by Cara Bristol
I laughed and kissed him. “I like a man who takes action.” I’d taken decisive action today, too. I ignored the hairs prickling on my nape alerting me that Addison glowered from across the room.
“I told Anthony we’d take him for ice cream later this week?” Braxx said.
“Absolutely! My next day off is Thursday.”
“Then it’s a date!” He grinned. “What’s your news?”
“Well…” I covered his hand with mine. “The answer is yes. Yes, Braxx, I’ll be your mate.”
Chapter Fourteen
Braxx
“Obah! Obah!” I shoved back my chair, grabbed my mate in a big hug, and meshed my mouth to hers in a hard kiss. She had said yes! Our mating was official! Holding her against me, I swung her around in the tight space between the tables, nearly knocking another diner off his chair.
“Braxx, put me down!” She squealed, and I laughed.
“My female has agreed to be my mate!” I shouted to our audience.
They broke into smiles, clapping, and whistling in support of our good fortune—except for one man. I noticed him out of the corner of my eyes. He sat across the room with a thin, but pregnant, woman. Something akin to anger seethed on his face. Clearly he did not celebrate our joy and disliked having his dinner disturbed by the commotion, but his glower could not dampen my enthusiasm.
Today had turned out to be the best moment of my life. Holly had agreed to be my mate, and I’d located Anthony. The only thing that could make my life more perfect would be the birth of our own kits. They would come; I was sure of it. Once, I’d feared she would never accept me, but time and patience had won out. Everything I desired would come to pass. She’d overcome her trepidation about motherhood, and we’d have a hutful of kits. Our lives would be rich, full, and loving. My horns swelled and throbbed, and my chest felt like it would burst from the joyful pressure.
I couldn’t wait to share the news with my brother. He would be thrilled for me. My mate. I could hardly believe it. She’d seemed so ambivalent, telling me she needed to think about it. I hadn’t required any time; I’d always known she was the one. The Fates never erred.
Barb descended the stairs from her office. “What’s going on?”
“We’re mated!” I announced and set Holly on her feet.
“Congratulations! It’s about time!” Barb embraced us both. “I’m so happy for you.” She glanced between us. “Are you going to get married, too?”
“Is that customary?” I asked.
Holly shrugged. “It’s traditional on Earth. It’s how we announce our mating and make it legal.”
“Then, we should.” I wished to share the news of my good fortune with the entire galaxy. I would have to contact the Intergalactic Dating Agency and see if they could send a message to Dakon to let my parents know I’d found my mate.
Barb whispered some instructions in my ear. “Good advice, thank you.” I dropped to one knee. “Holly, will you marry me?”
“Yes! Yes!” She flung herself at me.
“Obah!” I shouted.
The diners applauded, including the pregnant woman seated with the glowering man. He didn’t applaud. He scowled at her, and she dropped her hands to her lap.
“Maybe you want to take the night off?” Barb suggested.
“No, I’ll work my shift. You have ordering and paperwork. Besides”—she grinned—“I’ll be requesting time off for the wedding and honeymoon.”
“You got it.” Barb hugged us again then hiked up the stairs to her office.
We assumed our seats, and the diners resumed eating and conversing. Happiness infused me from the inside out, casting everything in a glow.
“What changed your mind?” I asked, curious. I’d been hopeful she would agree to be my mate, but I’d expected to have to wait. It had taken a year to get her to go out with me. Now our relationship was progressing.
“I didn’t change my mind; I came to my senses. I can’t have everything I want, but that doesn’t mean I should turn down the things I can have. I want you. I love you. Thank you for…accepting me as I am.”
“Of course, I accept you. We’re mates. I love you, too. So much.” I kissed her. “You have made me the happiest man in the galaxy, and I promise to make you the happiest female in the galaxy.” The rest would come with time.
Dixie, one of the servers, bustled over. “Hey, congratulations!” She gave Holly a quick hug then me before turning to Holly again. “Listen, I hate to interrupt your romantic moment, but we have a little problem.”
