by Tasha Black
Remington had never been to a diner before, but he had seen them in the movies. There were sure to be colorful booths and waitresses with short skirts and little paper caps.
There was a diner in Stargazer, Pennsylvania, but he had never visited it. His brothers told him that there was already too much publicity surrounding their kind and the humans only knew about Bond, Rocky, Magnum and MacGyver. If they knew there were more alien men, then eager women would descend on the little town in droves.
Remington had wondered privately at first what would be so bad about that. But he was gaining the understanding that it would be better to be loved for himself than to be chased for his fame.
And truth be told, the only one he wanted to love him was Addy.
But she would not.
And so he had to steel himself against her.
He was uncertain what would happen if he were to fall in love with her and she did not reciprocate his feelings. But he was pretty sure that he would not be able to click with anyone else.
Remington could not imagine the heartbreak of that loneliness. He had seen his other brothers with their mates. Even Kitt, so recently mated to Honey, appeared to be dependent upon her for the very air he breathed.
Such a thing was not to be risked. So Remington was determined to keep his hands away from the girl, even if he could not do the same with his thoughts.
Addy
Addy slipped past Nikki to slide into the end seat of the booth.
She looked up just in time to see Remington push past Kitt to do the same thing across the table.
In their rush to avoid it, they had wound up sitting opposite each other. Now she would have to stare at him for the entire meal.
There were worse things in life, she supposed.
At least they weren’t pressed together like in the car.
She gave him a friendly smile and tried not to notice the spark of excitement in his blue eyes.
Sorry, big guy.
Honey giggled and slid into the booth next to Remington, and Kitt took the seat beside her.
Nikki sat next to Addy and Indiana scooted in next to her, opposite Kitt.
“Man, I’m hungry,” Addy said, eying up the menu.
During the school year she had to match her appetite to her activity level and her budget, which were both pretty minimal.
But in the summertime, she spent her whole day swimming and ate for free in the dining hall. The result was basically a bacchanal, and she saw no reason to pretend to demure. As Addy saw it, she was one of the lucky people in the world who had access to all the good food she wanted and she was darned well going to enjoy it.
A waitress swung over, looking almost dazed by the sheer volume of hot guys at the table.
“I’m Nina,” she said, turning red all the way to her hairline. “What can I bring you?”
“Hello, Nina,” Kitt said, and proceeded to politely introduce her to every person at the table.
To her credit, Nina nodded at each of them. Then she wrote down their orders and dashed off.
Nikki began to arrange the packets in the sugar container by color, a sure sign that she was nervous. They all were. The camp was in trouble, so by extension, so were they.
Addy patted her knee, and Nikki looked up from her task.
“It’s going to be okay,” Addy told her. “We’ll figure it out.”
“I don’t know,” Nikki said. “If Mr. Travers pulls from the resort, how will the others come up with enough cash to buy him out?”
“How much money are we talking about?” Honey sounded worried too. The senior Travers had threatened to pull his backing after his creep of a son had gone to jail for stalking, arson and attempted assault on Honey. And no matter how many times Addy told her it wasn’t her fault, she knew Honey still felt partly responsible for the mess they were in.
Addy slipped her phone out of her pocket and brought up the site she’d been looking at earlier.
“I guess we could try and figure out how much the place brings in, and multiply it by—” Honey began.
“Eight-two thousand dollars,” Addy announced.
“How on earth could you have figured that out?” Honey demanded. “Did you use the Stanford calculator?”
“Nope,” Addy said. “Social media.”
“What?”
“Birdie Cohen posted last spring when Miles passed away.” Addy said. “She got forty-one thousand for his half-share, used it for her grandson’s freshman year college tuition and a trip to Brussels for herself.”
“Seriously?” Honey rolled her eyes.
“Yeah,” Addy said, “look at the hat.”
She turned her phone to show the pic of Birdie Cohen wearing a huge grin and a hat that said Brussels, with her arm wrapped around the shoulders of a young man who was presumably the grandson. They both looked fantastic.
“Okay, so eighty-two thousand,” Nikki said. “That’s, that’s…”
“That’s a lot of money, isn’t it?” Kitt sounded worried.
“Well, surely there’s something in the capital fund,” Honey suggested.
“Every year another shareholder dies and the family always cashes out,” Addy said. “How much could there be?”
“We need to do a fundraiser,” Nikki said.
“What is a fundraiser?” Indiana asked.
“It’s when people get together to raise the money to do something important,” Nikki explained to him.
“Oh,” he said immediately, “like a car wash.”
Addy tried to hide her smile. Times like these it was so clear the guys had learned all they knew about life on earth from watching scads of ‘80s movies.
“Yes, exactly,” Nikki said earnestly. “Except that a car wash isn’t big enough for this type of money. We’d have to wash like fifteen thousand cars or something.”
Just then their waitress returned with two co-workers. All three women carried heavily laden trays.
“Okay, guys,” Nina said, and began handing out plates.
