"I want them to my right. Away from the view but close enough where we hear everything, every single chord that is strung."
He could tell they were nervous, and he wanted that.Hewas nervous. He wanted everything to be perfect. If she was going to have a good time, everything had to be exactly how he said.
"I also want flowers everywhere. The more, the better. I want her to be star-struck when she gets onto the roof. I want the music going, the food ready, and flowers and candles everywhere."
Rao heard the door open but didn't bother looking up. He needed to ensure everyone understood his demands before they headed to start their work.
"You have four hours before the date starts, which means you have four hours to do everything exactly as I want it done." None of them moved, and he threw his hands up. "Go. You don't have time to spare standing around."
Everyone scattered, and he pulled his gaze up to see who had entered his chambers. He took in Riley Marr, Kinn's mate. Riley had been somewhat of a mother to Rao and his brother growing up. She always was the person they both could say something to if the other needed to be informed.
They hadn't spoken in forever, which was where Riley came into play most times. She was the calm ground between them.
His nerves seemed to vanish, and he gave her a gentle smile. Riley was in her forties and had two wonderful kids. Her hair had started to gray, but it worked on her.
"Riley, what a welcome surprise. I wasn't expecting you."
She pushed herself away from the door where she had waited and walked to him, stepping into his arms for a hug. He took in a deep breath of her, always feeling comforted in her embrace.
She chuckled softly. "I thought I'd stop in and say hi but nearly got run over on the way to get here. Your servants are running around like madmen." She waved a hand. "You were yelling just now. I hardly see you yell like that. What's got you so nervous?"
He wanted to say he wasn't nervous, but she would know he was lying. Riley knew Rao just as well as any other mother would. Besides, he wanted to tell her about everything.
"Well, Gerri has set me up on a matchmaking service, and she has brought my fated mate here. Tonight is the first of four dates that I will get with Lexi." He looked around, eyeing the last of the servants slipping out of the room. "I want everything to go well."
She raised an eyebrow, confused. "You just want everything to go well? That's it? You're setting up a really fancy dinner just because?"
He nodded, not understanding what her look was for. He was trying to show her a nice time.
She chuckled. "What are your plans exactly to woo her?"
Rao scowled. "What do you mean? I'm not trying to woo her."
She pulled a hand up. "Sweetie, you've not done much dating, let alone decided to date a human. I understand the nervousness, but what are you doing to woo her? Are you pulling out the finest of everything? Making sure everyone is super sweet?"
He shook his head. "It's not like that. I'm just trying to make sure she has an enjoyable time while she's here. I want to make sure this visit is worthwhile for her. I'm not trying to woo her."
He knew he didn't deserve Lexi. He knew she would leave him at the end of the month, but that didn't mean he couldn't be a good host. He at least had to make it worth something to her. After all, she traveled here from Earth.
Riley gave him a sad expression, looking concerned. "What do you mean you aren't trying to woo her? You just said she was your fated mate. Why wouldn’t you? I'm confused."
He shrugged, sighing heavily. "I'm not trying to woo her because there is no point in doing so. At the end of the month, she will go back to Earth."
She waved a hand. "Unless she wants to stay. That's a possibility, isn't it? She could stay if she wanted to."
He nodded, shrugging once more. "But she won't. As I've said, she will go home at the end of the month."
She crossed her arms, looking irritated now. "You don't know that, Rao. You can't know that. You haven't even gone on the first date yet, and you already think you’ve lost. What kind of mindset is that?"
Rao turned, looking at his desk and the mess that it was. "I know she will go back because she won't love me. I can't make her happy, and after everything I've gone through, I don't deserve it."
Riley remained silent for a second, and he ran his finger over his desk. He swallowed, wishing it was different. He was lonely, and he wanted someone, but he knew that wasn't how everything would turn out. It just wasn't practical.
"So, as I said, I'm just trying to show her a nice time. She traveled all the way here. I don't want her to go back and say this was a buzz kill."
He turned back to Riley, seeing she had a worried expression on her face.
"Rao, you deserve all of those things, but you have to believe you do. Why can't you start tonight? You're trying so hard to impress this girl, and you may be going about it all wrong. Instead of overthinking everything, why don't you just get to know her? You have time, don't you?"