Page 90 of Red King

“No problem.” I smile, watching the couple head to the stage to sing their karaoke tune. There are quite a few couples here tonight. Some of them even arrived together. And a couple of people are getting quite cozy.

The others are mingling nicely. The cocktail-making competition was a hit.

Smoke and Jacki won it. They’re at the bar together right now. It looks like Smoke is flirting and that Jacki is lapping it up. There’s lots of giggling and subtle touching. A hand on an arm. A—

The next song starts, drawing my eye back to the karaoke couple as they take to the stage, grabbing microphones. They sway to the music with the spotlight on their faces and then sing with enthusiasm but not too much talent.

I giggle. This is fun.

The crowd doesn’t care. Many sing along. Some of them are dancing.

“Great party,” Lauren tells me, shoulder-bumping me as she sidles up.

“Heeeey.” I give her a quick hug. “How are you doing?”

“I’m great. All good.”

“I’m sorry I missed you having your stitches out yesterday. I was stuck in a meeting.” I widen my eyes.

She flaps a hand. “It was all good. Really quick and easy. Dr. du Pont is sweet. And Burn came along to hold my hand.” She points to a massive shifter at the bar. He smiles as soon as he sees Lauren looking his way.

Her cheeks go blood red when he winks and blows a kiss at her.

“I might be just a little bit in love.” She bites her lip and lifts her shoulders for a few moments. “I’ve never met a gentler person. He’s like a cuddly teddy bear.”

A teddy bear that could rip you into pieces using just one hand. I get what she means, though. He keeps smiling at her, looking all goofy like only someone in love can.

“He looks sweet. I’m so happy for you.”

“I can’t believe I ran like that on the first day. It seems like it happened months ago, when it was just last week. So much has changed since then. I’m so happy.” She looks back at Burn, and the look the two of them give each other is scorching. There is no denying the chemistry.

“I’d better get back over there. I’ll see you soon, Paisley,” she says as she walks away.

“You can count on it,” I yell over the music.

Lauren practically skips over to her shifter, jumping into his big arms. He catches her, lifting her off her feet, and they share a kiss that is almost too sexy for public consumption.

My gaze moves over the reception hall, going back to Arctic. I look away when he catches me looking at him…again.

Arghhh!I need to get better at pretending. I hope I’m not being too obvious.

Cathy walks over with two glasses of champagne. She hands me one. “Here you go.”

“We’re still on the clock.”

“This evening is a success. The party has started to wind down; I saw a few people leaving together. We can have a little toast. You won’t get drunk from half a glass of bubbles,” she taunts me.

“You’re right.” I smile at her, taking a glass.

“To the success of the pilot program.”

“To what is starting to look like a success.” I decide to be more conservative. I wouldn’t want to jinx the program.

“Cheers,” Cathy says as we touch glasses.

“You’re doing a great job,” I tell her as we take a sip. “So, tomorrow is another free day,” I say. “Maybe we should move the picnic up if the weather holds. There are storms forecast for Saturday.”

Cathy shakes her head. “We can’t do that. It’s going to be a bit of a rough one for the Mistveil community, especially for Arctic and the royal family.” She looks at me strangely before looking away. “Surely you must know—?” She stops talking and smiles in a flirty way. I look over in the same direction just as Arctic looks back at Hannah.

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