 
Across the Stars Trilogy: Book 1

Suddenly

a Bride

Ruth Ann Nordin

Suddenly a Bride

Published by Ruth Ann Nordin

Copyright © 2011 by Ruth Ann Nordin

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover Photo images Copyright Shutterstock Images LLC. All rights reserved – used with permission.

Cover Photo images www.dreamstime.com. All rights reserved – used with permission.
Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Also in the Across the Stars Series

All Books by Ruth Ann Nordin

Where To Find Ruth Ann Nordin

Dedication

To Stephannie Beman and Joleene Naylor: two wonderful authors who became friends. You are two of the nicest people I've ever met, and my life is better for knowing you.
Chapter One

"Number 258!"

Rilo An quickly stood up and approached the counter before the large gelatinous purple creature called out the next number. He produced his ticket and brushed the shaggy brown hair out of his eyes.

"What is your wish, sir?" the creature said in a high-pitch whine.

"I wish for a life mate," he said, uneasily adjusting his black jumpsuit.

In this large room with a good two-thousand people, the place felt unbearably hot, and his warm clothing was not helping. He cleared his throat and focused on the glittery purple blob that swayed as it punched something into the holographic screen in front of it.

"Number 239!" called out a pink gelatinous creature from another window at the long counter.

A woman with three eyes and wings flew out of her chair to go to the pink creature.

"May I see your tag?" the purple creature asked him.

Rilo turned his attention back to the representative and pulled out the metal tag from his pocket.

The creature's hands felt slimy and cold as it took the tag from his hand. Not wishing to offend it, Rilo resisted the urge to wipe his hand on his one-piece suit. His future depended on what this creature decided, and these particular Star Systems Unlimited representatives were not known for their good nature.

The representative looked at him with its black eyes. "You are from the planet Pandoran?"

"Yes."

"You will want a life mate who is physically compatible with you."

"Yes." There was no way he was going to have children otherwise.

The creature gave what could be considered a nod and punched in some options on the screen floating in front of it. "Two choices for a male from Pandoran. Earth or Alaris?"

He shrugged. "What is the difference?"

"Earth females are emotional and prefer a permanent bond. Alaris females are driven by power and switch partners as the genetic line dictates."

Oh. He didn't like the idea that a woman might decide his genetic line didn't suit her. That was part of what led to his planet's current predicament. "Give me an Earth female."

"Do you have a preference on what type of Earth female we give you?"

Seeing as how he knew very little about females in general, he didn't have the slightest idea what to pick except for the basics. "I want a female who wants a permanent bond and children with one man."

"That describes most females there."

Then there shouldn't be a problem finding one, he almost said, but then, he would have probably been sarcastic and he didn't want to upset the representative.

"Is there a certain body type you desire?" it asked.

"Just one that can bear children."

The purple creature gave a low exasperated hum. "I will pick one for you."

He nodded his consent. What else could he do? He had so little knowledge in this area. With a planet full of men, all he'd seen were pictures of women in the school files. But the females who once inhabited his planet wore the same black jumpsuits and had long black hair. To him, they all looked the same. He reasoned that Earth females would as well.

A thought did occur to him. "May I ask if Earth females can still have female offspring?"

"Yes. Females outnumber males by a small percentage on that planet."

He breathed a sigh of relief. Good. Then there was a good chance more females could be born. With any luck, his offspring would include females as well.

"I put in your request. You may wait in the Ready Room." The purple being scanned his tag with the necessary information to get him to Earth—and to the woman who would be his life mate.

He thanked the creature, took his tag, and turned to the large white room that formed a perfect circle. The counter in the center of the room mirrored the circle, and he guessed there were twenty representatives attending to the customers all waiting for their wishes to be fulfilled. He wondered how the system running the place knew which Earth female would be wishing for the same thing he was.

Giving a slight shake of his head, he decided it wasn't important. Star Systems Unlimited would take his credits and find a suitable match. He searched the crowded room where various beings from other planets sat and waited for their number to come up so they could make their wish.

Each day when the place opened for business, they started at number one and continued on until it was time to close. He was glad he decided to come early. As it was, the two suns lighting the solar system would soon reach the first-quarter of the primary sun's cycle.

He wondered how long the wait was in the Ready Room. The electronic board at the front of the room beneath the clock directed him to the corridor he needed. He headed for it, wondering exactly what a female would be like. Earth women were more emotional than the ones on Alaris. He wondered what "emotional" meant. It wasn't that he and other men on his planet didn't feel, but no one labeled them or even their females "emotional". But he'd risk "emotional" if it meant he could secure a female for the rest of his life.

Every male on his planet understood the inherent dangers of relinquishing that life bond. He wondered if the Alarians would wake up and give up their selective breeding. Too many lessons had to be learned the hard way, he supposed.

As he made his way down the corridor with windows that filtered in the bright blue light from the multitude of lights coming from the second sun, he saw another male from his world. The uniform and brown hair gave him away. The man stood at the end of the line which led to a tall, stick-like creature.

Rilo stopped behind him and asked, "Are you seeking a female too?"

The other man turned to him and nodded. "Is there another wish for us to have? We have everything else on our home world."

"It's the only reason I'm leaving." Rilo took a deep breath and glanced behind him. He could return to the safe and familiar, but there wasn't anything worthwhile in it. What did he have after all? A job, a place to live, mindless entertainment... Life there hadn't been bad. But it hadn't been fulfilling either. He glanced at his tag before he asked, "Did you choose Earth or Alaris?"

"Earth," the man said.

"Me too. What did you wish for in a life mate?"

The man gave him a slight grin. "I didn't request a life mate."

Rilo frowned. "You don't want to secure your offspring's standing in the female's life?"

"Oh, I do. But I don't know what to expect. I'm not sure if I'll find any of the Earth women to my liking. It might be that Alaris is better suited for me."

"But the women there don't seek life mates."

They moved forward in the line, and the man said, "I know, but I was warned the women on Earth can be emotional. I'm not sure if that's worth it. What if they're violent? What if they're too restrictive? What if they're miserable?"

Rilo hadn't considered that. "Is that what emotional means?"

He shrugged. "I read that emotions can run from good to bad."

He didn't like the sound of this. Taking another step closer to the stick-like creature, he said, "I told them I wanted a female who wished for a permanent bond and children. Surely, such a woman would be nice to be with?"

"I don't know. I'm going to Earth to check it out and see for myself. If it turns out that a female Earthling won't suit me, I'll come back here and request Alaris."

As they walked forward, Rilo wondered if he should have done the same thing. Perhaps he was hasty in asking for a life mate. This was a permanent decision, and his wish was being processed. He glanced back at his tag. It was too late to pay to return. He was at the mercy of the woman the agency selected for him. Just how did they make their decision anyway? Did they run his profile through a database and match him up with the one who best suited him or did they just pick a female at random?

The man next to him showed the stick-like creature his metal tag and the creature scanned it. Then the creature turned his attention to Rilo who presented his tag as well.

The creature nodded to both of them. "Earth. Corridor E3. Terminal 12SS. Departure at 678 sun cycle 1,853 sun cycle 2."

Rilo felt a mixture of apprehension and excitement. In as little as seven hours, he'd depart for Earth.

"Will you be going to eat?" the man asked him as they made their way toward Corridor E3 which was lit by the suns through the windows on all sides.

"Not yet. I want to see if they have any brochures on Earth."

"I'm sure they do. In case I don't see you again, I wish you well with your life mate."

"Thanks."

"If nothing else, with women there, I'm sure the scenery will be better."

Rilo couldn't argue that point. He wondered if there would be any pictures of Earth women here. Did they look like women that had once inhabited his planet or were they different? He'd guess similar if they were physically compatible with him.

His traveling companion found a place to eat and departed down an off-shoot corridor, leaving Rilo to scout out the information centers up ahead.

***

Caitlyn Davis walked up to the booth in the diner where the two construction workers sat. She inwardly groaned and glanced at her friend who was busy filling coffee cups. Well, she'd have to battle Travis and Richie today.

She pulled out the pad and pencil and asked, "May I take your order?"

Travis, the brunette, turned his eyes to her and scanned her up and down. "What's a pretty lady like you doing in a joint like this?"

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. "The same thing I do every time you come here. Now, may I take your order?"

"I don't know. Got a private spot where we can go?"

Richie, the blond, laughed. "Can I get served when he's done?"

"Look," she began, not hiding her exasperation, "I've got a job to do, okay? It's lunchtime and I have other people to take care of, so if you don't get to it, I'm going to let you fend for yourself."

Travis groaned. "That's the problem, Caty. I fend for myself too much."

She rolled her eyes and turned to go to another booth where a young couple was reading their paper menus.

"Oh wait." Travis motioned for her to return. "I was just kidding. You know that. I'll be good."

"Fine." She pressed the pencil to the pad and waited for him to speak.

"I'll have the Reuben sandwich with fries and a nice, tall glass of pop."

"What kind?"

He smiled and shrugged. "Surprise me."

She looked at Richie. "And you?"

"I think I'll try the chili and grilled cheese combo today, but I'll have tea—hot." He gave her a suggestive look. "I like things that are hot."

Deciding not to comment, she went to the next booth and took the couple's order before she hurried to the counter and posted the orders for the cook to see. Then she proceeded to fill up everyone's drinks. She glanced at her friend, another waitress who worked at Jack's Diner. Her friend shot her a sympathetic smile as she ran to get the plates the cook just put up on the ledge that separated him from the crowd that filled the place.

"One hour and things will slow down," her friend said as she collected the meals.

"Sandy, we need a vacation," Caitlyn replied and took three plates.

"A trip to the beach will take care of that."

"I'm tired of the beach."

Sandy's eyes grew wide. "How could you get tired of the beach?"

"It's not fun unless you're enjoying a romantic walk with a guy."

"Not if that guy is Richie or Travis."

Caitlyn grimaced. "True."

As Sandy went to her booth, Caitlyn turned to set one plate at the counter where a man read a newspaper. Then she carried the other two plates to the nice couple.

"Hey," Travis called out, "didn't we order before them?"

Ignoring him for a moment, she went to another booth and asked the three women if they needed anything before she decided to get the plates waiting for Travis and Richie. She placed them on the table and hurried back to the counter before they could engage her in another mind-numbing conversation.

Soon enough, Travis and Richie had to leave for work, and after that, the lunch rush died so Caitlyn could sit down and give her aching feet a rest. She really needed a better pair of shoes.

Sandy passed by her on her way to the coffee pot. "Want some?"

"Might as well. It's the only way I'll stay awake." She yawned and leaned forward, her elbow on the counter. Swiveling in her seat, she asked, "Do you want to see a movie Friday night?"

"Depends on what's playing." She filled up two cups and glanced at her friend. "I will not go see another tearjerker."

"But those are heartwarming."

Rolling her eyes, she walked over to Caitlyn and sat next to her. "They are depressing." Setting the cups down, she continued, "I thought you'd shy away from love stories that end in one of the spouses dying. I mean, considering what happened with my brother and all."

Caitlyn tore open a packet of sugar and poured it into the cup. "I loved Randy."

"And watching those movies help?"

She shrugged and swirled the sugar with a spoon. "I know it's weird. Maybe it's grim."

"Yes, it is. Very grim."

"Yes, but I'm not the only one who lost her husband to something like cancer. The movies remind me of that."

Sandy sighed and touched her arm. "I hope that you'll move on and find someone else. It has been three years, and your biological clock is ticking."

Caitlyn grinned. "This isn't about me. It's about you being a godmother."

She shrugged. "I can claim the title even if I'm not technically the aunt."

"You're my best friend. Of course, you'll be my kid's godmother."

"I'll hold you to that." She winked before she took a sip from her coffee. She shuddered. "How do the customers tolerate this?"

"The ambiance." Caitlyn motioned around the near-empty diner. "It says class and style. It's the in place to be."

Sandy giggled and shook her head. "You're so full of it."

"Probably."

Jack peered through the door that separated his station from theirs. "I'm going on a smoke break. You girls think you got it covered in here?"

Caitlyn noted the two women who had brought in their children and were laughing. "They're not drinking the coffee you made, so we should be fine. No lawsuits pending."

"Yeah well, I wouldn't have made the coffee if someone hadn't been 'indisposed' at the time."

"You really want me to pee out here?"

"I'm just saying," he said with a shrug. "You weren't here and people were asking for coffee. I had to do something before they started taking out their pitchforks and torches."

"Oh, go ahead and smoke," Sandy told him. "We'll fend off the hungry customers." Once Jack nodded and returned to the kitchen, she turned her attention to Caitlyn. "As long as that movie is a comedy, thriller, or horror, I'm in for Friday."

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out for those then."
Chapter Two

Rilo felt strange. He put the brochure down and looked out the window. A spaceship flew off into the distance where it disappeared into the stars surrounding it. The suns weren't directly in his vision from this angle, but they lit up enough of Star Systems Unlimited so he saw the smooth silver hub where ships were docking.

He glanced at the clock above the gate where he'd depart. He'd been sitting there for two hours, thumbing through all of the brochures he could find on Earth. It wasn't much different from Pandoran, except there was more water on the surface and varying terrain. Pandoran had only one major ocean and a grouping of seas and rivers, but if one looked at it from space, they'd see mostly land. Another difference was that the land—all of it—on his home world was flat.

Everything else was pretty much the same. Oxygen to breathe. Sunlight for life to thrive. Blue sky. Blue water. Green grass that turned yellow or brown in different seasons. Well, he supposed he should have expected many similarities if he was able to find a compatible female to establish a life bond with.

He adjusted the collar of his jumpsuit and checked the temperature reading beneath the clock. Why did it feel warmer in here? The temperature hadn't budged from 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Sighing, he shifted in the seat and returned his attention to the brochure he was currently reading.

This part explained the various countries and political divisions. Again, that wasn't so uncommon. However, he did wonder just where the agency would send him. He wasn't even sure where he'd pick if given the choice. It was just as well the agency would do that for him.

He shifted again in his seat and realized his breathing was shallower than it should be. His heart rate had also increased. He adjusted his collar for a second time and noticed that his neck was warmer than it should be. Touching his face, he realized he was starting to perspire. What was going on?

He set the brochure into his lap and tried to figure out what was wrong. Nothing seemed unusual. He just felt...odd. Could it be nerves? Maybe he wasn't as calm as he thought he was?

Glancing around, he saw a few creatures passing by, laughing and talking. To his right were two beings that resembled him except they spoke a language he didn't recognize. They must be on their way to Earth. He wondered if the agency's promise to adapt him fully into the Earth's culture was accurate. If so, he'd be able to understand and speak the language of the place they put him in. Again, he wondered how they could take care of all those details with such efficiency.

A bead of sweat trickled down his spine. That was it! He closed the brochure and stood up. Maybe he needed to walk around. Maybe he'd been sitting still too long or maybe this section had heat blowing directly on it. He inspected the ceiling. He didn't see any vents. There was no warm air blowing on him.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward, and as he did, his underwear rubbed against the male part of him which tingled in response. That's when he realized what was happening. The hormone inhibitor was wearing off. He quickly thought back to when he took his last pill. It'd been when he woke up. That was only ten hours ago. The effects weren't supposed to wear off from anywhere between fourteen to twenty-four hours. He realized that he ran the risk of it being premature, but he'd been taking the pill for a good eighteen years so he expected it to take longer for his body to adjust to its pre-pill days.

When he was sixteen, he decided he'd had enough distractions and so he went to the pharmacy to start a prescription. And now it'd been such a long time since he'd had to deal with an erection that he didn't know what to do about it. Well, he knew what to technically do to get rid of it, but he wanted to be sure his body was ready for the bonding ceremony with his life mate. He wasn't sure what to expect from her, and he figured the sooner they went through with it, the sooner he'd be guaranteed a place in her life and the life of the children he'd give her. After all, that was why he came here.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the medical pamphlet. He already knew what it'd say, but he needed reminding. Sure enough. There it was in black and white. Fourteen to twenty-four hours. He skimmed through the pamphlet until he came across how he could expect his body to adjust from this point on. It looked like once his body established a natural rhythm, he could expect to ejaculate anywhere from four to eight hours until his life mate conceived a child. But until that rhythm was established, things were bound to be irregular. And that's the part that suddenly worried him.

What if he ejaculated now and he wasn't able to do it again for another ten or more hours? He was due on Earth in five hours.

Maybe he could get rid of it. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and slowly exhaled. It was all a matter of self-control. He could do this. His body could wait until he was with his life mate.

Deciding to turn his attention to the window, he started counting the spaceships that sought port at the station. From his vantage point, he saw three that arrived. Two were long and rectangular and the other small and round. One long one was close enough that he could see the creatures inside it. He decided to count each one as it departed the craft.

He got to twelve when it became clear to him that this tactic wasn't working. He gritted his teeth and placed the brochure over the bulge in his suit so no one else would notice. What was wrong with him? He wasn't even thinking sexual thoughts. His body temperature rose a little more and the suit was becoming unbearable. The thick material was designed for space travel, not getting aroused in. What could he think of that would douse any sexual desire?

Numbers. Math was as sexually stimulating as a cold shower. Leaning against the window, he closed his eyes and worked out some calculations in his head, figuring the more complicated, the better. But it didn't work. He gritted his teeth. He was going to ejaculate and there was nothing he could do to stop it!

Keeping the brochure over his strengthening erection, he strode down the corridor as fast as he could and searched for a resting room. He found one and groaned when he saw it was occupied.

His body was getting tense, and that was not a good sign. It might have been eighteen years ago since he last ejaculated, but he remembered the way his body tensed right before it happened. He searched for another room, but the nearest one marked was several yards away and by the way his body tensed, he knew he wasn't going to make it.

He turned his face to the wall and muffled his cry of pleasure as he ejaculated. He stayed as still as he could with his body wanting to jerk in response to his orgasm. He didn't remember it being this intense, but it was and he was sure it was back then too. His breathing still heavy, he glanced over his shoulder and saw a female creature give him a look of disgust before she continued walking down the hall.

His face flushed with both embarrassment and anger. Maybe he could have found a private place sooner, but did she need to stand there and gawk at him? At least the rest of the area was vacant. The brochure was still in front of him, so he dared a peek at the result of his accident. The entire pubic area of his suit was wet, as was the front of the brochure.

He sighed. He couldn't exactly go to Earth in this suit. What he needed were some new clothes and to find a place to hide from onlookers in case this happened again before he was due to depart for Earth. He didn't think his body could gear up again that soon, but he needed to be prepared. Obviously, this wasn't something he could control.

Knowing it looked suspicious, he kept the brochure over the evidence and searched for a clothing shop. He found a place that sold clothes from a variety of different worlds, and among them were Earth clothes. Excited, he pulled the shirt and pants off the shelf and paid for them.

The first thing he did was find a resting room, which of course was empty now that he didn't have an immediate need for it, and threw out his old clothes. He cleaned himself up the best he could and realized too late that he didn't have underwear. Oh well. He'd get some on Earth. His life mate would know where to go for stuff like that.

Once he put on the t-shirt and jeans, he pulled his black boots back on and exited the resting room. The clothes were not as thick as the jumpsuit, but they were comfortable enough.

"You're getting ready for Earth?"

He glanced over his shoulder and noticed the man from his planet who was also going to Earth. "In a way," he admitted. He wondered if he should ask his traveling companion about how his body was coping without the pill, but then he figured it couldn't hurt. Nothing could be more embarrassing than realizing someone watched him ejaculate in the corridor. Clearing his throat, he asked, "How are you adjusting to not taking the pill?"

The man shrugged. "I'm still taking it. I'm not going to be with a life mate right away, so I see no need to worry about sexual urges until I do."

He nodded, not sure why the answer disappointed him. He reasoned it was because he didn't want to be alone in having a major adjustment take place.

"You know that you're not supposed to go off of it until you get to Earth or are about a couple of hours from departure, right?" the man asked.

Now he did. But he opted to say, "The pamphlet said it could take anywhere from fourteen to twenty-four hours for the effects to wear off."

"So you're planning to go through the ceremony as soon as you see who the agency picked for you?"

"I don't want to give her time to back out."

"Maybe you should. What if she's not a good match?"

Then he was screwed because once the ceremony took place, that was it. He was confined for life.

"Did you already ejaculate?" the man asked.

"I didn't expect to be able to so soon, but yes." Even as he admitted it, heat came to his face. It wasn't that the topic of ejaculating wasn't common on their world, but it was humiliating to have timed it as wrong as he had.

"Let me guess...that's why you got the new clothes?" A knowing grin crossed his face.

Rilo sighed. "I thought I could will it away."

He laughed. "Well, at least you know what to expect next time. A friend of mine said he ejaculated about ten hours after he stopped taking the pill, so I'm not surprised you ran into that problem."

"Then why does the pamphlet say fourteen to twenty-four hours?"

"That's the average. Some men are sooner and some are later. But that's a good thing that you're quicker. It means you can have more sex when you get there."

True. And that brightened Rilo's mood considerably.

"I hope my body is ready sooner rather than later too. Once I find the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, I want to be able to enjoy the bonding ceremony as soon as she agrees to be with me." He motioned to a theater down the corridor. "I hear the 3-D show puts you right on Earth. It's supposed to be as good as being there. Want to check it out?"

"Sure." It beat reading through boring brochures.

"I'm Marn, by the way."

"Rilo."

The two new friends turned to go to the theater.
Chapter Three

The time came for Rilo and Marn to depart. The fuzzy blue creature with big black eyes and a long snout handed them a card. "Scan the card through the door. When the door opens, go in and you'll be transported to your destination. Only one person goes in at a time and no swapping cards."

"There's no spaceship?" Marn asked.

"Not for a trip this long," it replied.

Rilo examined his card marked with his name and SS12 E3 30.754167, -86.572778." It made no sense to him, but then, he reasoned it didn't have to. He glanced at Marn. "What does your card say?"

Marn showed him his card.

"The numbers aren't that different. Do you think we'll be in the same location?"

"Maybe," Marn replied as they walked down the small corridor that led to a door. "I guess we'll find out when we get there. If you see me, be sure to say hi."

Rilo nodded.

They seemed to be the only ones going to Earth, which surprised Rilo since he thought more men from his planet would be heading there.

"Earth must not be popular," Marn commented. "So, who goes first?"

Rilo shrugged. "I will." It didn't matter. They'd both be at their destination soon enough. He swiped the card through the slot by the closed door. A slight click and a green light blinking above the door notified him that it worked. "Good luck, again."

"You too."

Rilo entered the white circular space that fit no more than one person. He'd been able to hold off on his nervous excitement because he'd been talking to Marn, but now that he was alone again, he felt the feelings return.

"Face toward the door and insert your feet into the silver slots," a mechanical female voice said.

Turning around so he could obey, he cleared his throat, realizing that his body was trembling. Exactly what would this be like? He'd never transported anywhere before.

A low hum resonated as a blue light scanned him, starting at his feet and going up. He stayed still and waited for the procedure to be done. By the time the blue light went over his head, the hum stopped.

"Location: Crestview, Florida. Earth," the voice said. "Transport engaged."

Then, before he had time to blink, everything around him faded into black and he was aware that he was floating. For a second, he thought he would end up lost in space...or in a black hole somewhere. But as soon as the thought came to him, images came into view and the floating sensation went away. It took him five seconds to acclimate to his new surroundings.

The first thing he noticed was the humidity. The second thing he noticed was the building in front of him. The third thing he noticed was that he stood on pavement. A few cars were in the parking lot around him. As he stood there, he experienced a flood of words downloading into his mind. He guessed that was the agency's doing. It was overwhelming at first, and all he could do was stand there and process it.

His new home didn't look too different from what he was used to, which didn't surprise him after studying Earth, but the sight of two females passing by caught his interest. They were lovely to look at. Soft features, breasts, narrow waists, nice hips. They didn't wear jumpsuits, like the females had on his planet, which gave him a glimpse of more of their flesh than he'd ever seen. Sure, he'd seen drawings, but this was different. This was much more intriguing.

But neither one were his life mate. He frowned. Would he know her when he saw her? He stepped forward and noticed something was in his back pocket. Surprised, he stopped and retrieved it. A wallet. Curious, he opened it to see a bank card, a green paper card with his social security number on it, a driver's license, and a white folded-up paper. He pulled the white paper out and unfolded it.

It was a receipt from Star Systems Unlimited. It stated that his life mate was Caitlyn Davis who was now Caitlyn West. It came with a black and white picture of her, and he thought she was pleasing to look at. Forcing his eyes off her image, he read the other items on the receipt. His Earth name was Chris West. Her employment was a waitress at a place named Jack's Diner. He glanced up and saw that Jack's Diner was, indeed, etched above the rectangular building before him.

Then he read that his wallet contained a driver's license, a social security card, and a debit card to a bank where his money from his home world was transferred. Currently, his balance was $25,583.26 in American currency. He wondered how much that was. He knew that the wish had cost a lot more than he bargained for. It nearly wiped him of his savings.

Well, he'd have to ask his life mate about this when the bonding was complete. He studied her picture again so he'd recognize her when he did see her, folded the paper back up and slipped it into his wallet before tucking it into his pocket. He stood still for a moment, trying to gauge if his body was anywhere near ready to engage in the bonding ceremony. It wasn't. He could only hope that he could stall her long enough so she'd be around when he could emit his hormone.

Someone drove a car up to him and waited. Realizing he was in the person's way, he moved and let him park. The parking lot seemed to be filling up. That had to mean it was time to eat on this planet. He glanced at the one sun in the clear sky and saw that it was heading west and casting a subtle orange tint over everything. Again, not so different from his world, and if this was similar, then this would signal the final meal of the day.

He followed a man and woman who carried something with a baby in it. He came closer to see exactly what babies looked like. On his world, all children were born in labs and educated in schools before released to the general public to work, so his experience with infants was limited to what he'd read and seen in pictures.

The baby bunched his nose and sneezed. The action struck him as simple as it was cute, so he laughed. The woman jerked and looked over her shoulder at him. Noting that she wasn't happy with him, he quickly apologized. The man glared at him before he followed her through the door of the restaurant.

He didn't know what he'd done to offend the couple but didn't want to stand out as being "different" so he decided not to ask. He waited until a woman with two plump kids entered the establishment before he entered it.

The place was filled with people, and from the fact that two more cars pulled into the parking lot, it was going to be crowded in no time at all. He watched the woman and her children sit at a booth and decided to sit in the empty booth next to them.

He studied the faces to see if he could find Caitlyn. The women behind him who laughed at something one of their friends said, didn't look familiar. Facing the row of booths in front of him, he shifted on the plastic seat, but it was hard to make out every face when the backs of people's heads blocked his view. Maybe this was the wrong approach. Maybe he needed to get up and walk around the place.

He made a move to stand when a woman came up to him carrying a notepad and pencil. Her auburn hair fell in soft waves to her shoulders. Her cheeks, a pretty shade of pink, were flushed from running around and taking orders. She had clear blue eyes and a charming smile. There was something about her that drew him to her, as if they shared the beginning of a connection.

Then he blinked and realized she resembled the woman in the picture, except she looked even better in person. "Are you Caitlyn Davis?"

"That's what the name tag tells me," she joked.

He frowned. Was that how people were named on this world? They were given name tags at birth?

Seeming to notice his confusion, she stopped chuckling and cleared her throat. "Yes, I'm Caitlyn. Am I supposed to know you?"

"No. We've never met. My name is Chris West." If his body was ready for it, he'd emit the sex hormone right then and there, but he couldn't and that was frustrating.

"Do you know someone who knows me?"

"No." Her expression seemed worried, so he added, "My sense of humor isn't very good. It was supposed to be a joke." Yes, it was a lie, but he sensed her unease and wished to alleviate that.

It worked. Her body relaxed and she smiled again. "What will you have to eat?"

He figured he probably should eat something, though he wasn't sure how good the food would be on this planet. "What do you recommend?"

"Well, the roast beef with gravy and mashed potatoes hasn't killed anyone yet."

At first he thought she was serious, but her laugh clued him into the fact that she was making another joke. He laughed along, pretending he understood exactly why food not killing him would be funny. "I'll have that," he said.

"And to drink?"

"Uh..." He wasn't sure what he'd like, so he replied, "What do you suggest?"

She shrugged. "I'm a glutton for punishment, so I drink soda."

"What's wrong with soda?"

"Too much sugar, unless you drink diet. Of course, there's still that corn syrup to worry about. If you want to play it safe, coffee works."

"Coffee?" He recalled hearing that. It was a common thing on Earth. "I'll have that."

She nodded and jotted down his order. "I'll get that coffee in a minute."

He felt a flicker of panic as she headed for the counter, but then relaxed when she didn't leave the diner. He tapped his fingers on the table and glanced out the window. How long would it take for his body to be ready to ejaculate again? Sighing, he leaned back in his seat and tried to be patient. As long as he stayed here and could watch her, he wouldn't lose her.

She put a group of eight drinks on a tray and made her rounds giving them out, and as she set the coffee cup in front of him, she said, "It's hot."

For a minute he thought she meant that she was hot, but then he remembered that she wouldn't be until he released the hormone. Her eyes were on the coffee cup as she said it, so the meaning was quick to deduct.

The course of the meal went without much conversation exchanged. He knew it wasn't the right time to talk to her because she and the other waitress made their rounds to the customers and did what they could to make them happy. He didn't mind the delay in their bonding since it occurred to him that he was getting a chance to see how she interacted with others, and he figured this would help him know just what kind of woman the agency set him up with. She smiled and laughed a lot. That relieved him. So far "emotional" didn't seem like a bad thing.

Little by little, the people shuffled out of the diner, content and full. He bid his time until he could talk to her by filling up on more brownie sundaes than he cared to admit. By the time he received his last one, he stared at it and thought he was going to throw up so he shoved it aside. When Caitlyn glanced his way as she wiped down the table in front of him, he quickly brought it back and dipped his spoon into it. As soon as she went to the counter, he set the spoon down and groaned. If he thought of food any more, his mild stomachache would get worse.

After what was probably ten minutes but seemed longer, Caitlyn came up to him and placed a piece of paper in front of him. "You look like you're ready to burst."

"Burst?"

"You ate a lot. Considering you're not overweight, I'd like to know where you put it all."

"In my stomach."

She chuckled. "Anyway, that's your bill. Don't be a stranger. You were actually one of the nicest customers I've ever served."

"Do you usually get mean ones?" he asked, trying to think of a way to get her to stay. Now that the place was practically empty, she had time to talk, and he didn't want to be thrown out.

"No. Most people are nice, but some are more so than others."

Before she could turn and leave, he said, "I'd like to talk to you, if you don't mind?"

She paused for a moment, in the process of slipping the notepad into the pocket of her apron. "Well..." She sighed and let the notepad fall into her pocket. "I guess it won't hurt." Sitting across from him, she brushed the hair out of her eyes and asked, "So, what's on your mind?"

He searched for something to talk about. Could he just come out and say, Hi, I came from Star Systems Unlimited and they gave me you as a wife! Somehow, he didn't think that would be a good beginning. He glanced at the sundae. "Would you like something to eat?"

"Sorry. I don't eat ice cream soup, even if it is loaded with chocolate brownie bits."

"You could have the roast beef with gravy and mashed potatoes. It didn't kill me. I'm sure you'll survive it too."

A grin crossed her face and her eyes twinkled. "You catch on fast." She glanced over her shoulder at the other waitress who was taking four teenagers' orders, and then she turned her attention back to him. "I guess I could get something light."

He breathed a sigh of relief. Good. Now, all he had to do was stall her for however long it took his body to kick into gear.

"I'll be back."

She stood and walked over to the counter to pick out a slice of cake from the shelf next to the soda fountain. The other waitress went over to her, and Caitlyn motioned to him. Feeling self-conscious, he turned his gaze to the window. The sun was still out but it was lower in the sky. It wouldn't be long before it was dark.

When she returned with the cake, a soda, and a fork, he focused on her. He suddenly became aware of the shape of her breasts under her dress. Shouldn't he have noticed them sooner? He wondered if she looked anything like those drawings he'd seen of naked women on his home world. With clothes on, she resembled the female of his species. Surely, she'd be similar in every aspect?

Unlike last time, the tingling of his body was a welcome sensation. It was time. He could finally initiate the bonding ceremony.

"Do you live in Crestview?" She took a forkful of cake and ate it.

"Yes. I just got here." Literally.

"Really? Where did you come from?"

"Pandoran," he whispered. He focused on her and willed the release of the sex hormone, knowing that as he did, there would be no going back for either of them. That is, if the hormone affected her like it had affected females on his world.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Where?"

"Pandoran."

She paused as she cut into the cake again and shook her head. "I've never heard of that town. What state did you move from?"

He studied her for a moment to make sure the hormone was taking effect. He felt the link going out from his body to hers but so far, it didn't seem to connect.

After she took a drink of soda, she asked, "Is it in Florida?"

"No." He wiped his hands on his pants. He was beginning to feel warmer than usual. Didn't she notice the change in body temperature?

"Are you going to tell me what state you're from or are you going to make me list each one?"

He shrugged. If he knew the agency would send him to the United States, he would have memorized each state. Besides, he wasn't interested in this particular conversation right now. They could discuss where he came from after they sealed the bond.

He tapped his fingers on the table and glanced out the window. He estimated that they had about twenty to thirty minutes before he had to either have sex with her or ejaculate in his clothes again—and there was no way he was doing the latter. Once was more than enough.

"You're not much of a talker, are you?" she finally asked before she ate another piece of cake.

"I'm not sure what to say," he admitted.

