Violet and Her Alien Matchmaker
Interstellar Love Agency #1
Jessica Coulter Smith
Copyright © 2016 Jessica Coulter Smith
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Published by Coastal Escape Publishing
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chapter One
Violet eyed the glass building in front of her. It was the headquarters for
Interstellar Love, a unique dating agency that catered to the aliens who had made themselves known two years ago. Violet still wasn’t entirely certain she trusted the aliens, but her options were dwindling fast. She’d used the last of her money to pay the rent and utilities, and to buy a week’s worth of groceries. If she had any other options, she’d have used them by now, but no one in the sleepy town of Birchwood, Georgia was hiring. At least, they weren’t hiring her.
A small hand tugged on her shirt. “I’m hungry.”
Of course he was. At five, her son had just hit another growth spurt and was trying to eat her out of house and home. If this plan didn’t work, she was scared to think of what would happen to their small family of two.
“Simon, I’ll take you home and make you a peanut butter sandwich when we’re
finished here, but remember what Mommy said?”
He sighed. “Be still and be quiet.”
“Right.” She squeezed his hand. “Let’s go.”
Her heart thumped wildly against her breast as her clammy hand pushed open
the glass door. The lobby was swanky with leather furniture, a flat screen TV, and a reception desk that looked like it was made from marble. The woman behind the desk was dressed in a no nonsense suit, her hair back in a severe twist, and her expression pinched at best.
“Do you have an appointment?” the woman asked in a clipped tone.
Where had they found the Ice Queen?
“I spoke with Mr. Anderson this morning and he told me to stop by any time.”
Violet licked her lips. “If now isn’t a good time, I can always come back later.”
Simon’s stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly and Violet’s cheeks
flushed. Great. Now they’ll think I starve my son.
The woman’s eyebrows arched as she stared down her nose at them, but she
picked up a phone and pressed a button.
“Mr. Anderson, there’s a woman here to see you.”
“My name is Violet Wilcox,” she said.
“A Violet Wilcox. She said she spoke with you this morning.” The woman
paused. “Of course, sir. I’ll send her right up.”
She hung up the phone and fastened her frosty gaze on them again. “Take the
elevators across the lobby and go up to the fifth floor. When the doors open, you’ll turn right and it’s the last office on your left.”
“Thank you.”
Violet tugged Simon toward the elevators and they made their way to Mr.
Anderson’s office. It was easy to find, but once they stood outside the closed door, Violet felt her stomach tighten and her hand tremble. She raised her hand and knocked briefly before pushing the door open. The balding man behind the desk pushed his glasses up his nose and motioned for her to come in.
“Please take a seat Miss Wilcox.” His eyes widened when he saw Simon. “And
who might this be?”
“This is my son, Simon.”
“Oh my, oh my. You didn’t mention anything about children when we spoke
before. This is…oh dear.”
His face flushed and he looked flustered. Violet wasn’t sure what the problem was. So she had a child. What was the big deal? Were the aliens such assholes that they didn’t like children?
“Mr. Anderson, I don’t understand what’s wrong.”
“Well, we pride ourselves on presenting young women who are seeking a
husband, no matter his race, and those women have always been single and never married before. I’m not sure how they’ll handle someone who’s divorced. Most of them believe that a mating is forever. If they discover you’ve been married, and left your spouse, they may not want to risk a relationship with you.”
Nice of him to assume she did the leaving. He must be one of those assholes that always blamed the woman for everything that went wrong.
“Oh. I’m not divorced.”
“Not…Not…I don’t… how can you not be divorced when you have a child? The
boy obviously has a father.”
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. After five years, you’d think she
wouldn’t be shamed by her lapse in judgment. Not that she was ashamed of her son!
Far from it. What embarrassed her were the events that led up to the birth of her son.
“I was never married, Mr. Anderson. Simon is five and I’m twenty-two. I got
pregnant the beginning of my senior year of high school and my boyfriend at the time turned out to be a real jerk and dropped us as fast as he could.”
“A teen mother?” He looked nearly epileptic.
Perhaps coming here hadn’t been such a grand idea, but the aliens were so
desperate to find a match that they were offering to pay all expenses for the woman to travel to their world and stay for as long as it took. She should have known it was too good to be true. Not that she needed a man to take care of her! She’d been doing just fine on her own. Mostly fine. Well, partially fine.
“Mr. Anderson, I’m here because I’m single and I’m open to a match with an
alien. But I wasn’t driven here by a desire to find true love. The truth is I lost my job four months ago, and even with unemployment, we’re barely hanging on. I’ve looked everywhere in town for a job, but no one will hire me. My son is the most important person in my life and if our situation doesn’t change, I…” Tears clogged her throat at the idea of losing her son. She’d have to drop him off at the Winterhaven Home for Boys in hopes some kind soul would take care of him until she was back on her feet.
