Written in the Stars: Science Fiction Romance Anthology

by Megan Alban

  “Your...your father?” Arron squeaked out, still choking a bit.

  “Yeah,” Paige said breezily, clearly not picking up on the confusion.

  “Your partner is your father?” he asked again, and this time it was Carl who laughed.

  “Paige didn’t tell you, huh? That sounds about right. My daughter’s a genius, but she does tend to leave out relevant information at the most awkward times.”

  “What?” Paige asked, then she looked from Arron to her father and back and clapped a hand over her mouth, blushing in a way that made Arron want to kiss every pink inch of her. “Oh, no. You thought…” She laughed and shook her head. “I’m...sorry?”

  Arron did kiss her then. He had to, father or no. He took her face in both hands and kissed her squarely on the lips. “I’m not. Not one little bit.”

  She let him embrace her for a long moment and then pulled away to look at her father. “Dad...ask him. Remember?”

  “Ask me what?” Arron inquired, pulling his gaze from Paige’s face with an effort.

  “Well,” Carl said, rubbing the back of his neck, “my girl here says you’re a fair hand with a blaster, and even though we got the claim filed fair and square, I figure it wouldn’t hurt to have a spare set of hands about to help with security.”

  Arron looked between the two of them in shock and Paige quickly interjected, “I know it’s not as glamorous as what you’re doing now, but we’d offer you a fair deal: a third of the claim. And it’s a good claim, Arron.”

  “It’s the best claim,” Arron agreed, a slow grin spreading over his face when he realized he didn’t even have to think before accepting the offer. Maybe in a few years, he’d want to be in the vacuum again, or maybe Paige would get tired of him and send him on his way, but for now? He’d take every extra second he could get with her.

  “Excellent,” Carl said, clapping his hands together sharply and then taking his seat again, gesturing for Arron and Paige to do the same. “I guess the only thing left is to name her. Any suggestions?”

  Paige looked at Arron, and they wore matching grins as they responded in unison, “Waltzing Matilda.”

  …the end!

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  Other Titles by Emma Gale - all at EmmaGaleBooks.com

  Cassie’s Captain

  When colonial anthropology student Cassie attempts to get off station to escape an arranged marriage, she falls into the wrong hands. But can the handsome stranger who comes to her rescue be trusted?

  Jewel of Empire

  On the spaceliner Dynomius, reformed cat burglar Audrey Pilgram has three weeks to prove her innocence of a series of copycat crimes, or all the sins of her past will be laid at her door. But her quest to uncover the culprit is complicated when she sees the next target - tall, handsome Phillip Lapsys. Can she stop the theft of the jewel before he steals her heart?

  Raven’s Heart

  Jayna wasn’t looking for trouble. Her plan was to keep her head down, save her money, and get back into to med school. But when she overhears the plans for a bio-terrorism attack that could wipe out the population of her station, her world is turned upside down. Raven’s Heart is a steamy science fiction romance complete novella with a happy ending, containing nebula hot scenes of passion.

  Stolen

  An alien artifact. Archaeologist Eliya Cafeal has spent her life in pursuit of this find - and nothing is going to get in her way. Certainly not a rogue and a scoundrel, even if he makes her blood catch fire. Captain Ruvon Taxal likes his life. Few close friends, a spot of petty smuggling or charter trips as needed. No restrictions, and nothing to tie him down. And if his newest passenger, a feisty archaeologist with storm grey eyes, has gotten under his skin, well, he'll learn to live without her when she leaves. But everything is changed when Eliya is stolen.

  Claimed

  In the remote mountains of a frontier planet, tinkerer and part-time inventor Paige Roth has her hands full protecting her claim against the goons of MagnorCo. With the help of her robots, she's doing pretty well, but the last thing she expects to fall into one of her traps is a handsome stranger trying to hike through the mountains for reasons of his own. He's handsome enough to make her forget where she put her toolkit, but can she trust him?