He didn't want to lose her attention now that he had it. He realized he needed to keep up a conversation, but it was hard when his mind was beginning to pick up subtle things about her, like the way she smelled—a light flowery scent. His fingers itched to touch the soft strands of her wavy hair, to touch her fair skin, to kiss her rosy lips. His heart rate picked up.

"Well, you could start with your name. You said your name is Chris... What was the last name?"

He had to think for a moment before he recalled it. "West." He might as well get used to his Earth name now that he had one. Clearing his throat, he said, "My name is Chris West."

"Got a job?" She drank more of her soda.

Was the ceremony not going to take place? Maybe Earth women were compatible with him, but maybe the sex hormone had no effect on them. He hid his disappointment. He didn't know how else he was going to bond with her if they didn't go through with the ceremony.

And then he noticed she picked up a clean napkin and dabbed her forehead. His relief was overwhelming. It was starting to work on her.

She looked at him and shook her head. "You don't have to be shy," she assured him with a kind smile. "I promise I don't bite."

He returned her smile. "What did you ask again?"

"If you have a job?"

"Not yet. Back where I used to live, I worked with numbers."

"So you're a whiz at math, huh? That was my worst subject." She picked up her cup and drained the rest of the soda. Then she pressed the glass to her forehead. "Is it me or is it hot in here?" She put the glass down and turned around in her seat. "Sandy, is the air conditioner busted again?"

"Nope," the other waitress said as she carried several plates on a tray to the four teenagers.

He decided to take that as his cue. "You want to get some fresh air?"

"That might be a good idea." She stood up and collected their dishes. "I'll be right back."

He wondered, for a split second, if she really would return but then recalled that she was linked to him now, even though the link was a very thin one. She'd have to return to complete the process. Sure enough, she came back with her purse and stuffed an envelope into it.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" she called out to her friend who nodded. She glanced his way and scanned him with more interest than he knew she would have had if he hadn't emitted the hormone. "You coming?"

"Shouldn't I pay for the meal?" he asked, standing up.

"Oh. Right." She waved him over to the cash register.

He went up to the counter and handed her the bill and his wallet. "Take whatever you think is fair."

She fidgeted from one foot to the other, her body giving off an excited energy and he knew that her body was getting ready for him. She pulled out a couple of bills from his wallet and put it into the register. When she returned his wallet, her fingers brushed his and she looked him in the eye. She licked her upper lip and caressed his hand.

"I'll drive you home," she said in a low voice that was a demand, rather than a request.

The invite had been established with her statement and now it was time to be alone so they could engage in physical contact. He nodded and followed her out of the diner.
Chapter Four

Caitlyn led him to her vehicle, which was a white minivan. She unlocked the passenger door and turned to him. She closed the gap between them and ran her hands up his arms and clasped them around the back of his neck. Her pupils were dilated and her body hot. He pulled her closer and gave a light moan as she wiggled against his strengthening erection. Soon, very soon, he'd get to experience the joy of being inside her. It would be exquisite, he was sure, if just holding her was a foretaste of the act to come.

She pulled his face down and kissed him, her lips soft and warm, inviting him to linger at her mouth. He ran his hands down her back and to her waist, encouraging her to shift against him again, which she did.

"We should find a private place," he murmured when the kiss ended.

"Yes." There was no denying the husky quality in her voice. She opened the door. "Get in."

He obeyed, hardly noticing the way the seat conformed nicely to him. He was much more interested in renewing their physical contact. The link between them was already growing stronger. She closed his door and went around to her side. Once she got in, she strapped on her seatbelt. He followed her lead, and as soon as he was done, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"You look good," she whispered, making no hesitation about staring at his crotch. "Really good."

This was the most exciting thing that'd ever happened to him! He couldn't wait to see what happened next.

She started the minivan and drove out of the parking lot and turned right onto the main street. Removing her hand from his, she unbuttoned the top button of her dress and stroked the skin below her collarbone. He had the sudden urge to kiss that skin, to taste it, but he couldn't from where he sat.

"I'm burning up. Aren't you burning up?" She didn't wait for his answer. She turned up the air conditioner. "That's better."

And it did alleviate some of the discomfort. Still, the hormone continued circulating through the air between them and it was just a matter of time before they undressed.

"I live north of town. It's more isolated." She glanced at him with a hungry look.

He barely noticed the trees that marked their path. He was too busy staring at her, awed by her beauty.

She turned onto a dirt road and parked on the side of it. Her eyes showing her arousal, she unstrapped the seatbelt and jumped on him.

"I don't think there's enough room," he said.

She grunted. "You're right." She opened his door, jumped out and opened the backdoor. "Hurry up. I need you now."

Extremely turned on, he fiddled with the seatbelt but couldn't figure out how to release it, so she reached over and did it for him. As soon as he was free to move, he joined her in the backseat.

She closed the door and pounced on him. "I don't know what's wrong with me," she whispered as she ran her hands under his shirt.

He shifted under her so that his arousal was firmly against the area between her legs. "Nothing's wrong," he assured her. "This is how it's supposed to be."

Ever since he made his decision to get a life mate, he'd read up on the mating practices of his world. It'd been long removed, of course, seeing as there was a lack of women, but he knew he had to understand how the male body worked in relation to a female's. And as much time as he spent researching the ritual life-bonding ceremony of his kind, nothing prepared him for the intensity of the hormone emitting from his body. It affected him as much as it was affecting her. He'd never been more eager to do anything in his entire life.

She kissed him and ran her tongue along his lips, starting at the bottom and working her way to the top. He parted his mouth for her and felt her mounting passion reach out through the link he'd started between them. She began to rock her hips, properly initiating the next level. He grunted in frustration. He wanted to free himself from his pants, but she quickly straightened up and unbuttoned her dress.

Squeezing her hips, he watched her in anticipation. She was soft. He brought his fingers up to the skin just above the waistline of her panties. Her flesh was real and warm. His heart raced and he waited for her to pull the dress over her head.

"It's so hot," she murmured and dabbed the layer of sweat covering her chest with the dress.

He felt the rising heat as well. It was elevating their arousal and it would ensure the eventual orgasm for both of them. But in a minivan with the windows up, it was too much too soon. His plan was to wait until they were at her home so the wider space would dissipate some of the hormonal activity swirling around them. He shifted from under her so that he could lean forward and turn up the air conditioner. Immediately, the tension calmed to a bearable point.

He noted the relief on her face. Good. He settled back into the seat and slid his hands up her smooth back. Her skin was so very nice. A live woman. One that breathed and encouraged lovemaking. One that tossed her dress onto the floor of the van and removed her bra, baring her breasts.

His fingers brushed her breasts, her pink nipples hardening for him. She let out a contented sigh and shifted. He could feel her heat through her panties and his pants. She was wet. Her body was ready for his entry, and the way she continued to move against him notified him that she was eager for the flesh on flesh contact that was to come. He was eager too, but he wanted to enjoy her breasts first.

He cupped her perfect white mounds in his hands. She filled his palms nicely. Giving them a slight squeeze, he was rewarded with a gasp. Leaning forward, he brought his tongue to a nipple to taste her. She grabbed his shoulders and murmured for him to continue. Even with the cold air blasting them, the heat was, once again, becoming more pronounced. But he wanted to explore her breasts, so he took his time and caressed them, letting his mouth and tongue taste the arousing sweat that glistened on her skin. It was her scent and her taste. As his life mate, he'd be connected to her and her to him through the hormones their bodies were giving off.

When he enjoyed his fill of her breasts, he leaned back against the seat and let her resume the ritual that his kind used to partake in. He helped her take off his shirt so they could move to the next stage. Kissing him, she rubbed her chest against his, an action that marked him as her own. Her scent would be on him until death parted them, and his scent would be on her. No one else could claim either one of them at this point.

Her hands squeezed his arms before they traveled down his chest until they settled at the button of his pants. She wiggled and broke contact with his mouth. "I need you. I think I'm going to die if we don't do this." She shook her head as if she couldn't believe what she was saying.

But it was closer to the truth than she suspected. He wasn't an Earth male. This process wasn't the same as what she grew up expecting. This had to be completed. There was no choice for either of them.

She licked her lips and unbuttoned his pants. Her movements were determined and focused. And so were his. He slipped his fingers beneath her underwear. She let out a gasp and he moaned. She felt better than he hoped.

He shifted slightly to relieve the pressure in his body, doing his part to delay it. This was the only time he'd experience the bonding ceremony, and he wanted to savor every single bit of it. There would be many more times when he'd take her and enjoy the physical pleasures only her body could offer, but this was the only time when it'd be new and when their hormones would be working together to establish a permanent link between them. This would be the time he'd never forget.

She got off of him so she could wiggle out of her panties, and when she turned to him, she pulled his pants down to his ankles. Her gaze fell to his erection, and she took him in her hands. Wonderful, he thought. Absolutely wonderful. He never thought a woman might touch him there. Her hands were amazing.

She got ready to straddle him again so he took the moment to inspect the triangular patch of dark curls sheltering her core. He slipped his finger into her entrance and sharply inhaled. Silky. Hot. Wet. He moved his finger and was rewarded with a soft cry from her. As his part of the ritual, he removed his finger so he could lick it and taste her, familiarizing himself with her. This would connect him with her fertility and link him to an awareness of her pregnancies.

To his surprise, he realized that she wasn't always fertile. There was only a certain window of opportunity when she'd conceive in any given month. That, apparently, hadn't been noted in the reports he'd read. His body adjusted to her cycle and calculated where she was at. In time, when she released her egg, he'd know and be able to ejaculate into her at that time, ensuring a pregnancy with 100% accuracy.

She moved over his erection so he could enter her. They both gave out a low cry in unison at the joining of their bodies. She wiggled against him and grabbed onto his arms. Arching her back, she closed her eyes and whispered, "Yes."

And at that, the final level was in place and she rocked her hips. He felt her emotions through the connection and knew she could feel his as well. He thrust deeper into her, seeking the novel sensations that her core was offering. He had no idea it could be this good.

The van moved with them, but he hardly noticed. They were completing the bond, their bodies working in unison, neither one in control of anything. All they could do was give themselves over to the physical act of the bonding. The heat had reached its peak, and he knew the end was near. Even as their bodies gained momentum, hurling them to the pleasure that they needed, he tried to hold back. How he wished he could prolong this indefinitely. He'd never felt anything this wonderful in his entire life.

She was there, right at the peak, and his body tensed, ready to ejaculate at her command. And then she threw back her head and groaned her pleasure. The link officially established, he released his seed into her, his orgasm rushing through his entire body. Her body had accepted him fully now. It would only allow him inside of it, and, likewise, he'd only be aroused with her.

She collapsed over him and gasped. He held her close, almost too weak to do so but desiring the physical contact. They stayed there for a good five minutes, the bonding complete, their futures entwined, their bodies linked together as one. Their bodies gradually cooled as his hormone dissipated and he became aware that the air conditioner was blasting them.
Chapter Five

Caitlyn's head cleared and she suddenly realized what happened. Gasping, she jerked back and scrambled off of Chris' lap. She picked her dress off the floor and hastily put it on. Her face flamed in mortification. How did this happen? One minute, she was eating a slice of cake, and the next, she was having sex with a complete stranger?

"I..." She cleared her throat and ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't understand how this happened." And that statement sounded stupid. If she recalled right, she insisted he come with her and ordered him into the backseat. She even undressed him, for goodness sakes!

"It's fine," he assured her, reaching for her hand.

She wasn't sure if she welcomed the physical contact, which was ironic since she'd just gotten as close to him as she possibly could.

He gently squeezed her hand. "It was the bonding ceremony. I come from Pandoran, which is another planet. I went to Star Systems Unlimited and wished for a life mate. The term on this planet is wife. The agency sent me to you. Here. I'll show you." He let go of her hand and pulled his pants up.

She glanced away, unable to look at his naked body. Placing her face in her hands, she wondered how she could lose control like that. That never happened to her before.

He took a piece of paper out of his wallet and handed it to her. "We're life mates now. We completed the bonding ceremony."

"The what?"

"On my world, it links you and me together for the rest of our lives. I believe the Earth equivalent is marriage."

"Marriage? I didn't marry you. We didn't elope or anything!"

"This paper says you're married to me." He tapped the piece of paper in her hands.

She read the paper. "Anyone could have made this up. It doesn't prove anything." Even as she said it, in her gut, she had a feeling he was telling her the truth. Why she felt that, she wasn't sure.

"I know it must sound crazy."

She nodded. Crazy. Looney. Nightmarish. There were so many words to describe how this sounded!

"Don't you feel it?" he softly asked, his tone dragging her attention from the paper and back to him. "The connection. We're linked. You don't feel it?"

She felt unusually close to him, as if they belonged together, and that wasn't normal. A woman didn't have sex with a stranger and feel as if no one else would ever take his place. Guilt. Regret. Fear. Those were things a woman might feel. But she didn't feel those things with him. Even if she couldn't believe it and thought it was a bad dream, there was the gut level of peace about it. She shook her head, not wanting to admit any of this was really happening.

Her cell phone beeped. Sighing, she leaned forward, reached for her purse, and took it out. It was her boss. She answered it. "What's up, Jack?"

"Why didn't you tell me you got married?"

She almost dropped her phone. "What?"

"When I logged into the computer just now, I saw that you're now Caitlyn West. I sign your paycheck, and that paycheck won't clear if it's not in the right name. So I need you to come back and get your new check."

"But..." She glanced at Chris West—who according to the sheet of paper in her hand—was also known as Rilo An. She had sex with him and she was magically married to him?

"Caitlyn," her boss interrupted her, "no arguments. I need to balance my books tonight, and I won't have this mess on my records."

"Okay, I'll be there." She hung up the phone and looked at the very contented man sitting next to her. "You're happy about this."

"Yes. There are no females on my world. You are my life mate."

She rubbed her eyes. "Please tell me you're not a psychotic killer."

He laughed. "A what?"

"Never mind. I better get my new paycheck. I can't pay the rent without it." She put on her panties and opened the door so she could get out of the minivan. "You might as well get back up front," she told him when she noticed he just sat there with a goofy grin on his face.

He retrieved his shirt, shrugged into it, and did as she said.

The drive to the diner was one of the most awkward moments she ever experienced. What, exactly, was a woman supposed to say to a man—an alien?—she'd been intimate with? She glanced at him and noted the interest he took in his surroundings. Was he really from another world or did he escape from the mental ward of a hospital?

She parked the vehicle. "Stay here."

"You'll be coming back?"

"Well, it is my car." Even in this overwhelming situation, she couldn't help but make the joke.

He nodded, seeming just as serious as when he'd been in the diner.

She grabbed her purse and keys—just in case he was a psycho or a thief who went around having sex with women so he could steal their cars—and went into the restaurant. Sandy and Sheila, the third waitress who had just reported for work, ran over to Caitlyn before she made it to the kitchen where Jack flipped burgers.

"Who's the cutie in the van?" Sandy asked, looking as if she was ready to receive a tasty morsel of gossip.

Caitlyn groaned. "I hoped you didn't notice."

"How could I not notice? You left with him and made out in the parking lot before you peeled out of here."

Caitlyn's cheeks warmed. "Made out with him?"

"That sex must have been hot," Sheila noted, a knowing gleam in her eye.

Caitlyn's eyes widened and she vehemently shook her head. "No. I didn't have sex with him."

Sheila chuckled. "Honey," the older woman began, "I'm not a spring chicken anymore. I know what the messed up hair, the frantically pulled down dress and no bra means."

"What?" Caitlyn ran her fingers through her hair to get the waves back into place while she covered her breasts with her free arm. This was a nightmare! How was it possible that she just had sex with a stranger and everyone knew?

Sandy patted her back. "Don't worry. You're with friends. We're not going to spread this around."

Embarrassed, Caitlyn put her face in her hands, sure that her skin was as bright as a tomato. "This isn't happening. It can't be happening."

The door from the kitchen flung open and Jack hollered out, "Mrs. West, get back here." Then he shut the door.

Sandy's jaw dropped. "Mrs. West? Was he talking to you?"

Caitlyn put her hands down and tried not to cry. "I think so."

"But how...? When...?"

"I don't have time to explain. I have to talk to our boss and then get back to..." She didn't want to say husband. She didn't want to say lover either. So she opted to wave in the direction of her vehicle. "Him."

Sheila pulled on Caitlyn's dress so that it didn't look so disheveled. "There. Now it's not so obvious."

"We're talking tomorrow," Sandy told her.

Yes, Caitlyn knew. Sandy was her best friend, and they didn't hide anything from each other. Leaving the two waitresses who reluctantly returned to their customers, Caitlyn entered the kitchen and waited for Jack to speak.

Jack turned from the table in the back of the kitchen and handed her a check. "Now I can't be accused of not paying you."

She gingerly walked forward and took it. There it was: Caitlyn West. She didn't understand this at all. She didn't marry that...guy...in her minivan. She didn't fill out any paperwork changing her name. She woke up this morning as Caitlyn Davis. Groaning, she fought the desire to pull her hair out. What was going on?

"Apparently, you had a busy morning before you came to work," he mused before he returned to the range and cleaned it off.

She decided not to tell him that she hadn't been exchanging vows that morning. "Is there anything else?"

"Nah. You look beat. Go on home to your husband and give him a reason to look forward to seeing you." He gave her a wink that could only mean one thing.

She rolled her eyes. She already gave her "husband" a reason to look forward to seeing her. Too tired to do anything else, she left the restaurant with a slight wave to her friends. When she returned to her van, the man was still sitting in the passenger seat. Upon closer inspection, she noticed he was flipping through her CD collection.

She stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what it was that made her so crazy with desire that she ordered him into the backseat of her vehicle. He wasn't drop dead gorgeous. He was good looking, or at least he would be as soon as he trimmed his shaggy brown hair. His skin was pale. She doubted he got much sun. He had nice, broad shoulders. For the most part, he was built like any other man. She'd been around lots of men and hadn't felt the burning need to have sex with them. It was ridiculous. For a while there, it really seemed as if she had no control over any of her actions.

With a loud sigh, she approached the driver's side and got in. He looked up at her and smiled. There was nothing sexy about the smile. In fact, it struck her as a boyish grin from a man who'd discovered the perfect car. What in the world compelled her to have sex with him?

She inserted the key into the ignition and glanced at him. "Why am I not attacking you right now?"

He straightened in his seat, looking alarmed. "Why would you attack me?"

She blinked in surprise. Was he afraid of her? He was much stronger. There was no way she could harm him. Well, that settled it. The man wasn't normal. At least, he wasn't normal for a regular human male. She quickly admonished herself. He was not an alien from another planet! There was no way that was possible.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked, shifting back in his seat.

Yep, he was afraid of her alright. Maybe she could use that to her advantage. Testing the waters, she said, "I get mad when someone doesn't tell me the truth."

He relaxed. "Oh. Good."

That was odd. She decided to press further. "Things like men claiming to be from another planet when they're really not makes me mad." Then she gave him her best evil eye.

He actually nodded with a pleased smile on his face.

Now she was really confused. Was he afraid of her or not? Or maybe...just maybe...he was telling her the truth? She rested her forehead against the steering wheel and groaned. Just what was she supposed to do with him? What if he really was from outer space? He had nowhere to go.

But he could be lying.

Then how could she explain her boss magically calling her Mrs. West and handing her the paycheck with that name on it? She'd worked for Jack for six years, and never once did he do anything wacked out like this. No. Jack wouldn't be making this up.

She would check her bank account, her credit cards, her bills, and other financial statements online. If this was legit, if she was somehow married to the man sitting next to her, then she should find this on other sources as well.

Determined, she sat back and buckled her seatbelt. "Alright. We're going home and I'm going to get to the bottom of this."

"Bottom of what?" he asked.

"I need to figure out if you're telling me the truth."

"You don't believe me?"

She ignored the hurt tone in his voice and started the engine. "I don't know you or anything about you."

"I'm Chris West. I came from-"

"No. I know what your story is, but I don't know anything about who you are. For all I know, you could be a psycho who goes around telling women you're from another planet."

"But I'm not," he softly replied. "I came here for a life mate. There are no women on my world, and it got lonely. I heard other planets had women who were compatible with my kind so I came here."

She studied him, noting the sincerity in his voice. Okay. Maybe there was something wrong with her because she was starting to believe him. Even so, she needed to get home and see what her accounts said. Putting her minivan into drive, she asked, "Why me?"

He shrugged. "The agency picked you. They asked me what type of woman I wanted, but I had no idea what to pick."

"Did they say why they picked me? There are billions of women on the world. Why me?"

"I don't know. Maybe they figured you were the best fit."

"I don't see how I'm a better fit than some other woman."

"I'm glad they picked you. I've seen some of the other women already, and you're one of the prettier and nicer ones that I saw in the restaurant."

"You haven't been at too many places on Earth yet, have you?" She turned her lights on, drove out of the parking lot, and turned down the street.

"No, I haven't. The agency sent me directly to you."

It still seemed like a dream. A part of her kept thinking that this couldn't be happening. She'd go home and find out what was going on. The answers would be there. She was sure of it. In the meantime, Chris didn't seem like a threat, so she figured he was safe enough to take home. Never mind the fact that she actually seemed to be linked to him, as if they did belong together.

Pushing the strange notion aside, she took a deep breath to clear her mind. Home. First, she'd go home. Then she'd worry about the rest of this mess.
Chapter Six

As soon as Caitlyn led Chris up to the front door of her apartment, she noticed the large yellow envelope with her name on it. She picked it up and, once again, wondered if this was some elaborate joke. The return address said Star Systems Unlimited without any other identifier. There wasn't even postage on it. Anyone, including the man standing next to her, could have done this.

She slid the key into the lock of her door and wondered if she should bring him inside with her. Glancing at him, she felt an odd assurance that everything would be alright and unlocked the door. She'd already had sex with him and left him alone in her van. He had plenty of chances to hurt her. But in all honesty, she didn't think she was in any danger with him. Pushing open the door, she waved him in and shut the door once they were inside.

"This isn't exactly like my place," Chris said as he inspected the room, "though there are some similarities."

"Oh?" She went over to her computer and turned it on. Then, maybe for amusement or morbid curiosity, sat down in front of her computer desk and opened the envelope.

"I had furniture and a window, but not this or that." He motioned to the TV and computer. "We used to have things similar to those, but that was five hundred years ago."

She rolled her eyes. What alien race was not advanced?

He went over to her bookcase and read the titles on it. Romance books. And most of them were steamy. He'd hardly be interested. Amused as he took a book out and studied it, she turned her attention to the packet of crisp white papers in the envelope and pulled it out. At the very top was a separate sheet of paper that was supposed to be a marriage license. Well, that could be drawn up with a simple Word program.

She set the piece of paper aside and looked at the packet. The title on it shouldn't have come as a surprise. It was incredibly cheesy. It read: Congratulations on your marriage to Rilo An, Earth name Chris West.

Congratulations. What was she supposed to be doing? Opening a bottle of wine? She flipped the title page over and noticed the table of contents which outlined topics such as why she was picked, what his background was, the purpose of Star Systems Unlimited, and what she was to do now.

At the bottom of the page was the disclaimer that this was permanent and she couldn't return him. She chuckled at that. For some reason, it made her feel as if she'd just picked up a stray animal from the pound.

As she flipped to the next page, she noticed that Chris shook his head and put the book back on the shelf before he scanned the other titles. She turned her attention back to the paper in front of her.

Congratulations, Caitlyn Davis. You have been selected as the ideal wife/life mate for Rilo An. He requested a woman who wanted a permanent life bond with a man and children. No other specifications were given, so it was up to us to complete the requirements. We ran his personality evaluation through our system and compared it to the records of every woman on Earth. You were the closest match who desired what he wished for.

Just how did they know anything about every single woman on Earth? She found that highly suspect but pushed aside the question. She continued through the packet and read through his profile and the questions and answers for his personality test. Apparently, he'd been in charge of constructing spacecraft. She didn't know what he'd do here. It wasn't like she lived near the Kennedy Space Center. Shouldn't the agency have taken that into consideration when selecting a woman for him?

Glancing up at Chris, she realized that he'd given up on finding anything good to read from her bookshelf and was studying the pictures on her walls.

She flipped to the last page of the packet, which was the section on what she should do now. It described some tips on how she might help him find a job and adjust to his new life. It said that he ate food similar to hers and had no allergies that she needed to be aware of. When she finished the rest of the contents, she rolled her eyes. What did they think he was? A pet? A child? If he read through the packet, he might be insulted. She knew she'd be if it was her they were describing.

"Who is this?" Chris asked.

She placed the packet back into the envelope and shoved it in her desk drawer. Looking at the picture he pointed to, she said, "That was my first husband, Randy."

"You're already married?" he asked in surprise.

"No. He's not alive anymore."

"So why do you still have his picture up?"

She shrugged. "Just because someone dies, it doesn't mean you don't cherish their memory." That might be awkward for him, considering that he was supposedly her new husband, but it was the truth.

He nodded and proceeded to the next picture.

She swirled in her chair so she could bring up the Internet. Now to look at her financial documents. She brought up her bank account first. To her dismay after she typed in her username and password, it greeted her as Caitlyn West. She went through her credit card statements and her utility bills. Caitlyn West. Over and over again, her last name was West. She had just paid her electric bill that morning and distinctly remembered seeing Caitlyn Davis.

She picked up her purse and pulled out her wallet. She blinked. How was this possible? Everything, her driver's license, her social security card, her credit cards, even her library card read Caitlyn West. Her jaw dropped and she looked over at Chris who was now looking through her DVD collection. There was no way he or anyone else could pull off something this elaborate. And that left only one conclusion: he was telling the truth.

And that meant she was married to him. She groaned, threw her arms on the desk and put her head down. How could this be possible? A place for people to buy wishes existed in outer space? There was a planet without any women on it so the men sought out places like Earth to inhabit? Other planets with other intelligent life forms on it? It was too much to take in at once.

"Caitlyn, are you alright?"

She took a deep breath and lifted her head, glancing at the man—her husband—who stared at her in concern. With a loud sigh, she returned her gaze to the computer screen where her electric bill welcomed her as Caitlyn West. She rubbed her eyes. "It's going to take me time to get used to this," she admitted. There was no sense in denying any of it was true. It was. She could only hope Chris wasn't psychotic.

To her surprise, he went over to her, knelt by her, and rubbed her back. His touch was gentle but firm. "I don't know why, but I thought the agency would have warned you I was coming."

"You didn't escape from your planet because you did something horrible, did you?"

"Like what?"

She caught the laughter in his voice and turned to him. "Oh, anything. Like murder, stealing, lying..."

"No. I didn't do that." He took her hands in his and studied them. "Your hands are smaller than mine and softer. Your whole body is soft." He directed his gaze back to hers. "It's nice. I never saw a woman before I came here. Well, there were a couple of females that looked similar to Earth women at the agency, but you're much nicer. You're compatible with me."

Her breath caught in her throat. There was something beautiful in the way he tenderly spoke and touched her. And in that moment, she knew he was a good man, an honest man, a man who was tired of being on a world full of men so he sought out female companionship. Letting out her breath, she squeezed his hands and smiled. "I guess we have a lot to learn about each other."

He returned her smile. "I'm looking forward to it."

Shocked, she realized she was too. It'd been a long time since she'd been with a man in this way, and she had to admit, it felt nice. Less alone. More complete. But she had much to learn about him. She didn't even know where to start.

"Who are all the people in the pictures? I recognize you."

That might be a good place to begin. She stood up and walked to the wall where she had hung up the pictures of her family and friends. He stood close to her, and for a moment, that unnerved her, but she supposed if they could have sex, then they could be close like this too.

"Those are my parents," she told him, pointing to the older couple with graying hair in the picture which was taken a year ago at the beach. Since the rest of her family was in it, she tapped her finger on the brunette male. "He's my brother. His name is Blake. Over here," she motioned to the younger woman, "is my little sister Lexie. Well, her full name is Alexandra, but we call her Lexie."

"They live nearby?" he asked.

"They live in Fort Walton Beach. That's only a half hour away."

"I look forward to meeting them."

She sighed. Right. Meeting her family. That meant she had to introduce him. She slowly exhaled, wondering how in the world she was going to explain her sudden marriage. Telling Sandy was one thing, but her parents? She couldn't exactly say, "Mom, Dad. I had this customer at my restaurant and thought he was really sweet so I had sex with him in my minivan and took him home. Don't worry though. This agency out in space married us, so it's all legit. I even got a packet to prove it." No. That wouldn't work.

She noticed that he took her hand and held it. It was strange that he seemed to crave the physical contact as much as he did, but perhaps that's how men on his planet were. She certainly didn't mind. His hand was warm and comforting. It was odd that the driving passion that spurred her on earlier was absent now.

Turning to the next picture, she said, "This is Sandy."

He nodded. "The other waitress."

"Right. And those are her two brothers. Randy, who was my..." she glanced at him, "first husband, and that is her other brother, Andy."

He frowned. "Are those names supposed to rhyme?"

Chuckling, she said, "Her parents have a weird sense of humor. They said if they had another girl, they would have named her Mandy."

"What do you like to do when you're not working?" he asked.

"Not a lot."

"You don't have any interests?"

"Of course, I have interests." She shrugged. "I like to read, as you can see." She motioned to the bookcase.

"Those aren't real books."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I'll let that one go since you're not from Earth, and since you didn't grow up with women around, you don't know any better."

"What did I say that was wrong?" he wondered, looking concerned.

"In time, I think you'll know." It'd been a long day, and she didn't feel like giving him a crash course on women and the need for romance, whether it was in books or real life. Opting for a change in topic, she said, "I hope you'll find a job. I don't want you to loaf around all day."

"I worked on my planet, and I'll work here. I want to be useful."

"Good. Tomorrow, while I'm at work, you can search through the job listings on the Internet. I can show you how to work the computer before I leave."

He smiled, amusement on his face. "That's an antique. I learned how to use a contraption like that when I was three."

Rolling her eyes, she let go of his hand and went to close the website she'd left open from her search through the Internet.

"Did I upset you again?"

"You are going to be sorely disappointed around here because everything we have to offer on this planet is elementary to you."

"I'm not disappointed."

"Well, there's nothing to challenge you." She turned back to face him. "You know computers, TVs, and spaceships. How can you be satisfied with this planet?"

"You are here."

His answer settled her.

"I had the things I did back home, but they didn't make me happy," he continued. "They were things. No matter how many things I accumulated, it didn't fill the void in my life. I didn't mean to offend you when I said I know how computers worked. It's just that you don't have to spend the time teaching me. I already know. Besides, I'd rather learn about you than have you teach me about machines. You're much more interesting."

She didn't know why, but the admission made her blush. "Alright. Let's sit down and learn about each other."

Nodding, he smiled and joined her on the couch so they could talk.
Chapter Seven

Chris was sleeping when his body surged with heated desire. His eyes, still heavy from exhaustion, remained closed, and though he mentally told his arms to move, he stayed still. Next to him, Caitlyn slept, her back pressed against him, her bottom cushioning his growing arousal.

Chris let out a low moan. Struggling to wake up, he was trying to figure out what was happening to him. His hand reached out and caressed Caitlyn's thigh. She sighed and moved against him but still slept.

His skin grew hot and his erection caused an aching sensation. Again, he willed himself wake up. Had the day not been long, he imagined the process of opening his eyes wouldn't have been so difficult.

Come on. Wake up.

His hips moved, his erection rubbing along the soft curve of her butt. He groaned, louder this time, and continued moving. Her flesh yielded to him as he finally became fully aware of what he was doing.

His eyes flew open. His breathing heavy, his hands clenched her thighs. By the way his body tensed, he knew that he was about to ejaculate. Gasping, he separated her legs and found her entrance which was wet and warm from their connection as her body readied for him.

He refused to spill his seed outside her body, and if he didn't act fast, he was in danger of that. He wanted to be inside her. He recalled how amazing the orgasm had been when they had sex, and there was no way ejaculating outside of her would be anywhere near as pleasurable. He only had enough time to enter her when he found his release. She let out a muffled cry, the link between them demanding she have her orgasm so her womb would open for him.

Every part of him tingled from the effects of lovemaking. His head cleared slowly, and as it did, embarrassment came over him. He had no control over his ejaculation at all.

Still slightly out of breath, he dared to whisper her name.

She didn't respond.

Slipping out of her, he got up on his elbow and looked over at her. "Caitlyn?" he softly asked.

Her eyes remained closed and she gave no reply. Her breathing wasn't exactly slow and steady, not since her body had just found release, but she was sleeping.

Relieved, he settled back on the bed and glanced at the clock. 1:35. Just like that, his body ejaculated, and once again, he had no control over it. He'd only been half-awake for most of the build up to it. Was it always going to be like this? Would he never gain any control over his need to ejaculate?

Now he remembered why he took the pill to inhibit his sex drive. His need to ejaculate got in the way of his work. But he'd managed a system around that before he gave in and started taking the pill. He had organized his time and events so he could slip into a private area to take care of his biological needs.

No wonder most men on his home world opted for the pill. But it was the way they were designed. The desire to have children and pass on their genes made ejaculation a mandate, rather than the choice it had once been. And so, it brought Chris to this point in time.

Caitlyn rolled over, and he tensed. Did she know?

Her eyes fluttered open and she frowned. "Did we just have sex?"

His face grew warm in shame. This was worse than being watched as he ejaculated in his clothes. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he said, "I was asleep and then had to ejaculate. There wasn't enough time to wake you up."

"You mean, you have no control at all?"

He winced and shrugged. "Not yet. I'm trying. It's just so new and overwhelming."

