Chapter 754 Room Arrangement
Tom and Harry returned in time to join the rest of the family at the dining for dinner, and once they were seated, Evelyn looked at them with concern.
"Is there any problem at the hotel? Why did you both go there?" Evelyn asked as they ate.
"There is no problem. Since we are here, I decided to have a brief meeting with some of the staff, and Harry had a meeting with an important guest," Tom explained so that Harry would not have to lie more than he had done already.
"I hope this important guest wasn't a lady," Jade said, narrowing her eyes at Harry.
"What if it was?" Tom asked before Harry could respond.
"I hope you delivered my message to her?" Lucy asked, and Tom grinned as he kissed her cheek.
"What message to whom?" Jade asked with interest.
"Not your business. I see you got a haircut. I suppose Lucy took you to her uncle's shop?" Tom asked as he observed Bryan.
"Sonia took me there. And we heard all about how you flaunted your money there," Bryan said, and Tom shrugged.
"I can't help that I'm so wealthy," he said, and everyone chuckled.
"What did he do?" Jade asked curiously, and both Bryan and Sonia told them what they had heard about Tom paying for everyone's haircut just to cut the line and how he had also bought them food and drinks.
"I suppose you did the same, too," Jade said knowingly, and Bryan grinned.
"Tom already set the precedent. I couldn't disappoint them. By the way, now that Matt is here, what are we going to do about the sleeping arrangement?" Bryan asked since they were yet to talk about it.
"Oh! That's true. Both guest rooms are occupied. How about Sonia shares a room with Candace, and Matt can join you in your room?" Evelyn suggested, and Bryan scowled.
"There is no way I'm sleeping away from Sony," Bryan said, and Matt grinned.
"How about I join you both then? It can be the three of us…."
"You must be out of your mind," Bryan said, and they all laughed.
"So much for visiting my best friend," Matt said with a shake of his head.
"Don't pretend to be a stranger here. You are here as family, not my best friend," Bryan retorted.
"I guess I will crash in the Den then," Matt said, even though his backpack was already in Candace's room upstairs.
"You can share our room with me and Grandpa," Jamal, who had been unusually silent since Dawn's departure, offered.
"That is so kind of you to offer, Jam, but I don't think the room will be conducive for all three of us. The bed will hardly take us three," Matt said, and Candace cleared her throat.
"Why don't you join me? I mean, now that Dawn isn't here, it's just me in the room. I don't mind sharing the room with you," Candace said, and Matt smiled at her, happy to see that she had really made up her mind about taking things seriously with him.
"Can I join you and Matt?" Jamal asked, looking at Candace hopefully, and Harry chuckled, earning him a glare from Candace.
"What about me? Are you leaving me to sleep alone?" Aaron asked before Candace could say anything, and Jamal shrugged.
"I can always share your room with you, but I can't do so with Matt because I don't know when next I'm going to see him," Jamal explained and then turned to Lucy and Tom when another idea hit him.
"But I won't bother about sharing a room with Matt if Lucy and Tom let's me sleep in their bedroom," Jamal said, and everyone laughed, apart from Matt.
"Really? I mean that little to you, pal?" Matt asked with mock annoyance.
"Man to man, Jamal, I will advise you not to piss Matt off so he can let you join them since there is no way I'm letting you join us in my bedroom," Tom said, and Jamal turned to Matt with an apologetic smile.
"What if I say I like you a lot more than I like Tom? Will you let me join you?" Jamal asked sweetly, and they all laughed.
"You ought to like me more since you met me and became friends with me before you met Tom," Matt pointed out.
"Are you as rich as Tom?" Jamal asked curiously.
"Are you a gold-digger?" Matt asked, and Jamal's brows pulled together.
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Am I a gold-digger?" Jamal asked his mom since he had no idea what that meant, and everyone laughed.
"It's not a good thing. And no, you're not," Candace said, and Jamal nodded as he returned his attention to Matt.
"You can't join us. You have to remain with your grandfather. Besides, you will most likely be seeing me around more often now, so you don't have to worry," Matt said, and the elders who had missed Candace's surprising behavior earlier looked at Matt and Candace with interest.
"Is that so?" Aaron asked with a grin as he looked at Candace, who avoided his gaze.
Jamal's eyes lit up, "Are you my mummy's boyfriend now?" Jamal asked excitedly, and all eyes turned to Candace.
"I think your mummy should be the one to answer that question," Matt said, and Candace's face burned with embarrassment as she did her best to avoid both Harry's and Aaron's gaze.
"Tell us, Candace," Harry drawled with a teasing grin, and the others tried not to laugh when Candace scowled at him.
"Yes, Jamal. Matt is my boyfriend now," Candace said, and Jamal clapped happily while everyone else smiled.
"I feel so sorry for you, Matt. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into," Harry said with a shake of his head, and Jade giggled.
"The same way we all feel sorry for you," Bryan quipped, and this time, Jade glared at him while everyone else laughed.
"Now, can you focus on your meal and stop talking?" Candace asked, and Jamal nodded as he focused on his meal.
"So, it's settled then. Matt will share the room with you," Evelyn said, relieved they had resolved it.
"I guess we both will be taking a stroll after dinner," Harry told Matt with a sweet smile.