“What is it?” Holly said.
Dixie jutted her head at a far table. “See the woman sitting alone by the bar?”
My mate squinted. “The one with the rainbow hair?” Streaks of blue, purple, pink, and green hung from the woman’s head.
“Yeah. She’s a reviewer for Barbecue Today.”
Holly’s eyes widened. “How do you know?”
“I flipped through the channels one night, and I happened to catch her on the Food Network.”
“What’s Barbecue Today?” I asked.
“It’s the publication for barbecue restaurants. It’s national,” Holly explained. “A review in BT can make or break a restaurant. A four or five fork rating gives a restaurant a boost like nothing else. Get one or two forks, and you’re done. Barbie Q’s has gotten great reviews from local media and some online sites but nothing at the level of Barbecue Today. This would be tremendous! Barb plans to open another restaurant. This could be the visibility she needs. Did you tell her BT is here?”
“I decided to talk to you, first.” Dixie paused and then whispered, “The reviewer ordered the tofurkey.”
“No!” Holly gasped. “How did that happen?”
“I did everything to dissuade her, short of telling her the tofurkey was a turd. I suggested the beef brisket, the ribs, the pork. Even the smoked real turkey. But no. She said tofu was a bold move and wanted to see if it lived up to its billing on the menu—yummy, healthy goodness.”
“Gah!” Holly leaned her elbows on the table and grabbed her head with both hands. “This is terrible. If we come right out and tell her the tofurkey sucks, she’ll ding Barbie Q’s for having it on the menu. If we let her taste for herself, she’ll kill us in the review. If we accidentally switch orders and send her something else, she’ll criticize the service.”
“I was afraid if I told Barb, she’d want the reviewer to try the tofurkey,” Dixie said.
“She would. She totally would.” Holly took a deep breath and expelled it slowly. “I’ll take care of it.”
“What are you going to do?” Dixie asked.
“No idea yet, but I’ll come up with something.” She twisted her mouth. “Barb is so stubborn. If I didn’t love her, I’d let her live with the consequences of her mistake. But, she’s my friend. Barbie Q’s is her big dream. I can’t let it fail. I have to save her from herself.”
“Not to mention if Barbie Q’s goes under, we’re all out of jobs.”
“That, too.” Holly nodded.
Dixie peered at me over her pad. “You ready to order? What would you like?”
“Well, not the tofurkey,” I replied.
Dixie and Holly snorted.
“I’ll have the short ribs.”
“Good choice. Dark beer?”
“Yes.”
Dixie left to place my order. Holly quirked her mouth in a lopsided smile. “I wish we could talk some more, but I have a fire to put out.”
I covered her hand and squeezed. “I understand. Do what you need to do. We have a lifetime to talk. I’ll see you after work?”
“Yes. I’ll have to close up, so I don’t know what time I’ll get off. How about if I come to your place?”
“I’ll be waiting,” I said.
We kissed, and then she strode across the restaurant floor to the woman with the colorful hair. Dixie brought me a beer and a basket of Texas toast before dashing
off to serve another table. I took a hearty gulp of my beverage and then a bite of the garlicky bread.
Holly and the rainbow woman were talking.
Life had a way of working out. You had to trust the Fates and take kitsteps. I smiled, my horns throbbing, as I envisioned my mate coming home after work, and how we would celebrate. As we would every night from now on.
While I relaxed with the beer and toast, I scanned the restaurant. My gaze alighted on the man who’d glowered when we’d announced our mating. He caught me looking at him, said something to his female then pushed back from the table, and strode toward me.
“From what I witnessed, congratulations are in order.” Scowl gone, he smiled. I’d never seen teeth so white.
“Yes, thank you. Holly has agreed to be my mate.”
“I’m Addison Rutherford Smythe III, by the way.” He stuck out his hand, and I shook it.
“Braxx,” I said, wondering if I’d read his emotions wrong. He seemed so friendly now. Maybe he hadn’t been glaring at us, or maybe he had been disgruntled, but it had nothing to do with us.