"Huh." She didn't sound disgusted, as he had feared. Instead, she seemed curious. "Men on Earth say they have no control, but the truth is they do. They choose not to exercise it. But you really mean it when you say you don't."

Sighing, he stared at the ceiling, heat rising to his face. How did Earth men do it? What was their secret?

She rested her hand on his arm and gave a gentle squeeze. "It's alright."

"No. No, it's not." He didn't mean to snap at her and immediately added, "I'm sorry. It's... It's been a long time since I produced sperm. I took a pill to inhibit that part of my brain."

She remained silent for a moment, as if choosing her words with great care. "I suppose that if there aren't any women, there's no need to have sperm."

"No, there wasn't." Feeling less awkward, he looked at her. "It wasn't always like this for males on my planet. There was a time when we could control it, but that was long before I was born. There was a time on my planet where men and women married and had children, like you do here. Then some people decided to make babies in labs. At first, it was an experiment to see if it was possible, but then the women decided it was better to have children that way instead of going through pregnancy and childbirth.

"Needless to say, that left men out of the equation. Women no longer wanted to marry us and have our children. Over the course of two centuries, men developed the ability to entice women to bond with them. On my world, the first time we have sex, we establish a life bond. We're linked to each other until either the husband or wife dies. This was why women didn't want to have sex with us. They knew as soon as they did, they'd be trapped and have to go through pregnancy and childbirth.

"But it was more than avoiding physically having a child. You see, with genetic manipulation, they were able to make perfect children. They could specify what they wanted, and then they got it. There were no guarantees when they had children the old-fashioned way. In response, men realized that they were unable to pass on their genes to the next generation. So they developed the ability to emit a sex hormone to make the female of his choice have sex with him, and that established a life bond that led to children."

She chuckled. "It works amazingly well."

"It's a survival instinct. Men adapted because they were desperate, and one of the side effects was that until the woman they bonded with conceived, they had to ejaculate at regular intervals. It was the way they ensured that conception would happen."

"So what happened? How did all the women die off?"

"The women tried to find a way to inhibit the sex hormone so it would no longer affect them. Long story short, it made them unable to conceive females. By the time we figured out the cause, it was too late. The last female died one hundred years ago."

"Why didn't they make more in the labs?"

"They tried. None of the females made it beyond the third month of gestation. There's something in the genetics that got messed up when women were no longer able to conceive females. Their eggs were damaged as well. The men are trying to undo the damage."

"Wow," she whispered and snuggled against him. "So now you guys have to go to other planets to find women."

He pulled her into his embrace and stroked her cheek. "There's talk about bringing some to our world, but there's a debate about the ethics involved. Some say Earth and Alaris aren't ready for alien contact, especially not with the intention of giving up some of its women to help repopulate our world. Right now, they're still looking for a medical cure. Some of the men seek out other worlds, choosing to blend into the new world as if they were born there. Some stay behind. I chose to come here."

"Well, even if we met through unconventional means, it's nice having you here."

He rolled onto his side so he could face her. In the faint moonlight pouring through the blinds, he made out the soft curls that rested against her face and the slight smile on her lips. She looked at him with a sparkle in her eyes. She was full of life and vitality. On his world, there was the underlying sense of resignation in the air, even if the men sought a way out of the hole they found themselves in.

His world was dying. Less children were born each year, and any attempts for producing females had been in vain. Unless they brought women to them, the men would eventually give up the fight or depart for another world. But as it was, things didn't look hopeful. He hadn't realized how bleak things had been until he came here.

He didn't know why women on his planet suddenly decided they didn't want to bear children anymore, but their role had been a crucial one. Maybe the men had taken it for granted. He wouldn't. A woman was a most lovely creature. Soft and beautiful and sweet. Caitlyn fit well next to him, and their bodies were fully compatible, making them one complete unit when they came together.

Maybe he had a lot to learn about Earth and women and controlling his body's more demanding functions, but he wouldn't take this gift for granted. His wife was a gift. Star Systems Unlimited couldn't have selected a better one for him, and he felt a sense of excitement in being a part of creating a new life with her. He'd only heard of pregnancies and births, but he was going to get a chance to witness both firsthand instead of reading about them.

"I'm glad the agency sent me to you," he whispered, noting her yawn and heavy eyelids.

She wiggled closer so he wrapped her in a hug and kissed the top of her head. She smelled nice. He couldn't place the fragrance but knew that every time he smelled anything like it, he'd think of her. She drifted off to sleep. He, however, remained awake for a good hour, content to experience holding a flesh and blood woman in his arms.

***

Caitlyn wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and released her breath. Lunch hour had been unusually busy that day, and she was glad for a reason to sit and rest her feet. Since there was only one person in the diner—and that man was reading a newspaper and sipping his coffee—she figured it was a good time to grab a bite to eat.

"Hey Jack," she called out to her boss who was in the kitchen, "can you fry me up one of your cheeseburgers?"

"Did you pay for it?" he asked, glancing her way from the dishes he was washing in the sink.

"You're all heart, you know that?"

"I'm here to stay in business, Mrs. West."

She grinned and said, "Then consider my lunch a wedding gift."

He scowled playfully at her. "Deal. But you better tell me next time before you get hitched."

"Yeah, well, how else am I supposed to keep you on your toes?"

He let out a loud sigh.

"I want Sandy's lunch on the same tab," she added when she saw her friend coming out of the restroom.

"You're pushing it," he warned.

"Oh for real. You can't spare a $5 plate? I could demand you chip in for china, a blender or some other standard wedding gift."

He grimaced. "Pass. Fine. But this is the only meal I'm letting you and Sandy have on my dime."

She smirked. "Since you sign our paychecks, aren't all the meals we eat here technically on your dime?"

"Ha ha."

Sandy grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her away from the window separating the kitchen from the rest of the diner. "Spill it. I've been waiting all morning to find out what happened with that guy from last night. Did you really marry him?"

Caitlyn glanced at Jack who was already placing their hamburgers on the range. She motioned for Sandy to follow her to the seats lining the counter and sat next to her. After a moment of trying to determine how to proceed, she said, "Yes, I did. But I didn't realize it until after we had sex."

"What?" Sandy shrieked.

The man at the booth at the other end of the diner looked up from his paper and focused his gaze on them.

"Shh..." Caitlyn warned her friend. She smiled at the man. "Don't mind Sandy. She's naturally high strung."

The man shrugged and turned back to his paper.

Turning her attention back to her friend, Caitlyn said, "If I tell you what happened, you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Why?" Sandy asked, her eyes wide. "Is it awful?"

"No, but there are some things about him that are better left secret."

She frowned and fiddled with the apron in her lap. "This doesn't sound good."

"I know, but it is. I swear."

She bit her lower lip and asked, "There's nothing wrong with him? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Caitlyn laughed. "No. It's nothing like that." The memory of his hands and lips on her body made her flush with desire. There was absolutely no pain involved in the things that had transpired between them.

Sandy took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright. I agree to keep whatever you say a secret. Now, what's up?"

"His name is Chris West, and he is an alien from another planet who went to some place out there in outer space called Star Systems something-or-other, and they brought him here to be my husband. On his world, as soon as you go through the bonding ceremony, you're married. So I left here single and came back a married woman."

Sandy gave her a blank stare for a good ten seconds before she rolled her eyes. "If this is your idea of a joke, it's a really lame one."

"This isn't a joke. I'm serious."

"I don't know. I mean, an alien from another planet who came to Earth to get a wife? It's a lot to take in."

"I know. Believe me, I was the first one to doubt him. But then when I got home and checked my accounts with my credit cards and bank, they had me down as Caitlyn West."

"No way," Sandy said.

"Way." Caitlyn ran behind the counter so she could grab her purse.

By the time she returned to the chair, Jack came out with their food. He plopped the plates on the counter in front of them and said, "Congratulations on your wedding." Then he went outside to smoke.

Sandy gave her a startled look.

"He signed my paycheck, remember. He knows I'm married," Caitlyn explained as she sat down. She opened her purse and took out her wallet. "You were with me up until the time I left with Chris. You know I wasn't married at that point."

"Uh...I guess."

Caitlyn handed her the wallet.

Sandy held it but bit her lower lip. "What exactly am I looking for?"

"My driver's license, credit cards, library card... They all have my new last name on them. When would I have had time to make these changes?"

"I don't make it a habit of looking in your wallet, so for all I know, this could have been done a month ago." Even as Sandy said it, she opened the wallet to look at its contents.

"You're my best friend. Why would I get married and not tell you?"

"Okay, you have a point. You wouldn't."

"So? Do you believe me?" Caitlyn motioned to the wallet before she picked up the cheeseburger and took a bite.

Sandy sorted through a credit card and voter's registration card. "Alright. I believe it. No one would take the trouble to change the name on the voter's card until it got near the time to vote."

Caitlyn swallowed. "Exactly. Those people at the Stars thingy are thorough."

Sandy returned Caitlyn's cards to the wallet and slipped the wallet back into her purse. She zipped it up and went to grab two cups and poured coffee into them while Caitlyn continued eating. Once Sandy was done with the coffee, she started to eat her french fries.

"Are you going to say anything?" Caitlyn asked as she opened a packet of sugar to put into her coffee.

"What's there to say? You left this restaurant a single woman, had sex with a guy—an alien—in your car, and suddenly you're married. That kind of thing happens all the time to a whole bunch of women."

She shot her friend an amused look. "Very funny."

Sandy wiped her hands on her apron and reached for the bottle of ketchup. "So, is this a good thing?"

"I think so. He seems like a really nice guy."

"For your sake, I hope he is." She unscrewed the top and poured ketchup to the side of her fries. "You want some?" She pointed to the ketchup.

"Sure." She stirred her coffee and set the spoon down on the saucer. "I'll have to bring him in so you can meet him."

"I really hope he's legit. I mean, what if you found out he had a wife and six kids out in some place like Kentucky?"

Caitlyn laughed. "Oh come on. That's definitely not the case."

"What if he went to the space agency thing, requested a wife, got Kentucky girl, had the half-dozen kids, couldn't take it anymore, went back to the space thing, and then ended up here with you?"

"You are really stretching."

She sighed. "I hope he does right by you. If he doesn't, I'll get Andy to beat him up and send him back to his home world."

"No. I'd rather you didn't."

"Why not?"

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "You really need to ask?"

Sandy laughed. "Oh, come on. That was a long time ago. How old were we?"

"That's not the point, and you know it. I don't think he ever forgave Randy for marrying me."

"That's ridiculous. He was one of the groomsmen at your wedding. He was totally cool with it."

"As cool as an ice cube." Caitlyn picked up her cheeseburger.

Sandy sighed and dabbed her french fry in the ketchup. "Okay, so he never got over the fact that you chose Randy over him."

"And sent Randy to the emergency room with a broken nose when I did."

"Yeah, but Randy got him good. Andy got a nice shiner."

Caitlyn grinned at the memory. "Randy could always hold his own." She took a bite of the hamburger and looked at her friend in surprise. After she swallowed the food, she said, "I can't believe it. Jack added extra cheese and pickles."

"Well, it is your wedding gift. He probably figured he'd go all out."

"I should get married more often."

"I'm sure your new husband what's-his-name would like to hear that."

"His name is Chris, and you know I was kidding." She gave her friend a smile. "I think this is going to be a good marriage. He's nothing like Randy, but he is so sweet. That's not to say that Randy wasn't sweet because he was, but Chris is different. He's shy and quiet and uncertain about what he's doing. Of course, that could be because he came from another planet and has to adjust to everything. I'm sure if I was on a new world, I'd be the same way too."

Sandy burst out into laughter. "Impossible. You'd be introducing yourself to everyone and asking them questions about the world."

She considered her friend's comment. "Probably. So maybe Chris is like that anyway." She picked up the coffee and took a drink. "I think he's going to be a good husband."

"I hope you're right. I don't think I could ever be as brave as you to get into the car to do a...what did you call it?"

"It was a bonding ceremony, which is equivalent to a wedding on Earth. And I didn't realize what was happening. I mean, I did. I knew I was having sex with him, but I couldn't control myself. I had to do it. So bravery had nothing to do with it."

"And it doesn't bother you that you were forced to have sex with him?"

"I see what you're getting at. No, it wasn't rape. Look, I may have lost control of my urges, but I really did think he was cute and sweet when I was serving his food. I wouldn't have sat down to eat with him if I didn't like him."

"Really? And would you have had sex with him last night if you had a choice?"

"No, of course not."

Sandy shot her a pointed look.

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "I get it. You made your point, but it's really not as bad as it seems. On his world, a man gives off a hormone to make the woman of his choice so aroused that she has to bond with him. I believe he said it made them life mates. The space agency sent him to me, so what else was he supposed to do?"

"Wait until you agreed?"

"I think he was afraid I'd say no, and then he'd miss out on his chance to have a life mate. He wasn't sent to anyone else, so there's a reason I'm supposed to be with him. He's an alien. You can't expect things to be the exact same as they are here on Earth. The rules are going to be a little different."

Sandy sighed. "I guess that's why they sent him to you. They knew you'd accept it. If it was me, I'd be pressing him for rape charges and getting a divorce ASAP."

"No, you wouldn't because he's a cute and cuddly teddy bear and you have a weakness for teddy bears."

"Doubt it."

"Besides, the sex is incredible. On his world, men adapt to accommodate the woman, and orgasms are easy to achieve."

Sandy's eyes grew wide. "Really?"

"He can't ejaculate until I peak, and there's something about the way he moves inside me that sends me over the edge. I can't explain it."

She set her french fry down and frowned. "Great. You get all the luck. Why can't I get an alien like that?"

Caitlyn chuckled. "And here you were ready to haul him off to prison."

She shrugged and gave her a wicked grin. "Who am I to deny an awesome sex life with a sweet and cute teddy bear kind of guy?"

"Exactly." Caitlyn glanced at the man who set his newspaper down and stood up. "I'll be back in a minute." Then she got up so he could pay for his meal.
Chapter Eight

When Caitlyn came home from work, Chris greeted her at the door and gave her a long kiss. Content, she leaned into him and returned his kiss. It was nice to come home to someone who was glad to see her.

"Do you work tomorrow?" he asked when their kiss ended.

"Yes. But I have the next day off. We'll go to the mall and get you some clothes and a haircut."

"Is my hair cut wrong?" He reached up and tried to smooth his shaggy dark hair.

"It doesn't fit your personality."

"This is how all men on my world wear their hair."

She nudged him playfully in the stomach. "Because there are no women. You need to get more clothes too."

He glanced at the same clothes he came to Earth in. "I can't argue that point. Oh, I searched through the job postings on the Internet, and I got an interview tomorrow at the Air Force base."

"Really? Which one?"

"Eglin."

"What job is this for?"

"An engineer. I was going to fill out the online application, but I ran into a problem understanding one of their questions, so I called up the department. The next thing I knew, I was transferred to the man who is hiring, and he wants to see me tomorrow."

She gasped in surprise. "You might be an engineer?"

He looked at her. "Is that bad?"

"No. No! It's great! They make a lot of money."

"The job is pretty basic. It's stuff I learned in high school, but it sounded like the most challenging thing the job postings offered."

She rolled her eyes and stood up. "How difficult it must be to muddle through this place called Earth."

"I didn't mean it to sound bad, Caitlyn." He reached for her hand and squeezed it. "I want to be here. I'm only saying that the job was the best I could find given Earth's limitations."

"Okay. Seriously, that doesn't sound any better."

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be rude."

She felt her sudden tension ease. "I don't want you to regret coming here, that's all."

"How could I regret it? You're here. You're my life mate. You complete me."

Blushing, she took his hand and led him to the bedroom.

"You want to go to bed?" he asked.

She glanced at him. "Not yet. I'm going to get you some clothes for tomorrow." She paused and looked at him. "What time is the interview?"

"8:30."

"Good. I don't have to go to work until 10. If we plan it right, then I'll get back in plenty of time."

Though he considered the job "basic", she was excited he might get it. If he became an engineer, then her dream of owning a house might come to pass! She'd love to have her own place with a nice yard for a dog to run around in, and maybe a couple of children to play with the dog. She hoped he'd get this job!

She led him to the closet and opened the side that had been Randy's. She had long ago cleared it all out except for the trunk resting on the floor. Opening it, she inspected the clothes until she found the suit Randy wore on their wedding day.

"This is the only thing Randy ever wore that is suitable for a job interview," she said as she pulled the dark blue slacks and matching suit jacked out of the trunk. She retrieved the white dress shirt and dark blue tie. Further down, beneath some photo albums and other mementoes of their life together, she found the dress shoes. "I hope these fit. We'll get you your own clothes when we go shopping. For now, you need something nice to wear, and Randy's job didn't require nice outfits."

"It didn't? What did he do?"

She handed him the clothes. "He worked at a radio station. He was in charge of the music in the evenings."

He ran his hands over the neatly folded clothes. "What kind of music?"

"Anything but country. He hated country. Don't ask me why. I don't mind it myself."

He nodded as he went to the bed and unfolded the clothes. "What does music on your world sound like?"

"I can show you." She went over to the radio by her side of the bed and turned it on. "This is country." She adjusted the dial. "This is rap." Then she adjusted it again. "This is alternative rock. And this...is heavy metal." She laughed. "I haven't heard much heavy metal since the '80s." She found a classical station and smiled. "Do you want to dance?"

"Dance?"

"Yeah. You put your arms around me and we glide gracefully across the floor."

He smiled. "I'll do anything that involves touching you."

She grinned. "Then come on over here."

He put the clothes down and joined her. "What do I do?"

"Put one hand on my hip." She placed his hand on her hip and took his other hand. "Then you hold my hand. And then..." She stepped forward so that the tips of her breasts teased his chest. "You move."

He squeezed her hand and kissed her.

She returned his kiss, savoring the way he tasted as his tongue brushed hers. When the kiss ended, she took a deep breath. "That was nice."

"Nice?" he asked, looking disappointed.

Her lips turned into a wicked grin and she pressed her body firmly against his. "Very nice."

He tried to kiss her again, but she stopped him. "I want to teach you to dance. I love to dance, and when we attend my sister's wedding in a couple of months, I want you to dance with me."

"If dancing means I get to touch you, then I'll be happy to do it."

"It does." She stepped away from him so she could move gracefully to the side. "Follow my lead."

He nodded and seemed to focus on everything her feet did. She was ready to protest that he shouldn't stare at her feet, but it seemed to help him so she held her tongue. A slight smile crossed his face when she asked him to spin her around. He obeyed, and when she laughed at the thrill of it, he kissed her cheek and turned his attention back to her feet. It didn't take him too long before he was able to return his gaze to hers.

"This is easy," he said.

"Do you like it?"

"Of course, I do. I'm with you."

The way he said it warmed her heart, for she realized that he was falling in love with her. Maybe he was falling much faster than he would have if he'd grown up with women on his planet. She knew part of his innocence prompted him to fall hard for the first woman he grew attached to, but she didn't care. It was nice to have a man looking at her as if she was the most important person on Earth. And, truth be told, she found that she was falling in love with him too. It was too soon for love, or at least that's what she tried to tell herself, and yet, she was falling in love.

She stopped dancing long enough to turn the radio to another station with a slow song on it and returned to his arms. This time she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered, "I like this dance best."

She smiled and nodded her agreement.

***

Chris adjusted the belt of his pants as Caitlyn pulled the minivan into the parking lot where he had his job interview at Eglin Air Force Base. Randy's clothes were too loose on him. Caitlyn said that Randy worked out a lot, but Chris didn't understand why that should make a difference. He decided not to worry about it. Tomorrow, she promised to take him shopping, and he could get clothes that fit then.

"Are you nervous?" she asked as she stopped the car.

"No. Should I be?" He inspected her face for any clues that might give him insight into how a person on Earth felt when it came to job interviews. He didn't want to stand out as if he didn't belong there.

She smiled. "I guess not. You already know everything there is to know about engineering."

"That's true." That was why he figured he'd get the job.

He sighed. The belt was still too loose. He got out of the car, and the pants slipped a bit.

She hopped out of the car and joined him. "Randy's clothes really are not for you, are they?"

"I'm glad you're finding some humor in this," he teased as he shut the door.

"Don't worry. We'll get you new clothes tomorrow."

"I can't wait."

She took him by the arm and grinned at him. "After we get you clothes, I want to take you to the beach. Did you have beaches on your world?"

He walked with her and said, "No."

"Well, this time of year is great for walking along the shore. It's romantic."

He noted her shy smile and slipped his arm around her waist while pulling up his belt with his free hand. Her shy smile was obviously based on emotion. He wondered if this was what emotional meant. If so, he liked it. "I want to do what's romantic."

"I know this whole thing is crazy. I mean, what with you popping up out of the blue and all, but I'm glad you're here."

He stopped so he could study her expression, noting her twinkling eyes and flushed face. He detected no sexual desire in her statement, and the realization caused his heart to soften. Perhaps he was getting emotional because of their link. He didn't adequately understand the new feelings she was bringing out in him. It was easy to understand what the physical desire for her meant. That was biologically programmed into him. But this other experience was something completely different, and he wasn't sure how to react to it.

So he did the only thing he knew for sure she'd enjoy and kissed her. He didn't linger too long at her lips. They were in a full parking lot, and he recalled how impatient people were when they drove through the parking lot at the diner.

"I like being here," he whispered as he led her toward the building. "It's much better than my world."

"Even if we are stuck in the stone age?" she teased.

"Stone age?"

"Never mind. Let's go find out where we need to go for that interview." She opened the front door. "I believe it's on the second floor."

"Right."

They went to an elevator and she pressed the up arrow. "Did you have elevators where you're from?"

"We didn't call them elevators, but they were the same thing."

As she got ready to ask him something, someone called out a greeting. The voice was familiar, so he turned around. Not hiding his surprise, he asked, "They sent you to Crestview too?"

Marn shook his head. "No. They sent me to Fort Walton Beach. My name is Mark Tanner now."

"Mine is Chris West." He motioned to her. "This is my life mate, Caitlyn." Then he looked at her and said, "When I came here, another from my world also came. This is him, but he didn't come for a life mate. Not yet anyway."

"Right. I need to make sure I want to stay on Earth," Mark explained.

Chris didn't realize how nice it would be to know another from his world in this new place. "Are you applying for the engineering position?"

"Yeah. It was the only thing I could find that wouldn't bore me."

Beside him, he noted Caitlyn's exasperation. He smiled at her. "He doesn't have a life mate yet, so what else does he have?"

"I take it that you two are happy," Mark noted as the elevator doors opened.

"Very much so," Chris replied, not hiding his enthusiasm. They entered the elevator, and he continued, "You need to get a life mate. Earth women are pleasant."

Mark shrugged. "I'll see how things go while I'm here." He turned to Caitlyn. "I'm not as brave as Chris. I have to know what I'm getting myself into before I jump into something. Being a life mate is serious. Once the bond is established, the only way out is for one of you to die."

"Ideally, that is how marriage works on Earth," she replied.

"There is no ideally with our kind. It's permanent no matter what happens," Mark said. "That's why I'm not rushing into it."

Chris smiled at her. "I don't regret it. Star Systems Unlimited chose the right woman. I'm sure they'd choose the right one for you if you let them."

Mark laughed and shook his head. "You are very brave."

"Maybe." Who was Chris to argue with the observation? Mark was most likely right.

The doors opened so they stepped into the hallway.

"The room is this way," Caitlyn said, motioning to the sign with room numbers painted on it. "How many positions are they offering?"

"I don't know." Chris glanced at Mark. "Did you catch the number that they're hiring?"

"I think it's one," Mark replied.

"Then as they say on Earth," Caitlyn began, "'Let the best man win.' No offense, Mark. But I'm rooting for my husband."

He returned her smile. "I wouldn't expect it any other way."

When they entered the room, she sat in a chair while he and Mark signed in for the interview.

"She's a beauty," Mark said in a low voice so no one would overhear.

"Yes. I'm very happy with the selection they made at Star Systems Unlimited."

"I gathered as much. You not only said it, but you got this stupid grin on your face." He nudged him in the side and chuckled. "I don't blame you. Women are lovelier than I thought they'd be. The pictures we grew up looking at didn't do them justice."

He nodded. "They're much better in real life."

"How is the sex?"

Chris expected that to be the question Mark wanted to ask sooner but held back until they'd gotten the pleasantries out of the way. His lips curled into a wicked grin. "Much better than the simulations on our world."

"Really?"

"Really."

"You almost tempt me to throw caution to the wind and get a life mate today. Almost. I'm still not that adventurous."

"You're still taking your inhibitor, aren't you?"

"Of course. I don't want to find just anyone to bond with. I'm going to use my head when I make the decision."

"You know, I would have chosen Caitlyn even if I did it your way. She's a lot of fun. She's full of life. I think we lost a lot of joy on our world," Chris thoughtfully stated.

"Without women there to brighten things up, I can see why."

The secretary walked up to the front desk and read their names. "Mr. Tanner, Mr. West, I'll call you back in a moment."

Chris nodded, sat next to Caitlyn, and held her hand. "We'll be called back in a minute."

Mark sat on his other side but chose to leave an empty chair between them. "Yep. Good luck, Chris. I happen to be pretty good with numbers."

"We'll see," Chris replied, not disturbed in the least by the good-natured warning.

A minute later, Mark was called back. He returned ten minutes later and told Chris, "It wasn't bad. Some of the things were too easy, but a couple of things actually seemed challenging. I was pleasantly surprised."

Caitlyn sighed and rolled her eyes.

Chris squeezed her hand. "That's a good thing."

"Yeah, I know, but it's still not very flattering."

He laughed and kissed her cheek. The man called out his name, so he squeezed her hand again and went into the office to be interviewed. As Mark said, the questions were simple enough with only a couple that made him stop and think for a moment.

Finally, the man sat back in his chair and shook his head. "I don't believe it. I've never had two applicants who were so qualified for this position before." He pushed back his chair and stood up.

Chris followed suit and shook the man's extended hand.

"You got the job," he said with a smile.

Chris smiled in return. "Thank you, sir." He couldn't wait to tell Caitlyn.

The man showed him out of his office and called out to Mark. "I didn't realize you were still here."

Mark and Caitlyn eased out of their chairs.

"It's just as well that you did," the man continued before Mark could respond. "I've decided to hire both of you."

Caitlyn shot Chris an excited grin, and he couldn't deny the pleasure he experienced at making her happy.

"You two can start on Monday," the man said. "In the meantime, go downstairs and fill out some paperwork in room 110."

After they said good-bye to the man and went to the elevator to go down to the first floor, Caitlyn hugged Chris and smiled at Mark. "This is terrific! It's great that you two will get to work together!"

"I can't deny the irony," Mark admitted. "We never met on Pandoran."

"Life can throw a lot of surprises your way," she replied.

Chris gave her waist a slight squeeze, letting her know that the surprises he'd been receiving were good ones. He liked knowing that in this unfamiliar world, he'd get to work with Mark. And now he and Caitlyn could talk about getting that house she mentioned always wanting.
Chapter Nine

Caitlyn was so excited that her new husband got such a well-paying job that she had to pull Sandy aside to a vacant booth as soon as she got to work.

"You'll never believe what just happened," Caitlyn said, hardly able to control her enthusiasm.

Sandy gave her a good look and shrugged. "You won the lottery and will blow this godforsaken joint?"

"Hey! I heard that," Jack called out from behind the counter where he was grabbing a cup of coffee. "You're lucky no one's here or I'd dock your pay for such sacrilege."

Caitlyn chuckled. "Oh come on, Jack. You know we love you."

"Yeah," Sandy added. "At least you use actual food in your ingredients."

"I'll take that as an apology," he replied before he headed back to the kitchen.

"So, what's the big news?" Sandy asked.

"Chris just got a great job! He's going to be an engineer at Eglin Air Force base!"

"Really?"

Noting her friend's doubt, she groaned. "I was there when he had the interview."

"Oh, then this is for real."

"Yes." She shook her head. "You need to stop being so cynical. Some guys can be good ones."

"Maybe. I mean, given how many there are, I have to believe it. And it's good that he has a job in the area. He's putting down roots. Maybe he's legit after all. So when is your family going to meet him?"

With a sigh, she said, "When my mom insists on it."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. You know how my mom gets. I'd like to have some time to enjoy my marriage without her sticking her nose into it."

"I don't know if hiding it from her is going to help matters."

"Probably not, but I'd like to have some peace and quiet for as long as possible. I'll tell her when I'm ready."

"Fair enough. And when she gives you grief, feel free to call me."

Smiling at her friend, Caitlyn nodded and stood up. She clocked in and got ready for her shift.

***

The next day, Caitlyn drove Chris to the mall where they could buy him some clothes. She wondered what his fashion sense might be. On their way down the hall, she motioned to a clothing store up ahead.

"You'll need some work clothes before you get the fun stuff," she said.

Giving her hand a slight squeeze, he asked, "Fun stuff?"

"The clothes you can relax around the house in." She studied his dark hair which was slightly past his shoulders. "I think you'll be better off with a haircut. We'll do that after we get your wardrobe."

"Oh?"

"Shorter is better with your new job."

"Oh. Well, on my world, there's no point in trying to look our best. We don't have any women to impress."

"You look cute." When she caught his hesitant expression, she added, "Really, you do. If you had a job at a radio station or something, you'd be just fine. But you're an engineer now, and engineers should look more professional." She couldn't recall seeing a man who worked in an office having shaggy hair.

"You know this world better than I do, so I'll do whatever you say."

She laughed. "Don't give me too much power. I might get a swell head."

"Your head will swell up?"

"Not literally. It's an expression. It means that I'll..." She sighed, not exactly sure how to explain it. With a shrug, she said, "I'll think I can do more than I'm capable of." They reached the store. "We'll want to start with suits. You'll want something neutral or dark. Do you prefer tans, grays, browns, blues or blacks?"

"Well..." He glanced around the store. "I guess black and gray."

She nodded. "That fits your personality."

His eyebrows furrowed. "It does?"

"Yeah. You seem so straight and narrow."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No. You do have a sense of humor." Thank goodness too because she couldn't imagine being married to someone who couldn't enjoy life at all. "Come on. There are some black and gray suits."

He followed her and tried on a couple. She had to admit she loved the way men looked in a suit and a tie, and there was no denying the thrill that shot through her at the sight of him as he opened the door so she could see him.

"The pants are a little loose," he said.

"Here." She went to his back and turned down the waistline so she could read the size. Unable to resist the urge, she stroked his butt and whispered, "I'll get you the next size down."

His lips turned up into a smile as she winked at him and headed back to the suits. After picking another one out, she returned to him and returned the other suit to the rack. She came back and saw the new suit fit him much better.

"Do I look okay?" he asked.

"You look hot," she admitted, catching how good they looked together—him in a suit and her in a sundress.

"Actually, I am. But don't worry. It's not that kind of hot."

It took her a moment to understand he meant that changing clothes made him hot, not sexual desire. She bit her lip so she wouldn't giggle. The poor guy didn't know her meaning for the word hot.

Once he picked out a couple of suits, she led him to the other section of the store where he could select more casual items to wear.

"I can pick anything I want?" he asked.

"Yep."

He scanned the different shirts, pants and shorts. "I don't even know where to start."

Out of curiosity, she asked, "What did you wear on your planet?"

"Jumpsuits."

She waited for him to continue, but he turned his attention to the beige slacks. Following him to the rack, she asked, "Is that it?"

Glancing at her, he nodded. "We didn't see the need for such a wide—" he motioned to the all the clothes around them—"variety."

"Overwhelmed?"

"It's easier to make a decision when the selections are fewer."

"Maybe. But if there wasn't variety, then life would be boring. I can't imagine only wearing this." She motioned to her dress.

He smiled. "That wouldn't be so bad."

Pleased, she asked, "And if I was stuck in my work uniform all the time?"

"Okay. You got a point. The dress you have on now is much better." He picked up a pair of beige and navy blue slacks. "What do you think?"

"They're a lot like your suit pants. Don't you want some jeans?" She pointed to the jeans he had on. "Those are jeans."

"I know, but they're not comfortable. I liked the suit pants more."

"Would you like some shorts?" She turned to the table a short distance from them and picked up a pair of black ones she thought was his style. "Florida is hot and humid in the summer, and that's only a month away."

"Those are nice. I'll take a couple of those as well." He walked over to her and chose the black, blue and beige ones.

He made his way over to another table and selected one white, two blue, one grey, one red, and two black polo shirts. Well, at least he picked more colors this time, she thought and smiled. No doubt, he'd be glad to stop wearing Randy's old things. Randy had worn jeans and t-shirts. In fact, the only time he wore a suit was when they got married. Otherwise, he couldn't be bothered with it.

"I bet you're a loafer kind of guy," she mused.

"Loafer?"

"For shoes. You don't strike me as a tennis shoe type. Come on. Let's pay for these and then head on over to the shoe department."

Nodding, he joined her at the cash register and watched as she made her purchase. She assumed he was taking mental notes. As they walked out of the store, she asked, "Didn't you make purchases on your planet?"

"We had everything delivered to our homes. The money was automatically withdrawn out of our accounts."

"Seriously? Everything?"

"We made our orders on the computer at home and it arrived within two days."

"Wow. That's surprisingly efficient." But she'd miss the experience of going to the mall and buying things. Some things, like window shopping, couldn't be replaced.

"You wouldn't like that, would you?"

Curious, she turned to him. "And how can you tell that? I didn't say either way."

"Your face. You had a slight smile. After I mentioned how we bought things, your eyebrows furrowed and your smile faltered."

"Wow. That's pretty good. But I suppose where you're from, it's easy to pick up on nonverbal communication."

