Promises (The Kings of Guardian #14) - Kris Michaels Page 0,32

ceremony. Jared, Christian and you will renew your vows with the rest of us. If you don’t do rings, that’s on you, but you will both be on that beach. Understood?”

Christian nodded his head, and Jared chuckled. “Guess we can find rings, too.”

He smiled at Christian, who nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“So, what’s the big deal?” Jacob put his hands on his hips. “This island has a Diamonds International on it. We walk in, point to what we want, and bingo, done.”

Joseph shrugged. Tomorrow was Sunday and everything but the tourist stops would be closed. He’d also arranged to have Gracie and Gabriel’s plane down for maintenance. Chad and Jasmine had rented a private charter to deliver them and pick them up. It would force the men to wade through literally thousands of tourists to get to the store. Getting to the counter would be impossible. He smiled. “Glad you have a plan, little man. Glad you have a plan.” He nodded at Dan, who gave him a look like he’d gone insane, and they both headed to the bridge.

Smoke closed the bridge door. “You realize cruise boats are going to dock tomorrow morning.”

“I do.” Joseph sat down and put his feet up on the rail circling the counter.

“And it’s Sunday.”

“Yep.”

Smoke chuckled and hit the button to lift anchor. “Oh, shit. They have a celebrity with them. Dude, that’s fucked up. That guy is a mega superstar in the music world. One person says his name and it will be mayhem.”

Joseph snorted. “A minor inconvenience.”

“Yeah, the same way a death sentence is minor. They’ll be lucky to get out of there alive.” Smoke sniggered and pushed the throttle forward. “Why are you being so nice?”

Joseph sighed and dropped his head back, staring at the ceiling. “I think I’m mellowing in my old age.”

Smoke glanced at him and started laughing. He stared at his friend and then glared at him. Not that fucking funny.

The men huddled in a circle. “There’s a catch.” Jacob stared after Joseph. Jared crossed his arms and drew a deep breath. Yeah, there probably was.

“But what?” Chad rubbed the back of his neck.

“I don’t know. This isn’t a big issue. He dropped the announcement like it was something important, though,” Justin agreed.

“It should be easy enough. We’ll all meet at Joseph’s tomorrow about noon, head down to the port, and go buy the rings.” Jared looked at everyone as he spoke.

“There is something else,” Nic said from the chair where his ass had been planted. His inner ear imbalance was giving him hell, but he’d hung tough all day.

“Ember’s pregnant, so he wouldn’t do anything at the ceremony.” Jason scrubbed his face. “So is Faith, by the way.”

“And Jasmine,” Chad added.

A round of congratulations, handshakes, and bear hugs happened before they all settled down again. The harbor grew closer as they stared out into the water. “You know, maybe he’s mellowed in his old age,” Jared suggested.

“Joseph?” Jacob’s voice hit an octave no man’s voice should ever hit.

“I stand corrected.” He sat down beside Christian. “So, you’re going to marry me again?”

“I will and I am,” Christian laughed. “You’ve mellowed in your old age.”

Jared lifted an eyebrow. “Is that right?”

Christian drew away and smiled. “That’s right.”

“Christian?” Jared leaned toward his husband.

“Yeah?” Christian answered.

“When we get to Joseph’s… run.”

He watched his husband’s eyes dilate and heard the soft rush of air from his lungs. “Run fast.”

Christian nodded and swallowed hard; his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Yeah, I’ll run, but you better be chasing me.”

“No, I’ll be catching you. You better make it to our room, or we’ll be putting on a show.”

Christian’s breath caught. “Fuck.”

Jared leaned in and growled, “Exactly.”

Chapter 13

Dixon stared at the snarl of pedestrian traffic. “What the actual fuck? Cruise ships? He knew, didn’t he? He fucking knew.” The cars that had dropped them off had left, and they were on foot… in hostile territory.

All heads nodded north and south. Jacob swore, low and pissed off. “Yeah, the fucker knew, and he couldn’t have planned it better. Dixon, how long would it take to get Gracie to Miami?”

Drake answered, “Not long, Skipper, but that’s not the problem.”

Jason turned toward him. “What is the problem?”

“Gabriel said he was going to have his pilots ferry both planes back to undergo maintenance while we were here,” Dixon replied.

“Well, this is a problem.” Chad pulled his hat down farther and ducked his head. “Guys, if someone recognizes me, we’re screwed.”

Zane stepped in front of Chad, blocking him from view of