“Nice to meet you,” he said and glanced at my horns. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
“No, I’m from Dakon.”
“What brings you to Earth?”
“I came here through the Intergalactic Dating Agency to find a female.” I glanced over at Holly and couldn’t help smiling. Now she was mine, and all the trials, the uncertainties ceased to matter.
“And you met Holly. Wonderful. She’s a great girl.”
“You know her?” It sounded like he did.
“We have a bit of history together. I’m so glad she’s met someone who can overlook her condition. I guess, with you being an alien, it doesn’t matter. How fortunate for you both.” He smiled again.
“Condition? What condition?”
His smile folded inward. “She didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?” My heart sped up a bit. What kind of condition could she have? Holly’s back was turned as she conversed with the reviewer so I couldn’t see her face, but she’d looked healthy. Was she ill?
“May I sit down?” Addison gestured to a vacant chair.
“Of course.” I motioned. “I should have offered.”
Addison settled into the vacant chair and folded his hands on the table. “I hope it won’t matter, but I’m afraid I have some bad news…”
Chapter Fifteen
Holly
“Hello.” I smiled big and wide at the Barbecue Today reviewer. “I’m Holly Hansen, Barbie Q’s assistant manager. How is everything this evening?”
“Fine.” She didn’t even crack a smile.
There was a lipstick print on her wineglass, but she hadn’t tried the Texas toast yet. Was she on a low carb diet and avoiding bread, or hadn’t she had a chance to get to it yet?
“Is this your first time at Barbie Q’s?”
“Yes.”
“How did you hear about us?”
“Around.”
Geez. Talk about playing it close to the vest, or, in her case, the cold-shoulder striped-knit top. It was easier to get complete sentences out of a teenager.
“I’m afraid there’s been a little problem,” I said.
“Oh?” Eyebrows studded with small hoops rose.
“You ordered tofurkey. The chef has informed me that, um, we’re out of tofu. We were expecting a shipment, but it didn’t arrive.”
“Why not?” Censure infused her tone.
Clearly she was predisposed to negativity. If a shipment had failed to arrive, it wouldn’t be our fault. Some things were out of our control. I shored up my fortitude and pasted a smile on my face. “I don’t know. This hasn’t ever happened before. But, anyway, what would you like instead? Beef brisket maybe? We’re kind of famous for that. Our barbecue chicken is super popular, too.” I planted two ideas.
She sighed like life had just thrown her a major curve ball. “Pulled pork, then.”
All righty. Surly and sullen, she resisted suggestion. Got it. But pork was fine. Anything other than tofurkey was fine. “Good choice!” I buttered her up with a little praise.
Her eyes narrowed. “Is something wrong with the other choices?”
My smile froze on my face, but at least it stayed there. “No, not at all. Everything on the menu is excellent. It’s just a matter of preference. I’ll place your order with the kitchen and bring you a complimentary appetizer, our apology for the order change. What would you like? Sweet-and-spicy wings? Loaded potato skins? Onion fingers?”
“Fried pickles.”
If I said hot, she would say cold. If I had suggested tofurkey, she would have changed her order. I gritted my teeth into another smile. “You got it. Love your hair color, by the way. It suits you so well. Did you get the color done by a local salon?” She should sue for malice. What the hairdresser did to her was criminal. At the least, she should demand a refund. Okay at a distance, her hair was an over-processed rat’s nest up close. It had been fried more than the pickles she ordered.
She touched a brittle, frizzy, bluish-greenish-yellowish strand. “Actually, I do my own hair.” Her icy expression thawed.
“I never would have guessed. It looks so professional. I would love to have hair like yours.” If I had hair like hers, I’d shave my head bald and hide in my apartment until it grew out.
“Maybe I will change my order. I’ll try the beef brisket and the loaded potato skins?”
“Perfect.” I’d saved the day. Barb should give me a whopping raise, except she’d never know what happened. I took a deep, satisfying breath, only to expel it in a whoosh when I caught sight of Addison’s table. Kaydee sat alone, her gaze trained across the room.