There were about five minutes of heavenly silence as they all peppered their eggs, buttered their toast, and dug into the feast before them.
“So what would raise eighty-two thousand dollars?” Nikki looked around the table as if someone among them had the answer.
“How about an auction?” Honey volunteered.
“We don’t have anything to auction off,” Nikki said.
“Gambling,” Addy said.
“It’s illegal,” Nikki said immediately.
“True,” Addy nodded.
“Can we not use our pay?” Kitt sounded hopeful.
“Um, we each only earn a couple thousand dollars for the whole summer,” Addy explained, trying to hide her smile.
“What do Earth people want?” Indiana looked thoughtful. “What makes them tick?”
“Alcohol, sex… Addy began to list.
“Illegal, illegal,” Nikki said.
“Fame and adulation,” Honey offered.
“Those are legal,” Nikki said after a pause. “But would be hard to sell.”
“How do we give them fame and adulation?” Addy laughed.
“We can’t,” Nikki said.
“A cotillion,” Honey said.
“That’s an idea,” Nikki said thoughtfully.
“What is a cotillion?” Remington said the word carefully.
“It’s sort of a formal ball,” Honey explained. “In some circles, it’s how powerful families present their grown-up daughters to society.”
“Have they kept their daughters indoors until then?” Kitt sounded a little scandalized.
“No,” Honey laughed. “But I guess they are using the ball to sort of point out that the girls are grown up now, not little kids anymore.”
“What about the boys?” Indiana asked.
“Things are different for boys,” Addy said, hoping they wouldn’t get into a big political discussion.
“Are there enough young women to have this cotillion at the resort?�
� Remington asked.
“Well, we couldn’t exactly have a cotillion,” Nikki said. “But we could have something like that. It would be a chance for everyone to get dressed up and show off.”
“We need a contest,” Addy said.
“A swimming contest,” Remington suggested, further endearing himself to her.
“Something to do with the lake is a nice idea,” Honey mused.
“What about like a triathlon?” Addy asked.
“Maybe something where they could dress up?” Nikki suggested.
“You know what we need?” Addy could picture the whole thing. “Floats.”
“Like a parade?” Nikki raised an eyebrow.
“No,” Addy said, “like on the lake.”
“Ohhhh,” Honey breathed.
“That’s an amazing idea,” Nikki said. “Like a regular cotillion, but on the lake. A floating cotillion.”
“A float-illion,” Addy said.
“Oh, that’s catchy.” Honey nodded.
Lightning flashed outside the window and rain began to streak the glass.
“Oh, wow,” Honey said.
“A summer storm,” Indiana mused.
“Hopefully it won’t last long,” Addy said, thinking of the road back to the resort. The one-lane section over the bridge tended to flood in the worst storms. Hopefully this wasn’t going to be one of those.
“So how do we get money from what you described?” Remington asked sensibly.
“A couple of ways,” Honey said. “We’ll charge admission, of course. We’ll charge a fee to compete with a float. We can even have guests buy a ticket to vote for their favorite float.”
“How will they make the floats?” Remington asked. “Will they be building actual boats?”
“We can rent out the canoes,” Addy said. “Whatever they build has to fit on the canoe.”
“And each float will have a prince or princess or both,” Honey said. “So that’s the celebrity part. They’ll be dressed to the nines, and rowed across the lake to a cheering crowd.”
“And the winning floats will be the king and queen,” Nikki said.
“This is a fine idea,” Remington decided. “Unless a ruthless leader is elected. How will we determine who is eligible to ride on the floats?”
Addy laughed. “It’s just an honorary title, Remington. They won’t actually be in charge of anything. They just get to say that they were the king and queen of Floatillion.”
“Like the queen of the prom,” Indiana said wisely.
“Yes,” Kitt agreed, “this is excellent.”
Remington looked a little embarrassed.
Addy tapped his foot under the table with her own and grinned at him.
He gave her a slow smile and her heart stuttered.
Damn it.
“It’s going to be a lot of work,” Addy said, trying not to think about the way her body was reacting to Remington’s smile. “We don’t normally have that many people on the water and I’m guessing they’ll be out there practicing.”
“I will help you, Addy,” Remington told her.
That hadn’t been what she’d meant. She needed to avoid him.
But she couldn’t stop the excited beat of her heart at the idea of extra time with him. And she was sure she could handle herself. She was an adult.
“It’s really coming down out there,” Nikki worried.
Addy glanced out the window.
Shit.
This was worse than the usual summer storm.
“We should go,” she said, grabbing one more piece of bacon for the road.
“I hate driving in this type of weather,” Honey said. “Can’t we wait it out?”
“The bridge could flood and then we’d be stuck,” Addy said.
Honey bit her lip.
“I’ll drive, Honey,” Addy offered.
Honey brightened. “Thanks, Addy.”
“I’ll go grab the car now and pull it around,” Addy said, slapping a twenty on the tabletop.
“I’ll come with you,” Remington offered, sliding his own money onto the table.
