Ian (Unbreakable Bonds 4.5)

“What about after the wedding? You could always get a new, bigger place,” Ian suggested.

Andrei snorted. “Oh yeah, cuz a three-floor penthouse isn’t possibly big enough for two guys who are rarely there,” he said sarcastically and Ian could only smile. The poor guy was obviously still adjusting to being engaged to a billionaire—and that was billionaire with a big “B.” Lucas might have gone through three businesses closing, but his other investments and the stock market were very kind to him. He’d made the year’s newest class of billionaires in the annual Forbes listing. And Lucas had confided in him that he intended to spoil Andrei.

Swallowing back his laughter, he asked, “Should I change topics to the wedding?”

Andrei let out a loud groan and dropped the empty tape roll on the floor.

“I was just wondering since you moved it from spring to summer and it’s almost June already. You’re going to need to book a location soon.”

“We can’t.”

Ian immediately twisted around, his heart thudding in his chest. “Can’t what? Get married?”

“What?” Andrei jerked at his question, his eyes going wide. “No! I mean book a place.”

Ian pointed at Andrei, glaring at the man. “That was not funny.” He returned to his taping, wincing again as he shifted to a new spot. “Why can’t you book? Can’t decide?”

“Can’t agree on how big the wedding will be,” Andrei muttered.

“You and Lucas said that it was going to be a couple dozen people at most.”

“Ugh. Yeah, but then my parents wanted to include more family and I wanted to invite some old friends.”

“So…how many is that?”

“About fifty-ish. But then Lucas decided to include a few more friends and business associates, which was another fifty.”

“A hundred people isn’t too bad, and I’m sure a lot of people will decline,” Ian hedged.

“Then we were contacted by various LGBT rights and outreach groups who are pushing for something bigger and more visible to help improve attitudes in the area. Lucas has a very positive image in the city, and they want his support. So, right now, the wedding guest list is somewhere between three and three hundred.”

Ian paused, holding out a strip of tape to apply to the baseboard and looked over at Andrei as he descended the ladder after taping the window. “Three?”

He counted on his fingers, “Me, Lucas, and a Justice of the Peace.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

Andrei laughed. “Hell no. My mother would murder me, grind me up, and make me into sarmale,” he said referring to the Romanian dish of cabbage rolls stuffed with pork. Picking up the ladder, he carried it over to the door on Ian’s side to get the high places that Ian couldn’t reach.

Ian finished the last bit of wall he had and settled back on his ass to watch as Andrei edged the woodwork of the doorframe with bright blue tape. He wasn’t very exacting with the tape, which meant that there would be gaps when they painted, but he let it go. The goal was just to make the place presentable to sell, and Hollis was eager to unload the house. He’d said that it would be one less thing for him to worry about. Ian couldn’t agree more. He didn’t mind the house, but selling it would mean closing the door on the last bit that tied either of them to Jagger. And Ian was eager to move on.

A soft sigh slipped from Andrei as he finished the last piece and climbed down from the ladder. He moved it away from the door.

“I think we’re planning a winter wedding now. Maybe December.” He lifted one eyebrow at Ian. “Think you could come up with something for a winter wedding?”

Ian’s mind immediately spun with Christmas-style greenery and red ribbons to an icy white-blue winter wonderland. Winter foods were warmer, heavier, and richer. This would be a totally different menu than he’d previously been thinking. He’d need to contact Andrei’s mother for more recipes.…

A low chuckle from Andrei pulled Ian from his thoughts. The other man was standing directly above him, his hand extended. He had a feeling that Andrei had been talking to him, but he hadn’t heard a word of it, lost in his own plans for the wedding.

“Yeah, I think I can work with a winter wedding.” He took Andrei’s hand and winced when the man pulled him back to his feet, his knees resisting the movement. “Just so long as the guest list is bigger than three.”

“You know Lucas and I would never marry without the whole crew there,” Andrei said seriously, releasing Ian’s hand.

Ian cocked his head to the side as he listened to the sounds of the house. “Is it just me or has it become frighteningly quiet?”

Frowning, Andrei turned back toward the closed door. The pounding in the two bathrooms by Rowe and Noah had stopped along with the banging that had likely come from the kitchen where Jude and Hollis were working.