by Susan Hayes
“Maggie made sure of that. For someone who aspired to live a small, simple life, she’s certainly adapted well to life as a future queen. She’s really the fierce one. I just stood back and watched her work.”
“You did so much more than that. I am proud of all you have accomplished, kaheya. And now you will return to your planet and be hosted by the leaders of your world.”
She groaned. “Don’t remind me. The only reason I’m doing this is because I know you’ll be at my side. I’m still not sure how I got talked into this.”
He leaned in, resting his head against her shoulder as he stared down at Hope with a goofy smile on his face. “You were the obvious choice. Maggie is still learning her duties as the next queen, and Lisa is with Vadir, helping him negotiate his trade agreements with Earth. But even if they weren’t already busy, you would still be the perfect one to take this role.”
“You’re biased.”
“Yes, I am. But I am still right. You were born to do this, and I will be with you the whole time. If it gets to be too much, just hold up this beautiful little girl and let her charm them all.”
“She is pretty charming, isn’t she? She must get that from me.”
Kash snorted. “Are you saying I’m not charming? I managed to convince you to come away with me to live on another planet, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, but you made me so mad I set your room on fire, first. Plus, you had divine intervention working in your favour.”
“Yes, I did. And I give thanks to the Gods every day for it. I didn’t know how empty my life was until you came along and showed me what I was missing.”
She let all the love and joy in her heart well up inside her, and let it flow through the bond that would connect them for the rest of their lives. She’d found her future, her family, and her home the night Kash had knocked at her door.
Soon, she would go back to Earth and offer the same opportunity to other women who dreamed of finding someone to love. After all, she was now the spokeswoman for the Star-Crossed Dating Service. Offering adventure and romance from out of this world was all part of her job description.
THE END
ABOUT THE INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY SERIES
Ready for more out of this world romances? The adventure isn’t over yet! Fly over to our dating agency website to check out more stories from this multi-author series. The Intergalactic Dating Agency is ready and waiting to set you up with a host of alien hotties from all over the galaxy.
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http://romancingthealien.com
Want to read more stories with book boyfriends
that are out of this world?
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Check out Susan Hayes’ other Science Fiction Romance Titles
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The Drift
Double Down
All In
Wild Card
Three of a Kind
No Limit
Nova Force
Operation Phoenix
3013: The Series
3013: RENEGADE
3013: STOWAWAY
3013: TARGETED
3013: FATED
3013: SCARRED
READ THE ENTIRE STAR-CROSSED
ALIEN MAIL ORDER BRIDES SERIES
JORAN
Star-crossed Alien Mail Order Brides #1
What do you do when your planet runs out of women? Send for takeout, of course.
Joran, Crown Prince of Pyros, needs to claim his mate in order to ascend to the throne one day. The problem? His destined mate isn’t on Pyros.
When a galaxy-wide search uncovers a backwater world full of potential mates for Joran and the other unmated males on his planet, plans are set in motion and Star-Crossed Dating is created. Now, the first wave of men are on their way to claim their unsuspecting brides. Joran’s mission: Go to Earth, claim his mate and bring her back to Pyros. How hard could it be?
This book contains a redheaded barista who doesn’t believe in aliens, and a prince who is used to getting anything he wants without having to work for it…until now.
Read Joran Now
A SNEAK PEAK AT JORAN
Maggie nestled into one side of her best friend’s worn but comfy couch with a container of rocky road ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other. After the week she’d had, ice cream and a girls’ night in was exactly what she needed.
“Do we want to open the red or white wine?” Gwen called from the tiny, galley-style kitchen.
“Red. That’s a good pairing for cookie dough ice cream, right?” Lisa said, already digging into her ice cream from her perch on the other side of the couch.
“Everything’s a good pairing for cookie dough.” Gwen reappeared with a bottle of red wine and three glasses on a tray, along with her preferred flavor, chocolate ripple.
Gwen served the wine and then settled into a somewhat battered armchair with a contented sigh and raised her glass. “We survived another week. Here’s to the weekend.”
“Amen,” Maggie replied, before downing a significant portion of her glass.
“Uh oh. You only drink your wine that fast when the espresso machine at work is on the fritz or you’re having man trouble. Which is it?”
Maggie wrinkled her nose and sighed. “The latter. Jorge went back to his wife.”
Gwen’s hand froze, her spoon hovering halfway between the carton and her mouth. “Wife? I thought you said he was divorced?”
“He is. Well, he was. They finalized the divorce three years ago.” Maggie took another drink, but the wine couldn’t wash away the bitter taste that had lingered in her mouth since she got the text from Jorge the night before.
“Weren’t you two planning a romantic getaway next weekend? How the hell does a guy go from booking a trip with his girlfriend to getting back together with his ex-wife?” Lisa leaned over to snag the bottle of wine off the table and refilled Maggie’s glass.
“It was his turn with the kids last weekend. I guess he told them about me, and they went home and told their mother.” Maggie paused to take another spoonful of ice cream while Lisa and Gwen reacted like the best friends that they were.