"No. Not really. We never think about it. I've been watching you to see how you react to things."

"You have?"

He chuckled. "Considering I didn't see women until I came here, does that really surprise you?"

Amused, she shrugged. "I guess not. Everything's new to you, even if what we have on Earth is primitive compared to what you're used to."

Shifting one of his bags to the other hand, he reached out and touched the small of her back before he kissed her. "I'd rather have primitive with a wife. All the years I spent on my world might have been filled with gadgets that made life easy, but it was a lonely one."

"I hope you remember that when we have our first argument."

"Argument? Why would we argue?"

She laughed and motioned for him to find a pair of shoes in the shoe store. "Every couple argues sooner or later. It's part of being—" Pausing, she considered what to call him. He wasn't human, so to speak. Finally, she ventured, "It's part of being in a relationship. All relationships, no matter how good they are, have their ups and downs."

"I can't imagine any downs in ours."

"Yeah well, that'll come in time. Just don't stress out when it happens, okay? It's normal." Though he didn't look convinced, she dropped the topic and led him to the shoes since he hadn't made a move toward them. "Come on. We need to get you two good pairs of shoes and then cut your hair before we head on out to the beach."

"The beach?"

"Lots of sand and some water." She motioned to the shoes. "So, do you see any shoes you like?"

He directed his attention to the shelves and, sure enough, picked out a pair of loafers. Then he selected black dress shoes to go with his suits.

They made their purchase and he got a haircut. When she saw him with his short, neatly trimmed hair, she did a double take. She knew he was good looking. Even his shaggy hair couldn't hide that, but now she couldn't help but think her new husband who literally fell from the sky and into her life was one of the best looking men she'd ever seen.

"Do I look okay?" he asked as he stood up from the chair.

"Yeah. You look great," she blurted out.

"You're saying that to be nice."

"No. No, I mean it." Words weren't adequate to describe what she thought. Not really. He took her breath away.

"You're smiling widely, so I believe you."

Oh. Right. He could figure out what she was thinking by reading her facial expression. Clearing her throat, she said, "I think we're done with the mall. You ready to eat?"

He nodded and they left.

***

After they ate, she took his hand and led him to the beach. The emerald surf rolled gently into the shore, and she took off her sandals and motioned for him to take off his boots.

"Let's walk along the shoreline of the beach," she said.

He bent down and took his boots off.

Amused, she added, "You should take off your socks too. Otherwise the experience won't be the same."

"Oh." He did as she instructed and wiggled his toes.

"What do you think?"

"Weird. Not bad, but weird."

She took his boots and socks and set them on the sand by her sandals. "We'll come back for these." Taking his hand, she led him to the water. "On a warm day, few things are better than cool water lapping at your feet." When they reached the water, their feet sank into the sand. Glancing at him, she asked, "What do you think now?"

"Wet and weird."

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck so she could pull him in for a kiss. He brought his hands to her waist and gave her a light squeeze as she deepened the kiss. A thrill shot through her. Even better than a walk along the beach was a kiss shared with a man. Sighing in contentment, she asked, "And now? Is it still weird?"

"I'm warming up to it," he admitted with a sly smile.

"Yeah?"

He pulled her closer and kissed her again. "Yeah."

She glanced around the beach and noted they were far enough from others so she gave him another kiss, this time pressing her body against his. Her skin tingled in delight. She loved being close to her new husband. "There's no reason why we can't enjoy a walk along the beach. It's one of my favorite activities."

"Is it?"

"Yep. And there's no one else I'd rather do it with."

A wide smile crossed his face before he kissed her. "I don't care what we do as long as we're together."

Laughing, she joined him in walking down the beach. "Yeah, well, just wait until you meet my family. You might change your mind."

"Why? Are they mean?"

"No, not mean. But they'll be shocked to learn I got married and probably give us a hard time about not having a wedding. Heck, they'll wonder why I didn't even mention you."

"How could you? You weren't told I was coming."

"I know, but I don't think they can handle the fact that you're from another planet."

"I don't think most people on this planet would be ready for that."

"Right. So we'll just tell them we met at the diner where I work and got married."

"That's the truth."

"It is. And it's all they need to know. Deal?"

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. "Deal."

Smiling, she snuggled up to him and walked along with him, enjoying the nice sunny day on the beach.
Chapter Ten

Three weeks later, Caitlyn knew she couldn't put off seeing her family anymore, and they'd want to see her new husband so she gathered all the courage she could muster and invited him along. On the drive into Fort Walton, she kept fiddling with the radio stations.

"Is something bothering you?" Chris asked, reaching for her hand before she could change the station again.

With a sigh, she squeezed his hand and smiled. "Oh, it's just been awhile since I last saw them." That part was true, but it wasn't the full story. Though she'd told them she got married, she didn't tell them how she met Chris. Boy, would they flip if they knew the details! "Remember, don't mention you're from another planet, okay?"

"I won't. You can trust me. I won't say or do anything to make them suspect I'm from another world. Besides, we have some great news for them, don't you think?"

Noting his excitement, she couldn't help but grin. The pregnancy test confirmed what he'd been telling her ever since that day he said she conceived a child. He claimed he could feel the new life forming in her womb, but she shrugged it off as his hope to have a child until she missed her period a week ago.

She still couldn't understand how he just knew she was pregnant. The connection established by the bond was something he was more sensitive to than she was, but she reasoned it was because she was from Earth. Females who once inhabited his world likely knew as soon as they conceived. Her parents, no doubt, would probably wonder if she got married because she was pregnant, and that was the part she was dreading.

When she drove her minivan down her parent's street, she inwardly groaned. In the front yard stood her father and Randy's father. It was just her luck that her parents saw it fit to invite their good friends over at the same time, and their good friends happened to be Randy's parents. This was bound to get awkward. She slowed the car and considered turning around and going back home.

"There is something wrong," Chris insisted. "What is it?"

"Randy's family is there."

"Why?"

"Probably because my parents are best friends with his parents. I guess everyone wants to check you out." Taking a deep breath, she pulled into the driveway and waved to the two men. She turned off the ignition. "Here goes nothing."

As she opened the door, her dad and Randy's dad came over to the minivan, but they didn't go over to her side. They made a beeline right for Chris. She sighed. And so it started. She could only hope Chris passed their inspection.

By the time she made it over to Chris' side, her dad was already beginning his interrogation. "So, how long did you know Caitlyn before you married her? I don't recall hearing about you before you two eloped."

She quickly stepped up to Chris and slipped her arm around his waist. "Oh, I met him at the diner. He came in to eat, and we started talking. One thing led to another and we got married." She patted his chest and smiled. "He was one of the nicest people I've ever served." That was true. So far, so good.

"I guess you getting married again was bound to happen sooner or later," her father admitted, turning his attention to Chris. "Where do you work?"

"Eglin Air Force Base," Chris replied, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Yes. He's an engineer." Now that was something she loved to say. She actually jumped for joy when she saw his first paycheck. Her dream of having a home of her own was quickly coming true. "They were only going to hire one, but he and the other guy were so good, they hired both."

Her dad nodded. "That's good news." He shifted from one foot to the other. "You know, Caitlyn, we would have liked to have been at the wedding."

Considering the fact that the wedding took place in her van, she bit back her laughter. "Yeah well, we wanted a private affair." And how private it'd been indeed!

"Well, it's your marriage," her dad began, "but your mother was devastated. You know how she can get with these things."

"Yeah, I know." Caitlyn glanced at her watch. If she and Chris stuck around for about three hours, that should be long enough.

Chris squeezed her shoulders. "Did you want to tell them the good news?"

Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head.

"What good news?" Randy's dad asked.

"It can wait," she said. "Is everyone here?"

"Oh come on," her dad argued, motioning to Chris. "Your new husband is obviously excited about it."

She glanced at Chris and saw the big smile on his face. If her family found out she was pregnant, they'd assume she married as quickly as she did because she got knocked up, and it wasn't like she could tell them the truth—that her new husband was from another planet and that he released a hormone which drove her to the point where she had to have sex with him. What do you mean you had to have sex with him? her mother would ask. Yeah, Caitlyn, that's pretty lame, her dad would chime in. Never mind what the others would say.

"Yeah," Randy's dad said. "What is it?"

Before Chris could speak, Caitlyn cleared her throat and laughed. "You should meet everyone else," she told Chris. Taking his hand, she headed for the house. Might as well get it over with.

The two men followed them. "Everyone's out back. We're having a barbeque."

"A barbeque?" Chris asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Hamburgers and hot dogs on the barbeque grill," she replied. "You'll love it."

Her dad laughed. "Oh come on, Caitlyn. The guy's had barbeque before."

If only her dad knew, but she wasn't going to tell him. She hurried through the house until they reached the patio where everyone else was mingling about on the large deck. Her mother was setting out the salad and her brother was frying up the burgers.

"Blake makes some of the best burgers and hot dogs around, but don't tell Jack I said that," she told Chris as they approached her brother. "How's it going?"

Blake turned a hamburger over and smiled. "Well, if it isn't the great eloper. Mom and Dad have been talking about your sudden marriage nonstop."

She sighed. "I figured they would be. This is Chris West."

Blake extended his hand and Chris shook it. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Chris said. "So, this is a barbeque grill?"

Blake laughed. "What else would it be?"

Shrugging, he said, "It could be a lot of things, really. It depends on what you plan to do with it."

"Uh...okay." Blake's uneasy gaze shifted to Caitlyn.

"Well, you did use it to burn photos and a letter from an ex-girlfriend," she reminded him.

Blake nodded. "So I did. It was actually a cleansing experience. As the flames turned her memory into ashes, I was able to move on. For all I know, the ashes could still be under the charcoals."

She grimaced. "Lovely thought." She scanned the patio where her dad talked to her mom, Randy's parents, Andy, and Sandy. Her dad motioned to her and Chris. Readying herself for more questions than she'd care to answer, she squeezed Chris' hand. "I better introduce Chris to everyone else."

"Good luck."

She caught the meaningful look her brother gave her and rolled her eyes. Of course, her mother wasn't all that excited to know she missed out on planning the wedding, but what else could Caitlyn do? Besides, she was in her thirties for goodness sakes. Didn't being an adult count for something?

As she led Chris toward everyone else, he whispered, "Why don't you want to tell them about the baby?"

His hurt tone brought her steps to a halt. She looked over at him and winced. Quickly taking him to the edge of the patio where no one would overhear them, she said, "You don't understand. It's best to wait until next month before mentioning the fact that I'm pregnant."

"Why?"

"Because they'll assume we got married because of the baby."

"But we did get married to have children."

"In this country, people get married because they love each other. Well, there are some who get married because the woman is pregnant, but that's not exactly the ideal reason."

"You weren't pregnant when we bonded."

"True, but they don't know you're from another planet. So if they find out I'm pregnant already, they'll assume the worst."

His eyebrows furrowed. "I don't understand."

Oh boy. He didn't get it, and she didn't know how to explain it. And her mom was heading in their direction. "Look," she quickly said, "let's just wait until next month before we mention it, alright?"

Though he looked disappointed, he nodded. "Alright."

She squeezed his hand. "Thanks." Turning toward her mom, she let go of Chris' hand and hugged her. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, Caity," her mother replied.

She grimaced. No matter how many times she told her mother she hated that nickname, her mother refused to listen. Forcing aside the urge to bring it up yet again, she motioned to Chris. "I got married, Mom."

Her mother stiffly nodded. "So I heard. Nice to meet you."

Chris shook the hand she extended to him and grinned. "You have a wonderful daughter, Rachel."

Her mother balked. "Excuse me?"

Caitlyn slipped her arm around Chris'. "My mother prefers to be called Mrs. Rogers."

"Yes," her mother added. "It's a matter of respect."

"Oh. I'm sorry," he said. "I'm still learning the proper manners on this world."

Her mother's eyes widened, and hoping to cover up for his slip of the tongue, Caitlyn laughed. "That's a good one, honey. Mom, guess what? He's an engineer. Isn't that exciting?"

"Yes. Well, that is a step up from being a DJ on the radio. Congratulations, Chris."

Caitlyn shot her sister and Sandy a 'please help me' look. They left the picnic tables where they were setting out the condiments and headed over to them.

Sandy led the way over to them, Lexie close behind. "Hi, Chris. I see you're meeting the family."

Caitlyn's mother arched an eyebrow. "So you've met him already?"

"He came into the diner a couple of times," Sandy replied. Turning to Lexie, she continued, "Chris, this is Caitlyn's sister."

Lexie offered her hand so he shook it. "Yes," he began, "I remember seeing your picture on Caitlyn's wall."

"Lexie's getting married in two months," Sandy told Chris.

"Speaking of which, where's Nick?" Caitlyn could use another newbie in the group to help take the focus off of Chris. She didn't care much for the way her mother kept scanning Chris up and down, obviously sizing him up—and probably finding him lacking.

"Nick couldn't make it," Lexie replied. "He had surgery."

"Yes," her mother added, looking at Chris. "He's a doctor. His job is an important one, you know. He saves people's lives."

Caitlyn suppressed the urge to groan. Whatever was her mother trying to prove? She had pulled the same thing on Randy when she realized Caitlyn's 'fling' with him had gotten serious. "Engineers have important jobs too, Mom."

"Yes, but do they perform open heart surgery?" her mother asked.

"You still have people doing things like that?" Chris replied.

Caitlyn wondered what the men on his world did for medical problems. By his comment, she assumed that they'd moved beyond surgery to find something else to take care of health problems.

Her mother huffed. "There's no need to be insolent."

"I'm not." Chris shrugged. "I'm just saying where I come from, we don't need to go inside someone else's body to fix what's wrong with them. We moved beyond that two hundred years-"

"Hey, look!" Caitlyn interrupted in a high-pitched voice. "I see Andy made it." Not that Andy was her favorite person, but right now, he proved a suitable distraction.

"Why wouldn't he?" her mother asked. "He's always valued family. I can't imagine that he'd get married without asking his family to attend. It's only right, after all."

Caitlyn bit her tongue.

"Where I come from, families don't attend the bonding ceremony," Chris told her mom. "Believe me, it isn't something you'd want to witness."

Caitlyn cleared her throat. "Chris is shy. Having everyone there while we—" she glanced at Sandy who snickered—"um...got married would have made him uncomfortable." Now if that wasn't an understatement, she didn't know what was.

"Well, Lexie is having the most wonderful wedding," her mother said, her smile growing wide. "We're going to have it on the beach. We booked the best photographer and caterer as well. Chris, have you had fresh lobster?"

Chris furrowed his eyebrows. "You mean, fresh as in you don't cook it before you eat it?"

"What? Of course not." Her mother shot Caitlyn a startled look. "Exactly where did he come from?"

"Um, I was just thinking," Sandy began as she cleared her throat, "I think it's great Caitlyn found someone. It's romantic, Mrs. Rogers. Chris came into the diner one evening, and it was like love at first sight. They had an instant connection."

Her mother waved her hand as if to dismiss the comment. "Romantic? I'll tell you what's romantic. We're going to have two doves that will fly into the air when Lexie and the doctor share their first kiss as husband and wife."

Caitlyn caught Sandy's eye roll and fought the urge to chuckle.

"It was Mom's idea," Lexie told Caitlyn.

"Doves are beautiful birds," her mother said. "Why, just imagine it, Chris. While the harp strums out the "Wedding March" and Lexie shares her first marital kiss with the doctor, the doves fly up into the sky together." She clasped her hands over her heart and sighed.

"I can't help but notice you keep calling Nick 'the doctor'," Caitlyn noted.

Her mother laughed and brushed her hair over her shoulder. "Well, that's because he is a doctor."

Lexie groaned.

Blake called out that it was time to eat. Breathing a sigh of relief, Caitlyn led Chris to the picnic table away from her mother. She'd had enough of her mother's subtle putdowns. She'd been proud of Randy, and she was proud of Chris. Both were good husbands who believed in working hard and treated her well. She was sure Nick would be the same with Lexie, but she didn't envy Lexie having to tolerate a doctor's hectic work schedule. While she and Chris sat across from Blake and Sandy, she patted Chris' hand and smiled. He smiled in return before he bit into his hamburger.
Chapter Eleven

After they finished eating, Caitlyn's father patted Chris on the back. "Do you play pool?"

Chris glanced at Caitlyn. "Pool?"

Caitlyn smiled. "It's a fun game. You use a stick to shoot balls into holes on a table."

Chris didn't see what was so fun about that but decided to take her word for it. Wiping his hands on the napkin, he stood up and joined her father as he went over to Blake and Andy to ask them if they wanted to play. Once they said yes, he went over to Randy's dad, but Randy's dad wasn't interested. So Chris followed Caitlyn's dad, Blake and Andy into the house.

"The pool table is in the recreation room," her dad told Chris.

Blake chuckled. "Yeah. Dad was thrilled when all the kids left home so he could finally have room for his toys."

"That's not fair, Blake. I wasn't necessarily thrilled."

"You were singing and dancing."

"Okay, maybe a little. But your mother refused to let me have any fun toys until you and your sisters were out of the house." He turned to Chris. "By the way, you can call me Jed. Caitlyn's mom is big into being referred to as Mrs. Rogers, but I'd rather be called by my first name. I figure we're all adults."

Chris nodded. "Jed it is." He already liked Jed, though he wasn't sure what to make of Caitlyn's mom. She seemed harder to connect with—something that was so unlike Caitlyn.

Jed stopped outside a room and motioned for the others to enter. "This is it, Chris. What do you think?"

Chris scanned the large table in the center of the room with balls resting inside a triangle, a couch with a large TV, a minibar, and a dart board. "It looks like you'll never get bored in here."

"Exactly." Jed grinned and motioned to the minibar. "Want anything to drink?"

"No thanks." He'd already had lemonade so he didn't see the point in drinking something else.

"Well, I'll have a beer," Andy said.

"Me too," Blake added as he picked up a stick and rubbed a blue chalky substance on the tip. Handing the stick to Chris, he picked up another one and did the same thing. "Are you any good?"

Chris glanced at the table and then turned his gaze to the stick in his hand. "I've never done this before." What exactly was the point to this game?

"You're kidding," Andy replied as he took a beer from Jed and placed it on the table in front of Blake. Taking another beer and opening it, he added, "I thought everyone played this game at some point in their lives."

"Well, he'll play it today." Jed smiled and took a stick from the rack while Blake handed one to Andy. "I'll be your partner, Chris." He set his beer aside on the bar and removed the triangle from the balls. Setting a white ball in front of the colored ones, he said, "There's nothing to it. Whatever kind of balls I shoot into the hole will be ours." He shot the white ball and it split the colored balls across the table until one of the solid ones went into a hole in a corner pocket. "There we go. Chris, you and I will try to get all the solid colored balls into one of the holes, except for the black one."

Chris nodded. It sounded simple enough.

"When you get a ball into a hole, you get to go again," Jed explained before he shot the white ball and almost got a red solid ball into the hole."

"Close but no cigar," Blake snickered. "You won't win this game, Dad."

"We'll see," Jed said, glancing at Chris. "If you're good at math, you can do well at pool. It's just a matter of figuring out the angle you need to shoot the ball at."

It was then that Chris understood the game. Up to then, it had made little sense why knocking a ball into a hole was any fun, but throw in the geometric challenge and it suddenly took on an interesting twist. Chris watched as Blake positioned his cue stick at the white ball and made a somewhat decent shot at the yellow-striped ball.

Chris judged what Blake did wrong and then walked around the table as he mentally planned out what would happen if he tried to hit each solid ball, except the 8 ball, into every hole. He must have taken too long, however, because he noticed the impatient look Andy shot him. Clearing his throat, he finally picked which ball seemed to be the one that would most likely get into the hole first and angled the cue stick like he'd watched Jed and Blake do.

His eyes traveled from the white ball to the purple one, and he calculated the angle he'd need to shoot at to make it work before he tapped the white ball. The white ball hit the purple one which sank into a side pocket.

Blake let out a low whistle while Jed patted him on the back. "Way to go, Chris."

Pleased by Jed's words, Chris smiled. "Thanks."

"Go on and try another one," Jed replied.

With another careful scan around the table, Chris decided to try for the orange ball, and as he judged, it sank into the corner pocket. His smile grew wider. "This is a fun game." And so he proceeded to get all of the remaining solid balls into the holes. "Now what?"

The three men stared at him, their mouths hanging open.

Chris blinked in surprise. "Did I do something wrong?"

Jed burst out into laughter. "No, son. You did it exactly right. I knew when Caitlyn said you were an engineer you'd be a natural at this game."

"Yeah, great." Blake sighed but grinned. "If you're on his team, it's great. But for the rest of us, it's not so great. Next time, you can at least make me and Andy think we have a chance to win the game."

"Oh." Chris hadn't thought of that. "So you want me to play poorly?"

Blake laughed. "No, but you could give us a few shots before you bulldoze us. I can't believe that was your first time playing this game."

"Caitlyn married a smart guy," Jed added as he brought the balls back up to the table and put them into the triangle. "Chris, how about letting Blake and Andy get some balls in next time before you show them what you got, huh?"

Chris smiled, detecting the friendly suggestion for what it was and nodded. "I guess I can do that, but if they take too long, I might get bored."

Jed chuckled again. "I like you, son. It's nice to see my little girl happy again."

Chris wondered what Jed meant by that. Wasn't Caitlyn always happy? She seemed like the kind of person who was naturally that way, but maybe it had something to do with women being emotional.

"I think I'll go first this time," Andy said as he set down his beer. "I want to get in one shot this time."

"You better before he beats your butt again," Jed joked.

"I'll go easy on you two this time," Chris told Blake and Andy, deciding he might as well play along.

It wasn't his habit of delaying a win if he didn't have to, but he thought there was some merit in extending this game. The men played two more games and then decided it was time to get back to the women.

After Chris went to the bathroom, he caught sight of Andy who was lounging in one of the chairs in the living room. "Aren't you going to join the others?" he asked, his gaze traveling to the patio doors. On the patio, he saw Caitlyn rubbing her forehead while her mother talked to her. He wondered what that was about.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you," Andy said, bringing Chris' attention back to him.

"Really? What about?"

Andy stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. With a shrug, he said, "Oh, I wanted to say hi. Caitlyn and I grew up together, so she's like a sister, you know?"

Since Chris had no idea what having a sister was like, he didn't respond.

"Anyway, I wanted to congratulate you on your marriage," Andy continued.

"Okay. Thanks." After receiving congratulations from the others, Chris surmised the congratulatory process was a tradition on this planet. He'd have to remember that for when he and Caitlyn attended Lexie's wedding.

As Chris made a move to pass Andy, Andy stepped in front of him. "You know, Caitlyn and I grew up together."

"You already mentioned that."

"Well, you see those pictures?"

Chris glanced at the wall down the hallway from where he'd just walked. "Yeah."

"Want to see what Caitlyn looked like when she was younger?"

Curiosity piqued, he nodded.

Andy led him down the hall and motioned to one of the pictures. "This is her baby picture."

Chris took note of the baby with soft auburn curls and wide smile. It was fascinating to see a baby picture, but much more so that it was her picture. They didn't take baby pictures on his world. In fact, he couldn't recall them taking pictures at all of people unless someone made some honorable distinction to society. He felt a grin cross his face as he mentally memorized Caitlyn's baby picture. Would their baby look similar to her?

"Over here," Andy continued, "is her high school senior picture."

Chris turned his attention to the other picture and recognized the younger version of Caitlyn. She had another warm smile. She did a lot of smiling. Once again, he wondered what her father meant when he made that comment about her finally being happy again. It seemed that she was always happy.

"And over here is the picture of her wedding to my brother," Andy said, tapping the photo.

Chris felt his smile falter as he recalled her mother going on and on about how romantic weddings were. All the fancy stuff about sending doves into the air seemed excessive, but he had to admit seeing Caitlyn in a white gown took his breath away. Seeing her next to another man, however, did not. He recalled seeing a picture of her with Randy in her apartment. She had since taken it down, but then he recalled the comment she made the night of their bonding ceremony. She said just because someone died, it didn't mean you stopped loving them. It hadn't bothered him at the time when she said it, but now he was taking a careful look at how she looked next to Randy. Did she smile like that when she was with him?

"She and my brother were in love for ages," Andy continued, pulling Chris' attention to him. "I mean, if you happened to be in the same room with them, it was a 'three's a crowd' type of situation, you know?"

Actually, Chris didn't know what he meant, but he nodded as if he did.

"Yeah. They were the perfect couple. They got married right out of high school. It was so 50s of them to do, but since he died at twenty-nine, I guess it was good they didn't wait."

"I guess," Chris said, not so sure he agreed.

"That's why we were all shocked to learn she got married again. It's so weird, you know. It's like you just fell out of the sky or something."

Chris offered a weak laugh. Andy had no idea how close to the truth he was.

"With Randy, she couldn't talk about anything else. It was Randy this and Randy that all the time. But she didn't even mention you until right before today."

Shifting from one foot to the other, he shrugged. "We didn't..." What was the word again? "Date for long."

"It was love at first sight, huh?"

No, not exactly, Chris thought. The bonding ceremony had nothing to do with love. It was a matter of preserving the genetic line from one generation to another.

Andy's eyebrows rose. "Or maybe not. I guess Caitlyn felt her biological clock ticking and decided it was time to act on it."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"What? By a biological clock or the fact that she settled for you to have children? One thing she regretted when Randy died was not having a child with him. She probably decided even if she couldn't have Randy's child, yours was better than nothing."

"That's not how it happened."

"Oh? Then how did it happen?"

"Well, I—" Chris stopped and thought over what he was about to say. He couldn't tell Andy he was from another planet and came here for the life mate the agency chose for him.

"Look, I've known Caitlyn ever since we were little kids. Randy was her true love. I just don't see how anyone else will ever come close to her like he was, especially since she's only known you for...how long?"

"I don't see what length of time has to do with anything."

Andy shrugged. "Yeah, you're probably right." He patted Chris on the shoulder. "Congratulations. Again."

Chris watched as Andy headed toward the patio. With another look at the pictures, he noted Caitlyn and members of her family on the wall. His gaze fell on her wedding picture with Randy, and he recalled what she had told him when he saw the picture with her and Randy in her apartment. Just because someone dies, it doesn't mean you don't cherish their memory.

But she'd taken down that picture, which meant she was moving forward with her new life—the one she was sharing with him. Randy might have been an important part of her past, but he was an important part of her present and future. Nodding, he decided it was time to go back to Caitlyn.
Chapter Twelve

Caitlyn rolled her eyes and fought the urge to groan. "It's nothing, Mom. They're just rings. They don't mean anything."

Her mother gasped and inspected Caitlyn's hand. "Nothing." She turned to Lexie. "Let's see your engagement ring again."

"No, Mom," Lexie argued. "This isn't fair. You can't compare Chris to Nick."

"This is outrageous, Caitlyn," her mother said with a shake of her head. "A man who doesn't fork over a significant portion of his wages doesn't love you as much as one who does. At least Randy gave you something, even if it was a small diamond."

Caitlyn rubbed her forehead. She needed a pain killer or a dose of chocolate in the worst possible way.

"Oh, Chris," Lexie said.

Caitlyn looked up from the picnic table where her mother practically held her hostage and breathed a sigh of relief. Good! Standing up, she hurried over to him and smiled. "I heard you wiped the floor with everyone at pool."

Chris frowned. "Wiped the floor?"

Ignoring her mother's curious expression, she laughed and slipped her arm around his. "Yeah. You know. You won every game." Her mother opened her mouth to speak, so she added, "Well, it's been fun, everyone, but Chris and I have to go. We have a house to look at in about a half hour."

"You made plans to look at a house during my barbeque?" her mother asked.

"Oh, let them look at houses," Caitlyn's father said, sitting next to her mother. "They'll have fun. Knowing Chris, he'll be able to cut a good deal on a place."

"Not like the kind the doctor's getting for Lexie," her mom said under her breath. "The doctor's going to live right on the beach."

Lexie groaned.

"Apples to oranges, Rachel," her dad told her mom.

Caitlyn sighed. And her mother wondered why she intentionally made an appointment with the realtor during this get-together? Caitlyn didn't know why she thought coming while others were here would stop her mom from getting too much in her business. "I'll see you later." Much, much later.

"Before you leave," her mother began as she got up, "you might as well pick up your wedding present."

"You didn't have to get us anything," Caitlyn said.

"Nonsense. When people get married, you're supposed to get them a gift."

"It's custom to give gifts and congratulate couples when they get married?" Chris asked.

"Well, it's custom for the wife to pick out the gift, but the husband gets full credit for it," Caitlyn's dad joked.

"Really?" Chris asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

Her dad nodded. "Trust me on this one. Nothing a man will pick will ever meet up to the expectations of the bride."

"Oh," Chris replied.

By the look on Chris' face, she could tell Chris was cataloging this in his brain, just like he catalogued everything else. In many ways, she thought it was cute.

"I got you something too," Sandy said as she approached them with a soda in her hand. "But wait until tonight to open it," she whispered with a wink.

Now that was something Chris was going to love.

"We chipped in and got you all something too," Lexie added, motioning to Blake and her.

Blake sighed from where he and Andy were setting out the remaining hamburgers and hot dogs to save for leftovers. "I tried to get you a grill, but Lexie wouldn't have it."

"That's because Caitlyn's been talking about needing a microwave," Lexie replied.

"But a grill makes everything taste better," Blake argued.

"A microwave is much better," Caitlyn said. "I don't have to put charcoal in it to get it started." Making a show of checking her watch, she added, "Well, we better go. Thanks for the gifts, but I meant it when I said you didn't have to get them."

Sandy smiled. "We wanted to. I'll join you guys on the way out. I have to get to work soon anyway."

After they said good-bye, Caitlyn joined Chris and Sandy as they walked to the living room to pick up the gifts. As they passed through the hallway, Caitlyn caught sight of the wedding picture of her and Randy and nearly tripped.

"It's a good thing you don't do that at work," Sandy joked.

She stopped and glanced at the patio doors where her parents were talking at the picnic table.

"Is something wrong?" Chris asked.

"I forgot to tell my parents something," Caitlyn said. "Chris, why don't you wait for me in the car, okay?"

"Come on, Chris," Sandy began. "I'll help you carry your gifts to the car."

Caitlyn waited until they left the hallway before she pulled the picture off the wall and headed back to the patio. She approached her mom and showed her the wedding picture of her and Randy. "Why is this still hanging up on the wall?"

Her mom turned from her dad and looked at the picture. "Because it's the only wedding picture I have of you. If you'd had a wedding with Chris, I would have one of you and him up there."

Caitlyn had dealt with as much as she could handle. "You want to know why I didn't want to have a wedding or bring Chris over right away? It's because of things like this." She pointed to the picture. "How do you think Chris would feel if he saw this up on the wall?"

"Did he see it?" her dad asked.

"No. Thankfully, I saw it before he did," she replied.

He held his hand out. "Good. I'll put that away in storage."

She handed it to him.

Her mother sighed. "Seriously, Caity. I don't see what the big deal is. Randy was your husband at one time, and it's nice to have a formal picture of you in the wedding dress. It's the only one I'll ever have of you as a bride."

"Mom, I'm not going to have a formal wedding. I have other things to worry about." Like buying a house and having a baby. Oh, how she was dreading telling her mother about the baby! "I'll tell you what. Chris and I will dress up in nice clothes and get a professional photo taken. Then you can hang that up."

"That's a great idea, Caitlyn," her dad said. "Your mom will be happy to have a picture of our new son-in-law."

Her mother sighed. "Very well."

Relieved, Caitlyn smiled at her dad and returned to the house so she could help Sandy and Chris carry the last gift out to her car. She found Sandy in the living room. "Where's Chris?"

"Putting the microwave in the car. I figure he could carry the heavy item. Lexie and Blake got a pretty fancy one for you." Sandy handed Caitlyn the last wrapped present sitting on the coffee table. "This one is from me."

Caitlyn laughed. "I'm sure Chris will love it."

"So, your mom gave you a lot of grief today," Sandy said with a wince. "It was painful to watch, especially with Lexie marrying the doctor."

"I expected it. You know how she is."

"Yeah, but an engineer isn't shabby. Your dad was impressed. Are you going to quit your job?"

"Yeah. I want to stay home with the baby."

"Speaking of which, you should have told your mom about the baby and gotten it over with while she was grilling you about marrying again without her blessing."

Caitlyn gagged. "No way. I can only handle so much grief in one day. I'll just email her that news, but I'm not doing that until next month." Chris walked through the front door, so Caitlyn gave her friend a hug. "Thanks for coming and taking my mom's focus off of me and Chris."

"It didn't work very well," Sandy replied.

"It was better than it would have been," Caitlyn assured her before she turned to Chris. "Are you ready to check out a couple of houses?"

He nodded. "I got everything in the car. We'll have to get something for your sister when she gets married, but you will have to pick it out since women know more about buying gifts than men do."

With a chuckle, she took his hand. "I'll see you at work tomorrow, Sandy." As she and Chris left the house, she breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness that was over. "Oh, before I forget, I told my mom that we would get a professional picture taken."

"You want a picture of me?" he asked, looking pleased.

"Yeah. It's something I should have thought about sooner," she admitted as they stopped in front of the minivan, "but I got caught up in house hunting. I still can't believe it's happening! I've wanted to have a house for ages. It's like a dream come true."

"I'm glad I can make you happy."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I am, especially now that we can get out of here. Hop on in and we'll go check out another house. Maybe this will be the one."

Once they got into the car, she started it and backed out of the driveway. With any luck, she wouldn't have to see her mom again until Lexie's wedding rehearsal.