Before she could stop him, Nikki and Indiana were moving to let him out of the booth.
Honey handed over the keys and Addy dashed for the front door.
Remington held it open for her. He was fast for a big guy.
They dashed out into the pouring rain together.
Addy
Before Addy made it a dozen steps, her t-shirt was completely drenched. She wished that she had something more substantial underneath than her favorite flimsy excuse for a bra.
“Wow,” Remington said, blinking.
It occurred to her that he had probably never experienced a real storm, at least not from such a soggy perspective. There was a light shower the other day, but that was hardly the same.
“Have you ever been out in the rain before?” She had to shout over the rain.
He shook his head and smiled.
“Not like this.”
It suddenly hit Addy that so much water falling from the sky was mysterious and exciting. The world was a fascinating place through Remington’s eyes.
Lightning flashed, reminding her that they were supposed to be in a hurry.
“Come on,” she said. “We’ve got to get to the car.”
But she couldn’t seem to move.
Remington gazed down at her.
The rain dripped from his hair. He looked like that big blond guy who played Thor in all those movies. The thunder sounding around them only added to the illusion.
“We need to get the car,” she repeated without much conviction.
He reached out and brushed a strand of wet hair out of her eyes.
“I like storms,” he told her.
His eyes were so blue that Addy felt she could lose herself in them, like a calm lake that hid something unknowable beneath its surface.
“But you’re getting very wet,” Remington added. “Hold on tight.”
Before she could protest, he had lifted her in his arms and was running with her to the car.
She buried her face in the warm crook of his neck, inhaling his masculine scent shamelessly. The way her body warmed against his through their wet clothes was intoxicating.
When they reached the car and he placed her gently down, the muggy air felt cold compared to the safety of his arms. She blinked up at him for a moment, struggling to remember what to do next.
His eyes were on her mouth, like he wanted to kiss her.
She dragged her gaze away from his handsome face, fished the keys out of her pocket, and unlocked the car.
Remington held the door open and she slid in. Then he let himself in on the other side. They were completely drenched, but Honey’s car wasn’t fancy. Hopefully she wouldn’t mind damp seats.
The interior of the car felt warm and quiet after the shower outside.
Addy turned the key in the ignition and the air conditioning came on full blast. The gust of frigid air chilled her and she turned it off quickly, but not fast enough to stop from shivering.
“Are you okay?” Remington’s voice was husky.
She nodded. “Just cold.” She looked over at him just in time to catch him staring hungrily at her chest.
He looked up at her face as soon as she caught him.
Addy glanced down. Her nipples pressed against the wet fabric of the t-shirt, the pink of her areoles visible through the cotton.
Crap. She looked like some kind of porn star.
“Oh g-geez,” she said, “Wish I had d-dry clothes.”
“I’ll warm you,” Remington offered.
She waited for him to wrap his arms around her, wondering if she had the moral fortitude to resist him.
But he leaned forward and turned the heat on instead.
“Thanks,” she said, feeling a little embarrassed.
“Can we stay here a moment?” Remington asked. “Just long enough for you to dry off a bit and for me to ask you something.”
> “Sure,” she said, stretching her shirt toward the vent in front of her, wanting it to dry, but mostly just trying not to leave her breasts on full display.
“I have experienced many pleasures on this planet of yours,” Remington told her. “Ice cream, rain storms, dancing, and even knock-knock jokes.”
“Knock-knock jokes are fabulous,” Addy agreed.
“But none have given me the happiness I feel when you are near,” he said. “I wish to choose you for my mate, but I will not unless it pleases you.”
Addy caught her breath.
She turned slowly to look at him.
He was waiting patiently for her answer, but she could see the tension in his jaw.
Dear god, he was so hot with that gigantic, rock-hard body and those intense blue eyes.
And the way the word “mate” rolled off his tongue. It made her think of crawling onto his lap, ripping off his wet clothes, crushing herself against him.
No, Addy. No, no, no, her mind shouted, as if she were an errant pet trying to climb onto the furniture. Bad girl.
It would have been easy to ignore that little voice.
But it wasn’t easy to picture explaining her choice to her mother. Both of her parents had been career nurses. When ten year old Addy developed a keen interest in science and helping people they’d been thrilled. They worked so hard - long aching overnight shifts, even moonlighting stints at nursing homes - all to be able to pay for Addy to go to medical school if she could just get in. She was going to be the first doctor in a family of nurses and caregivers.
“I’m sorry,” she heard herself say. “I can’t think about a serious relationship at this point in my life.”
“I see,” he said, sounding like he didn’t see at all.
“Summers are fun for me,” she explained. “But during the year I have to spend a lot of time studying.”
He nodded thoughtfully.
“Anyway, I guess we’d better go get the others,” she babbled on, trying to ignore his expression and the broken feeling in her chest.
She pulled the car up to the front door of the diner, where the other four were standing under the roof overhang.
“What took you so long?” Honey jumped into the backseat and Kitt slid in after her. “You didn’t have trouble getting it started, did you?”