“He’s an idiot. She doesn’t want him back, she just wants to make sure he isn’t with anyone else. The moment she finds out he dumped you, she’ll call it off again. If he can’t see that, he’s not worthy of you,” Maggie said, utterly indignant.
“Please, tell me you had a moment of glorious red-headed temper and tore him a new one before punting his sorry ass to the curb,” Lisa added.
“He didn’t give me the chance. He told me by text message late last night.”
“He broke up with you by text? The least he could have done was tell you in person. What kind of man does that?” Maggie asked.
“The only kind of man the three of us ever seem to attract. Weak, selfish assholes.” Lisa stabbed her spoon into her ice cream. “We need to expand our dating pool.”
Maggie shook her head. “I’m not sure how we’d do that. I work in a coffee shop, which means the only guys I meet are over-caffeinated business types who never look up from their phones long enough to flirt. You’re a street artist, so you’re surrounded by buskers all day. Those guys barely make rent, they can’t afford a girlfriend.”
Lisa grinned. “No, but the cute ones can rent me for a couple of days. Not every relationship has to last forever.”
Gwen rolled her eyes. “Some of us are getting too old to play the field. I’d like to meet someone special. He doesn’t need to be perfect, just…perfect for me.”
“You’ve spent too many years reading those romance novels you love, Gwen. There’s no such thing as a perfect man. He’s a myth, like unicorns and little green men from outer space.” Maggie took another drink of her wine. “I agree with Lisa though, we do need to find a better class of men to date. There has to be some out there, somewhere.”
“Given our track records, maybe
not. Between us, we’ve dated a card-carrying member of the Ghostbusters fan club, complete with his own proton pack, two guys who forgot they were still married...”
Gwen chimed in with “Don’t forget the guy who met Lisa for coffee, talked about himself for an hour, then told her she was clearly a submissive and asked her to wear his collar…on their first date.”
Lisa groaned. “Seth. Oh man, I’d forgotten about him. He was a wannabe Dom with no clue what he was talking about. Quick, someone pass me more wine. I’m going to need it to erase those memories again.”
They spent the next hour drinking, laughing, eating ice cream, and reminiscing about their worst dating experiences. They’d been friends for so long they knew all the stories already, but that didn’t matter. They still laughed at each other and tossed in the occasional reminder about a detail someone had missed. Usually something that made the whole tale even more humiliating. That’s what friends were for.
Gwen and Lisa were more than friends, though. They were the sisters of her heart. They had been there for Maggie when she’d first landed in foster care as a broken and terrified twelve-year-old. Since then, the three of them had forged a friendship that had lasted twenty years.
“This might be the wine talking, but I think I’m ready to try online dating again,” Lisa announced. “It’s that or dye my hair. Whichever. It’s time for a change.”
“You have gorgeous hair. Do you know how many women would kill to be natural blondes?” Gwen tugged on a curl of her tightly spiraled, jet-black hair to make her point. “Me, for one.”
“Then I’m taking your comment as a vote for a return to online dating. And so we’re clear, I’m not going alone. You two are coming with me.” Lisa grabbed her phone and started poking at the screen. “I got this email the other day. Some new dating site is coming online in the next few months, and they’re looking for some brave souls to beta test it for free. Maybe we should give it a shot.”
Maggie groaned. “You say that like you’re going to give us a choice.”
Lisa waved her hand around in vague circles. “What, and spoil the illusion? I like to let you guys think you have some say.”
“We’ve been friends too long. That illusion got shattered years ago.” Gwen drained her glass and then reached for her phone. “I can’t believe I’m even considering this.”
“Me, either.” Maggie checked her email and quickly found the invite. Star-Crossed Dating Service.
A quick scan of the contents made her curious enough to click the link. The site looked professional enough. No spelling mistakes or weird links. She started to read, then stopped and read the same sentence over again.
“Am I reading this right? They offer a money back guarantee? If we’re still single after six months, we get double our money back? I thought you said this was free?”
“Keep reading. In the next paragraph, they promise to pay us the cash, even as beta testers. They’ve got to be pretty confident to make that kind of offer,” Lisa said.
“There has to be a catch.” Gwen’s expression darkened as she kept reading. “Young women looking for adventure and an out of this world dating experience. I’m not that young anymore, and I’m not sure I’m the adventurous type.”
“You’re thirty-four, not eighty. Come on, Gwen. Maybe your perfect-for-you guy is on this site, waiting to meet you. You’ll never know unless you try.” Lisa turned her gaze to Maggie. “So, what’s your argument going to be?”
“I’m working on it. Give me a minute. I’ve had enough wine and ice cream that it’s tough to think right now.”
“Perfect. In that case, have another glass.” Lisa held up the nearly empty wine bottle. “Drink up, then sign up. We’re doing this.”
“Bossy cow,” Maggie muttered with a laugh as she held out her glass.
“Mooo ‘betcha,” Lisa retorted, and all three of them burst into a fit of giggles.