The hairs stood up on the nape of my neck as I turned.
Addison convened with Braxx. This situation didn’t even look okay at a distance. I couldn’t see Addison’s face, but Braxx’s expression scrunched as tight as his folded arms. I had nothing to hide, but a bad feeling curled in my stomach.
“Oh, and congratulations!”
“What?” I forced my attention from ground zero to the reviewer. It took a moment for her words to register in my brain. Along with the entire restaurant, she’d watched the big moment between Braxx and me. “Oh, thank you,” I said. What could Addison be saying to him? I doubted he was congratulating him. More like warning him off, telling him what a bitch I was. But he’d be slick about it. Addison had been tutored by the public relations firm on retainer to prevent and manage scandals. He knew not to say anything the family wouldn’t want to go viral.
“You’re so lucky. He’s hot! It was soooo romantic the way he proposed,” the reviewer gushed.
At least we were both checking out Braxx’s table, so I could openly stare. “I’m very lucky,” I replied.
“I wish I could meet somebody like him.”
“You could join the Intergalactic Dating Agency,” I suggested.
“Is that how you met?”
Now she gets chatty? I did not have time for this. A crisis brewed at table eight. I had to get my ass over there and break up the tête-à-tête. “Not us, but he did come to Earth through the IDA, and I know other couples who met through the agency.”
“I’ll have to give them a try,” she said.
“I think you should. Hey, I’d better get your order to the kitchen if you expect dinner tonight.” I forced a chuckle. “Thank you so much for choosing Barbie Q’s. I hope you enjoy your meal.”
Addison was shaking his head. Braxx looked right at me, his expression unreadable. His phone must have rung because he picked it up and squinted at the display.
“Excuse me,” I said to the reviewer and raced to the kitchen. Thank goodness Dixie was there. “Problem solved,” I told her. “Cancel the tofurkey. The reviewer gets the brisket. Potato skins as an appetizer—skins on the house. You can take it from here.” I jabbed the order under Dixie’s name into th
e computer and shot it to the cook.
“Slade, I sent you an order for table twenty-two. Put a rush on it. It takes priority.” My priority was getting rid of Addison. I ran out of the kitchen.
Braxx’s table was vacant. My ex had gone back to Kaydee, but Braxx had vanished. I stopped one of the servers. “Did you see where Braxx went?”
She pointed to the exit. “He left. Rushed out of here like the building was on fire.”
Left? What had happened?
I marched to Addison’s table. “What did you say to Braxx?”
He picked up his drink, clear liquid in a highball glass garnished with a slice of lime. Vodka tonic, I guessed. That’s what he used to drink because vodka didn’t leave an alcohol odor. He took a sip, eyeing me over the glass. “I congratulated him. We had a nice chat about mating, marriage, and children.”
His emphasis on the last word didn’t sound good, but I had nothing to hide. I folded my arms.
“As I said, I went to congratulate him, and one thing led to another…and I had no idea you hadn’t told him the truth.”
“Addison, this isn’t necessary, is it?” Kaydee placed a hand on his arm. The look he shot her was withering. She removed her hand and took a drink of her ice water. I felt a pang of sympathy. The sparkle on the marriage had already dimmed. Best hire yourself a good attorney, honey.
I glared at Addison. “What are you talking about?”
“You omitted to mention you’re barren.”
Barren. What an unenlightened, judgmental word. That’s how the Smythes viewed things. I shouldn’t waste my time with this ass-wipe, but I couldn’t let the insinuation I’d misled Braxx go unrefuted. I didn’t have a public reputation to protect, but my personal honor had been slandered. “Not that it’s any of your business—but I did tell him.”
“Not so he understood. Your fiancé had the mistaken impression you’re just afraid to have children. He had no idea it’s physically impossible for you to have them.”
Braxx didn’t know? Out of all the conversations we’d had, how was that possible? Addison had to be lying. One look at his smug face told me he wasn’t.