  Staked – a novel of the Empire’s Fringe Universe

  In the slums of space station Cilurnum 8, fiercely independent Anisha Cheng must decide how far she’s willing to trust Kieran Matthias, the one man who she’s ever allowed to break her heart. If she can’t, she risks losing the Sapphire Star, her late father’s bar and the only home she knows, to a crime syndicate in three days. But as Anisha and Kieran try to work together, the plans of the syndicate may break them apart forever.

  Alien to Love

  WENDY C. GIFFEN

  Hi! I hope you enjoy this book, it’s a stand-alone novelette from the ‘Alien’ series. It’s the second book, written because so many people wanted to know what happened to these two; Rayse and Celeste. This is a book for Adult, 18+ readers. Thank you so much for reading it! - Wendy C. Giffen

  Celeste leaned against one of the tables, a fist on her curvy waist, and regarded her best friend with humor and sympathy.

  The young woman waddled around, making final touches to the large classroom that took up most of the lower floor of the houseboat Celeste lived on.

  “Sandra, if you get much bigger, I swear you’ll get into the book of Guinness World Records.”

  Her friend paused, leaning back slightly to ease the strain. “You and me both. In fact, I can’t wait for this to be over.”

  Afternoon sunlight flooded in the glass doors and windows. In the summer, they would need to use the slatted blinds, but for now the patterns of swirling light danced across the ceiling, reflected from the river outside. The houseboat, moored right in the heart of the small, lovely university town of River Bend, moved slightly in the wake of a motor launch.

  Sandra looked pretty slim from behind, but as her husband John said, it took half an hour to pass her. She was more than ready to give birth.

  “Sweet pea, stop fiddling! It’s all done now, and your man will be here any moment to take you home.” The curvy black woman smiled at her best friend and partner.

  Sandra came toward her and, leaning over her gravid belly, exchanged hugs. “I know, but I feel so bad about you having to manage the next few months alone. I want to help as much as possible while I can. At least with no classes today, we got to put the stock away in peace.”

  Hollow footsteps on the dock told the two women that more than one person was coming to the houseboat.

  They both grinned as Rayse waved through the glass panel before opening the door. He came in, followed by John, his cousin Sandra’s husband.

  Rayse strode across the floor with eager steps and scooped Celeste up for a kiss before she could protest.

  “Well, I’m glad to see you too,” she gasped when she could speak, “but you put me right down this minute, white boy, I’m not a show for anybody!”

  Sandra and John just laughed and waved as they left. They knew when four was a crowd.

  Rayse stood a good two inches over six feet and grinned as he lowered his petite and curvaceous girlfriend to her feet. “Well, I do have an excuse.” His smile grew and he waited.

  Celeste liked that he understood her well enough to know she wouldn’t break down and ask him what it was. From the top of her cascade of black ringlets to her snappy high heels, she seemed all curves, intelligence, and attitude...according to this guy standing there, grinning like it was his birthday.

  He slid a hand into the pocket and withdrew a small box.

  Celeste’s slender hand went to her heart as she watched Rayse open the velvet case and hold it out to her. “It’s been five months, like you said, I had to wait,” his smile taking up most of his face. “So now,
Celeste Williams, I want to know if you will marry me.”

  One thing she found out over those five months was that Rayse wasn’t your traditional romantic. He was gorgeous—thick brown hair, blue eyes with long lashes, and pretty ripped for a guy who must be almost forty. He was also intelligent, and richer than anyone else she knew, except perhaps his cousin Sandra. That wasn’t why she loved him. There was just something out-of-this-world awesome about him. Like no one she’d ever met before.

  “You want me to beg?” he asked plaintively, but the smile was still in his eyes.

  She laughed and held out her hand for him.

  Her gasp was real when she got a good view of the ring. “Rayse, have you got a hole in your head? How can I ever wear a rock like that?”

  Rayse slipped it on her finger and scooped her up again—he seemed to enjoy doing that. “Just tell them your cheap, dumbass boyfriend got you a ring with a cubic zirconia, but you haven’t the heart to tell him. Should be a talking point.”