She glanced at Chris as she shifted the minivan to drive. "So, what did you think? Did they scare you off?"

He laughed. "They weren't scary."

He obviously didn't spend enough time with her mother. Lucky him. He got to run off and play pool with the men.

Reaching out, he took her hand and smiled. "I thought it went fine. Next time we'll tell them about the baby, right?"

"I'll send an email after the first doctor visit," she promised. "Then they'll know by the time we see them again."

"Doctor visit? Don't you use doctors when you feel sick on this world?"

"Yes, but we also see them when we're pregnant. At least, that's a fun reason to see them."

His eyebrows furrowed. "I don't understand why you need to see them. What can they do to the baby growing inside of you?"

"When it comes time for the baby to be born, the doctor will deliver the baby."

"But the baby is inside of you. Doesn't delivery mean someone gives you something you don't already have?"

She forced aside the chuckle as she came to a stop at a red light. "How were babies born on your world when women gave birth?"

"The records say women who carried children within their bodies had them at home."

"You're kidding? With all the fancy technology you had on your world, the women did home births?"

Shrugging, he said, "Our homes were built to accommodate everything required for the birth of the child."

She recalled his comment about them not needing doctors on his world. "So you don't use doctors for anything? Anything at all?"

"Why should we? We have machines built into our homes to take care of anything that ails us."

"Seriously?" The light turned green so she drove forward. "You're telling me if someone needed surgery, it was done at home?"

"Sure. Surgery didn't require someone's body to be cut into like your mother was talking about."

She had to admit that sounded like a huge benefit to being on his world, even if women were extinct over there. "Well, we still use doctors here, and this particular doctor will deliver our baby in about eight months."

"Eight months?"

"It takes nine months to carry a baby to term."

"It only took women on my world six of your calendar months."

"Six months?" she shrieked.

"Yes. I thought it was the same for Earth females since you're compatible with me."

She turned left at the intersection and shook her head. "You mean to tell me in six months, women on your world carried a full-term baby? They were healthy and everything?"

He nodded.

"How big were these babies?" she asked, trying to force the image of a twenty-pound baby out of her mind.

"Exactly seven pounds."

Breathing a sigh of relief on that count, she ventured to ask the next pressing question. "And how fast do these babies grow up? I mean, are they three years old by the time twelve Earth months pass?"

"No. Twelve of your Earth months equal a year's worth of growth."

Thank goodness for small favors. That must have been one of the things that the agency kept in mind when they assigned him to her planet. A child that grew up at an abnormal rate wouldn't fit well on Earth. But then, she realized if she gave birth after six months of pregnancy instead of nine, then she was in for it from her mom. She groaned as she imagined all the things her mother was bound to harp on her about.

He reached for her hand and squeezed it. "Are you okay?"

She glanced at him and smiled. Well, so she was going to put up with some grief. Being with him was worth it. She squeezed his hand. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Do you really want a picture of me?"

"Sure, I do. You're my husband. It'll be nice to have a picture of us in our new house."

He beamed with pleasure. "I'd like a picture of us too."

"Then that settles it. We'll have to make an appointment with a photographer."

And since she wanted to have the picture taken before she began showing, they were going to have to do it soon. She wondered just when women started showing on his home world. Before she could ask him about it, she saw the street they needed.

"This is it." She let go of his hand and picked up the piece of paper with the address of the first house they planned to look at that afternoon. "Are you ready to see what might be our new home?"

"Yes."

"Good because we're almost there," she said and turned down the street, her mind off of her pregnancy for the time being. As the house came into view, she suppressed the urge to cheer. "I think this is going to be it, Chris. I have a good feeling about this one!" She pulled up into the drive and got ready to meet the realtor who was waiting for them in the driveway. "It's got a bay window. I've always wanted a bay window!"

Chris laughed as she clapped her hands. "This just might be the right one after all since you love it so much."

With her hand on the door handle, she said, "You need to love it too. I don't want to get the house unless you like it."

"You care about what I want?"

Now it was her turn to laugh. "Of course, I do, silly. Marriage is a partnership. We do things for each other to make each other happy." She reached over and squeezed his hand. "So if there's anything you don't like about the house, you have to speak up. I can't read your mind."

Squeezing her hand in return, he smiled. "I'll give you my honest opinion."

"Good."

As they got out of the car, the realtor walked up to them. "Are you ready to take a look inside?"

Caitlyn took Chris' hand and nodded. "We sure are."

The realtor grinned. "I hope you don't mind if I say you two are a good looking couple."

"Oh, thanks," Caitlyn replied before she and Chris followed her into the house.
Chapter Thirteen

The next day during the lunch rush, Caitlyn saw Travis and Richie enter the diner. She suppressed a groan and glanced at Sandy who was collecting empty dishes from a vacant table. Caitlyn sighed and took out her pad and pencil. Well, if anyone was going to have to deal with the two men, it might as well be her. At least she wouldn't be working here much longer. In a month, she could quit and she'd never have to see Travis and Richie again.

When she approached their booth, Travis made it a point to scan her body. "Hey there, gorgeous. If you play your cards right, I might take you home with me."

"It's not a good idea to threaten the person in charge of your food," she replied. "Are you going to order or should I have Jack toss you out of here?"

"Oh, come on now, honey. Why do you have to be so cruel?" he asked with a pout.

Richie sighed. "Haven't you been playing hard to get long enough, sweetheart?"

Groaning, she crossed her arms and glared at them. "Listen up, you two. I've had enough of this."

Travis wiggled his eyebrows at her. "The harder you protest, the more you want it."

"First of all," she began, "I wouldn't have sex with either of you two if my life depended on it. Second, I'm married." Really, how many times did she have to say that?

Richie shrugged. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's polite to share?"

Before she had time to back away, he reached out to touch her arm. She felt the heat surge through her and strike at his hand.

He yelped in surprise and stared at his hand which was red. "What the...?" Looking from her to Travis, Richie showed him the burn mark.

Caitlyn stared at his hand in disbelief. What just happened?

"All you did was touch her," Travis said, glancing at her.

Caitlyn took a deep breath. "No, he didn't just touch me. He was overstepping his boundaries. I'm married, and that means he has no right to touch me in a sexual way." She deducted that it had something to do with her bond to Chris. He said on his world once a couple bonded, no one could interfere with their connection. Lifting her pad and pencil, she asked, "So, do you want to order or what?"

The two men hesitated but finally gave their orders without any more suggestive comments. It was fun to watch them actually mumble and avoid eye contact with her whenever she got near them. After months of putting up with their slimy treatment, the attitude adjustment was long overdue.

When the lunch rush cleared, Sandy sat next to her so they could eat their meals. "Caitlyn, the strangest thing happened to me a half hour ago. Travis and Richie called me ma'am on the way out the door. What did you do to whip them into shape?"

Caitlyn picked up her french fry, dipped it into the ketchup, and shot Sandy a mischievous grin. "Maybe they're learning that if they treat women like sex objects, they'll get burned."

Sandy chuckled. "We can only hope." After drinking some coffee, she asked, "So how did the house hunting go yesterday?"

Caitlyn picked up her cheeseburger and bit into it. "Great! We found a really nice house with a bay window and a breakfast bar. The realtor is going to call us when she hears back from the owners to see if we can buy it."

"Really? That's great! But do you have money for a down payment?"

"$25,000. When Chris came here, that's how much got transferred into his bank account. We merged our accounts together, and I have to tell you my $500 looked pathetic next to his."

"Yeah, but you just got out of debt."

"And I never want to get back into debt ever again." She shook her head. "It's insane that it's so easy to get into it but tough as nails to get out of it." After taking another bite of the cheeseburger, she moaned. "Did Jack change the recipe or something? This is really good. I mean, really, really good."

"I don't think so." Sandy watched her as she finished the cheeseburger. "This is weird. I've never seen you eat food with that much...enthusiasm."

"It is weird. It's like all of the sudden, I have to eat all the time. I'm going to order another cheeseburger. You want one?"

Glancing at her chicken sandwich, she shook her head. "You want more food? Aren't you supposed to be going through morning sickness or something?"

"I know. I should, but I'm not. I've never felt so good in my entire life." She went to the door and opened it so she could peer into the kitchen where Jack was cleaning up from the lunch rush. "Can I have another cheeseburger?"

"We have another customer already?" he asked, looking surprised.

"No. This is for me."

"Did you drop your other one on the floor?"

She groaned. "No. I ate it. It's so good I want another one."

"You're kidding?"

"About what? It being good or wanting another one?"

With a shrug, he said, "As long as you're buying it, I don't care. I'll have it out in a few minutes."

"Good." As she closed the door, she turned and spotted the pie slices on the counter. She decided to get one and then decided maybe two was better.

Sandy laughed. "You've got to be kidding. You plan to have another cheeseburger and two slices of pie?"

"You're right." Caitlyn retrieved another slice of pie and sat next to her friend. "There. That ought to keep me full until dinner." Shooting her bewildered friend a cautionary look, she asked, "Not enough?"

"This has to be because of the pregnancy because you never eat that much at one time."

"You're probably right." She dug her fork into the chocolate silk pie. "You know, I should expect it. Chris is an alien. That means I'm carrying a baby that's part alien, so I can't expect this pregnancy to be like the ones women on this planet go through." She ate a forkful of the pie and moaned again. "I swear, Jack's food never tasted this good before."

The kitchen door swung open and Jack rolled his eyes. "You're such a comedian, Caitlyn. Remind me to raise the prices on my menu now that the food is edible."

Caitlyn smiled. "I'll miss you when I quit."

"You can always come by for a meal," Sandy said.

"If you do, make sure you go on and on about how great my food is and how I should be charging more for such fine cuisine," Jack joked.

"I'll be sure to do that," Caitlyn promised before she finished the slice of pie and took the plate with the cheeseburger on it.

He shook his head. "Man, I never thought I'd ever see a woman inhale food like that."

"I can't help it. This food is so good." Caitlyn took a bite of the cheeseburger and sighed in contentment.

"Okay. I'm actually scared," Jack commented, stepping back. "Be sure you don't eat everything in this place, alright?"

"What? I'm not that bad." Jack and Sandy exchanged amused looks and Caitlyn sighed. "I'm not. I'm just appreciating your talent, Jack."

He rolled his eyes. "Now I've heard it all. I'm going on a smoke break."

Once he went outside, Sandy sipped her coffee. "So, how did Chris like my gift?"

"I haven't put it on yet."

"What? Why not? Doesn't it fit?"

"It's the right size. It's just that when we came back from house hunting and talking to the realtor, we were exhausted and went to sleep."

Sandy picked up her sandwich. "I thought he had to have sex every six hours."

"That was before I got pregnant. Now that his prime directive has been met, he doesn't need to do it all the time."

"You mean, you're a newlywed, and you're already skipping the sex?"

"We had sex yesterday before we went over to my parents, so it wasn't like we didn't do it at all. I am enjoying that aspect of being married again." With a grin, she added, "A lot."

"This is why I gave you bedroom clothes."

"I'll wear it tonight. I promise." She finished the cheeseburger and drank her soda. "You know, I'm surprised you're so concerned about my sex life."

Sandy shrugged. "I like to live vicariously through you."

"You need a life," she joked.

"Don't I know it."

Chuckling, she picked up a forkful of apple pie. "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you what my mom got us."

"You mean you and Chris, right?"

"No. I mean me and you. She got us tickets to a rock concert that's on the beach."

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was." She ate the bite of pie and shook her head. "I don't know if I should ignore her or tell her off. If she didn't want to acknowledge my marriage to Chris, then the least she could have done was skip the gift. Thankfully, I hid the so-called gift before he could see it."

"So, what's the group?"

Caitlyn told her before she finished up the pie and turned to the last slice. Finally, she was full enough to get through the rest of her shift, but to be on the safe side, she dug into the last slice.

Sandy wiped her mouth when she was done eating. "Maybe we should go to the concert."

"I don't know. Isn't it wrong for me to use something that should have been for me and Chris but wasn't?"

"Tell him about the tickets and ask him. That's the only way you won't feel guilty if we go."

"I know my mom can be hard to deal with, but she's outdone herself this time. This is worse than the number she slipped me for a good divorce lawyer when I married Randy. She didn't think it was possible for someone to get married at eighteen and stay married."

"Yeah, but your dad laid into her on that one. He probably doesn't even know she got the tickets."

"I don't think he does. He hates shopping with her. She takes hours looking for a good deal."

Sandy finished her lunch and picked up her plate and gathered some of Caitlyn's empty plates. "At least your dad is there to keep her from sending you another number for a divorce lawyer."

"True."

Man, her mom was going to flip if she gave birth in five months instead of eight, and judging by the way she wolfed her food down, she suspected the baby would be born sooner rather than later. She hoped women who'd been on Chris' planet hadn't experienced serious weight gain during pregnancy. With any luck, all the food she was eating would go directly to the child.

Two women walked into the diner, signaling that their break was over. Caitlyn ate the rest of her pie and drank her soda as Sandy walked over to the booth where the women sat. She put the rest of the dishes into the kitchen by the dishwasher and headed out front to brew another pot of coffee.

***

Chris was typing into his computer at work when the phone on his desk rang. It took him a moment to realize where the sound came from, and he quickly completed the sentence before he turned to the phone and picked it up.

"Chris West speaking."

"Oh good. They got me to the right person," came a woman's voice.

He frowned and turned from the computer so he could focus on the caller whose voice seemed familiar. "May I ask who's calling?"

"This is Caitlyn's mom."

He straightened in his chair. "Hi, Mrs. Rogers. Is there something wrong?"

She laughed. "No. Everything's fine. Did you happen to see the little gift I got you and Caitlyn?"

"No, not yet." So far the only thing he'd seen was the microwave Lexie and Blake got him and Caitlyn. "I think she plans to show me the gifts tonight." If memory served, she did promise to show him the one from Sandy anyway.

Caitlyn's mother sighed. "Leave it to my daughter to be secretive. It wouldn't be the first time."

He wondered what she meant by that, but before he could ask, she continued.

"I need you to keep a teeny tiny secret for me. Do you think you can do that for me, Chris?"

Fidgeting in his chair, he asked, "You want me to keep a secret from Caitlyn?"

"Only for a little while. You see, I gave her two tickets to a concert for her and Sandy to go to. Now, here's the catch. The tickets aren't real. Here's my real gift to you two. I'm taking care of all the arrangements for a real wedding. It won't be as wonderful as Lexie and the doctor's, but you two naughty kids caught me by surprise so I have to get everything planned out on short notice."

"But Caitlyn doesn't want a wedding like the one you're talking about."

"Is that what she told you?"

"Well...yes."

"And you believed her?"

He adjusted his tie and cleared his throat. "Of course, I did." Wasn't he supposed to?

Her mom laughed. "Oh, my poor Chris. You don't know anything about women, do you?"

"No, not really." He might as well be honest about it.

"Caitlyn wouldn't say she wants a formal wedding because then it would be her idea, and women want their husbands to take the time to surprise them."

"They do?"

"Yes. It's how you show you love your wife."

"Okay."

"So those tickets will take Caitlyn to a section of the beach that I reserved for the wedding! All you have to do is get a tux and ring for the special day, and I'll take care of the rest. But I won't tell her it was my idea, and you don't tell her about it. Then when she shows up, she'll get to be a bride all over again. Isn't that romantic?"

He shrugged. Was it?

"She'll be thrilled, Chris. Trust me. I'm her mother. I know her better than you do."

"That's true." There was no sense in denying the obvious. "If it'll make Caitlyn happy, then I want to do it."

"Good! But remember, you can't tell her anything about it. It has to be a surprise. If she finds out, then she'll be upset."

"I won't say anything."

"Excellent! The wedding is in two weeks. Make sure you get the tux. Make it black. Nothing says tacky like a tux that's not black. And I'll help you with the ring when the time comes. This is going to be a lovely wedding."

"Um...where do I get a tux?"

"Emerald Coast Formal Wear has a great selection of tuxes to choose from. I'll call ahead and specify what tux you will be getting if it'll save you some stress."

"Thank you, Mrs. Rogers. I'll take you up on the offer."

"Think nothing of it, Chris. I have a friend who works there, so it's easy to get these things done. I'll email you the directions on how to get there."

After he gave her his work email address, he thanked her again and hung up, glad he could do something to surprise Caitlyn. He couldn't wait to see her face when she saw what her mother had planned. Happy, he returned to work.
Chapter Fourteen

Chris pulled up to the order menu at a fast food restaurant. "Are you sure you want that many milkshakes?" he asked into his cell phone.

"Yes. I wanted to drink a milkshake at the diner, but the machine broke so Jack has to fix it," Caitlyn replied. "I already ordered the pizzas so we're good there."

"Okay. I'm almost at the window, so I have to go."

She thanked him and hung up.

As the car in front of him drove forward, he pulled up to the menu and waited for the woman on the other end to say he could give his order whenever he was ready. Clearing his throat, he said, "I'd like ten milkshakes; two vanilla, four strawberry, four chocolate."

"Will there be anything else?" she asked.

He glanced at the menu and saw the sundae. "I should get five sundaes. Let's make two strawberry and three chocolate. That should be all." He figured that proportionate to Caitlyn's weight and the baby's growth, the amount he ordered and the four large pizzas should be enough to get her through the night. It surprised him that her pregnancy was mirroring how pregnancies had been on his planet. He didn't know what he thought would be different, exactly, but he figured there might be something unique about Earth women who carried Pandoran men's children. But perhaps that was why the agency sent him here. The representative said he'd be compatible with a woman on this planet, and she was turning out to be right.

When he drove up to the window, he counted the cash and handed it to the woman who instructed him to go to the next window. He shook his head. What a complex system to get food. One thing he did miss was being able to log into the files in the kitchen and tailor-make his meals. Here, the food had to be picked up at stores or at restaurants and then brought home. Some of it even had to be prepared. It made little sense to him. In some ways, Earth wasn't utilizing its technology in the most efficient way. He hadn't realized how far his planet had come in making life easier for everyone.

But look at where that ease had gotten them. Women figured they no longer had to bother with carrying children and giving birth, especially since they had to take their chances on the gene matching. They preferred to specify the children they wanted down to the exact detail of their personalities, strengths, and how they looked.

After a while, all the children being born seemed to be duplicates of each other since women wanted the same type of child—gifted leaders who would lead the way to further technological advancements. There were few people who pursued the creative arts or knew how to work with their hands.

The idea of fiction, whether it was in things like books or movies, was probably the biggest surprise to him when he first got here. The value people put on sports and music was a second one. Then there were people who built things and grew crops with their own hands. Earth was full of variety, and one thing he looked forward to was seeing what his child would be like. Having no control over the genes, the child would be completely unique—something no machine could fully duplicate.

If that variety meant he had to give up some things that made life easier on his world, then he was happy to do it. Smiling as he thought of Caitlyn and their child, he drove up to the second window and collected the milkshakes and sundaes in the cardboard containers the person handed him.

"Having a birthday party for your kid?" the teenager asked.

"No. This is for my wife. She's going to have a baby," he replied, unable to hide his excitement. A year ago, he didn't think he'd say those words, and yet, here he was on his way home to a woman who was expecting his child. If life could get any better, he didn't know how.

The teen nodded. "Gotcha. When my mom was pregnant, she craved french fries, so I was bringing them home every night."

Chris' eyebrows rose. "So it's normal for a woman to eat a lot more than usual when she's pregnant?"

"Let's just say they have the weirdest cravings. My mom dipped the fries into chocolate sauce."

The teen shuddered, but Chris didn't see what was so weird about that. Chocolate was a great boost for energy, and right now, Caitlyn needed a lot of it. When the teen told him to come again, he figured that was his cue to leave, so he rolled up the window and drove out of the parking lot.

When he arrived home, he parked into his spot. Another thing he was looking forward to was his new house. On his world, everyone lived alone in their assigned apartment. He hadn't taken the time to think about how lonely the men on his world had become, but they had.

He got out of the car and collected as much of the milkshakes and sundaes as he could and headed for his apartment. As he reached the door, Caitlyn opened it.

"Sorry. I tried to wait for you, but then I got so hungry, I couldn't resist." She motioned to the half-eaten pizza in her hand.

"I don't mind." He entered the apartment where four boxes of pizza were on the kitchen table. One box was opened and a slice was missing.

"It's been crazy," she said as she sat down and grabbed a milkshake. "It's like I can't get enough food. I figured if I ordered a lot, then we could save some for later."

"I don't recall how much women on my world ate while pregnant, but I know they ate a lot because the pregnancy hormones made food taste better than it was."

She chuckled. "So that's why Jack's food tasted better than usual. I wondered about that. You know, I ate so much of his food, he was getting worried."

"It's going to be like this until you give birth."

Pausing in drinking her shake, she placed her hand on his arm. "Tell me the truth. Am I going to gain a ton of weight?"

Her worried look amused him. "No. This is all necessary for the child."

"Yeah, but you said the baby only weighs seven pounds when it's born. It feels like I'm eating enough for a twenty pounder."

He slipped his arm around her waist and kissed her. "Most of the food will go to the child's brain development."

"Hmm... So is this kid going to be a genius?"

"Well, I wouldn't say the kid is going to be superior to his or her peers because he or she won't have the benefit of learning on my world." He caught the subtle sigh that escaped her lips and gave her waist a slight squeeze. "Let's just say that our kid will be above average."

"I guess that's good."

"Of course it is."

"I hope our kid won't be a big show-off."

Laughing, he asked, "What's a show-off?"

"Someone who thinks they're a lot better than everyone else and brags about it."

"Oh. There's no way to predict something like that. Those things are determined more by environment than genetics, aren't they?"

"I hope so."

He thought she might say more, but then she turned her attention back to the pizza so he went back to the car and got the rest of the milkshakes and sundaes. When he returned, she had finished off another slice of pizza and was drinking her second milkshake. He stood still and watched her as she ate the next slice of pizza with surprising gusto. She assumed they were going to have leftovers from this, but he wondered if they'd have enough food to last her for the rest of the night.

"So," he began as he loosened his tie and sat across from her, "did the realtor call?"

"She did, but there's another couple who's interested in the house so they're going back and forth right now in who to go with."

He picked up a slice of pizza and nodded. "I guess we'll wait and see. Even if this one isn't for us, I'm sure we'll find another house that's just as good."

"Probably. But I really like this one."

He did too, but as long as he was with her, he didn't care where they lived. Biting into his pizza, he had to admit this was actually pretty good.

"Why did you get sundaes?" she asked after she swallowed the last of her pizza and wiped her hands on the napkin. "Did I ask for them?" She reached for the one closest to her and opened the lid so she could put her spoon into it.

"I thought you might like the treat."

She smiled at him. "That's very thoughtful of you, Chris."

His face warmed from the compliment. "It was nothing. I was right there at the drive thru window."

"Well, it's still nice of you."

"You know, I heard that pregnant women on my world likened eating to having a sexual experience."

Her eyes grew wide. "You're kidding?"

"That isn't how you feel about it?"

Shrugging, she said, "I guess it is kind of like it. I'm not having an orgasm or anything, but I'm enjoying it a lot."

He laughed. "I can tell."

"I'm that obvious, huh?"

"I'm afraid so." Reaching forward, he squeezed her hand. "But it's worth it, right?"

She squeezed his hand in return. "Right. I'm excited about having a baby."

Relieved, he turned his attention back to the pizza. Just as he suspected, she polished off all but one large pizza and a milkshake. He finished those food items and helped her clean up.

After she wiped down the table, she went over to him and hugged him. "I have a surprise for you. Actually, it's a surprise Sandy bought for you."

"The gift she got us."

She giggled. "No. The gift she got you. Sure, it's something I wear, but it's really for you."

"I'm not sure I understand."

Patting his butt, she whispered, "You will. Why don't you get into the car, and I'll surprise you."

"The car?"

"Yeah."

"We'll be in the car like we were the first time we were together?"

"No. This is something different." She winked at him in a suggestive way.

Intrigued, he decided he liked the suspense. "Okay." He walked toward the front door but realized she was heading for the bedroom. "You are coming with me, aren't you?"

She halted her steps and giggled. "I'll be there. I just need to slip into something a little more comfortable."

He scanned her uniform. Naturally, she had to change, but he didn't see what that had to do with her coy expression. Shrugging, he left the house and went to the car. He slipped into the passenger seat, sure that whatever she had in mind, she'd want to drive. When he saw her come out of the apartment with a rolled up blanket tucked under her arm, he wondered what in the world her surprise could have to do with a blanket.

She put the blanket in the backseat before she got into the driver's seat. "Technically, we can do this in the bedroom, but I always wanted to try some place a little more adventurous."

"Adventurous?"

With a shrug, she started the engine. "Yeah. Sometimes it's nice to do something different. You know, add a little spice so life doesn't get boring."

At that, he laughed. He could hardly imagine life on this planet ever getting boring, especially with her there. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"Come on. Not even a hint?"

"When we get there, it'll become self-evident."

With a sly grin, he reached over and caressed her thigh. "One tiny hint?"

She took his hand and squeezed it. "Fine. Just one. I wanted to wait until after dark so that we won't risk getting caught."

Chris' curiosity was piqued by the time she drove up to an isolated area of the beach. She gave him a wicked smile as she got out of the car. He followed suit and watched while she collected the blanket.

She closed the door and asked, "Are you coming?"

Of course, he was. He'd go anywhere with her. He walked with her down the beach and watched as she unrolled the blanket in the moonlight. "Do you want help?" he offered, noting the way the wind coming in off the surf made the blanket toss about on the sand.

"Yeah. Could you take these paperweights and put one on those two corners, and I'll get these."

He took the two glass weights in the shape of cats and obeyed her. "Can I ask why you have different cats for paperweights?"

She shrugged. "I went through a phase where I collected glass animals, and Randy thought one day we'd get a cat." Rolling her eyes, she added, "He went a little overboard. One cat is enough, don't you think?"

"I guess."

Staring at the cats on the blanket, he wondered why they bothered him. They were inanimate objects, and she didn't seem to have any attachment to them since he hadn't seen those on her shelf of favorite things. He recalled her mentioning her special shelf. On it, she had her favorite two books, a crystal rose from her friend Sandy, and a gold clock she'd bought for herself a year ago. So these gifts from Randy didn't have a place on that special shelf, and that reminder made him feel somewhat better. He wondered if she'd put something he bought her on that shelf. But what would he buy? He couldn't think of anything she might like except for those cheesy romance novels, which she already had a ton of in her bookcase.

"Okay. We're all set." Caitlyn patted the middle of the blanket as she slipped off her sandals. "Come on and get comfortable."

Her mischievous grin caught his attention. Intrigued once again, he took off his shoes and sat on the blanket. She pushed on his shoulders until he was on his back, and then she straddled him. Leaning forward, she kissed him. This was nice, he thought as he returned her kiss. Already, he could feel his body temperature rise, signaling that his body was getting ready to ejaculate. But that event was still a ways off, so he could take his time and enjoy their lovemaking. It was a relief to not have to ejaculate every six hours.

Straightening up, she unbuttoned her shirt and revealed the black lace bra. "Sandy bought a bra and panties for your enjoyment." She took his hands so he could trace her bra before she slid his hands under her skirt where he felt the lace trim of her panties. Her grin grew wider when his fingers brushed the soft folds of her flesh. His eyes grew wide, and she giggled. "Crotchless underwear. What do you think?"

Clearing his throat, he said, "It's nice."

"Nice?"

With a sly grin, he squeezed her hips. "Really nice."

"I bet you didn't have anything this advanced on your home world."

"Creativity wasn't my world's strongpoint," he admitted.

"It's good to know Earth has something your world didn't. Well, besides women."

He laughed. "Does that still bother you?" Slipping his hands from under her skirt, he pressed them on her abdomen. "I'm connected to you, Caitlyn. I'm aware of the life we created growing in your womb." Meeting her gaze, he whispered, "Earth is more wonderful than the place I came from."

She caressed his face with her hand, and he likened the sensation to a feather brushing his skin since her touch was so light. There were other things he wanted to tell her—things of a more personal nature, but he stopped himself. The timing was right, he was sure. Even so, he wasn't sure if she reciprocated his feelings, and the feelings weren't something he'd experienced before. He had the sensation he was flying and falling at the same time. In his orderly way of thinking, it was a contradiction, and the uncertainty of it all scared him. It was easier, instead, to focus on the child and the moment they had together on the beach. Those were tangible things—things he could grasp.

She leaned forward and kissed him, and he was glad for the distraction. He brought his hands up to her bra and traced the outline of it, brushing her nipples which hardened in response.

After ending their kiss, she wiggled down to his knees and unzipped his pants. "I've always had this fantasy of having sex on the beach."

"Oh?"

She helped him wiggle out of his pants and pulled down his underwear. She gave a low moan as she took his erection into her hand and stroked him in one slow motion that made him throb with pleasure. "Yeah." Her eyes met his and she licked her lips. "I see you're ready for me."

Even through his heavy breathing, he chuckled. "What was your first clue?"

Smiling, she got on her knees and unzipped the side of her skirt. "You cracked a joke."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No. It's just that when you first got here, you were so serious about everything." She removed her skirt and straddled him again.

He let out a soft moan and ran his hands along her thighs.

"It's nice to see that you're no longer taking life so seriously," she teased before she kissed his cheek and then gave him a series of kisses along his jawline before she blew in his ear.

He shivered from pleasure. Looking up at the clear sky, he briefly took note of the stars, reminding him that he'd come a long way to be in this place. Then she kissed him on the mouth, and all thoughts to how far he'd traveled departed from his mind. His hands traced the soft curve of her back, and he pulled her closer to him so he could deepen the kiss. She parted her lips. Accepting the silent invitation, he brushed her tongue with his.

Despite the cool breeze that blew in from the surf, his body warmed as she moved her hands under his dress shirt and ran her fingernails lightly up and down his chest. The sensation tickled him as much as it aroused him. He brought his hands back down to her waist and felt along the panties so that he could slip his fingers through the opening that allowed him to touch the sensitive folds of her flesh. Her hips began rocking against him, signaling that she was getting ready for him.

With a mischievous grin, he rolled her over, thinking it might be fun to change the rules a bit on what she had planned. Before she could react, he resumed their kiss, letting his tongue mingle with hers. She cupped the back of his neck and arched against him. He traced the edges of the crotchless part of her panties before he inserted his finger into her. She gasped in pleasure and moaned.

"I could make love to you nonstop and still not get enough," she rasped and moved her hips so that he could slide deeper into her. "Get me off this way. With your fingers."

"That's the plan," he playfully growled and lowered his head so he could kiss her cleavage while he slipped a second finger into her.

With a contented sigh, she reached down and lightly caressed his hair, encouraging him to keep going. He smiled at the fact he brought her pleasure and let his mouth descend to her bra so he could find her nipple. It was a new experience to tease her nipple through the lacy bra, but she seemed to like the friction, so he lingered at her breasts.

His fingers plunged deeper into her. He loved the way she moaned and rocked her hips. Her breathing came fast and heavy, and her legs widened for him, fully welcoming him to her. His mouth left her breasts and left a trail of kisses down to abdomen and lower still until his lips graced her sensitive nub.

She groaned as she moved her hips in subconscious rhythm to the thrusting of his fingers. His tongue continued to tease and brush over her nub, and she grabbed his shoulders and asked him to continue. He did as she wished, delighting in each moan and wiggling of her hips as she sought the release that his fingers and tongue would give her.

He noted her shortness of breath, her murmuring "yes" over and over, and the increased squeezing on his shoulders. And still he continued. He loved being this close to her, knowing that she welcomed him into her body and letting him receive his pleasure the way she was now receiving hers.

And then she cried out and jerked against him while his fingers softly continued to move while his tongue reverted back to the teasing of her nub. She was incredible. Her entire body called out to him to satisfy it in every way he could. He had a feeling that no matter how much they had sex, he could happily keep going.

Still breathing heavy, she urged him to enter her. Getting up, he knelt before her and settled between her legs, noting the sweat glistening off her skin and the seductive way she looked in a bra and panties which had nothing preventing him from sliding into her.

He almost pulled completely out of her until just his tip remained in her before he pressed forward, driving fast into her. She urged him deeper and shifted her hips to give him better access into her. No longer afraid he'd hurt her by getting rough, he pulled out again and dove back in, repeating the cycle. The mounting tension in his body demanded he find completion, and he threw his head back and gave a muffled cry, his body shuddering as he sought to hold onto the orgasm for as long as he could. It never seemed to last long enough, and in the moment, he always felt connected to her as if they were one unit. As much as he tried to hold onto it, he lost the battle and collapsed into her arms and remained there until their bodies resumed to normal.

"Thanks for satisfying my fantasy," she whispered and kissed him on the neck.

"Anytime," he murmured and brushed her lips with his.

After a moment of silence, she said, "I think I'm hungry again."

Chuckling at her incredulous tone, he pulled out of her and kissed her again. "Well, you did work off a lot of those calories."

"Maybe, but it wasn't like I ran a marathon or something. It was just sex."

"Which does use up a lot of energy." He got up and handed her the shirt and skirt she'd been wearing. "We'll stop by the drive thru on the way home."

"That shouldn't excite me as much as it does."

"It's the pregnancy hormone in your body. It makes food taste better than it really is."

She giggled. "It works surprisingly well."

