Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 124836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 624(@200wpm)___ 499(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 624(@200wpm)___ 499(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
When I lay her tenderly onto her back, her fingers clung to my shoulders for a moment, but then relaxed, as she began to sink deeper into sleep.
All mine.
Slowly, I slipped out of bed, pulled on my pants, and quietly left the room.
To my surprise, four guards stood outside my door. Surely, they had heard quite a lot of our lovemaking earlier.
I quietly shut the door and called one of them over. “Where’s Chen?”
“He’s swimming with the others.”
“Too bad.” I headed down the stairs. “He’s got a lot to do before the cookout.”
Chapter sixteen
Hold My Tiara!
Moni
After napping for several hours, I woke up next to Lei, who, oddly, was fully dressed.
Once I got him up, we showered together and he mentioned that earlier he had completed a quick task before joining me in sleep. However, he refused to tell me what it was.
What did Lei do?
Anyway, none of that mattered now as I stepped out of the helicopter and took in the new sight of Lotus Blossom.
What the hell is going on right now? Who did all of this to Lotus Blossom?
Lei left the helicopter and got on my left. “Damn it.”
I wasn't sure if I had truly woken up from my sleep.
Naw. There’s no way.
I turned to him. “Am I still dreaming?”
With a frown, Lei scanned the new festivities and decor placed all over the property. “Unfortunately, you are awake.”
Shit.
“But. . .who did this?”
He let out a long sigh. “This has my aunts’ names all over it.”
“Oh.” I turned to look back at the scene around us and my breath caught in my throat.
While Lei and I slept, Aunt Min and Aunt Suzi had been very busy.
Lotus Blossom was now a carnival of wonders.
At the entrance stood a beautiful carousel, unlike any I'd ever seen. It was ocean-themed, with elegantly crafted seahorses painted in various shades of blue and turquoise. The detail was astonishing—each seahorse had glittery scales that shimmered in the sunlight, their manes flowing like ocean waves. Coral patterns adorned the carousel's base.
Currently, People stood at the top of ladders painting a few of the white mermaids brown.
Alrighty, I like the inclusion. . .but like. . .did we need a carousel for the cookout?
And speaking of mermaids, there were actual mermaids on the property.
Lei and I directed our gazes toward the two massive, adult-sized glass aquariums flanking the steps that lead to the porch.
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
In the tank on the right, a gorgeous black woman swam gracefully, her mermaid tail shimmering in hues of gold and blue. She moved with such fluidity and grace that she seemed to be part of the water itself.
Two crows landed on the edge of the tank and gazed at her.
On the left, a beautiful Chinese woman waved at us from the top of her tank. She must have been getting a quick breath of oxygen. Then, soon she was back in the water, doing these striking circles. Her hair rippled in the water.
“I. . .” I held up one finger. “So. . .”
And that was when the orchestra began to play.
What the fuck?
I blinked and moved my view to the back of the house. While I could not see the orchestra, I sure could hear them. The music swelled and filled the air, each instrument blending together to create a symphony of breathtaking sound.
The strings sang sweetly.
The brass blared triumphantly and the percussion added a lively beat.
“I’m sorry, Moni.” Lei rubbed his forehead. “I forgot that my aunts would go too far, so much was going on when we left.”
“Oh no.” I shook my head. “It’s. . .nice.”
“They are ruining the cookout.”
“Well. . .they’re not ruining it. . .exactly.” I walked off toward the back to get a good look at the orchestra.
Please say the musicians have regular clothes on and aren’t dressed as mermaids too.
Lei followed. “I should put them back in the dungeon.”
“No. No. Leave them alone—”
“Why the hell are there mermaids all over the place—”
“Maybe, they thought my sisters liked them.”
“Do they?”
“Well. . .they don’t hate mermaids.” I continued forward. “It’s more like. . .when they see all of this, they will just be. . .slightly confused.”
“I’m sure that’s an understatement.”
We left the view of the swimming mermaids and got to the back.
The sound of hammering began to rise over the orchestra music.
What is going on back here?
We rounded the corner and the source of the noise became clear.
At least twenty workers in blue assembled a large stage in the back garden. The framework was nearly complete with spotlights.
A stage for a cookout? Is someone performing?
On the right side of the stage, two magnificent trophies gleamed in the sunlight. One was nearly as tall as me and had a hand shooting up in the air, holding a gem studded spatula.
The second trophy was half the size and this hand only gave a thumbs up.