The laughter continued as they filled out the questionnaire for the dating site, each of them offering up suggestions on what the others should put. It was certainly more fun than doing it alone, but Maggie still didn’t expect much in the way of results. When it came to dating, being skeptical kept her from getting her hopes dashed over and over again.
As a girl, she’d lived like a princess in a fairytale, but when her father died, she’d lost everything. Her friends. Her home. Even her mother. She’d learned her lesson. Now, Maggie kept her expectations low and her dreams small. It was safer that way. If this dating site was as good as it claimed to be, then maybe it would match her with a man who understood how to live the same way she did. Small and simple.
VADIR
Star-crossed Alien Mail Order Brides #2
What do you do when your planet runs out of women? Send for takeout, of course.
Vadir has a business empire to run and no time to spare on frivolous endeavors. So how did he wind up on the far side of the galaxy to claim a mate he never signed up for? A matchmaking queen and a royal decree, that’s how.
His plan is simple: meet the female, negotiate terms, and leave the primitive planet of Earth as fast as he can. What could possibly go wrong?
This book contains a bohemian blonde with a hell of a right hook, and an interstellar tycoon who is about to learn that the best things in life can’t be bought or sold, they have to be won.
Read Vadir Now
A SNEAK PEAK AT VADIR
Vadir Rahal paced the floor of his office and tried to think of a way out of this insane predicament. He didn’t have time for this right now. What was the King thinking?
Turning his back on the sweeping view of the city outside his windows, he stormed back to his desk and snatched the thick piece of parchment off the surface.
No one used parchment anymore. It had been an outdated concept two hundred years ago, but the royal family loved their traditions. The damned thing had even been delivered by a royal messenger in full uniform. He read the words again, looking for a loophole. Something, anything that he could use to decline the honour bestowed on him by the King and Queen of Pyros.
There wasn’t one.
“By the Flames of the First One, why did it have to be me?” he tossed the royal decree back onto the desktop and started pacing again.
“I’ve got a half-dozen deals to broker in the next week alone, and the Qualla Mining Consortium is threatening a work stoppage that could affect the ore markets for years to come. I need to be here, not on the other side of the galaxy retrieving my mate. I don’t need a mate. I didn’t ask for one. Crown Prince Joran is the one who needs a…”
He stopped in his tracks. Joran. If anyone could get him out of this, it would be the prince. He activated a wall monitor and called the one man on the planet who had any chance of changing the King’s mind.
“So, I guess you got the decree?” Joran asked by way of greeting.
“You knew about this?”
The Prince nodded. “I’m going with you. Turns out, you’re not the only one whose mate is supposedly on that planet.”
“Why me? Is this because I refused to play nice with the Romakis during that last trade war? Is this your father’s idea of revenge?”
“Wrong parent.”
“Your mother did this to me? I thought she liked me!”
“She does. Which is why she insisted your profile be included when we screened for possible mates. The rest was luck, or if you believe my mother, the will of the Gods.”
“So, this is real? My mate is out there?” The air in his perfectly maintained office suddenly seemed too thin.
“That’s what the experts say. They may not be our true mates, but our scientists confirm we can have children with them.”
“How can they possibly know that?”
Joran laughed. “I asked the same question. The answer is hard to believe, but I’ve seen the reports. Some of these people, humans, already carry Pyrosian genes.”
“How?” Vadir demanded, too stunned by the revelation to manage
more than a single word.
“I’ll send you the report, and our experts’ best guess as to how it happened. It makes for interesting reading, but the short version is, this is real.”
“Our mates are out there, on another planet? And we’re just going to wander over there, explain matters, and bring them back here? Do you know how insane that sounds?”
Joran nodded. “I know. Read the reports. You’ve got enough time to make whatever preparations are necessary, but you can’t tell anyone where you’re going. We’ll figure out a cover story, probably something about you and I taking the Firebrand out on its maiden voyage to tour the system. Your shipyard built it, so no one will question why you’re coming along.”
“If you want it to be believable, I should bring my private shuttle, too. Everyone knows I have control issues.”
Joran snickered. “Fine, I’ll leave room in the hangar for your ship. But don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. If you want to fly yourself down to the planet, you’re going to need to clear that with Commander Denza. He’s in charge of the mission.”
Of course he was. Who else would the King entrust with the life of his son and heir? “I’ll talk to him. I may have to obey this decree, but I’m not going to negotiate mating terms with some alien female surrounded by royal guardsmen. There are advantages to being me.”
“Just be on board and on time.” Joran grinned at him. “I’m sure you can negotiate the rest of the details to your satisfaction.”
“I wouldn’t dream of being late. An order is an order.” And apparently, this was one command he wasn’t going to be able to charm or buy his way around. Vadir recalled the final line of the missive he’d received. You will go to Earth and determine if the female is your mate. If she is, then you are hereby commanded to bring her home to Pyros. “I don’t suppose I’m going to be allowed to do some trade negotiations while I’m there?”