Conrad’s POV
I came down here to lecture Ollie on her earlier behavior regarding Sylvia. Whatever the circumstance that had led to their argument, Ollie showed a real dismissal of Sylvia and her suggestions, which can’t be tolerated.
Ollie must learn, one way or the other, that Sylvia is the most important person in this house. I don’t care if she has us wearing polka dots or flannel, her suggestions must be seriously considered.
I will not have my dear sister feel dismissed at an event that is supposed to celebrate our family.
Ollie’s excuse that there’s simply no time to change anything also rings hollow. Our family has money, and with money, all doors are open. Does Ollie not think we wouldn’t pay to have Sylvia’s hopes realized? The sky is the limit for my sister.
These are the things I came to discuss with Ollie, to ensure that she would no longer hurt Sylvia’s feelings. I was even prepared to berate Ollie, and to punish her if needed, if she talked back.
Yet, the she opened the door, and I smelled… her.
She reeks of sex. The strong scent of her passion has my dick hard so quickly, my head spins.
What the fuck?
Does she have someone in her with her? Hot anger flashes through me, before my wolf chuffs at the notion.
“She is alone,” my wolf says.
Then she was just touching herself. She’s 18. She’s allowed to do that, especially within the confines of her own
room.
Why do I care?
And why does the smell of her sex make me so…
My dick twitches in my pants. Gods. I need to handle this myself before I do something incredibly stupid and demeaning.
Ollie is a deceiver. I refuse to feel any sort of desire for her.
This… reaction… of my dick must be solely because I haven’t had sex since Christie was exiled.
That has to be it. I just need to fuck someone. My body is only reacting like this with Ollie because she is here.
Her eyes are a little wide, very confused. “Conrad…?”
“Don’t,” I say, and it comes out a growl. I’m pissed off and I don’t even know why.
I have to get out of here before I embarrass myself.
The lecture will have to wait.
Annoyed, I turn and force myself to walk as confidently as I can to the stairs. Once I’m out of Ollie’s line of sight, I hobble all the way back to my room, where I fully intend to take matters into my own hands.
Ollie’s POV
1/3
Chapter 30
That was.. weird.
Why had Conrad come down here? It couldn’t have been jus to say, Don’t. What did that even mean?
And when he looked at me… his pupils went wide, making Him seem a bit feral…
+25 BONUS
Did he want to hurt me? No, I don’t think that was it, even with as wild as he looked. There was something else in those eyes of his… something like fire.
My own body starts to heat up again, thinking of it.
Gods, what is wrong with me? I need a cold shower and fast
Holding my towel to my chest, I rush to the bathroom where I turn the facet all the way cold.
The day of the ceremony, I get ready at home and start the walk to the venue early. Ella doesn’t need to arrive until later, but she insists on coming with me ahead of time to help if any last minute alterations are needed.
Honestly, I’m thrilled to have her help. My nerves are wound tight about the whole thing, especially with the changes Sylvia made. I’ve been asking her all week to give me the receipts for the flowers, but she kept insisting the florist would bring them with the flowers today.
“I’m sure everything will be fine,” Ella says. “You’ve managed parties before and they always turn out great.”
“Nothing on this scale,” I say. “And never where I had to accept Sylvia’s last minute suggestions.”
“Even so, you thought everything through. Dying the banners blue was a good compromise to buying new ones.”
New ones would have never been made in time. Dying the white banners blue was the only option if I was to actually give Sylvia what she wanted, which the brothers insisted on. The blue looks okay with the gold and the hints of green. I’m still worried about those red and black roses though.
And then there’s the matter of extending the stage. Fortunately, the carpenters on site explained to the quadruplets that adding to the stage at the last minute like that could lead to compromises in the structural integrity. Sylvia seemed upset by it, but the brothers, as they expected her to stand beside them, didn’t want to endanger her.
I have to take the victories where I could, so I accepted that as one, even if the thought of Sylvia standing beside the brothers during the coronation seemed unnecessary and somewhat cruel, at least to me.
If things hadn’t changed as they did, would they have had me up there beside them instead?
“It’s going to be okay,” Ella says.
Yet, when we reach the venue, her reassurances come crashing down.
Everything is in place – except for the flowers, which have not yet arrived. I quickly ask around, to any and all who are around me, but no one seems to know which florist Sylvia hired.
Ella and I divide the phone book. She starts from the bottom of the list of all the florists in town, while I start from the top. No one has any record of an order from Sylvia.
There’s only one florist left to call, the one I had to cancel with last minute to suit Sylvia’s wishes. I call her now, ready to grovel.
“Sylvia did not call us,” the florist said. “And even if she had, I would have, I would have turned her down. Do you have any idea how much you screwed me over, Ollie? I have all these damned flowers now, that I ordered just for
2/3
Chapter 36
+25 BONUS
you, wilting in this place…”
“Wait – you still have the flowers?” I ask.
“I can’t just return them to the fields, can I?” The florist has every right to be pissed at me, but I’m hoping…
Maybe I can salvage this situation.
“I want to make this right,” I say. “How fast can you get those flowers over here?”
The florist considers the words. “An hour, but I want double what you were willing to pay before.”
“Fine. That’s fine.” The brothers said the sky was the limit on the funds for this event. I could only hope they meant it.
After making the agreement, I hung up the phone and told Ella.
“An hour? That’s cutting it awfully close,” Ella says.
“We don’t have any choice.”
Looking back at the room, the most obvious spots the flowers are missing are up on the stage and along the aisles where wreaths are supposed to hang. There’s not really any way to cover it up. Not any fast ways.
“Maybe we can find some more ribbon and make bows?” I think out lout.
“Ollie…” Ella says, claiming my attention. She’s looking at the entrance. I look too, just in time to see a few higher ranking members of society peek through the doors.
The guests are already arriving!