He pulled up his underwear and put on his pants and shoes before he recalled the cat figurines that Randy had given her. A momentary thought of chucking the figurines into a trash can at the drive thru flashed through his mind, but he shrugged the thought off. It wasn't like Randy was still alive or anything. The least he could do was let the figurines remain wherever they'd been in the apartment. Content, he threw the figurines into the blanket while she dressed and waited until she was standing before he rolled the blanket up, the figurines, once again, out of sight.
Chapter Fifteen

Chris glanced at his watch and decided it was time for lunch. He logged off his computer and glanced up at Mark as he stopped by his cubicle.

"You ready to hightail it out of here?" Grinning, Mark lowered his voice and added, "I heard someone use that expression yesterday and wanted a chance to try it out."

Chris nodded, thinking it was taking him longer to catch onto all of the phrases people used. "At least that one makes sense. I heard someone mention how it was raining cats and dogs, but the only thing falling from the sky was water. I don't understand why someone would refer to raindrops as cats and dogs."

"It means it's raining hard. Next time it rains, you can say it. Anyway, I'll drive today."

Chris stood up, took his suit jacket from off his chair, and shrugged into it. "Have you found someone who'd make a suitable life mate?"

Mark shook his head as they headed for the exit. "I've seen lots of women, but most of them are already with men. They date on this planet."

"Date?"

"It's not being a life mate, but they go out and have a good time."

"What do people on this planet consider a good time?"

They stopped in front of an elevator so Mark pressed the button to go down. "From what I can tell, people like to see a movie and eat out."

"Oh."

"I went to one of these movies because I was curious, and you wouldn't believe how expensive it is for a two-dimensional experience. For the price they pay, they should be able to go into the movie as one of the characters."

Chris recalled the virtual reality books on their world. "Is that what a movie is like?"

"Kind of, but you can't be a part of it. You can't change the outcome of the story if it's awful."

"You're telling me that you have to suffer through the whole thing?"

Mark shrugged. "You can walk out of the theater or turn off the TV, but the fact that it was so horrible will stay in your memory forever."

Chris grimaced and turned to the doors as they opened. Once they stepped into the elevator, Chris debated whether or not to broach the subject that'd been on his mind. Finally, he decided if he couldn't talk to someone from his planet about it, then he'd have to keep it to himself and didn't want it hanging over his head. "You know how I met Caitlyn's family this past weekend?"

"Yes. You said you mopped the floor with the guys there."

Chris frowned. "Mopped the floor?"

Mark laughed. "It's another one of those Earth expressions. It doesn't mean to literally mop someone on the floor but that you won the game without any effort."

Nodding, he replied, "I'd say that's accurate. I thought it went well. I'm not sure what to think of Andy."

"Andy? Her brother?"

"No. That's Blake. Andy is her first husband's brother."

"What's wrong with him?"

The elevator doors opened so they walked into the hallway, and as they headed for the exit, Chris sighed. "I'm not exactly sure. He seemed nice enough, but..."

"But?"

"Well, he was telling me about Caitlyn's first husband and how much she loved him."

"That's good," Mark said. "I mean, women here actually want to be with men. They don't have to be forced into life-mate bonds."

"Well, yeah. That part is good," Chris relented as he opened the door and stepped outside. "Except she chose to marry her first husband. She didn't choose to marry me." He noticed his voice grew softer on the last sentence, and an unsettling feeling twisted in his gut from having said it aloud. It was one thing to think it, but saying it made it more real.

"That's why I'm not going to choose a woman until I'm sure she wants to be with me too. You know I didn't want the agency to pick a life mate for me. What if I got one who doesn't want to be tied to a husband? The agency picked a good one for you, but that doesn't mean they pick a good one for every man who wants one."

Chris kept stride with Mark as they crossed the parking lot to get to Mark's car. "I am glad they chose Caitlyn for me."

"Then why the hesitant tone in your voice?"

Chris stopped by the passenger side and waited for Mark to unlock the doors before he slipped into the car. Securing his seatbelt, he shrugged as Mark got in behind the wheel. "Well, I wonder if I did the same thing you're doing if she would have chosen to marry me."

Mark put the key into the ignition and started the car. As he put his seatbelt on, he gave Chris an amused look. "You're taking for granted you would have crossed paths with her at some point. You met Caitlyn because the agency selected her. No one selected a woman for me. While I'm relieved I have many women to choose from, it's a little overwhelming. I'm not sure which woman is interested in marriage, which is already in a relationship, or which is worth spending the rest of my life with. Marriages on this planet aren't like the way we think of it. The life bond requires a committed relationship for life. People on this planet might get married, but a lot of them divorce."

"Divorce?"

"They dissolve the marriage. Some don't marry again but a lot of them do. Those that do remarry often take children into the new marriages."

"Why do they divorce?"

Mark backed out of the parking spot and shifted the car into drive. "There are some who seem to have legitimate reasons. One woman caught her husband sleeping with her sister."

Chris grimaced. Thank goodness the life bond made that scenario impossible. Any man who so much as touched Caitlyn with sexual intent would be burned.

"And," Mark continued, "there's a hotline for women who are being abused by their husbands."

Chris' jaw dropped. "Husbands are abusing their wives? That's awful." What was wrong with the men on this planet? Didn't they understand that having women with them was a blessing? He'd like to see what those men would think if they were transported to his home world.

"I'm just saying I can see the point in some of these marriages getting dissolved," Mark said as he turned onto the main road on the base. "But most of them are dissolved because they're not 'in love' anymore."

Chris frowned. "I'm not sure I understand."

"I don't either, but some women place a high importance on being 'in love' with their husbands as deciding whether or not the marriage is worth staying in."

The tension in Chris' gut tightened. "And how can a husband guarantee the woman will have this 'in love' experience?"

Mark shrugged. "Beats me. It seems like such an arbitrary thing, and no woman will give you the same answer."

"You've been going around and asking women about marriage and love?"

"Actually, I was interested in the marriage part. They were the ones who stressed how love factored into it."

"So they choose men to marry based on whether they love them or not."

"It's more complicated than that. One woman I talked to said while she loved her husband, she was no longer 'in love' with him, so she's dissolving the marriage."

What in the world was that supposed to mean? Chris had no idea what this whole 'in love' thing was about. He wasn't even sure he understood the part about love. All he knew was that Caitlyn loved Randy. If she stayed married to Randy until he died, did that mean she was also 'in love' with him? And, more importantly, since the marriage ended by death instead of divorce, did that mean she was still 'in love' with him?

Just because someone dies, it doesn't mean you don't cherish their memory. That's what she said when Chris asked her why Randy's picture was still hanging on her wall. Did cherish mean the same thing as being 'in love' with someone? If she had Randy's picture up in her apartment, then it meant she still loved him, didn't it? Pictures were important on this world. If nothing else, Chris learned that from his time at her family's house. And she still didn't have a picture of him. Sure, she mentioned it, but they hadn't gotten a picture taken yet. Wincing, he rubbed his chest.

"You okay?" Mark asked as he pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant.

"I don't know. I feel a weird pain in the center of my chest."

"Are you sick?"

"I don't think so."

"Do you want to check out a doctor?"

Chris took a deep breath and thought of all the illnesses common to men on his world. "I think I'll be okay. I don't think it's anything serious, but I'll keep track of it and if it continues, I'll go see one."

Mark nodded. "Do you feel up to eating?"

Chris tried to determine if he felt up to eating or not and decided he was hungry enough to have lunch. "Yes. My stomach is growling."

"Alright." On their way into the restaurant, Mark said, "I think men have heart attacks on this world."

"Heart attacks? We haven't dealt with heart attacks since the year 2C430."

"Yeah, but that was on our world. People die easier here. I think it's because they still have a long way to go in their medical advancements."

The hostess came up to them and led them to a booth before she handed them their menus and left.

"But we should be immune to stuff like that since we're not from here," Chris said.

Mark shrugged. "We don't have access to our daily nutrients anymore."

Chris frowned. He hadn't thought of that. Maybe common Earth ailments would factor into his new life.

The server came up to them and got ready to take their order, so Chris put the matter from his mind.

***

The next evening, Chris found himself staring at the trunk in the bottom of the closet. This was Randy's trunk. Caitlyn had opened it to give him a suit to wear to his interview and then again to get those cat paperweights. He wondered what else was in there.

Since Caitlyn was eating an evening snack in the kitchen and talking to her mom on the phone, he figured it was a good time to see what kind of man Randy was. Caitlyn chose to marry Randy because she loved him. She loved him so much she kept a trunk of his things.

Taking a deep breath, Chris knelt by the trunk and lifted the lid. He scanned the contents, not sure what he felt as he took in the photo album, a few items of clothes, some autographed records, the glass cats, and the picture that had been hanging on her wall when Chris married her. At least those were the contents in his immediate viewing range.

Chris turned his head toward the door and heard Caitlyn let out an exasperated groan. Good. She was still talking to her mom. Leaning forward, he took the picture and clothes out, mentally cataloguing where they belonged so she wouldn't know he went through these things. He didn't know if it would upset her or not, but he decided it was best if she didn't know.

As he set the clothes and picture down, he realized Randy liked to wear jeans and t-shirts. He glanced at his striped long-sleeved shirt and slacks. Did Caitlyn prefer men who wore jeans and t-shirts? He decided to pick up the photo album, thinking it might give him a better idea of what she loved about Randy. He opened the album and blinked in surprise. More baby pictures of Caitlyn. But it wasn't just her. There were baby pictures of Randy too. Hesitant, he flipped the pages of the album and frowned. It was a visual account of Randy and Caitlyn's life together from the time they were toddlers to the time they started dating in high school and to the time they were a married couple. Randy only wore a suit once, and that was when he married Caitlyn. That was the same suit Chris wore to the interview. Otherwise, Randy wore jeans, t-shirts, baseball caps and a goatee. Was that the kind of look Caitlyn liked?

Chris gulped the lump in his throat and felt another pain shoot through his heart. He set the album down and tried to gauge whether he had any other symptoms that might alert him to a heart attack. From what he researched, he didn't notice anything that ached besides his chest.

He paused and listened for Caitlyn, relieved when he heard her telling her mom that she was okay. Turning back to the trunk, he pushed past the annoying cats and found old rose petals in a plastic bag, two Champaign glasses from a senior prom, and a neatly folded stack of letters that had been tied together.

Curious, he untied them and opened one. It was a letter from Randy. Chris read through it, wondering why he referred to Caitlyn as 'baby'. The date on the letter indicated that Caitlyn was seventeen. He might not have been on this world for long, but he knew that seventeen year olds were considered teenagers, not babies. Did men on this world not understand that or was Randy on the less intelligent side?

He shook his head and continued through the letters, realizing that Randy liked music—a lot—and talked of marrying Caitlyn. It was obvious that Randy loved her. Randy even wrote poems with lame rhyming attempts. Chris didn't see what was so great about the poems. It wasn't like they were literary compared to what he'd seen here on Earth from the greater authors he'd read while at Star Systems Unlimited. But Caitlyn saved Randy's poems for a reason. Why? Did she prefer sloppy writing? Or was it because Randy wrote them?

Chris winced and rubbed his chest. He couldn't take this anymore. He'd seen the contents of the trunk. Now he knew what Randy was like and why Caitlyn loved him. He didn't need to see anything else. After he put everything neatly back, he closed the lid.
Chapter Sixteen

On Saturday morning, Caitlyn glanced up from the steak she was cutting into when Chris entered the kitchen. She paused and took a better look at his face. "Uh, Chris?"

"Yes?" he asked as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"Did you forget to shave part of your face?"

When he glanced in her direction, she motioned to the area around his mouth.

He chuckled. "Oh, this. I thought I'd grow a goatee."

"But I thought you hated facial hair."

Shrugging, he grabbed a box of cereal and poured it into a bowl. "It might not be so bad."

That didn't sound like him. If she remembered correctly, he claimed that facial hair made him feel messy. She watched as he took the milk out of the fridge and poured it over the cereal. Well, he was entitled to change his mind. With a slight shake of her head, she turned her attention back to the steak, french fries, and two corndogs. She hoped it would keep her full until lunch. There seemed to be no end to all the food she could consume. So far, she hadn't gained any weight, but she worried Chris would have to roll her to the hospital once her six or however many months were up.

He set the juice and bowl on the table across from her before he went to get a spoon. "I'd like to go back to the mall."

"Really? You don't strike me as a shopper." She ate a large bite of steak and gulped down half a glass of chocolate milk. It needed more chocolate. She picked up the chocolate syrup, added more to the milk, and stirred it with her fork before she licked it. She couldn't remember a time when chocolate tasted this good! Glancing at Chris who bent down to tie his loafer, she quickly squirted some chocolate syrup into her mouth before he saw her. That was better. She put the bottle back down and got ready to eat a corndog. "What do you need to buy?"

He stood up and sat at the table. "I thought I should get more clothes."

She swallowed the food in her mouth and drank more milk, thinking it was a lot better than before. "You figured you need more shorts, huh?" she teased. "I told you it gets humid in Florida."

Dipping his spoon into the bowl, he said, "I thought I'd get some jeans and a couple of t-shirts."

"But you hate the feel of jeans. You said they were too tight, especially around the more interesting area of your body." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at him.

"It might be nice to have some variety," he replied before he put a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

Though he spoke, she had no idea what he was talking about. She took a good look at him and recalled how he looked naked. She wondered if that was a part of the pregnancy hormones or if it was a symptom of loving sex. Even before she was pregnant, she really enjoyed having sex with him. He might possess a boyish charm, but man, he was hot!

"So, is it okay?" he asked.

Blinking, she forced her mind back on their conversation. "Is what okay?"

"That I get more clothes?"

She laughed. "You don't need my permission to get more clothes."

"I don't?"

"Of course not. You're a grown man. You can make your own decisions."

Glancing at her, he asked, "Will you come with me?"

"Definitely." They both had today off work, and there was no way she was going to spend it without him.

He nodded and ate more of his cereal.

She watched him, her food temporarily forgotten as she contemplated having her way with him in the kitchen. Her stomach growled, and she groaned. This was awful. How was she supposed to focus on food when what she really needed was to have sex? And how was she supposed to have sex when her stomach was nagging at her? The hunger was going to win out. She ate a couple of french fries and decided to pour some chocolate syrup on them.

She quickly finished her meal, aware that Chris took his time. Clearing her throat, she ventured, "Does pregnancy on your planet increase a woman's arousal?"

Setting his empty glass on the table, he asked, "Arousal for food?"

"No. I already know it does that. I mean does it increase a woman's sexual arousal? You know, like when you had to ejaculate every six hours."

"Oh that. No. There shouldn't be any change in arousal levels for you."

"Hmm..." She finished her second glass of chocolate milk and grinned. "I guess I'm just horny by nature then. Care to do something interesting?"

"Um..." He collected his bowl and cup. "I want to go to the mall."

Chuckling, she stood up and put her own dishes in the sink. "So?"

"I want to make sure I get there before you need to eat again."

She snuggled up to him and kissed his neck. "Come on. I might eat a lot, but I can go without eating for a few hours."

"I don't think you can."

"Of course, I can. I might be eating enough to fill up an ark, but I'm not eating every second of the day."

"I really want to get those clothes. It's important to me."

Sighing, she kissed his cheek while she ran her hands down to his butt and squeezed it. "We'll make it quick." Pressing her body against his, she smiled when she felt his erection. "It won't take long. I promise." She kissed him on the lips, and sighed in appreciation as his tongue brushed hers.

"Okay," he replied when their kiss ended. "But it'll be quick so we can get to the mall, right?"

She giggled. "Wow. You shop with more enthusiasm than a woman." When she noted the uncertain expression on his face, she reached for his hands and led him toward the bedroom. "Yes. We'll be quick, and we'll make it to the mall in plenty of time to get those clothes you want. I promise."

***

The next day while Caitlyn was at work and the church crowd left the restaurant, she wiped down tables while Sheila filled the salt and pepper shakers. When they were done, Caitlyn went to the counter to get a fresh pot of coffee started, not surprised when Sheila came over to her.

"So, Sandy said you and Chris are going to put a down payment on a house."

Caitlyn didn't hide her smile. "It's a great house. It has a nice fenced-in backyard where kids and a dog can play."

Sheila chuckled. "A woman's mind is on children and pets when they pick a home, isn't it?"

"Well, considering I'm going to have a child, I'm choosing a neighborhood and house suited for children."

"It's nice to see you're finally getting those things." She patted her shoulder. "I'll miss you when you quit, but I can tell you that you won't regret being home with your little one."

"In some weird way, I'll miss being here too. But not so much that I'd stick around."

Jack opened the kitchen door and gave them a pointed look. "You are aware that I'm back here, right?"

Sheila laughed. "Oh, you can't be surprised that Caitlyn would rather be home with her baby than here with you."

"Of course I can," he replied with a wry smile. "I don't require diaper changes."

"Ha ha." Caitlyn shook her head. "While that might be true, the baby will be cuter."

"Sure, until he spits up on you and keeps you up all night," he teased.

Sheila rolled her eyes as she gathered a menu. "You love your boys."

"True," he said, "but I'm still glad I'm the one who goes to work so my wife can deal with the mess they make."

"She's glad too, Jack," Caitlyn replied, noting that Chris had entered the diner. "It gives her a break from you."

"You're all heart." Jack put a cigarette in his mouth and passed the counter. "I'll be back in five. Hey, Chris."

Chris waved to Jack and walked over to the counter where he sat down on one of the barstools.

Sheila placed a menu in front of him. "I reckon you're not here to see me so I'll leave you with the missus."

Caitlyn finished making the coffee while Sheila headed for the restroom. Smiling, she went over to Chris. "Bored, huh?"

Chris shrugged. "I don't feel like watching TV or reading."

"I don't know how entertaining we are here, but at least we can get you something to eat. Have anything in mind?"

"I hear the roast beef hasn't killed anyone yet."

She laughed and touched his hand. "That's good."

His face lit up. "You liked my joke?"

"Yeah."

"I'm wearing a t-shirt and jeans."

Amused that he felt the need to point that out, she squeezed his hand, "I noticed."

"Do you like it?"

"It's okay. I keep telling you that you can wear whatever you want."

"I know, but I want to know if you like it."

"Well, I prefer you in your birthday suit, but this is nice."

"Birthday suit?"

Unable to stop the wicked smile that turned her lips up, she whispered, "In the buff. Naked."

His face grew pink, and she kissed him, finding it cute that even after all the times they'd had sex, he still exhibited a shy side when she talked to him in a sensual manner.

"I'm ready for my lunch break, so we can eat together," she said.

"Then my timing is good."

"Yep."

Jack returned from his break, so she called out what she and Chris wanted, and, as she expected, Jack rolled his eyes on the amount of food she requested for herself. But she didn't care. She was thrilled Chris thought to come in and visit her at work. She recognized the sensation of falling in love, and it was the most wonderful feeling in the world. Giving Chris another kiss, she went to get their drinks.
Chapter Seventeen

On Wednesday, Chris got another call from Caitlyn's mom while he was at work. "Chris, dear, I need you to come down to the jewelry store to purchase Caitlyn's ring."

Chris turned from his computer. "Ring?"

"Wedding band, of course. Remember the one Lexie's wearing? The one who's going to marry the doctor?"

"You mean that Lexie's going to marry the doctor."

"Right. That's what I just said."

"No. By the way you spoke, one could assume you meant the ring was going to marry the doctor. You said 'Wedding band, of course. Remember the one Lexie's wearing? The one who's going to marry the doctor?' Well, the one you are referring to is the ring. And actually, it's even more confusing because you used the word 'who' to describe an inanimate object. A ring is an object. It's not alive. Isn't the word 'who' used to refer to a living entity on this world?"

A long pause came from the other end before she snapped, "Do you want to make Caitlyn happy or not?"

He blinked at her cold tone. "Of course, I want to make Caitlyn happy. I love her."

He mentally cursed himself for saying that aloud. From what he'd heard from other men, admitting feelings of any kind wasn't a macho thing to do, and he didn't want his co-workers to give him grief. Poor Kenny was still getting ribbed for his mother coming into work and giving him chicken soup because he was sick, and he had to tell her that he loved her before she'd leave. Chris didn't want something similar happening to him. He stood up and peered around the cubicles. Good. No one gave any indication that they'd heard him. Releasing his breath, he sat back down.

"I should hope you love my daughter," Caitlyn's mom said. "It's bad enough you didn't give her a wedding before you laid your hands on her."

He frowned, not understanding how putting a hand on Caitlyn should upset her mom. He saw men shaking hands with women they weren't romantically interested in all the time. It was part of being polite.

"So, I need you to come down to Rogers' Jeweler's when you get off work," her mom continued. "That should be around 4:30 or so, correct?"

"Rogers is your last name. Do you own the store?"

"It's my brother-in-law's store. He's Caitlyn's uncle. Anyway, you need to address him as Mr. Rogers. That's only proper."

He rolled his eyes since he didn't believe that was something he must do since he didn't know a single man who got bent out of shape over having someone call them by their first name, but in order to appease Caitlyn's mom, he would play along with it.

"Can you be here after work?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Good! And make sure Caitlyn doesn't know. Women loved to be surprised. You just wait, Chris. Caitlyn's going to be tickled pink."

Before he could ask what tickled pink meant or where the jewelry store was located, she hung up. Shaking his head, he wrote down a note to do an internet search for the place when he was done with his current project. As much as he liked Caitlyn, he wasn't so sure he liked her mom. Something in the woman's tone and words bothered him, but he couldn't pinpoint why. But he did want to make Caitlyn happy and if a wedding would accomplish that goal, then he would follow through with it.

He debated whether he should call Caitlyn to tell her he'd be late but then remembered her shift didn't end until ten that night. He decided he would go there for dinner so he could see her. It would be nice when she could quit and be home when he got off work. Her getting off work when he was ready to go to bed for the next day didn't allow him to spend adequate time with her.

He returned to the computer to complete his task, and when he was off work, he collected the directions to get to the jewelry store.

"See you tomorrow," Mark called out as he passed Chris' cubicle.

"Mark, wait a minute, will you?" Chris asked.

He stopped and turned to him. "What's up?"

"When you talked to the women about marriage and love, did they say anything about wedding rings?"

"Yeah. They said the rock should be big and expensive."

"Rock?"

Mark chuckled. "It's another term for diamond."

"Oh. You're picking up the alternate terms for things faster than I am."

"Well, to be fair, you have more on your plate than I do." Before Chris could figure out the whole plate thing, Mark continued, "You have a wife with a baby on the way. You're getting a house. All of these are big events in a man's life on this world. I just go home and do research about this world."

"So you discovered women want big diamonds?"

"Right. Like three months' salary big."

Chris' eyes grew wide. "You're kidding."

"It's a rule of thumb when you're making the purchase. Thank goodness you bypassed all of that and got a life mate right from the get-go."

"That's just it. Caitlyn's mom wants to surprise Caitlyn with a wedding. She said it would make Caitlyn happy."

"Caitlyn looks happy already, at least from what I saw when I saw you two together at the job interview."

"Caitlyn's a naturally happy woman."

"I saw the way she was looking at you. Star Systems picked the right one for you."

Chris couldn't argue that the representatives at Star Systems chose the right woman for him. Caitlyn was perfect.

"Did Caitlyn tell you she wants a wedding?" Mark asked.

"No, but her mother said that women don't ask for weddings because they want to be surprised."

"I don't see how surprising weddings are since so many women like to plan theirs. The surprise is the proposal when the men ask them to marry them. From there, women take over everything. They pick the flowers, the music, what everyone wears, where the ceremony takes place... It's supposed to be their special day. I think the men's only job is to show up."

Chris frowned. That didn't sound right from what her mom said, but he figured he could discuss that when he saw her at the jewelry store.

"Anyway, women do think wedding rings are important," Mark said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Chris waved as Mark headed off and got everything he needed to before he went to his car. The drive to the store was uneventful, and when he got out of the car, he saw Caitlyn's mom waving to him from inside the place. He went into the store, and his jaw dropped as he scanned the wide variety of jewelry in the glass counters. Just where was a man supposed to start when picking out a ring?

"Good. You're here," her mother called out. "Gerald, this is Caitlyn's new husband, Chris. Chris, this is Caitlyn's uncle."

Chris' gaze shifted from Caitlyn's mom to her uncle who extended his hand toward him. Chris shook it.

"So you're the lucky man, huh?" her uncle greeted with a pleasant smile that reminded Chris of Caitlyn's dad.

"Yes," Chris admitted.

"It's nice to meet you," Gerald said. "Jed had a lot of good things to say about you."

It took Chris a moment to remember Jed was Caitlyn's father. "He did?"

"Yep. Said you were the sharpest pool player he'd ever seen."

Chris laughed. "That was a fun game."

"One you're a pro at, from what I heard."

Caitlyn's mother cleared her throat.

Gerald motioned to the counter. "Rachel has an appointment with the florist after this, so we should get to it."

As Chris followed him to the counter, he glanced at Caitlyn's mom and wondered why Gerald could call her by her first name but he couldn't. Ignoring the thought, he focused on the wide selection of wedding bands under the glass. If he had any idea what Caitlyn wanted, it would help. Looking at her mom, he said, "Maybe we should bring Caitlyn here."

Her mother laughed and waved her hand at him. "Nonsense. If she knew this, it'd ruin the surprise."

"But what if I pick something she doesn't like?" Sure, Chris knew that Caitlyn would want a big diamond that was priced at the equivalent of three months' worth of his salary, but there were so many designs. How could he be sure he'd get the right one?

"That's not a bad idea," Gerald told her.

"You two don't understand women. A wedding ring is the most important thing a husband can give his wife. Ideally, he'd give her the ring when he proposes instead of eloping with her. And not only did you elope, you didn't even think to give her a symbol of your eternal love for her. That's what the wedding ring is all about. It's a circle to show your undying love and commitment to her...unless, of course, you don't feel that way about my little girl."

Chris' cheeks grew warm, and he couldn't decide if it was from humiliation at not understanding this crucial aspect of marriage or if he was irritated by the condescending tone she was using. He might not know women very well, but he knew when someone thought less of him because he hadn't done things the 'right way' on this planet. He wondered if Caitlyn secretly felt that way about him but then assured himself she didn't. Caitlyn knew he wasn't from Earth.

Gerald shook his head. "He married her, Rachel. That's what counts."

"Yes, I know, and you're right." She patted Chris' arm. "Now, let's see..." Scanning the selection, she pointed to one and said, "This looks appropriate."

Despite the heat in his face, Chris turned his attention to the ring she motioned to. It was a gold band with a large diamond that was surrounded by sapphire gems.

She nudged Chris in the side and winked. "That will rival the ring Lexie got from the doctor."

Gerald took the ring out and showed it to Chris who couldn't help but glance at the price tag. He gasped. A single ring for $10,999?

"Now, Lexie has rubies around her diamond, but that's because ruby is her birth month," her mother began. "Caitlyn was born in September, so it's only fitting she gets a sapphire around her diamond."

While Chris gingerly turned the expensive piece of jewelry in his hand, she squealed and pointed to a necklace that was covered in diamonds. "It comes as a set?"

Looking uncertain, Gerald nodded. "But there's no requirement to buy it with the necklace. In fact, if you want a necklace to go with a nice ring, this one over here might be more to Caitlyn's liking."

Chris saw the gold band with a small diamond embedded into it and the gold chain with a gold heart and a diamond at the center of it. The price was $500, and Chris immediately liked it better based on that fact alone.

Caitlyn's mom chuckled. "Oh, really. That is awful. No woman wants that for a wedding gift from her husband. I know because I'm a woman who's married." She looked at Chris. "Gerald isn't married, so consider the source."

"I may not be married, but I've seen enough couples in here to know women don't need big diamonds in order to be happy," Gerald said.

She shook her head. "Trust me, Chris. If you get the ring and necklace I picked out, then she'll be even happier. It's much better than what Randy gave her."

"It is?" Chris asked, liking the idea he could make her happier than Randy did.

"Show me this necklace, Gerald," she said, tapping the glass with her perfectly manicured fingernail.

Rolling his eyes, he obeyed and handed it to her. She held it up for inspection, her smile growing wider. "This is perfect!"

Chris examined the diamond chain that led to a diamond heart with a sapphire in the middle. His gaze fell to the price tag, which was $22,500. They'd just used $25,000 to make the down payment on their new home. The ring and necklace would exceed that. It made absolutely no sense to him that jewelry should cost the same as a down payment on a house. The house, after all, was more practical. Then he thought of Caitlyn and how much happier she'd be with this ring and necklace than with what Randy had given her. And if there was one thing he wanted more than anything else, it was to make Caitlyn happier. If he made her happier, maybe she'd love him. She might even love him more than she ever loved Randy.

"I'll take these," he told Gerald.

Caitlyn's mom shrieked in pleasure and handed the necklace to Gerald.

"Are you sure?" Gerald asked. "This is a lot to spend."

"Oh come now. You heard him," her mother said. "He's putting my little girl's happiness above his need for something like a sports car. What could be better than that?"

Chris wasn't sure what a sports car had to do with buying jewelry, but he let that part of the conversation go so he could focus on buying the ring and necklace. After Gerald ran a credit check on him, Chris ended up filling out a credit card application. The process took longer than he would have liked, but in the end, he ended up with a black box holding the ring and necklace. The only thing that held him back from buying the $3999 earrings that went with it was the fact that Caitlyn's ears weren't pierced. Even if the grand total of $35,508.94 made him experience a momentary shiver of cold terror, he assured himself that it was worth it if Caitlyn would be happy.

As Chris and Caitlyn's mother left the store, he asked, "Caitlyn will like this, won't she?"

"Of course, she will," she said. "It's much better than anything Randy ever did for her."

And that made him feel much better about the whole thing.
Chapter Eighteen

The next evening after dinner, Caitlyn and Chris decided to relax on the couch and watch TV. Her back settled against his chest, and he had his arms around her. Content, she closed her eyes, not paying attention to what was playing on the TV. Instead, she was thinking about her first prenatal doctor visit the next day and wondering how far along she was. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she was glad Chris would be with her.

"Did you know that most historians believe rock and roll began in 1954?" Chris asked.

Surprised, she opened her eyes and glanced at him. "What in the world made you say that?" The movie they were watching had nothing to do with rock and roll or the year 1954.

"I've been studying up on music on this world, specifically music history in the United States."

Figuring he was curious about Earth, she shrugged. "Okay."

"And the 8-track was popular from 1965 to the mid-1970s. In 1935, William Winchell came up with the term disc jockey, and the term first appeared in print in Variety in 1941. Though heavy metal began around 1964 to 1970, Black Sabbath came out with the album that is considered to be true heavy metal in 1970. In September 1983, Rick Dees debuted the Top 40 countdown."

Laughing, she turned in his arms so she could get a better look at him. "What have you been doing? Studying up on music trivia or something?"

"Well...yeah."

She brought her hand up to the back of his neck and massaged it. "Are you going to study TV next?"

He frowned. "Why would I do that?"

"For the same reason you're studying music. To learn?"

"But I don't need to learn about TV."

"How come?"

He opened his mouth to speak but then smiled. "I thought you might like knowing I am learning about music."

Shifting so that she was straddling him, she gave him a kiss. In a lot of ways, he did the cutest things. "I think it's great that you're learning new things, but I don't need you to learn about music. You should study things you're interested in."

"I am interested in music." With a slight shrug, he added, "Kind of."

She chuckled and leaned forward to give him another kiss, this time letting her tongue brush his lower lip. He opened his mouth for her so she could deepen the kiss. Letting out a contented sigh, she wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him closer to her. His arms tightened around her waist.

When the kiss ended, she said, "I don't think you should be spending time on things you're 'kind of' interested in. You should spend time on things you're passionate about." With a wicked grin, she moved her hips. "I miss those pants you used to wear. The ones made of cotton."

"You don't like me in jeans?"

She couldn't tell for sure, but it seemed like that disappointed him. "To be honest, I could feel you better through the cotton. You know, when you had an erection." She smiled suggestively and moved her hips again.

Clearing his throat, he asked, "You don't like me in jeans?"

"I didn't say that. I said I could feel a certain part of you better when you had on the other kind of pants." By the uncertain look in his eye, she realized he didn't understand what she meant. Finally, she said, "I want you to wear what you want to wear. As long as you can take the pants off, that's all that matters."

He frowned. "Do you just want me for sex?"

She giggled. "What?" She couldn't remember the last time she heard anything more absurd!

He released his hold around her waist and said, "I'm not in the mood."

"Not in the mood? Since when have you not been in the mood?"

"Is sex all you think about? I mean, there are other things we could do."

Blinking, she struggled to figure out what was going on. She couldn't tell if he was annoyed or embarrassed. "Chris, is there something wrong?"

After a long moment, he said, "I just don't feel like talking about it, alright?"

Reluctant, she got off of him and sat on the other side of the couch. She wasn't sure what she could say. Something was obviously bothering him, but if he didn't want to talk about it, then there was little she could do to make him. "I won't bother you about having sex. If there's anything you want to talk about, I'll listen." Giving him a tentative glance, she added, "Okay?"

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Okay."

She watched the TV for ten minutes when he stood up and went to the bedroom. As much as she wanted to follow him and insist he tell her what was going on, she thought better of it. He was new to this world and didn't understand the nuances involved in being in a relationship so she'd give him time to get comfortable with talking to her about his problems.

Another ten minutes past before she decided to turn off the TV and read a book, preferring to lose herself in a romance novel than to watch a suspense movie. The movie had been his idea, and if he wasn't going to finish it, she saw no reason to.

She made decent progress in the book when it was time to go to bed. Unsure of what to expect, she went to the bedroom and opened the door to find that Chris was already asleep. Well, maybe that was his problem. He could be tired. Or maybe something was going on at work that was stressing him out. With a shrug, she got into her nightclothes and noticed her silky shorts were a little snug around the waist.