  Her chocolate eyes met his deep blue ones. She didn’t demand to be put down.

  He swung her up into his arms and carried her with swift strides up the stairs to the sun-filled sitting room with a gorgeous view of the river.

  He laid her on the couch and began to undo her buttons, trailing kisses down her neck and along the edge of her bra. She was aware of his hands dealing with the hooks beneath her. It came loose, and he slipped his warm hands under the lace to cup her generous breasts.

  She groaned as his thumb gently massaged one nipple and his tongue swirled around the other. She ran her fingers through the thick waves of his hair, and moments later, pulled his head up to kiss him as a surge of passion swept up from between her thighs through her whole body.

  A door slammed.

  Feet stamped up the stairs along with a bumping noise.

  Rayse growled something, but helped her redo the bra and sit up, rumpled but respectable, on the cream sofa.

  They heard the door into the kitchen swing open, and Celeste’s sister called out, “You’d better be home or I’m gonna lose it, Celeste!” The voice was angry, but also tearful.

  They exchanged a quick glance and Rayse called out. “We’re in here, kiddo. What is it?”

  Monique stomped in and dropped a full duffel bag on the floor.

  “You gotta let me stay,” Monique spat out. “I just can’t listen to Mom and Dad anymore. It isn’t like they are the only people to have stuff happening. I hate everything!”

  Rayse sighed and turned to Celeste, asking, “Do you want me to stay? I’m flying out early tomorrow, but I’m not sure how much sleep you are going to get.”

  Her frustration left behind a small spurt of anger. On this night at least, couldn’t they have some alone time? She stood up as he did, put her arms around his waist and leaned into him.

  She felt him kiss the top of her head, and he held her against him in a tight hug for a moment.

  “I’ll see you in a few days then.” He lowered his head and whispered, “I love you, Ms. Williams.”

  He released her and turned to Monique as he left. “Chin up, girl. Believe me, things could be worse.”

  None of them guessed how prophetic those words would be.

  ***

  Celeste glared at her father in exasperation, her fists on her hips and her heart aching for him.

  Harry Williams was not a tall man, more like five-foot-seven. Time hinted at how his cheeks would cave in, but it hadn’t happened yet. His fine bone structure, handed down to him by his French ancestors—which he’d passed on to Celeste, although she inherited her mother’s lighter skin—made him rather beautiful. His normally kindly and humorous eyes seemed dark with hurt and anger. The pots clanked together as he thrust them any old way into the dishwasher.

  He turned back to her. “It’s alright for her. I worked two jobs to get her through the university, and then she wanted to do her masters. Did I complain? Hell I did, even though it meant I looked after you and your sister after I finished work. When she went for her doctorate, did I fuss? No missy, I didn’t! I knew I was lucky to get Pearl, and I loved her. I’d do anything for her. But does she understand? The hell she does! She has no idea what it’s like trying to get a job at my age with no qualifications.”

  “Dad, why won’t you just sit down while I make us some espresso and a sandwich? Then perhaps you can tell me what’s really got you so riled up. You know what Mom’s like. She prides herself on telling things like she sees them, even if no one else sees them that way. You usually shrug and smile.”

  Harry stood a moment and then sagged into one of the chairs.

  Celeste began to bustle around the kitchen, plugging in the kettle and hunting through the fridge.

  The silence waited to be filled up with words.

  He rubbed at his short Sidney Poitier haircut, the only style he ever wore, a sure sign of distress.

  “I think I told you this, Celeste. About when my uncle found me a job in a rum distillery in Barbados when I was sixteen? I never got to finish high school. It was okay, I felt like a man, helping my mother out. I had a lotta younger brothers and sisters. You’ve never met them. I kept thinking how proud my dad would have been of me, you know?”

  She slid a cup of espresso in front of him and went on with the sandwiches, letting him talk.

