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The smell of fresh paint still lingered and the color was a bit more starkly white than she would have chosen, but the dimensions were generous and the details that had been retained from what she assumed was the original architecture gave it a subtle charm. The building had been undergoing renovations since she’d moved to town and she’d watched and waited with everyone else to see what this group of men would do with it. She’d heard rumors of everything from an office building to a biker bar/whorehouse combo, but what she saw now didn’t fit any of the gossip.
When she’d entered a lifetime ago, she’d walked into a room with a long, polished oak bar featuring a number of gleaming brass beer taps, but it wasn’t exactly giving off any hardcore outlaw vibes. The Grange had a masculine feel, but it wasn't off-putting, even to her decidedly feminine sensibilities. Instead, there was a warm, comfortable, modern Western vibe that hit the perfect notes for a town that perched on the line between the sweeping plains of the Midwest and the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.
The room they were in was spacious with taller than average ceilings. A couple of fans hung down as a nod to the building pre-dating modern air conditioning. In fact, she could see a number of clever architectural details that promoted air flow that would have helped keep it comfortable whether in summer heat or winter snow back when it was built.
In her head, she began revising the decor plan she’d drawn up for the original venue to work here instead. In fact, this was a better spot all around for tonight’s bachelorette party.
Magnus and Riley had fallen silent and she turned back to them with a huge smile.
“I’m ready to get this party started.”
* * *
They called him Odin.It fit.
Greer showed him the decor plan she’d drawn up and he made it happen. Each of the men got to work, carrying tables, making phone calls, hanging decor. Whatever was needed, they pitched in, all moving by his command.
Ford and Riley helped her assistant, Lena, bring over all the decorations, as well as the swag that had arrived that morning. The maid of honor had kept the contents secret from everyone and frankly, Greer was a little concerned about what was in the boxes that were now piled in the corner of the room.
In a shockingly short amount of time, the once-bare dining room was transformed into a fun, brightly colored flashback to the Boy George era. It was so much tackier than she’d anticipated, but everyone got into it, even Ethan, the one with the terrible burn scars. No one could stay angry when she wheeled in the old-school video arcade games like Frogger, Miss Pac-Man, and Asteroids.
“No Mortal Kombat?” asked Kyle, the one they called Doc, who had helped her during her asthma attack.
“Mortal Kombat came out in 1992, so it’s too modern for the theme. The Asteroids arcade game was released in 1979, but that just means it reached peak popularity during the 80s.”
Every man in the room stopped talking and turned to her as if golden words dropped from her mouth. Magnus growled audibly. “Fuck off, horndogs. She’smyhot nerd.”
Greer laughed and leaned into him when he put his arm around her shoulders. She didn’t think of herself as much of a nerd, regardless of how much fantasy and sci-fi she streamed, but it was nice to be admired for things she knew.
She’d rented the games from a place in Denver and didn’t expect them to get much use from the party attendees tonight. Nonetheless, she put small baskets of the tokens the games used on each table, along with miniature Rubik’s Cubes and glow-in-the-dark jewelry.
When the caterers had been redirected, the karaoke corner was set up, and the last table was dressed, she took a step back and looked around.
Dear god. It was like MTV had thrown up neon in every corner of the space. The whole thing was a far cry from the elegant events she’d thrown in Denver, but it was exactly what the bride would love.
Now that the room was ready, everyone but Magnus had left to finish their own work for the day. Lena offered to stay, but the only job left was to make up the swag bags for the party gifts and a large gift basket for the bride, so Greer sent her back to the office to catch up on paperwork in peace and quiet.
The maid of honor had ordered all the supplies, but didn’t have time to put them together herself, so Greer had added it to her to-do list. Fifteen bags wasn’t much, and after the chaos of the day, she was looking forward to the quietly creative task of filling bags with goodies.
She opened the first box and it took a moment for the contents to make sense. With a sharp gasp, she slammed it closed. It had taken hours for her body to settle down after the hottest kiss she’d ever experienced had been interrupted. In an instant, she was on the edge of orgasm again.
“Oh my god. She didn’t.”
Magnus, who had just finished hanging the last streamer, stalked over to her with a frown. “You okay, sparkles?”
She loved the nickname he’d given her. Everyone else’s go-to was “Pinky,” given her obsession with the color, as well as the light red-blonde of her hair, and she cringed every time she heard it. But the way Magnus called her “Sparkles” felt like he saw her and liked what he saw. He wasn’t making fun of her love of shiny pink bling, but enjoyed that part of her personality.
Which was good, because with thirty on the horizon, her friends and family had started making subtle hints that maybe she should tone herself down a little. Especially, they added, since she hadn’t found a man to marry her yet.
Any man who was worth her time would be a man who appreciated her love of pink sparkles. A man like Magnus.
Who was reaching down to open the box she’d closed in embarrassed horror.
She tried to stop him, but wasn’t fast enough, so she just closed her eyes and blushed.
“Please tell me that’s not what I think it is,” she said.
“Oh, it absolutely is.” His voice had gone deep and rough, and she shivered at the rush of heat that started low in her belly and spread like fire through her blood, licking at every sensitive part of her.
