Taming London (Warwick Dragons #1) - Milly Taiden Page 0,24

by the charity. She’s since become one of India’s most renowned and respected authors. I was thinking, and this is a big commitment, so please stop me if you think it’s too much. We could set up a scholarship in Ms. Patel’s name to send a deserving young woman to a university of her choice. It could be someone who has done great things for her community, or who has done extraordinary things in the field of writing.”

“I love that idea.”

“It would mean that the Warwick family would be responsible for four different college tuitions at any given time.”

London waved off her concern. “That’s fine. I like this idea. I’m sure my mother would love it. Ananya Patel is one of her favorite authors.”

“She is really gifted. This would be a way to honor her and make sure that girls have a chance of getting a post-secondary education and go back into their communities to do even more good.”

“Like a goodness chain.”

“Exactly,” Bethany beamed at him.

“I love this. We absolutely need to do that.” He returned her smile, feeling his heart do a weird sort of flip as it skipped a few beats.

Bethany clicked on an icon, and a freakishly long To-Do List appeared. She added quite a few elements, all to do with the new scholarship idea. It was then that London caught on to all of the work that went into planning a benefit and a scholarship program. He had been to such events his entire life. Johanna was involved in so many charities. She believed that with all of their wealth, the Warwicks had a duty to make the world a better place. But he had been a naive and privileged boy to not understand all of the hard work that went into such planning. He had always griped and complained that he had to attend, and always managed to leave shortly after making a sizable donation to whatever cause his mother was championing.

“What do you need me to do? That’s a long list. Put me to work, Bethany.”

She turned to face him and blinked at him. Her big doe eyes filled with something he couldn’t quite name. He wasn’t even sure he recognized the smell of her sentiment.

“You want to help that much?”

“Of course. How about you give me all of the stuff that has to do with Ms. Patel’s travel and the setup of the scholarship. Also, let me give you the name of the catering company my mother usually uses for her events. They are very good at setting up in less than typical venues, and their crab cakes are actually divine.”

“I’d appreciate all of that. Thank you. You realize you’re definitely taking a lot of my workload off my shoulders.”

“It’s fine,” he assured her.

But of course, he had ulterior motives.

With a smile, he followed Bethany out of his office and up to the museum proper. They went into the exhibit room where his latest project was all laid out. The museum was open, and patrons were milling about, but together, they took the room’s dimensions and made yet another list of all of the things they would need.

The first task they decided to tackle was the decor. London wasn’t too sure about that, and he deferred to Bethany. She claimed they needed centerpieces for the tables and a few key pieces that would frame the entrance, as well as decorate the small stage were the podium would be. She also insisted that they have a matching bouquet for Ananya Patel, their guest of honor.

The trip to the florist took entirely too long. London was starving by the time they left. To stop his grumblings, Bethany agreed to stop at a small cafe where they had sandwiches on soft, buttery croissants.

The next stop was for the linens. After that, London stopped counting how many times they went into another location to either get a quote or secure services. It was a long day of running around, but it was made all the more enjoyable by Bethany.

He had to admit that he loved watching her work. She was something of a force of nature. She was smart and sweet. She could get vendors to lower the prices of their quotes with a well-intentioned speech and also by describing the nature of the gala. London was getting to see a side of Bethany that he wouldn’t have seen had he chosen to not partake in the planning. He was glad that he did. His mate was