There was no way the doctor was going to believe she was supposed to be a month along in her pregnancy. She didn't know when a woman started getting thicker around the waist, but she knew it wasn't this soon. It was weird to realize she was really carrying a child, and in some ways, it didn't seem real yet. She supposed that would change when the baby started kicking.

She glanced at a sleeping Chris and smiled. So he was having an off day? Everyone was entitled to one of those once in a while. She slipped into bed next to him and snuggled up to him. In his sleep, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. Smiling, she soon fell asleep.

***

The next afternoon, Chris got ready to get off work early, and on his way out, he stopped by Mark's cubicle where he was finishing his diagram of the jet's engine.

"Hey Mark," Chris greeted.

Mark looked up from his project. "What's up?"

In a low voice, he asked, "What are you doing Sunday?"

"Nothing. Why?"

"Well, Caitlyn's mom is planning a wedding to surprise Caitlyn, and she said I need a best man. She suggested Andy, but I told her I'd ask you. There's a wedding rehearsal this Sunday at two. Can you come?"

"Sure. When is the actual event?"

"Next Saturday at one. Caitlyn doesn't know. Sandy's going to take her there. Both Caitlyn and Sandy think they're going to a concert."

"You mean Sandy doesn't know?"

"Not according to Caitlyn's mom. Her mom thinks Sandy will 'spill the beans' if she knew, whatever that means. I don't see what the wedding has to do with beans."

Mark chuckled. "That's an expression. It means to tell someone what's going on."

"Oh." In that case, it made sense. Caitlyn wouldn't be surprised if Sandy told her.

"So you want me to be at the rehearsal and wedding?"

Chris nodded. "If that's okay?"

"Sure. I'll be there. It's actually good. I'd like to know how people on Earth get married, at least in this culture."

"All I'm learning so far is that it's expensive," Chris muttered.

"Oh yeah. They can run up to $10,000."

"Are you kidding? So far, it's been more like $35,000."

Mark's jaw dropped. "What are you going to spend $35,000 on?"

Chris' watched beeped. "I have to go. Caitlyn's first prenatal visit is in half an hour."

"Let me know what happens."

"I will. I'll tell you where the rehearsal is at tomorrow, okay?"

"Sounds good."

Chris left the building and went to his car. He had mixed feelings on his way to the doctor's office. On one hand, he wanted to be with Caitlyn and see how her pregnancy was progressing, but on the other, he couldn't help but wonder if she secretly wished he was Randy. He tried being like Randy, but it didn't seem to work. Looking like Randy and taking an interest in music didn't seem to impress her. It had to have impressed her when Randy did it. Something Randy did or said impressed her enough so she fell in love with him, but Chris had no idea what that could possibly be.

And to make matters worse, she didn't say anything about getting their picture taken. He kept waiting for her to bring it up again since she'd mentioned it that day they went to see her family. Did she mean it when she said it? Maybe she forgot. There was a lot going on with buying a house and getting ready for the arrival of their baby. He had to give her some slack in this area. But it hurt. After all, she still kept some of Randy's things, including his pictures. He rubbed his chest again, wondering if he should just go see a doctor and find out what was going on.

By the time he reached the medical center, he saw Caitlyn's minivan so he parked next to it. When he got out of the car, she was walking over to him with a big smile on her face.

"How are you feeling today?" she asked, brushing a wisp of hair from her eyes. "I didn't get a chance to see you before you went to work. I must have slept through the alarm or something."

"No. I turned it off before it went off. I saw no reason to disturb you."

She ran her hand up his arm, an action which only served to further arouse him. "Is everything okay?"

He wasn't sure what to say so he shrugged. "I guess. Are you ready to see the doctor?"

"Sure." As they walked toward the entrance, she added, "I have to admit that I'm nervous."

"Why?"

"Well, I've never been to a prenatal appointment before. I don't know what to expect."

Noting the uncertainty in her voice, he reached for her hand and squeezed it. "I'm sure it'll be fine. They do this all the time on this planet."

"True. I'm glad you're here."

"Really?" He studied her smile.

"Really. Hey, I made an appointment at the photographer this morning. I hope you don't mind if we have to be there at 5:30 on Monday. I have to work on Saturday, so I can't do it then."

He paused right outside the entrance and smiled. "You mean, we'll get a picture taken? One with you and me?"

She chuckled. "You act like you're surprised. I mentioned it at my parents' house."

"Well, yeah. But I thought you forgot since you didn't mention it again."

"No, I didn't forget. I've just been preoccupied with the house and eating all the time."

Feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss. She felt heavenly against him, her body molding nicely to his. Still smiling, he said, "I'll be there on Monday."

"Good. It'll be nice to hang it up in our new home. Then when the baby comes, we'll have his or her picture next to it. Oh, I hope you don't mind wearing one of your suits when we get the picture done? I have a nice dress I want to wear, and I don't want you wearing a t-shirt and jeans."

"Oh, sure. I can wear a suit." He couldn't imagine wearing something as sloppy as a t-shirt and jeans to get his picture taken. A picture was much too important.

She glanced at her watch. "We better get going. We don't want to be late."

His mind turning back to the appointment, he nodded and opened the door so she could enter the building. He followed her inside and let her lead the way to the doctor's office.

They waited for ten minutes before the nurse called them back into one of the rooms. He wondered what the doctor needed to do. It wasn't like the baby would be born today, but he stood next to Caitlyn while the nurse checked Caitlyn's heartbeat, pulse, and temperature. He had no idea what that had to do with the baby but decided to keep quiet on the matter.

When the nurse measured Caitlyn's abdomen, she frowned. "Let me try it again."

Caitlyn gave Chris a look that told him she wasn't surprised.

The nurse shook her head again when she saw the result of the measurement. "Are you sure about the date of your last period?"

Caitlyn looked like she was ready to answer, paused, shrugged, and said, "No."

The nurse breathed a sigh of relief. "Good because I was beginning to think I was losing my mind. You're measuring at fourteen weeks. The doctor will probably want to do a quick ultrasound to get a better picture of what's going on." She patted Caitlyn's shoulder. "We'll get this straightened out. In the meantime, let's see if we can find a heartbeat."

Chris watched in fascination as the nurse spread the gel on Caitlyn's abdomen before she ran the fetal doppler over it. Nothing happened at first except for a weird swishing sound, and Chris started to wonder if that was it when a galloping sound came through.

"Is that it?" Caitlyn asked.

The nurse smiled. "Yep. The baby sounds healthy."

Chris had to fight back the urge to cry since it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard and knowing he had a hand in creating the tiny life growing inside Caitlyn's womb was an amazing experience. On his world, nothing like this was possible. Sure, they created babies in labs, but it was cold and impersonal. This way was much better. He quickly wiped his eyes and squeezed Caitlyn's hand.

The nurse wiped the gel off of Caitlyn's abdomen, marked the heartbeat rate into the chart, and left.

Caitlyn sat up and sighed. "I suppose future visits will show me further along than I should be. I can only imagine what the nurse's reaction will be next time I come here."

"You think she'll be upset?" he softly asked.

She chuckled. "Stunned. She'll probably assume her measurements were off this time."

"That'll upset her, won't it?"

"I can't help how she reacts. Anyway, at least the baby's heartbeat is healthy. That's the important thing."

"Yes, it is."

"We can find out if it's a girl or boy before I give birth, you know."

"Can we?"

She nodded. "Do you want to know or do you want to be surprised?"

"I'd like to know. But what about you?"

"I want to know. It helps to figure out what kind of clothes to buy."

"You don't want to be surprised?"

"It's tempting, but I think I'll go the more practical route."

"But isn't being surprised more romantic?"

Smiling, she shook her head. "I don't know what knowing the gender of the baby has to do with romance."

"No. I mean, in general. Your mom said women like to be surprised."

She frowned. "My mom hasn't been bugging you, has she? When I was going out with Randy, all she ever did was hound him about getting a better job. Then when I married him, she said we better not have children until he was more secure. It drove me crazy."

He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear about Randy or not but wanted to know more about her relationship with her mother. It seemed to him every time her mother was involved in something, she hated it. "So, whenever your mom talked about Randy getting a better job, it drove you crazy?"

"Yeah. He took it all in stride. Nothing ever bothered him. And you know, it wasn't even her business whether or not we had children."

"No, it wasn't," he agreed. "It's not like she was there when you conceived our child."

"Exactly." She sighed and held his hands. "Chris, there's more to why I didn't want to tell my mom I was pregnant than her assuming we were fooling around before we got married. She'll assume that anyway when I give birth before our nine month anniversary." She paused and took a deep breath. "You see, I was pregnant while I was married to Randy. I didn't tell her right away because I knew she'd harp about his job again, but when I miscarried, it didn't matter so she never knew. I don't want to tell her I'm pregnant this time until I'm sure I won't miscarry."

"Miscarry?" he asked.

"The baby never survived to be born."

His jaw dropped. "That happens on this planet?"

"It happens a lot more than most people think. Chris, I'm glad we're having a baby."

He squeezed her hands. "Me too."

Women on his world thought having babies was a burden, so to hear Caitlyn say she was happy with the prospect of being a mother thrilled him to no end. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. He had intended for the kiss to be short and sweet, but her lips parted, encouraging him to explore her mouth and he was more than happy to comply. His tongue brushed hers and he let out a contented sigh before he deepened the kiss.

When the kiss ended, she took his hands in hers. "I love you."

"You do? Really?" he whispered, thinking he might be dreaming.

"I know. We haven't been together that long, but when you know, you know. You know?"

His smile grew wide and he thought his heart might burst from happiness. He brought her hands up to his lips and kissed them. "I love you, Caitlyn. I loved you from the moment I saw you in the diner. I'm glad the agency sent me to you."

"Me too."

A knock on the door made him end the kiss. Blushing, he quickly thought of some math equations and was relieved when his erection went away.

Caitlyn settled back on the table and called for the doctor to enter.

The door opened, and the female doctor entered the room. "Hello. I'm Dr. Keeting."

"Caitlyn." She shook the doctor's hand. "This is my husband, Chris."

Chris shook Dr. Keeting's hand and smiled.

"So, you think you might be further along than we originally thought?" the doctor asked as she got ready to measure Caitlyn's abdomen.

"That's what it looks like," Caitlyn said, glancing at Chris.

He took her hand and squeezed it.

After measuring her, the doctor looked at the nurse's notes and nodded. "You're measuring further along alright. I'm going to do an ultrasound to get a better idea of where you're at. I'll be right back with the machine."

Chris couldn't think of anything to say, so he squeezed Caitlyn's hand again.

She looked at him and smiled. "Nervous?"

"I don't know what to expect. I mean, it's not surprising you're further along than what an Earth woman should be, but I don't know much about pregnancies."

"Considering this is not a full-Earth child, I don't know much either. We'll just have to learn together."

He liked that they would be sharing this new experience together, but before he could voice his thought on the matter, the doctor returned with the ultrasound machine. He watched as she spread more of the gel on Caitlyn's abdomen and turned it on. She turned the screen in their direction and moved the wand over Caitlyn's pelvic region.

The gray image on the screen wasn't easy to detect at first, but when Dr. Keeting pointed out the heartbeat and he saw the baby move, it suddenly became real to him. It was one thing knowing Caitlyn was pregnant and that he'd soon be having a child with her, but seeing the tiny new life moving in her womb was a wondrous experience. As much as he tried to look at Caitlyn to see what she thought of this moment, he couldn't take his eyes off the screen.

"On here, you're looking like you're at fifteen weeks, so let's keep an eye on how things are progressing," Dr. Keeting said, interrupting the image he had of holding his child in his arms.

He couldn't hide his disappointment when she turned off the ultrasound and wiped Caitlyn's stomach up the best she could, but he felt better when she said they needed to schedule an ultrasound.

"That ultrasound will show you a lot more than this one can, and it'll give us a better idea of what due date we're looking at," she concluded.

"When will this ultrasound be?" he asked, anticipating another opportunity to see his child.

"Whenever the tech can do it," she replied with a smile before she looked at Caitlyn. "I also need you to run to the lab and go through a series of blood tests."

"Blood tests?" Chris asked, surprised this was part of the process.

"Yeah. Each time a woman is pregnant, they make her go through a lot of blood tests to make sure everything looks good."

His eyebrows furrowed. "But the baby is alright, isn't he?"

"The baby looks fine. These tests are routine."

Feeling easier about that, he nodded.

Caitlyn sat up on the table and answered a few questions about how she was feeling during the pregnancy, and then the doctor told them to make an appointment in another month so they left.

On their way out, Caitlyn checked her watch. "I'll get the blood work done next week. Right now I need to get something to eat. I don't feel so bad eating all the time now that I see how big our baby is."

He put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. "That was amazing, wasn't it? It's too bad we can't have one of those machines to watch the baby all the time."

She laughed and patted him on the chest. "It was fun."

"You're looking forward to the baby?"

"Yes, and it's nice that I'm in the second trimester already. That means I skipped the morning sickness and exhaustion and went straight to the good stuff. Soon I should feel the baby kick."

"Really? What does that feel like?"

She shrugged. "I haven't felt it before so I don't know, but when I start noticing the baby moving, I'll let you know."

Content, he kissed her cheek as they left the building.
Chapter Nineteen

The next afternoon, Chris pulled into the parking lot in his sedan and checked the address on the piece of paper to be sure he drove to the right place. He glanced at the large hotel that stood on the beach. Sure enough, he was at the right place. Getting out of the car, he tucked his dark blue shirt into his khaki pants and headed on into the building. He didn't miss the jeans and t-shirts and was glad Caitlyn really didn't care if he wore them or not. Why Randy insisted on wearing them, he didn't know, and now that he knew Caitlyn loved him for him, he didn't care.

As soon as he entered the lobby, a woman called out to him, and he stopped and turned toward the sofa in the center of the large room. "Hi, Mrs. Rogers," he greeted her mother who motioned for him to follow her. "Am I late?"

"No. But I wanted to show you where the ceremony will be," she said as she strode through the lobby and down a hall.

He took in the chandeliers and expensive furnishings. "This is a fancy hotel."

"It's where Lexie will be marrying the doctor. His family owns this hotel chain, so I got a nice discount for your wedding."

"Oh, okay."

"Yes, her father and I are proud she's marrying so well."

He wanted to ask if she approved of him marrying Caitlyn but then decided he already knew the answer to that one. She wasn't. When she talked about the doctor, there was a reverent tone in her voice that she never used with him, but then she hadn't used it when she mentioned Randy either so he could live with it. He didn't care what her mother thought of him. All that mattered was what Caitlyn thought.

"I think I should tell Caitlyn about the wedding," he said as they neared the veranda.

She stopped and turned to him.

He almost ran into her. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Chris." She shot him a scolding look before she chuckled. "The whole point of this wedding is to surprise her. It's my wedding gift. Are you saying you don't approve of my gift?"

How did she deduct that? "No, of course not. I think this is a lovely gesture you're making."

"But...?"

Shrugging, he said, "I thought Caitlyn might like to dress up for the occasion. I'm wearing a tuxedo. Shouldn't she wear something equally as nice?"

"She will be. I'm getting her wedding dress made as we speak."

"But what if she doesn't like it?"

"What's not to like about a wedding dress? They're all beautiful gowns, and—" she patted his arm—"I have excellent taste. I know how to pick a gown that will accentuate Caitlyn's best features. Do you know what she married Randy in? A white dress she bought from a department store." She shivered. "Can you believe that? I nearly died."

"That was a nice dress," he said, recalling the picture he'd seen of Caitlyn and Randy at the Rogers' home.

"If you don't mind looking like you shopped at a dollar store for your clothes, it is. But this time, we're doing things right. You might not be a doctor, but you dress much better than Randy. That's a good thing." He considered pressing the issue about Caitlyn's wedding dress, but her mother continued, "Are you a woman, Chris?"

Thinking that was a ridiculous question, he said, "No. Can't you tell I'm a man?"

Her eyes widened for a moment before she snickered. "Cute comeback. What I'm getting at is that I know a woman's mind. Believe me, we're complicated creatures."

"I believe that."

"Good. And while women are complicated, men are simple. As long as their stomachs are full and they have sex, they're happy."

"That's not entirely true. We need more than that to be fulfilled."

She laughed and shook her head. "You look like you actually believe that, but I've been married for thirty-nine years. I know all about men."

"Well, I'm a man, so I know how a man thinks."

Looking irritated, she rolled her eyes. "Whatever. My point is that it's wrong to give away a surprise. A surprise isn't a surprise unless the person being surprised is surprised. Understand? Now come on. Everyone is here and waiting for you. We need to get the rehearsal underway."

He weighed the pros and cons of arguing with her and finally decided it wasn't worth ruining what he and Caitlyn had developed so he followed her out the door and stepped onto the veranda. Even if he didn't care much for Mrs. Rogers, he refused to let her spoil his good day. Caitlyn said she loved him, and that was more important than bickering over whether or not Caitlyn should pick out her own dress or be surprised at the wedding.

Once they were outside, Mrs. Rogers asked, "Will your parents or anyone from your side be coming?"

His parents had been a sperm and a cloned egg, so he opted not to comment regarding that. They didn't have parents raise children like they did here on Earth. He was created and born in the lab with the other males on his planet, and they were raised by teachers who instructed them in their lessons. The notion that he'd get a chance to raise his child with Caitlyn was much more exciting than her mother could fathom, despite her belief she knew everything.

"Chris?" her mother said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Turning to her, he replied, "Mark is the only one from my side."

She frowned. "You don't have any family?"

"Caitlyn and our child is my family."

For a moment, she stared at him, her jaw dropped and the color drained from her face, and he immediately picked up on his mistake. Caitlyn hadn't told her about the baby yet.

"It's not what you think, Mrs. Rogers. We were married before she got pregnant."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "And when is the joyous event supposed to occur?"

"Joyous event?"

"The birth!"

He shrugged. "I don't know exactly. It's not like women on this world are equipped to know what day they'll give birth. All they can do is estimate a due date."

Caitlyn's mother put a hand on her hip and glared at him. "Well, excuse us women for not being specific enough for you."

"It's not your fault. Science hasn't progressed far enough yet. I'm sure sooner or later, there will be tests created to know for sure."

"Really?" Though she phrased it as a question, she looked doubtful.

"Yes, really," he replied, starting to get upset with her. "It's possible to narrow it down to the exact date and time, and if you weren't so delayed in medical progress, your question could be answered more easily. As it is, you'll have to do with a vague answer, which is 'I don't know' exactly when the child will be born."

She shook her head. "I bet she's further along than you'll admit. Amazing. I thought I raised her better than to give it up before she got married. No wonder she was too ashamed to tell me and her father when you two got married. I hope she's not showing yet. I can't have you two embarrassing me in front of my family and friends. You two really did get married, didn't you?"

"Yes." His face grew warm. "I don't care if you believe me or not, but we were married first."

"Well, I have to get the minister so we can do it right."

While her mom went to find the minister, Chris had the urge to leave the whole thing. He didn't need to go through a ceremony on this planet to make the marriage legit. The bonding was his planet's way of getting married, and he saw nothing wrong with it. At least the bonding was permanent, unlike the ceremonies on this world which could lead to the divorces Mark discussed with him.

He stood still for a moment and caught sight of Mark lounging in one of the chairs by the pool talking to Lexie. Maybe Mark would know whether or not Caitlyn would like to go through with this ceremony and be surprised about it. Mark was, after all, collecting information from women, so regardless of what Mrs. Rogers claimed to know, he was sure Mark's knowledge was sufficient.

***

Mark took a sip of the wine and took another look at Lexie who had her dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She didn't wear as much make up as some women on this planet did, but with her natural beauty, she didn't need it. "Your mother is going all out for your sister's wedding, isn't she? I mean, I haven't been to an actual wedding, but I've seen some movies where the couple gets married."

Lexie shrugged from where she sat across from him at one of the tables covered by an umbrella. "If you knew my mother, you would understand that this is normal for her."

"She really goes all out, huh?"

"In everything. She drives my sister nuts."

He chuckled and tried not to let his gaze fall back to her, but she was beautiful. Lexie was, by far, the most intriguing woman he'd come across. As soon as he saw her at the rehearsal, he went over to her table and introduced himself. He didn't understand why the other men weren't hovering around her, but their loss was his gain.

"Does your mother drive you nuts?" he asked.

She groaned but nodded. "Don't tell her I told you that."

"My lips are sealed." After he took another sip of his wine, he asked, "So, what do you do for a living?"

"Unofficially, I write romance novels. Officially, I'm a hair dresser."

"Unofficially?"

She picked up a strawberry from the plate next to her and said, "Well, my mother doesn't approve of my books for several reasons. One, they're romances, which means they're trash so they're not real books. Two, I've been warned if I ever put my real name on them, I'll be disowned. Three, I haven't gotten up the nerve to publish anything, so everything I've written is on my laptop."

"Who cares what your mom says? Life's too short to be bound by what someone else says. If I'd listened to people, I wouldn't be here today."

And that was true. The men he'd worked with said he was wasting his money in venturing to another planet to find a life mate. They said there were no guarantees the women on Earth or Alaris would be willing to bond with him. After what happened on their planet, it was understandable that they would worry that females on other worlds wouldn't be open to a lifetime commitment with them. The women who'd been on their world hadn't been, and they resented being trapped into a life-mate relationship. It didn't make for the happiest of circumstances, and the heartache often led to early deaths of the men who initiated the bonds. It was the main reason why he refused to let some system pick out his life mate for him, and it was why he worried about Chris. He didn't want to alarm Chris by telling him his chest pains might be a warning sign.

Turning his attention to Lexie, he asked, "Does Caitlyn tell you everything?"

Laughing, she shook her head. "Caitlyn and I might be sisters, but she's closer to Sandy. After she married Randy, I didn't see her much. She married him when I was ten, so I didn't know her that well to begin with."

"But does she tell you if she loves her husband?"

Lexie ate the strawberry and reached for a cube of cheese. "You want one?"

"Sure."

As she handed him a couple of strawberries and cheese cubes, her fingers brushed his and he experienced a tingling sensation race down his spine. That hadn't happened with a woman before. He studied her, trying to detect if she noticed the spark between them and noted the way her cheeks flushed.

Clearing her throat, she said, "I don't need Caitlyn to tell me she loves her new husband. It's written all over her face."

"It is?"

"Yeah. I met her and Chris at my parents, and her face was glowing and she couldn't stop smiling. It was actually nice to see her happy again. She didn't smile for the longest time after her first husband died. In some ways, I envy her. Twice she's been married, and even better than that, she's been happy each time."

Mark breathed a sigh of relief. Good. Chris shouldn't have a heart attack then. Perhaps he was just worried Caitlyn didn't love him. "Do you think Caitlyn told Chris she loves him?"

Lexie ate a piece of cheese, and he figured he better eat some of his so he started to eat what was in his hand. "I haven't talked to her since the barbeque at my parents, but I'm sure she's told him." Smiling at him, she leaned forward to get her glass of wine. "Your friend has nothing to worry about. Caitlyn's completely in love with him, and when she marries someone, she sticks by him through thick and thin."

He smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."

As he got ready to ask Lexie if she'd like to grab a bite to eat after the rehearsal, Chris came up to them with a goofy grin on his face. "Hi, Mark. Hi, Lexie."

"Hi, Chris," Lexie greeted and held the plate of food up to him. "Want some?"

"No thanks," Chris said as he sat down. Turning to Mark, he added, "Caitlyn told me she loves me!"

Lexie shot Mark a 'see?' look, and Mark chuckled. "Good to hear it, man." He lifted his hand to do a high-five, but Chris' eyebrows furrowed in confusion so Mark patted him on the back.

"Anyway," Chris began, "I was wondering if Caitlyn's going to like being surprised with this." He motioned to the people who were gathered at the rehearsal. "Will she like showing up and realizing she's getting married to me again?"

Lexie shrugged. "I'm not sure, but one thing I do know about Caitlyn is that she hates it when our mother butts into her life."

"Butts?" Chris asked.

"Interferes," Mark inserted.

Chris sighed. "So you think she might be upset next Saturday?"

"I'd drop a few not-so-subtle hints her way," Lexie replied. "Better to be safe than sorry. Plus, it gives her a chance to work on her hair. Believe me, no woman wants to get her picture taken unless her hair looks good."

Mark laughed. "I'll take note of that."

Chris drummed his fingers on the table. "Can you give me some suggestions on giving Caitlyn not-so-subtle hints?"

"Let's see..." She glanced at the sky while she uncrossed and crossed her legs.

Mark's eyes traced the curve of her tanned legs until they settled on her feet which were in sandals. She was hot. He was finding the more he talked and looked at Lexie, the more excited he got about spending time with her. Such hadn't been the case with the other women he'd come across on this planet so far, and he silently thanked Chris for inviting him here so he could meet her. Who knew Chris' life mate had such a great sister?

Lexie took a deep breath—something Mark enjoyed more than he thought he should—and told Chris, "Tell Caitlyn she might want to wear white next Saturday. Tell her you've been talking to her mom about a surprise. Tell her you need to take a good look at her ring finger."

"Which one is her ring finger?" Chris asked.

She held her hand up and pointed to the third finger on her right hand. "She should start connecting the dots."

"How about humming the 'Wedding March'?" Mark suggested.

Lexie smiled at him. "Nice. That'll get her attention."

"What does the 'Wedding March' sound like?" Chris asked.

Before Lexie wondered why Chris didn't know something so embedded into the American culture on Earth, Mark hummed it for him.

Lexie shot them a wicked grin. "You want to know what she and Randy used as their wedding song?"

Though Chris didn't seem too enthusiastic about it, the twinkle in Lexie's eyes was too much for Mark to resist. "What did they use?"

"Beethoven's Symphony Number 5 - Allegro Con Brio," she said.

Thankfully, she hummed it for them because Mark, who thought he was doing well in his research, hadn't heard of that one. "It sounds like Caitlyn was storming down the aisle. It's not exactly a romantic piece."

"That was the point," Lexie replied. "Our mother disapproved of her marriage to Randy, and she was determined to marry him anyway. They had the pianist cued to play Darth Vader's theme from Star Wars if our mom decided to object to the marriage."

Now Star Wars was something Mark was familiar with, so he chuckled. "It's too bad I don't know your mother."

"You're not missing anything."

Chris frowned. "You don't like your mother? She gave you life."

Lexie nodded as she sipped more wine. "She did, and she reminds her children of that all the time. She got pregnant, had us, and we're on the hook to do her bidding for the rest of our lives."

"Is that how mothers are on this world?" Chris asked.

She shot Mark an amused look at the way Chris worded his question as she said, "No, not ideally. At some point, mothers are supposed to let their children grow up and live their own lives, free to make the decisions they want."

Her statement ended off on a note of regret, and Mark wondered about it.

Clearing her throat, she added, "Caitlyn will make a great mom. She's never tried to force anyone to be something they weren't meant to be."

At that, Chris' face lit up. "I think she'll be a good mother too. I'm really lucky she married me, and what's even better is she loves me."

For a brief moment, a wistful look crossed Lexie's face. And then her mother came over to them with another man.

"We're ready for the rehearsal," her mother announced, clapping her hands together. "We don't want to burn daylight. Let's get going!"

As the three stood up, her mother turned to Lexie. "After the rehearsal, we need to go to the jeweler to make sure your engagement ring has been properly enhanced."

Engagement ring? Mark turned his attention to Lexie, hoping she'd deny it, but she nodded. His smile faltered. He should have known someone as great as Lexie would be taken.

Her mom told Chris, "We can't have you outdoing a doctor now, can we?" She giggled and went over to Lexie. Wrapping her arm around Lexie's shoulders, she added, "The doctor insisted you have the best. You're very lucky."

Lexie offered Chris an apologetic smile, and Mark had a nagging suspicion that she wasn't all that excited about marrying the doctor, whoever he was. He glanced around at the other guests. "Is the doctor here?" he asked Chris in a low tone.

"I don't think so," Chris replied. "I haven't seen him. From what Caitlyn says, he's always working."

Which meant he didn't spend much time with Lexie. Good. The situation with Lexie might not be so hopeless after all.

The other man who'd been silent up to that point came up to them. "I'll be the groomsman." He shook Mark's hand. "My name is Andy."

"He's Randy's brother," Chris said.

Mark blinked for a moment and then laughed. "You're kidding."

Andy stiffened. "What's so funny about that?"

"Don't you have a sister named Sandy?" Mark asked.

"Yeah. So?"

"Do you realize all of your names rhyme?"

"I don't see what's so funny about that."

"It's hilarious."

Andy rolled his eyes. "There's one in every crowd." Looking at Chris, he said, "I heard that Caitlyn said she loved you. That's great. Let's hope the love is permanent. It rarely is when the couple gets married because the woman got knocked up."

Mark stopped laughing and stepped toward him. "Hey, leave Chris and Caitlyn out of it. I get it. You're touchy about the whole name thing. I'm sorry I mentioned it." Really, had he known Andy didn't see the humor in it, he would've watched what he said.

Andy grunted and went over to the minister.

"What a joy," Mark commented, not hiding his sarcasm. "Don't pay attention to him. You didn't marry Caitlyn because she was pregnant. You told me that Andy didn't have a girlfriend or wife. Now we know why. The guy's a jerk. You ready to get the rehearsal underway?"

Though Chris agreed, he didn't look as happy as he was before.

"She wouldn't have said she loved you if she didn't mean it," Mark said.

Chris indicated that he heard him but didn't say anything.

"Talk to Caitlyn when you get home about what Andy said. I'm sure she'll put your mind at ease."

"I'm fine, Mark. It's okay. Let's get this rehearsal over with."

With a sigh, Mark followed him to the minister, hoping he would talk to Caitlyn. He didn't want to see Chris' insecurities lead to more chest pains.
Chapter Twenty

Caitlyn was halfway through her shift when her phone rang. She checked the caller ID and groaned before she turned her phone off and continued her work. Whatever her mom wanted could wait. When the dinner crowd left, she grabbed a snack and sat down to eat. Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, she looked at who called while it was off. With a roll of her eyes, she deleted her call history list and the messages. Whatever made her mom call her twenty times and flood her inbox could wait.

Sandy came up to her and motioned to the salad and side of fruit on her plate. "What happened to the three cheeseburgers and mountain of french fries followed by a pint of ice cream or a couple slices of pie?"

Caitlyn slipped the phone back into her pocket and smiled. "The craving to eat all the time has passed. Chris says I'll probably go through another two cycles before I give birth."

Eyeing Caitlyn's small baby bump, Sandy wiped her forehead and joked, "Good because if you kept eating through the entire pregnancy, we'd have to designate your own zip code."

"Ha ha." She sat back and rubbed her abdomen. "I think I felt the baby move while I was serving the lunch rush earlier today."

"No kidding?"

"I think. It happened so fast, I'm not sure."

Sandy cheered and hugged her. "I'm so excited for you!"

"I'm excited too. When Randy died, I thought my chances of being a mother were over."

"You're so lucky a guy fell down from outer space and married you. Where can I find one?"

"Well, he did come with a friend."

"Seriously?"

"Yep. His name is Mark. You know, Lexie's engagement party is coming up in a couple of weeks. Why don't I talk to Chris about arranging for you and Mark to go together?"

Sandy bit her lower lip and sat next to her. "I don't know. I haven't been on a blind date in ages."

"Then let's not set it up as a date. How about I introduce you to him and we'll see what happens from there?"

"That could be exciting."

"We'll do that!"

"Caitlyn," Sandy slowly began, "you know those tickets your mom gave us to watch the concert?"

Caitlyn's phone rang. Groaning, she pulled out her phone and saw that it was, once again, her mom. "I have to deal with this, Sandy." She left the diner and stood far enough from it so no one would overhear her in case she had to yell at her mom to stop calling while she was at work. Praying for patience, she asked, "What's up, Mom?"

"It's about time you picked up," her mother snapped.

"I'm at work. I can't answer the phone just because you call."

"What I have to ask is extremely important."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah? What?"

"Were you married before you got pregnant or did you elope once you found out?"

Caitlyn's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Don't deny it, Caitlyn. Your husband told me all about it." While Caitlyn struggled to reply, her mother continued, "I thought I raised you better than this. Your father will be so disappointed. I can't believe you've disgraced the family this way. Just what are we supposed to tell our relatives and friends? This is the kind of thing that happens to other people, not us."

Her face warm, she said, "I'm thirty-two, Mom. I'm allowed to be pregnant."

"Are you showing?"

"That's none of your business!"

"Of course, it is. I had a dress made especially for you."

"What dress?"

"The dress for your wedding."

"For my what?" Realizing she was shrieking, she lowered her voice so the customers leaving the diner would stop staring at her. She turned her back to them and hissed, "What wedding?"

"The one I was supposed to surprise you with."

"No. There will be no wedding. Chris and I are already married."

"I know. Because of the baby."

"No, not because of the baby. We got married before I got pregnant."

"So then you're not showing?"

Caitlyn gritted her teeth and counted backwards from ten, hoping it would cool her anger, but it didn't work. If anything, she was angrier than before. "You know what, Mom? I'm sick and tired of you butting into my life all the time. What I do and who I do it with is none of your business. So stop. Just stop!"

She gasped. "May I remind you that you are talking to the woman who gave you life? If it weren't for me—"

"I wouldn't be miserable. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be miserable. I can't take it anymore. You're not going to guilt trip me about this child, and you're not going to talk Chris into going through with a wedding."

"He already agreed to it."

"What?"