  “About two years after that, my uncle Harry, who I’d been named after, wrote my mother from America, saying he could get me a job here, and I’d make a lot more money.” He stopped and sipped at the hot bitter drink. “He found me the job, see, I was almost eighteen and he and my mother did all the paperwork. I got here, and I went straight into the distillery with him and I got put on to cleaning the barrels. I was proud I was sending most of my paycheck home. Over the years, I worked my way up because I stayed and worked hard. I took on any extra hours and took any courses being offered. Uncle moved on, but I stayed. I thought I would retire from there.”

  Celeste came to the table, pushed against the wall now that she didn’t live at home, and set the plates down. She took his cup and refilled it. She sipped water.

  “So what happened, Dad?”

  “The management announced the plant would be moving. They sent a guy around asking who would want to move with the firm, and who wouldn’t. They offered a bit of a package for those who couldn’t go with the company. Your mom, she said take the money, get another job. She didn’t want to leave this house and her career at the university. Said there were several other distilleries around, and even if they didn’t want me, there were lots of other jobs.”

  Harry didn’t realize he was rubbing his head again. “I wanted to stay with the company, Celeste. They offered me a pay raise, but your mom said if I went it would be without her.”

  Celeste might be spunky, like her mom, but she also understood her dad. He’d never gone to an interview before the past few weeks and, as a shy man, he was bad at them. She was aware her mother had insisted he take a course to learn how to do them, but it had made him even worse. She could tell this once-confident man was about as low as he could get.

  “Eat your food, Dad. Mom will come round, and maybe you might ask if you can get your old job back.”

  As she bit into the sandwich, she wondered if it tasted like sawdust to her dad too.

  ***

  “What do you care what I’m wearing? You can’t see it.” Celeste grinned as she listened to her man’s sexy voice on the phone. He was miles away, but sounded like he was in the room as she moved her cell from one ear to the other. “Well, it’s the t-shirt that says, ‘If I can’t take it with me-I’m eating it now’.” She laughed at something Rayse said, then the smile slid from her face. “Well, that sounds like more fun than I had.”

  She moved over to the glass doors of the houseboat’s upper floor sitting room and stared out over the river. “I tried to talk to my mom on the phone, but I don’t get why she’s being like this to Dad. She says if he doesn’t get his lazy butt out of the
chair and get a job, they will lose the house.”

  She stroked back an errant curl and gazed without seeing the life of the river. A young woman in a long skirt and peasant top stood hanging cloth diapers on a clothesline strung across the end of the houseboat that replaced the one the frats burned.

  “Yeah, I thought it would have been paid off too. Mom didn’t say, but I asked my dad and he said they needed to remortgage for some of her schooling, and...” She turned away from the window and listened to Rayse speak. “Well, we’re one mind on that, sweet pea.”

  The door into the kitchen opened, and Celeste heard her name being called. “Rayse, darling, my mother’s here for lunch so I gotta go...I know, hon, I love you too.”

  Laying the phone on a small table, she called out, “I’m in here, Mom. I’ll be in to put the kettle on.”

  Pearl Williams stood, her arms crossed over her smart navy waistcoat, her hands gripping the white three-quarter length sleeves. One black toe of her high-heel shoes tapped a staccato on the floor. The straight-cut navy pants had crisp creases down the front, and nothing marred the line of her pockets. Her bob was smooth and immaculate, giving her face a faintly Michelle Obama look.

  Celeste glanced at her mother as she came in, but didn’t make the mistake of assuming the crossed arms meant her mom was mad at her. Pearl had gotten a small rose tattoo on her forearm as a teenager, and bitterly regretted the decision, hence the sleeve length and the folded arms. The tapping toe, however...

  Celeste and her mother might share complexions rather like milky tea, but from that point on all resemblance ended. Celeste’s thick-fringed eyes were warm mid-brown with gold flecks, while Pearl’s glinted obsidian, and figure wise, one was all curves and the other resembled a ramrod in shape and posture.

  “How did your meeting go, Mom? Did he say if you’re in line for a raise?”