"Can I come with you?" Jamal asked excitedly.
"I should come too," Aaron said, and Candace giggled. It was obvious that they wanted to pull the whole father, brother, and son act on Matt.
"We didn't do that to you," Bryan reminded Harry.
"It's not too late to do it now. Let's go on a stroll after my stroll with Matt," Harry suggested, and Bryan scowled at him while the others laughed.
After dinner, Matt, Harry, and Aaron took a stroll while Desmond, Evelyn, and their kids went to speak privately in the study since the next day was Lawrence's funeral, leaving Lucy, Sonia, and Candace who headed for the Balcony after putting Jamal to sleep.
"It's good to see that you finally made up your mind to do this with Matt," Sonia said to Candace as they all sat on the balcony upstairs.
"I figured if I'm going to do it eventually, why not start now? Besides, my wise cousin said I can always learn on the job," Candace said, raising her wineglass in a silent toast to Lucy, and Lucy smiled.
"Well, whatever your reasons, I'm glad you both have sorted things out," Sonia said, and Candace smiled.
"You know who else will be glad? Andy. She liked Matt a lot and really wanted me to go out with him. I wish there was a way I could reach her to let her know all that has happened in her absence," Candace said with a sigh as she thought about Andy and remembered how they had argued the first time Matt visited.
"Well, you can keep all the tales. There will be a lot to talk about when she comes back," Sonia said with a small smile.
"You can start by telling her about your wise cousin," Lucy said jokingly as she squeezed Candace's hand, and Candace smiled.
"What is she like?" Lucy asked, and Candace's smile widened as she thought of Andy.
"She is carefree. Fun to be with. She is very confident and bold. Sometimes, she can be reckless. She is so loyal. Andy would take a bullet for me if she had to. She is my sister. My soul sister," Candace said as she brushed away the tears that had dropped from her eyes as she talked about Andy.
"If she is your soul sister, what is she to me? My soul cousin?" Lucy asked and Candace laughed as she wanted her to.
"I suppose so. Do you think they will accept her like they have accepted me, even though she is not directly related to Aaron?" Candace asked Lucy with a slight frown etched on her brow since she had been thinking about it for some time, and she didn't want Andy to feel left out when she returns.
"I'm sure they will. As long as she is your sister, she is connected to us all as well. I guess I have two female cousins," Lucy said, and Candace flashed her a smile of gratitude.
"It's weird how we are all connected in funny ways. You are my best friend's cousin, and you are dating my boyfriend's best friend," Sonia said to Candace with a grin.
"Why do I feel like you've been waiting a long time to say this?" Candace asked dryly.
"Because she has. Remember she mentioned it before (chapter 519), but you denied having anything with Matt," Lucy said, and Candace laughed.
"How did you remember that? I forgot about it until you mentioned it," Candace said in amusement while Sonia narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as an idea came to her.
"Perhaps I should include you in my novel, too. What do you think, Lu?" Sonia asked, and Lucy shrugged.
"If Harry gives you the go-ahead to write about him and Jade, then you will have to mention his twin sister. With her permission, of course. But don't you think the book is going to get longer? And I thought it was about the Hank siblings? Or do you want to make it about the Hanks and the Jonas?" Lucy asked while Candace simply listened to them with interest.
Sonia sighed, "You are right. It's not going to work if I'm doing a Hank trilogy."
"By the way, I told Harry about my plan," Lucy said, and both Sonia and Candace raised their brows for entirely two different reasons.
"I thought you didn't want to tell him about it?"
"What plan?" Sonia and Candace asked at the same time.
"I want to propose to Tom on Christmas Eve," Lucy whispered to Candace, whose eyes lit up with excitement, and she burst into laughter.
"That sounds sweet. But I hope Tom won't mind. You know, some guys can't stand a lady doing something like that," Candace said, and Sonia waved it off.
"He will be too happy that Lucy finally changed her mind to worry about not having the chance to do it himself. And if Tom is the kind of person I believe he is, that won't stop him from proposing to her, too," Sonia said, and Lucy grinned.
"Yeah. That's true," Lucy nodded in agreement.
"I guess you plan to do it at the Christmas party?" Candace asked, and Lucy bobbed her head.
"So? Why did you change your mind about telling Harry?" Sonia asked curiously, and Lucy shrugged.
"We were talking about stuff, and it just came up," Lucy said, not wanting to tell Sonia about Harry's plan to engage Jade.
"What did he say?" Sonia asked, and Lucy told them how happy he had been and what he had said.
"How can I help?" Candace asked excitedly.
"It has to stay between us. I don't want anyone else to find out about it. When it's time, I will tell you how you can help," Lucy said, and Candace nodded.
"I wonder what Harry plans to say to Matt. Are you not nervous that Matt is with Harry and your dad?" Sonia asked, and Candace grinned.
"Honestly? I like that they are doing it. It makes me feel like I have them watching over me. Protecting me. I wish they were there to do this to Jero, too," She said with a sigh.
"If they were there, you wouldn't have been with Jero in the first place," Lucy pointed out, and she nodded.
"Yeah. That's true. Still, the point is that I'm thankful I have them in my life now," Candace said with a small smile as she tried to imagine what the Jonas men would be saying to Matt.
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