strength. Her face is telling me that we are going to be going through all of the bulk details tonight so she can get invitations ready.”

Dex nodded, “And we are going to schedule food tastings. If everyone here wants to participate, that is fine. In this timeline, things are going to be pricey, but it can be managed.”

Veradil smiled. “I’ve got this.”

“Mom. I have money.”

“I know, pumpkin, but half the places we visited before you turned eighteen gave me funds toward your dowry. I thought a ripping wedding might do well.”

Dex was making rapid notes as people spoke. “Do you want Nautilus on the invitation?”

Veradil blushed, but Nautilus was holding her hand on the table.

Dex said, “The Honourable Ambassador Veradil and her companion Nautilus invite you to the wedding of her daughter, Hever, to the Honourable defender Krix, son of the bonded mates, Xelia of Serathoa and Kenovar of the Sethir-Nin. Titles to be added later when they are provided.”

Veradil smiled. “I like the sound of that.”

Xelia nodded. “You knew I was from Serathoa?”

“Yup. You are one of the discarded ones. You don’t breathe water, so they gave you a nice trust and set you up on the land.”

Kenovar smiled. “She was staring at the ocean, and it was a glare of fury. She turned that gaze to me, and I melted.”

Xelia smiled. “And I looked toward him, and he blocked out the sun and the ocean. Making him the centre of my world for a while didn’t seem so bad.”

Krix chuckled. “Then I came along, and the while turned into years.”

Dex nodded. “You also need to decide which defenders and guards you are inviting. They can be on call. I can have a sober bar available.”

Krix blinked. “You are thinking of everything.”

“That is literally the job. Okay, food. I suggest a plated meal with a buffet backup and tons of dessert. I know how actives eat.”

Hever chuckled. “I have a few places that we could use for desserts.”

“I will get a list and contact them all.”

The housekeeper brought out dessert and coffee, including Dex, and she made notes and notes and notes. This was going to be one helluva party.