Page 66 of D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

Congratulations on making it to week four! Your tasks this week are small, but have a mighty impact on your big day! Have your friends and family help you make your decisions, and let’s see what you come away with!

Good luck,

—Kevin

Order flowers for the wedding and reception

Secure a DJ

Chapter Eleven

D’Vaughn

Brotherly Love

Days later, Kris and I met at a local club to audition DJs for the reception. Since Darren was a musician, it was a no-brainer to bring him with me, but I was surprised to see Ray in tow when Darren and I stepped inside of the relatively empty building. Kris stood as soon as I came into sight, spreading her arms so that I could walk right into them. I wasn’t sure what sort of greeting to expect from her after our night together, but I was pleasantly surprised when, after hugging me, she gripped my chin between her thumb and the side of her finger, meeting my lips with hers. She kept it brief, but the firm press of her mouth slanted over mine was intentional enough to impart that not only was I her woman, but she didn’t care who knew it. When she pulled back, I might’ve held my eyes closed for a few seconds and taken a moment to bask in the feeling of her arm at my waist, the weight of it sure and warm.

“Hey,” I breathed, sounding giddy even to my own ears as I thought of how those lips felt on other parts of my body.

“Hey,” she intoned teasingly. Then she shot me a wink that made those parts tighten and throb.

Sliding her gaze over to my brother, she reached out a hand. “What’s up, Darren?”

Darren slapped her hand with his own before they both snapped. “Hey, Kris. What’s good?”

Kris grinned. “Besides your sister?”

“Girl, what!” Ray busted out laughing, which caused Darren to join in.

“Kris,” I scolded. Or tried to. My cheeks were hot, but I couldn’t remove the grin that popped up at her words. She was, of course, unfazed by my tone, and all she did was lean in and drop a soft kiss on my jaw.

“What?” she asked, as if she had no idea why everyone was cracking up.

I shook my head as she then gestured to Ray, who had stood to his feet.

“This is my baby brother, Raymond.”

Ray moved toward us, his eyes narrowing as he gave Darren a lengthy once-over. When he extended his hand, there was a slick grin on his face that gave me pause. What was he up to?

“Hello, daddy, I mean Darren. Nice to meet you.”

Stunned, my mouth fell right open.

“Oh, shit,” Kris mumbled, shaking her head. “C’mon, man. That’s my future brother-in-law.”

Darren’s brows shot toward the ceiling, but surprisingly, all he did was laugh as he shook Ray’s hand.

“Nice to meet you, Raymond.” He tried to retract his hand, but Ray held it in a tight grip.

“Please, call me Ray,” he murmured. “Or baby. Or just call me. Please.” Pursing his lips at my brother, he winked and released Darren’s hand.

Unperturbed, Darren let off a good-natured laugh and shot me a look that asked if Ray was serious. Cringing, I nodded, because even though I’d only known him for a few weeks, this was right up the alley of his personality.

“Ignore him,” Kris instructed, “and follow me. We’re gonna sit over near the booth so we can talk to the DJ during their set and ask them any questions.” She linked her fingers through mine and led us to a section near the DJ booth.

The chairs were low and wide, like fancy futons, which provided space for a few people to sit down, but weren’t comfortable enough for anyone to camp out on for longer than half an hour. An oblong table sat right in front of the chairs, and had three sheets of paper on it. I picked up one sheet and saw that it was essentially a media kit for one of the DJs that would be auditioning. After reading it, I passed it to Darren. He read it over and nodded. I watched his face carefully for any ticks or signs that he didn’t like what he saw, but he didn’t make any off expressions, so hopefully that was a good sign.

“Which one of you is into music?” he asked once we were all settled.