And it tore her apart just thinking about it.
“Miss Wilcox, I’m not sure what you want me to do. Are you seriously
suggesting that a potential mate will fly you out to his world, with your son?”
Violet stood, pulling Simon up from his chair. “I can see this was a mistake.”
Tears burned her eyes and throat and she sniffled to keep her nose from running.
This was
her last shot at keeping Simon with her, and she’d blown it. As she approached the doorway, she noticed a blue male standing in the doorway. And she didn’t mean his clothes were blue. His skin was a pale, powdery blue and his hair was stark white. He reminded her of a winter wonderland prince, with his billowing white shirt and black leather pants.
“Mr. Anderson, did I just hear you turn this young woman away?” the blue alien asked.
“Well, I…” Mr. Anderson cleared his throat. “Tiraz, I don’t see how this is your business. You’ve already told me you don’t wish to have a mate. I can’t fathom why you’re still here.”
“Just because I don’t want a wife today doesn’t mean I won’t use the service at some point. Besides, my brothers seem keen enough to find a match with a human female.”
“We should be going,” Violet said softly. “Obviously, I’ve wasted Mr.
Anderson’s time.”
The silver gaze swept over her before landing on Simon. Tiraz held out his hand to the small boy.
“You must be the male of the house.”
Simon shook hands with the blue alien and stared up at him wide-eyed. “I’m
Simon.”
“And who is your beautiful mother, Simon?” Tiraz asked.
“Violet,” the boy answered. “Are you going to be my new daddy?”
Tiraz smiled. “No, but I think maybe I can help your mom find you a new
daddy. If she’s willing to accept those who have been cast off their worlds and have made their home here on Earth.”
“Outcasts?” Violet asked, not sure she liked the sound of that. “They aren’t…you know, murderers or something, are they?”
Tiraz laughed. “No murderers, rapists, or thieves. They simply had a
disagreement with their government. And there are a few here, like myself, who just prefer living on Earth rather than on our worlds.”
“And I wouldn’t have to travel anywhere with Simon? They’re all right here in Birchwood?”
“Well,” he hedged. “There are a few here in Birchwood, but if those don’t work out, you’ll have to meet with some who live in other areas, maybe even as far as Atlanta. But since you have Simon to think of, I’m sure they would agree to drive here to meet with you.”
Violet had to admit that would work, but there was just one problem. If they weren’t leaving Earth and staying elsewhere, where would they live? How would they survive? Sure, rent was paid for a few more weeks, but the bank was empty. Once Simon ran through the last of the groceries, they were going to be hungry. Not that Violet was worried about herself, but she couldn’t stand sending her son to bed hungry.
Tiraz studied her a moment, tipping his head to the side. “What’s the problem?”
“I was counting on the accommodations and food we would receive if we left
Earth.”
“Perhaps the agency could pay you a small fee, since they won’t be sending you off-world.” Tiraz looked at Mr. Anderson with a raised eyebrow, but the older gentleman shook his head.
“It’s against policy,” Mr. Anderson said.
Violet sighed, tightened her grip on Simon’s hand, and skirted around Tiraz.
She’d wasted the bus fare to get here, and her time. She should have been out looking for a job and not planning to leave Earth on some ridiculous mission to find Simon a father. What the hell had she been thinking? She should have spent her time finding a reasonable solution to her problem, not daydreaming.
She’d pressed the button for the elevator when she felt a hand land on her
shoulder. Somehow, she knew it was Tiraz without even looking. There was a presence about him, this feeling that permeated the air around him. Violet looked over her shoulder and thought it was a pity he wasn’t seeking a mate. Those silver eyes really pulled her in and made her want to get closer to him. He’d mentioned brothers, but hadn’t included them in his list of possible matches for her. Did they have something against children?
“Are you in trouble?” he asked.
She glanced down at Simon before looking at the alien again. She wanted to
confess everything, in hopes he might help her come up with a solution, but not in front of Simon. Tiraz seemed to understand her dilemma and motioned for them to enter the elevator when it dinged open. He followed them inside, but instead of pressing 1 for the lobby, he pressed P for the parking garage.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
Simon’s stomach rumbled again and Tiraz smiled. “I think the first place we
should go is someplace this young man can eat. And while he’s eating, maybe you can tell me about your situation.”
“I don’t see how this could work. In a few weeks, we won’t have a place to live anymore. It’s not that I don’t want to work, but no one has been willing to hire me. And there’s Simon to think about. He goes to school half a day for kindergarten, but I can’t find a job that will let me work during those hours and then bring Simon back with me after he’s out of school.”
