Faith sank into the chair, rubbing her feet discreetly beneath the table, feeling deliriously happy, but exhausted. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this worn out. Granted, the last few weeks had been a whirlwind of activity, and her nights with Kieran left her a bit sleep deprived. And last night’s stint as a Domme – the one night when she might have been able to sleep soundly for more than a few hours – had her running on fumes. It was only adrenaline keeping her going now, and she feared even that wasn’t going to last much longer.
Thank goodness Rebecca’s gift to her had been a pair of cloud-soft satin slippers that matched her gown. She never would have made it through the last few hours without them; tradition required that the bride dance with each and every one of the Callaghan and Connelly males. It was a rite of passage that every new bride was expected to take, though it had the obvious benefit of annoying the groom as well.
Poor Kieran had been trying to get to her for the last hour, but was foiled by several well-executed defensive maneuvers. When Faith expressed concern, Ian laughed and told her that she should not feel sorry for him, given that he had gladly partaken in the tradition when it was everyone else’s bride involved.
“Congratulations, Faith.”
She looked up into the slightly exotic golden eyes of Aidan Harrison. He was every bit as imposing close up as he was from a distance, and Faith could not help but feel a little nervous. Even as she had tried to embrace and become accustomed to her new lifestyle – which included the financial security of the Callaghan family - she was unused to being in direct contact with someone as wealthy and important as the CEO of the Celtic Goddess.
Technically, she was rather well-off herself now, too. Nathan dropped his challenge of Ethan’s bequeathal after their visit to Georgia, but her mind was still having trouble adjusting to that. All she knew was that Shane was handling the legal aspects and Kane was already creating a financial portfolio.
She forgot about all of that in the presence of the powerful man next to her. Her falling adrenaline levels made a valiant rally to at least appear relatively coherent.
“Thank you,” she said, feeling the words woefully inadequate. She still hadn’t been able to wrap her mind around the fact that all of this had been done for her wedding. “Everything is beyond perfect.”
He grinned easily, pleased, as if he was a regular guy and not the wealthiest man she’d ever met. “Mind if I sit for a moment?”
“Of course not. You do own the place, don’t you?” Faith immediately lifted her hand up to her mouth, mortified that she had allowed the words in her head to be spoken aloud. She had a sneaking suspicion that the last drink someone had placed in her hand was made by Brian McCain, the devil.
Aidan’s eyes glittered with amusement. “So I do.”
Faith sipped her drink and sighed. Yep. If she hadn’t been so distracted she would have recognized the signature taste of a Brian McCain special, a.k.a, the potent Virgin Slayer. She glanced over toward the bar, and Brian gave her a big smile and a friendly salute. It was impossible to be annoyed with him, but she really wanted to be.
“You also work for me, I believe,” Aidan was saying, snapping her attention back to him. Faith immediately sobered, wondering where this was heading.
“Yes, sir. I do.”
“Call me Aidan. Environmental, right?” She nodded warily, wondering where this was going.
“Well, I think we need to talk about that.”
“Sir?” Was he firing her?
“Aidan,” he corrected patiently. He extracted a familiar-looking tablet and placed it on the table between them. Faith froze as she realized she was looking at one of her sketchbooks. “These are yours?”
Faith nodded, feeling the numbness seeping through her limbs.
“You have talent, Faith. May I call you Faith? ‘Mrs. Callaghan’ applies to more than half the women in this room.”
She nodded again, dumbstruck. She was on a first name basis with Aidan Harrison. Add that to the fact that she was in the middle of a fairy tale wedding and now married to her soul mate, and she felt downright stupefied.
She took another sip of the Virgin Slayer and fought the urge to giggle at the improbability of it all. If she saw a dancing unicorn, she was soooo going to go lay down in the ladies room. Actually, she might just do that anyway. Just five minutes, maybe ten, to recharge and she’d be good as new.
“Well, Faith, I love your ideas. I’d like to hire you to re-design the interiors of the latest set of luxury suites.”
She gawked at him. Not quite a dancing unicorn. But close.
“It’ll be a bit different than what you’re used to. You’ll have an office on the same floor with Lex and me, well, more of a design studio, really. You’d design exclusively for the Goddess. You’ll be expected to attend meetings and travel to the Corporate headquarters in Georgia with us from time to time. I think once they see your ideas we’ll be renovating all of the Goddesses, and perhaps some of our other chains as well.”
Faith was glad she was sitting down, because otherwise she was certain she’d be slumped on the floor. That feeling only intensified when Aidan started throwing out mind-numbing possible starting salaries and signing bonuses and stock options.