Page 37 of Charmed By Destiny

“Actually, the office isn’t the same without him,” Lucas said, his gray gaze landing on Richard. For a moment, Richard forgot anyone else existed as he stared at Lucas. The man was gorgeous, and Richard knew him well enough now that he could honestly say it wasn’t external beauty alone. They weren’t besties or anything, but Lucas was kind and thoughtful.

Eric made a beeline across the room with Gabriel trailing after him, and he didn’t stop until he was inches from Richard. His blue eyes were both worried and wild.

“Mom wants to know which way I prefer the napkins folded,” Eric announced, his words rushed together and urgent.

Gabriel caught up with his soulmate and wrapped an arm around Eric. “Please don’t leave me alone with Rosalind again,” Gabriel said, dropping a kiss on Eric’s curls.

“I blame Richard for getting us into this,” Eric grumbled. “We could’ve eloped.”

Richard’s mouth fell open. “How is this my fault?”

“Because you’re the event planner in the family and I thought you’d take care of everything,” Eric replied, his gaze full of betrayal.

“Oh no, baby, you have to make some decisions for your own big day,” Richard countered. “We want to make sure this day is about you and Gabriel, not a reflection of anyone else’s style.”

“But Gabriel and I don’t have a style,” Eric exclaimed.

“My whole place was beige,” Gabriel added, unhelpfully in Richard’s opinion.

Richard rolled his eyes. “I love you both, but I can’t do everything.”

“I’ll go pick a napkin,” Maribeth said.

“I love you, Mari,” Eric called after her as she stalked toward Rosalind. Richard noted Douglas had already cornered his mother and was showing her something on his large tablet.

“Douglas is going to wind Mom up,” Richard grumbled. It’d grown clear to Richard by midweek that his mother wasn’t stressing about things. She had everything under control, and she trusted Richard to ensure the wedding would go smoothly. But Douglas called her incessantly.

Richard had told her the previous day to stop answering, but his mother refused. She didn’t want to hurt Douglas’s feelings or allow a single thing to potentially fall through the cracks. The second scenario was highly unlikely, not impossible, but Richard was an excellent troubleshooter.

So was his mother. While she refused to take any credit for how the vast Marwood properties were run across several continents, Rosalind was involved in every decision. Richard’s father trusted her implicitly and did little without her input. Without her aid, Richard doubted his parents would have such a vast network of businesses.

“Go rescue her,” Eric encouraged.

“A visit from the happy couple would be a better diversion,” Richard told his brother.

“But what if she has more questions?” Eric asked.

“Suck it up, baby, you only have to deal with the wedding stuff for a little longer,” Richard replied. “She’s worked her ass off to ensure your wedding is perfect.”

Eric sucked in a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “You’re right, and so have you. We’ll go save her.”

Gabriel pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. Eric narrowed his eyes at his soulmate. “I have—”

“To come with me,” Eric finished for him. “Don’t try to make up a work excuse either, you’re not on the clock today.”

“Plus, your screen was dark, so no one texted or called you,” Richard remarked, crossing his arms in immediate defense of his brother.

Stepping closer to Eric, Gabriel bussed his head again. “I was going to say I have to text Clark. He was supposed to meet us down here, and he’s nowhere to be found.”

“Call him,” Eric insisted. “He’d be a better distraction than us.”

“Maybe he can think of a few errands for Douglas. If we don’t divert him from obsessing over every detail, he’ll stress himself out further. I’ve tried to tell him to relax, but he’s not listening to me,” Richard said.

He wished he could convince Douglas everything would be fine, but nothing had worked that week. It filled Richard with guilt. Without the gift Richard had given the inspirit at his summoning, Douglas wouldn’t grow consumed with already-confirmed specifics.

Gabriel called Richard’s father, and Richard looked up at Lucas. “Still excited about today?”

Lucas’s smile spread slowly. “Yep.”

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