“You don’t have any family here?” he asked.
The elevator doors opened to the underground parking garage and he motioned
for them to step out. He led the way over to a shiny black BMW and her eyes widened in surprise. How did an alien afford such a nice car? Violet had never really thought about it before, but if there were aliens residing on Earth, did they have jobs? How did they pay for their homes, cars, and other expenses?
Tiraz stopped by the car and seemed puzzled by her hesitance to get in.
“Something wrong with the car?” he asked.
“No, it’s just…” Her cheeks flushed. It would be rude to ask him how he paid for it.
“You must have a really nice job,” Simon said.
Leave it to her son to handle the matter in his own special way. Tiraz smiled at Simon, but didn’t say anything about a job. It seemed if she wanted to learn anything more about him, she was going to have to outright ask, and she wasn’t sure she had that right. Not if he wasn’t a potential match for her. If he was willing to date her, that would have been different. But he’d been quite clear that he wasn’t seeking a wife or girlfriend. Pity.
Violet buckled Simon into the backseat before getting herself situated up front.
Once Tiraz slid behind the wheel, the car seemed much smaller, with his broad shoulders and tall frame. He turned toward her and gave her an easy smile, one that made her stomach flutter in response.
“What kind of food does Simon like? Seafood? I’ve found I’m rather partial to it.”
“Can I have spaghetti?” Simon asked softly, almost as if he were afraid to make a request.
Violet felt a pang in her chest. How many times had he asked to get something out to eat and she’d had to explain they couldn’t afford it? How many times had he asked if she could make a specific meal for them at home, and she hadn’t been able to afford the ingredients? She felt like a horrible mother. She loved him more than life itself, and fought fiercely to keep him with her, but had she done him a disservice?
Would he have been better off if she’d taken him to the Winterhaven Home for Boys and let some kindly couple take care of him?
Tiraz gazed at her intently before smiling at Simon. “You can have whatever you want. It’s my treat, and I know just the place to go.”
Violet stared out of the window at the passing scenery as Tiraz drove them to the restaurant. She didn’t know where he was going, and she didn’t much care. As long as Simon got to eat, that was all that mattered. It might very well be his last meal today, even though it was still early for dinner. She’d restocked his snack drawer in the kitchen at home with peanut butter crackers and a box of gummies, but she knew they wouldn’t last.
When they pulled up in front of Little Italy, one of the nicest Italian restaurants in town, Violet fought the urge to request a different restaurant. She’d never had the money to eat at a place like this, and she knew they weren’t dressed appropriately. Did the
y even let small children eat here?
Simon’s eyes were wide as he got out of the car and clutched her hand tightly.
Violet led him toward the door and felt the light touch of Tiraz’s hand at her waist as he fell into step beside her. When they reached the glass door with the pretty etchings, a man in a black suit held the door open for them, and another man dressed the same as the first stood by a podium, smiling at them.
“Mr. Tiraz, it’s pleasure to have you with us again. And I see you brought
guests.”
Was it Violet’s imagination or did he sneer the word “guests?” She glanced
down at her clothes and realized they were well-worn and not as fancy as the other people seated in the dining room, but they were clean and the best she owned. Simon’s hand tightened on hers and she could feel his anxiety coming off him in waves.
They were escorted to a table near the window and Violet seated Simon before claiming her own chair. Tiraz didn’t sit until they were both seated, then he smiled at them as if this had been the best idea he’d ever had. Couldn’t he tell they didn’t belong in a place like this? That her child was terrified?
Tiraz leaned across the table toward Simon. “This place has the best spaghetti in the entire city. Possibly in the entire state. And it comes with huge meatballs!”
Simon looked intrigued and some of his fear eased. “Really? How big?”
“So big they won’t fit in your mouth. You’ll have to cut them up before you can eat them. They’re really good with sauce on them.”
Simon’s tension eased a little more as he looked around. “I don’t see any other children in here. Maybe I’m not supposed to be here.”
The change in Tiraz was subtle, but Violet saw it. She saw the moment he
realized her son was scared. Tiraz reached across the table and brushed Simon’s hair back from his face. There was a kindness in his eyes that melted Violet’s heart and made her wish he’d look at her that way.
“I’ll tell you what. We’ll order our food, and if you don’t like it here, then we’ll leave. Deal?” Tiraz asked.
“You’d really leave if I want to?” Simon asked.
Tiraz nodded. “If you want, we can order our food to go and I’ll take you to my home and we can eat there. It isn’t far from here and I have a great view from the top floor of my building.”
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