"He was at the rehearsal today. Who do you think told me about the baby?"

Caitlyn had the urge to throw the phone down and stomp on it until it was smashed into pieces, but she held back because she didn't want to buy a new phone. Digging her nails into the palm of her hand, she hoped to alleviate enough anger so she wouldn't come off sounding like a lunatic to whoever passed by. "There will be no wedding," she said in a harsh whisper. "In fact, if you don't stop minding your own business, then you won't be seeing me, Chris or the baby. I won't have you bossing Chris around like you bossed Randy."

"Well, that's gratitude for you! I did everything to help you out, and this is the thanks I get?"

"You meddled. You made me and Randy miserable. We fought all the time because of you. I won't have you taking advantage of Chris like you took advantage of Randy."

"Take advantage?"

"Yes. Take advantage. You're doing things behind my back with Chris like you did with Randy, and it's pissing me off."

Her mother let out a bewildered laugh. "I was only trying to be nice. I even had him pick out a lovely wedding ring and necklace set for you."

Caitlyn gasped. "No. No, you didn't!" Knowing her mother's expensive tastes and the $5000 ring her mother talked Randy into buying made her shudder in dread.

"When you see it, you'll be glad I went."

"When I see it, I'll return it. I'm not wearing the ring, the necklace, or the wedding dress. Yes, I'm showing. No, I don't care if you have to hide your head under a paper bag in shame. No, you won't be dictating my life anymore. It stops here and it stops now. Until you can let Chris and I live our own lives, we aren't talking to you."

Then she hung up. She pressed the end call button ten times before she felt confident that her mother was truly off the line.

She stormed into the diner and flung open the kitchen door where a startled Jack almost dropped his spatula as he flipped a burger.

"A warning would be nice," he muttered.

"My mom is making my life impossible again, Jack."

"Just throw her out of here." He rolled his eyes. "It's not like she approves of my cooking."

"She's not here. I just got off the phone with her. Look, I need to go home."

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. I need to get there before she wiggles her way into Chris' good graces like she did with Randy."

This was the only time she wished she hadn't married two very sweet men who only wanted to make other people happy. Randy grew up on this world and couldn't put his foot down with her mother, and Chris was so awed by women, in general, that he was too naïve to understand some of them couldn't be trusted.

"One would swear you're not in your thirties, Caitlyn."

She groaned. "Whatever, Jack. I have a family emergency that needs tending to. Fire me if you want, but I'm not letting my mother make my second marriage as miserable as my first."

"I won't fire you. You're quitting soon anyway."

After she gave him a quick nod of thanks, she grabbed her purse from under the counter and headed for the exit. Sandy excused herself from a booth where she'd been taking orders from three people and rushed over to Caitlyn.

"Where are you going?" she asked before Caitlyn could open the door.

Lowering her voice, Caitlyn hissed, "My meddling mother is trying to manipulate Chris like she manipulated Randy. Do you know what those tickets are really for?"

Sandy winced. "Well, I didn't at first, but then your mom called a few days ago and told me why she gave them to you."

"I can't believe this." Caitlyn rubbed her forehead and groaned. "I thought my mom didn't want to acknowledge my marriage when she gave me those tickets. I didn't know it was a ploy to get me to her fancy, smancy wedding."

"I'm sorry. I was about to tell you about it."

She sighed. "It's okay, Sandy. I'm not mad at you. I just don't want my mother to sink her claws into Chris. Once she does, I'm doomed."

"Yeah. My brother was a pushover."

"And I'm afraid Chris will be the same way if I don't put a stop to it. I want this marriage to be better than my first. I loved Randy. You know that."

"Yes, I do."

"But my mom is like a...a..."

"Does the word start with a 'b'?"

Caitlyn groaned. "She's like a leech that sucks the joy out of everything. I don't know how my dad's handled being with her all these years." Glancing at the impatient customers, she sighed. "I'll call you later. Go on back to that table. I probably cost you a dollar in tips."

Sandy rolled her eyes. "Like they would have left more than two bucks anyway. I don't know why people assume we're rich and don't need the tips to help pay our bills."

"It's the outfits." Caitlyn motioned to their dresses. "It says we're the Rockefellers."

"Thanks for not being mad at me."

She offered her friend a smile and headed on out of the diner.
Chapter Twenty-One

Chris had just drifted off to sleep as he watched TV when the phone rang. He stirred on the couch and sighed. Should he answer it or not? He glanced at the phone and decided he'd let the voice mail pick it up. Settling back into a comfortable position, he closed his eyes and was about to drift back off to sleep when the phone rang again.

Groaning, he sat up and stretched before he got up to answer it. "Hello?" He yawned.

"Thank goodness you're there."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Mrs. Rogers?"

"Have you talked to Caitlyn?"

Surprised, he stiffened. "No. Is something wrong? Is she hurt?"

"No, she's not hurt."

Relieved, he exhaled and sat down on a nearby recliner. "So why are you calling?"

"Caitlyn found out about the wedding we were supposed to surprise her with."

He couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard her sniffle. With a shrug, he said, "That might be for the best."

"Oh, Chris, it's not. The surprise is all ruined, and she doesn't want to renew your wedding vows."

"Renew my wedding vows?"

"You did marry my daughter, didn't you?"

"Of course, I did. That's how she became my life mate."

After a pause from the other end, she said, "I'll never catch onto the lingo you young people use today, but that sounds a lot like you were shacking up with her for some time."

"I'm not sure what you mean by shacking up."

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that Caitlyn's upset, and she's bound to blame me. You wanted to publicly declare your love for my daughter, didn't you? I mean, you do love her enough to do that in front of family and friends, right?"

"Yes, I love her."

"Good because if you don't acknowledge your love for her in a public ceremony in front of her family and friends, people are apt to believe you don't."

"Really? Is that how you do it on Earth?"

She paused for a moment and chuckled. "As much as I enjoy your humor, this is a serious issue. A wedding is the most important event in a couple's life. Weddings are romantic. They make the woman feel secure and loved. You do want Caitlyn to feel secure and loved, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Then you can see how important this wedding is. It's just as important to you, if you think about it?"

"It is?"

"Why, yes. I mean, it shows you that she loves you enough to publicly acknowledge you in front of her family and friends. It says that she's happy to be with you and have your children. It'll give you security as well."

"It will?"

"Think about it. The fact that Caitlyn didn't insist on a wedding like the one I'm putting together implies she's embarrassed to be with you."

He shifted in the chair and winced. "To be fair, it wasn't like she had a choice." He was the one who initiated the process for them to be life mates, and the bonding of their lives didn't depend on a wedding ceremony. The rules were so different on this world. It was hard to figure out what was right and what was wrong on Earth. Clearing his throat, he added, "I'm sure she would have wanted a wedding if I gave her the choice."

She sighed. "I hope so, Chris. For your sake, I hope so, but people might think she married you because of the baby. She never once mentioned you to me or her dad or anyone else we know until that day at the barbeque and by then, she was pregnant, wasn't she?"

He swallowed the lump in his throat and rubbed his chest. How much should he tell her? Caitlyn didn't want him to tell anyone about the pregnancy that day.

"Your silence speaks volumes, Chris. I'm afraid she settled for you because she had no choice, but that doesn't mean all is lost."

"It doesn't?"

"No. Fortunately, we have the opportunity to make things right. We'll start over with a new slate. I'm here for you, Chris. I want to see you and Caitlyn stay married for life. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"We are bonded for life."

"And with any luck, you'll be able to say that thirty to forty or even fifty years from now. I sure wouldn't want you to end up as another sad statistic. There are too many divorces this day and age."

He recalled what Mark said about women divorcing their husbands because they no longer loved them. Something like that couldn't happen between him and Caitlyn, could it? But she didn't choose to marry me. I sent out the hormone that made her go through with the bonding process that made us life mates. If she was given the choice, she would have married him, wouldn't she?

"I'm here for you," her mother continued in a comforting tone. "This wedding is the best thing you can do for you, Caitlyn, and your child."

The front door burst open and an angry Caitlyn stormed up to him and pointed to the phone. "Is that my mother?" Before he could answer, she grabbed the phone from him and asked, "Who is this?"

He had no idea what her mother said, but Caitlyn yelled, "There will be no wedding!" And then she slammed the phone—not once, but three times—until she let it fall into the cradle. "I can't believe her! She'll stop at nothing to control my life!"

Standing up, he asked, "You don't want to have a wedding?"

"No, I don't. Look, I'm not mad at you. I know how she is, but please stop listening to her. She made life miserable for me and Randy."

"But you married him," he argued, his face flushing with a mixture of fear and anger. "I saw the picture of you in a wedding dress. You had a wedding with him. Why won't you have one with me?"

"It's unnecessary, Chris. We're already married. That life mate whatever-you-call-it thing married us. The state of Florida recognizes our marriage, and my mom will just have to recognize it too."

"But what about publicly saying you want to be with me in front of family and friends?"

"That doesn't matter. I don't need to stand in front of anyone to know how I feel about you." She glanced at the open door, grunted and shut it. "Great. I bet the neighbors are loving this."

Pushing aside the discomfort in his chest, he said, "I'd like a wedding, Caitlyn."

She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "No. If I agree to this, then I'll end up having to do everything else she wants or fight you over every little thing. We have to put our foot down on this. Don't cave, Chris. She'll make our lives impossible if we do this."

"Don't you love me?"

"Love has nothing to do with this. This is all about her and what she wants. She needs to butt out of our lives. Don't you see what she's doing?"

His lower lip trembled and he fought the tears that stung his eyes. So she loved him but not enough to tell anyone else about it. He rubbed his chest and tried not to think of how painful it was to discover this. The morning had started out so well. He'd been happier than he'd ever been, and now...

"Where's the ring and necklace she made you buy?" Caitlyn demanded, turning back to him. She pulled the cell phone out of her purse and dialed a number.

"What?"

"She told me she had you buy some jewelry. I'm guessing this was at my uncle's store?"

"Uh...yes," he softly admitted.

"Great. It'll be easy to return the items." She put the phone up to her ear and asked him, "Where are they?"

She really didn't want to go through with the wedding, and now she didn't want to wear the ring and necklace he'd bought for her?

"Hi, Uncle Gerald. This is Caitlyn." She rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Yeah, she's at it again." Groaning, she put her hand down. "Why didn't you stop her?" After a moment, she said, "But he doesn't know any better. He—" She glanced at Chris. "He's not from here. The area, I mean."

Chris frowned. "I'm not a moron, Caitlyn."

Holding her hand over the mouthpiece, she whispered, "That's not what I meant." Removing her hand, she asked, "I'm not paying another $5000 for a ring. I kept the one she made Randy get, but I won't keep this one."

The pain in Chris' chest worsened. She wouldn't keep what he bought her even though she kept what Randy gave her?

"What?" she screamed. "But we don't have $35,000!" She gave Chris a look that told him she wasn't happy with him before she shouted into the phone, "You bet we're returning them! I just got rid of my last credit card. I refuse to be in bondage to another one!"

Chris thought he could get upset since she'd so blatantly rejected him, but the pain in his chest sharpened and all he could do was sit there, hoping massaging it would make the pain go away as it'd done before.

"Where's the jewelry?" Caitlyn asked him.

He tried to answer but the words wouldn't come out. It felt as if his heart was splitting in two, and he could feel the bond between them wavering.

"Chris?"

"In the nightstand," he managed. "By my side of the bed."

She ran to the bedroom.

Gritting his teeth as the pain spread outward to other areas of his body, he became aware that the bond wasn't only wavering but it was dimming. He knew what was happening; he just didn't want to believe it. He'd heard of men who died from broken hearts on his world, but he couldn't believe a thing like that could literally happen. He clutched his chest and tried to steady his breathing. If he could just get enough oxygen, it might ease the pain. Then he could sit and talk to her and figure out exactly what was going on. It couldn't be as bad as he feared. Surely, she could love him and not want to marry him in front of other people or wear the ring and necklace he bought her. As much as he tried to reason these things to himself, the bond grew weaker.

Caitlyn returned with the jewelry box in her hand. When she saw him, she dropped the phone and box and ran over to him. He tried to speak but couldn't. He felt her hands on his face and chest while she called out something he couldn't decipher. His vision blurred, but he was sure she ran back to the phone. She returned to him while she talked into the phone and checked his pulse. Then everything grew dark and silent, and the only thing keeping the bond intact was the fact that she was holding him.
Chapter Twenty-Two

Caitlyn couldn't believe this was happening. After the ambulance came and took him to the hospital, she had to wait while the hospital staff tended to him. It brought back all the trips to the hospital she and Randy went to, and she couldn't stop crying because she worried the doctor would tell her the same thing he'd told her the last time she'd been here: that her husband was dead. She couldn't go through this again. She thought Chris was so healthy he wouldn't have a heart attack. With the way he made everything on his world sound, she figured he'd outlive her.

Sniffing back her tears, she called Mark, grateful Chris had programmed the number into her phone. When Mark picked up, she asked, "Is there something on this planet that makes your kind sick? Like germs in the atmosphere or something?"

"No," he replied. "Our bodies are physically compatible with Earth. Why?"

As much as she tried not to cry, her voice broke when she said, "Chris just had a heart attack." She wiped the tears from her cheeks but they kept coming. "I don't get it. This morning, he was fine, and then when I got home, he collapsed on the floor and...and now he's at the hospital, and I don't know what's going to happen." She sat down in the waiting room and ignored the looks she got from others who entered through the door of the emergency room. "I don't know what to do, Mark."

"Which hospital are you at?"

She told him.

"I'll be right there. If you get a chance to talk to him, you need to tell him you love him, okay? I'll explain why when I see you."

She thought that was a strange thing for Chris' friend to say but agreed and hung up. She debated calling her mother and letting the meddling woman know what she'd done but resisted the urge to go into a meltdown in front of other people. It was bad enough she couldn't stop crying and they kept glancing her way.

"Mrs. West?" a nurse called out.

Standing up, Caitlyn hurried over to the desk. "Yes?"

"We need you to fill out these forms."

Disappointed that she hadn't been called back, she took the clipboard with the papers on it and returned to her seat, trying her best to answer the questions on it through the blur of tears that made it hard to read anything. Her hands shook so badly her writing turned out to be more of a scribble, but she managed through it and went to return the forms when they said she could see Chris.

As she followed the nurse through the emergency corridor, she asked, "Is he okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine. We gave him some medicine, so he's asleep but he's stable," she answered with a sympathetic smile. "We'll know more when the test results come back."

Nodding, Caitlyn thanked her and entered the small room the nurse pointed to. The nurse closed the door and Caitlyn turned her attention to Chris who was, indeed, asleep while an IV pumped fluid into his arm and a machine monitored his heart. Reminding herself that the nurse said he was okay now, she gathered enough strength to pull up a chair next to his bed.

She reached for his hand and squeezed it. "I love you, Chris. I don't want to spend my life without you. I know everything happened so fast, what with you being from another planet and all, but you filled a void in my life no one else can." Sighing, she brushed the hair from his eyes and caressed his cheek. "Please don't leave me."

Another tear trickled down her cheek so she brushed it away. A knock at the door caught her attention. After she called out for the person to enter, the door opened and Mark indicated that he wanted to talk to her outside the room. With a nod, she stood up and kissed Chris on the forehead.

"I'll be right back," she told him.

When she left the room, Mark closed the door and led her outside the building where they could talk in private. She didn't expect him to act so serious, and this worried her. Was he about to give her bad news?

"Do you want to sit?" He motioned to a bench.

She shook her head and crossed her arms to get ready for whatever he had to say. "No. I'm fine standing."

"Okay. How much do you know about the bonding that occurred when you became Chris' life mate?"

Taking a deep breath, she thought over everything Chris had told her. "Well, uh, it's permanent. It allows him to know when I'm ovulating, which is why I got pregnant right away. It ensures fidelity since anyone who touches me or Chris with sexual intent will get burned." She shrugged. "That's all I really know about it."

"It also makes some men from our world emotionally vulnerable to the woman they've bonded with. If we don't feel loved, the life-mate bond can be severed, and if that happens, we die of a broken heart. This is why I didn't request a life mate when I came here. I needed to be sure the woman I picked wanted to be with me before establishing a bond with her. Chris chose to have his life mate selected for him."

"I don't understand. Why would feeling unloved have anything to do with his heart attack? We've been getting along great, and I told him this morning I loved him."

"Did you have a fight?"

"No. Everything's been wonderful. Well, except for my mom, but that has nothing to do with Chris."

"Tell me about your mom."

She rubbed her forehead. "She's pulling the same stunt she used to pull when I was married to Randy. She arranged for a wedding behind my back, and when I told her I didn't want it, she called Chris up to give him one of her sob stories."

"Could one of these sob stories imply you didn't love him because you didn't want to have a wedding?"

Her jaw dropped. "I wouldn't put it past her to sink that low. Are you telling me he believed her?"

"I was at the wedding rehearsal today, and a rumor was going around you married Chris because you got pregnant."

She rolled her eyes. "I can't help it if babies grow faster in the womb on your planet than on mine."

"Oh, I don't doubt you got pregnant after the bonding took place. Once we have sex with a woman, we're bonded to her for life, and that bond marries the couple into a permanent relationship. But your family doesn't know this, so your mom was trying to convince everyone there that this was a renewal of your wedding vows and that you and Chris had eloped to Las Vegas six months ago without telling anyone. She was horrified the rumor about your marrying Chris because you were pregnant even started, but I know who started it. It was someone named Andy."

Caitlyn groaned. "Andy was my brother-in-law. He wanted to be with me, but I picked his brother instead and he's been making snide remarks about me ever since."

"Well, Andy implied that you might divorce Chris someday."

Heat rose to her cheeks as her anger resurfaced. "What?"

"I told Chris to talk to you and get that all resolved."

"He didn't have time. When I came home, he was on the phone with my meddling mother, and I had to hang up on her. Then I found out he spent $35,000 on a wedding ring and necklace my mother picked out, and..." She gasped. "Oh no."

"'Oh no' what?"

"Chris kept saying he wanted a wedding, but I thought it was because he wanted to please my mom."

"Your mother made weddings sound very important at the rehearsal. According to her, it guarantees you love Chris."

That was why he was arguing with her over having the wedding. She groaned. "I suppose when I told him we were returning the ring and necklace, he took that to mean I didn't love him?"

"Chris is more sensitive than some men on our world, so I would assume he took that the wrong way. I don't blame you for returning $35,000 worth of jewelry. I knew he was picking out a wedding ring, but I thought he wouldn't go higher than a couple months' worth of salary."

"I wouldn't have wanted it because my mother picked it out. I already know she's the one who talked him into that outrageous price. It's because Lexie's fiancé spent $30,000 on her ring, earrings, and necklace."

"Yeah, about that. How serious are things with Lexie and her fiancé?"

Caitlyn shrugged. "I think she's marrying him to make our mom happy. I was the big screw up because I married someone like Randy who was a DJ, so my mom instilled how important it was to marry a man who'd be a better provider. You see why my mom has to be stopped? She's impossible. And no matter how much I tried to stand up to her in the past, it didn't work because Randy would take her side." Running her fingers through her hair, she asked, "You don't think Chris will do the same thing Randy did, do you?"

"Not if he knows how much it'll mean to you that he doesn't."

She hoped he was right because Randy didn't listen to how important it was to her that he side with her.

"He will, Caitlyn. He wants nothing more than to see you happy, and your mom doesn't make you happy."

"No, she doesn't." Taking a deep breath, she wiped the rest of the tears from her eyes. "Is there anything else I need to know about Chris so he doesn't have another heart attack or some other health issue?"

"Just assure him you love him when you have an argument."

She chuckled. "You haven't had fights with a woman, have you?"

He shook his head.

"When you do, you'll understand when you're in the heat of the moment, you don't feel like saying 'I love you'. Chris needs to know that fighting is normal. It doesn't mean you don't love someone; it just means they are annoying you at the moment."

Mark laughed. "I guess I'll learn that when I get a life mate."

"You want to see if he's awake?"

"For a moment, but he'll need to be alone with you so he can feel secure in your bond again."

Nodding, she led him back inside the building and to Chris' room. When she opened the door, he opened his eyes. Relieved to see that he was awake, she ran over to him and held his hand.

Chris' eyebrows furrowed. "Where am I?"

"In a hospital," she said. "I called Mark to find out what was happening to you. You scared me, Chris. I thought I was going to lose you."

"You did?" he asked her, squeezing her hand.

Mark walked over to them and tapped Chris' chest. "Next time you feel any discomfort there, you have to talk to Caitlyn. You can't keep your feelings to yourself, okay?"

"Okay," Chris replied.

"I'll leave so the two of you can talk."

"Thanks, Mark," she called after him as he closed the door behind him. She sat down and rubbed Chris' arm. "Why didn't you tell me you could have a heart attack if you don't feel loved?"

Chris shrugged. "I thought it wasn't possible. I heard stories from my world, but I thought the stories were exaggerated because it didn't seem physically possible that emotions could lead to a fatality."

"If there's something bothering you, you have to tell me, okay?"

"Your mom said not to tell you about the wedding because it was supposed to be a surprise. She said it would make you happy, and I wanted to make you happy."

Sighing, she kissed his hand. "Chris, my mother's surprises don't make me happy. They never did. She used to manipulate Randy into surprising me, and it caused a lot of problems between us."

"You had problems with Randy?"

"Of course, I did. Every couple has their problems, but that doesn't mean they stop loving each other. I love you, Chris. Nothing's going to make me stop loving you. I'm sorry you thought I stopped loving you earlier tonight."

He swallowed and said, "I heard some women fall out of love with their husbands and thought when you didn't want to have a wedding, you didn't love me enough to say vows with me in front of your family and friends. Then you didn't want my ring and necklace."

"It wasn't the wedding or the jewelry I was opposed to. It was my mother's wedding and her jewelry I didn't want. Do you understand the difference?"

"I think so. I told her she should let you pick out your own dress. I'm guessing you wouldn't have wanted the one she picked for you?"

"No." Rolling her eyes, she could only imagine what kind of dress her mother would pick for her. "She knows her tastes aren't like mine, and yet she keeps imposing her will on me. I don't want her to run our lives."

"I don't want that either."

"So you understand why we can't go through with the wedding and why I can't keep the jewelry?"

"Yes."

Sensing, his hesitation, she asked, "What is it?"

"I want a wedding, and I want to give you jewelry, at least a ring. You had those things with Randy. Don't you want them with me?"

For the first time, his desire to wear jeans, t-shirts, and a goatee made sense to her. "Chris, are you worried that I loved Randy more than I love you?"

"You chose to marry him. With me, it just happened to you."

Unable to stop her wry grin, she said, "Yeah, but what a way for it to happen."

His lips turned up into a smile and he chuckled. "You were so beautiful in that diner."

"You know, if you had asked me out, I would have said yes."

"Really?"

"Yes. You were one of the nicest men I'd ever met. You didn't need a hormone to convince me to be with you. Well, I wouldn't have had sex with you like I did, but I would have gone out with you."

His smile widened so she leaned forward and kissed him.

"We'll have a wedding, and when we return my mom's ring and necklace, I want you to pick out what you'd like me to wear."

"I'd like that, Caitlyn."

"I don't want my mother to be a part of it, though. I want to let her know that she can't keep meddling in our lives. She won't like it when she finds out, but I need you to be united with me on this. Maybe knowing we will do things our own way without her opinion will get her to stop controlling our lives."

"I won't let her talk me into anything else."

At that point, Randy would hesitate, but Chris didn't and that made her hopeful that this time her mother wouldn't come between them. "Thank you, Chris."

The door opened and the doctor walked in. Still holding Chris' hand, she turned her attention to the doctor who offered a smile. "How are you feeling?" he asked Chris.

"Great," Chris said, running his thumb over the back of her hand.

The doctor flipped through his chart. "I can't explain it, but all the tests came back negative. There's nothing I can find wrong with you. I still want to keep you here overnight to monitor how things are going, and we'll run a couple of more tests to make sure everything's working as it should."

Chris looked disappointed but nodded.

Caitlyn was so relieved to hear he checked out okay that she didn't care. She'd spent many times by Randy's bedside in the hospital, watching as the Chemo treatments sapped him of his strength. She never wanted to go through anything like that again.

"We'll get you upstairs in a bit," the doctor said before he left.

After a moment of silence, she asked, "Chris, is there anything else bothering you?"

"No. Well, kind of."

"What is it?"

He gave a slight shrug. "I shouldn't be jealous of Randy, should I?"

"Of course not." She squeezed his hand. "I loved Randy, and I think of him with fondness. But that has nothing to do with my feelings for you. I love you because you're you." She paused. "Chris, what if we have more than one child? Will you love one and not the other?"

"No. I'll love them all."

"It's the same thing with you and Randy. I loved him the way he was, and I love you the way you are. I don't want another Randy."

"But you have his things in that trunk."

"A trunk?"

"The one at the bottom of the closet."

"Oh." She blinked in surprise. "I forgot all about it."

"You put his picture in there and gave me his clothes from it."

"Yes, but then I didn't think about it anymore. I had no idea that trunk bothered you. Is that why you thought I was still mourning his death?"

"Yes."

"And that's why you were trying to look like him?" she asked with a smile.

"I knew you loved him and thought if I looked like him, you'd love me too."

"No, I wouldn't love you if you looked like him because I adore the Chris who looks like Chris." She caught the pleased look on his face and decided to whisper, "I especially enjoy the way you make me feel as if I'm the most important person in the world. You're perfect the way you are."

"You are too."

She giggled and kissed him. As his tongue traced her lower lip, she felt his hand cup her breast so she pulled away from him. "Chris, you can't do that here!"

He chuckled. "Why not?"

"Because we're in a hospital."

"There's no one in the room but us."

His fingers brushed her nipple, making her skin tingle with delight.

She groaned and put his hand down. "It's nice to know you're not sick."

The door opened and a nurse walked in. Caitlyn gave Chris a pointed look, secretly hoping he understood why he couldn't grope her in a hospital. His response was to pat her butt. Granted, the nurse couldn't see it from the angle Caitlyn stood, but she still felt an exasperated sigh escape her lips. She took Chris' hand and held it.

"So Chris is going to be okay?" Caitlyn asked, needing to hear it again.

The nurse smiled and went over to his IV. "Everything looks good, but we'll need to monitor him overnight. I'll get this IV out and then we'll move you upstairs."

Relieved, Caitlyn squeezed Chris' hand, thankful things turned out okay this time.
Chapter Twenty-Three

On Monday, Caitlyn waited at the photography studio for Chris to arrive. As she browsed through the different backgrounds she and Chris could use for their picture, her cell phone rang. She sighed. She'd been delaying the inevitable talk with her mother but decided she better get it over with. Taking her phone out of her purse, she headed outside so no one else would have to hear how annoyed her mother made her.

"What is it, Mom?" she asked, not hiding her irritation.

"You're not still mad at me, are you?" her mother sweetly replied.

"No, I'm not having my wedding at the fancy hotel you picked out."

"I never mentioned a wedding."

"You were thinking it."

Her mom sighed. "I spent a lot of time and money arranging that wedding for you. If you don't want me there, fine. I'll graciously back out, but you should at least go there."

Caitlyn saw Chris pull into a parking space and stop his car. With a groan, she said, "No. I don't want the wedding you planned for me." She watched as Chris got out of the car and headed in her direction with an excited smile on his face. She waved to him. "Mom, I want the wedding I planned for myself, and just so you know, Chris and I are already married so there's not even a need for a wedding."

"Every woman needs a wedding, Caitlyn. It's a romantic memory," her mother said.

"No. What every woman needs is for her mother to let her live her own life as she sees fit."

Chris mouthed the question, Your mother?

Nodding, she rolled her eyes.

To her surprise, he took the phone from her. "This is Chris, Mrs. Rogers." After a moment, he said, "No. We're doing what Caitlyn wants, and right now, we're getting our picture taken. Have a nice evening." He hung up and handed her the phone back. "I'm learning it's best to keep things short and to the point instead of dragging a subject out when it comes to dealing with women on topics you can't win."

Caitlyn laughed and hugged him. "Oh Chris, thank you."

Chuckling, he hugged her back. "It's nothing."

"Are you kidding? It was everything." She kissed his cheek. "You look especially handsome today in that dark blue suit. I feel underdressed."

"Don't. I love that white sundress you have on. It reminds me of the first day we went shopping at the mall. That was a good day."

"It was. And this one is too. In fact," she continued as she slipped her arm around his and led him to the door, "we'll have many good days together."

"I look forward to each one."

"Me too."

After they got their pictures done, they went to her uncle's jewelry shop to return the rings.

"I didn't think this was your style," her uncle said as he took them back.

"Well, she's not going to be dictating my life anymore," Caitlyn replied.

"Yes, I heard about the small wedding you and Chris will be having at the beach."

"She told you all about it, huh?" That didn't come as a surprise. "We didn't tell her she couldn't come. We just told her she had to keep quiet."

"You're asking an impossible thing."

"Then she doesn't have to come. She wasn't there the first time we got married. She doesn't have to be there the second. It's not my fault she won't recognize our marriage until there's a formal ceremony."

He smiled. "I agree with you, Caitlyn." Motioning to the counter, he asked, "What ring do you want?"

"We'll get a ring for Chris too." She glanced at Chris and added, "Randy didn't have one." As she suspected, his grin widened so she took his hand and squeezed it. "Do you see a ring that you like?"

"I have sets that match," her uncle said.

"That's a good idea," Chris replied. "Why don't you pick out the rings you like, and I'll pick the one I like from among the ones you choose."

After some consideration, Caitlyn chose the wedding rings she would like to wear. "To be honest, I like this one best," she began, pointing to a gold band with a small diamond embedded into it, "and it's got a nice heart-shaped necklace with it. It's a locket, isn't it, Uncle Gerald?" When her uncle nodded, she told Chris, "I could put our picture in here. I've always wanted a locket so I could do that."

Chris chuckled. "That's the set I wanted to get you. To be fair, your uncle pointed it out, but I thought it might suit you."

"Well, you were right. See, I told you my mother doesn't know what I like and don't like. What do you think of the husband's band? It's a simple gold one. Not flashy but it matches."

"I like it," Chris said.

"Can we get them engraved?" she asked her uncle.

"Sure," Gerald replied.

With a grin, she looked at Chris. "What do you think of putting Caitlyn's Forever on the inside of your ring and Chris' Forever on the inside of mine?"

Chris nodded. "I like that a lot."

"Can you have them engraved by Saturday morning?" she asked her uncle.

"I can do that." Gerald took the rings and necklace out from under the glass counter and put them on top. "For what it's worth, I think you both made a good choice."

Caitlyn winked at Chris. "We make a pretty good couple."

"Mind if I ask when you're due?" Gerald asked, glancing at the slight mound at her abdomen.

She rubbed her stomach. "Maybe late November. The doctor's not exactly sure about the due date."

"Congratulations."

"Thanks. On Wednesday we go in for the ultrasound. The doctor thinks that will give us a better idea of when the baby is due."

After they made their purchase, her uncle told them their rings would be ready on Friday.

On their way out of the store, Chris walked her to the minivan and cupped her face in his hands before he gave her a soft kiss. "Thanks for getting me a ring, especially with that engraving on it."

Smiling, she kissed him back. When she felt a distinct flutter in her abdomen, she brought his hands to her belly. "I felt the baby move." She didn't know if the baby would cooperate and move again, but the baby did and she noticed the surprised look on his face. "That's the baby, Chris. Our baby."

"That's amazing."

"It is. I'm glad you finally felt him or her."

"Me too. I can't wait for the ultrasound."

She kissed him again and opened the car door. "Me neither. I hope you don't mind if we get something to eat. I'm in the mood for chocolate and pizza." With a shrug, she added, "And when I say that, I mean chocolate is the topping."

He laughed and squeezed her butt.

"Chris!" She glanced around to make sure no one had seen him.

"What?"

She groaned. "You can't do that in public, not in a parking lot."

"Why not?" With a wicked grin on his face, he stepped closer to her and set his hands on her hips. Leaning forward, he kissed her neck before he whispered, "You feel good."

Her body shivered with delight, and she became aware of his arousal. "Oh for real, Chris. You know how horny I am these days."

"I can help you with that," he murmured as he kissed her neck again.

"Not here, you can't! And not in front of my uncle's store. Seriously, this isn't good. I don't like choosing between food and sex, especially when we're talking about chocolate."

His lips left her neck and went up to her forehead where he gave her a brotherly kiss. "Food first. Then we can spend the rest of night in bed...or out of it, depending on how creative you want to get."

With a heavy sigh, she got into the minivan and gave him a pointed look. "I hope you're happy. I don't know how I'm going to keep my hands off you at the pizza place."

"Oh, that won't be a problem. As soon as you smell the food, you'll forget all about me."

At that, she laughed. "Yeah. You have no idea what I was thinking that day you wanted to go to the mall to buy jeans and t-shirts. Believe me, I'll still be thinking of sex." Though he didn't look convinced, she started the car and blew him a kiss. "I'll follow you to the pizza place, hottie."

Grinning, he winked at her and headed for his car.
Chapter Twenty-Four

That Saturday, Chris stood by the minister in the gazebo next to Mark as they waited for Caitlyn to be ready. Among those who attended the wedding was a small group of Caitlyn's closest friends and family. Her mother sat quietly for a change but had a frown on her face. Chris knew she was disappointed by the simple affair but didn't care. This was what Caitlyn wanted: to be married at the gazebo on her favorite beach with a restaurant close by to have their reception.

Chris turned to Mark and said, "I forgot to tell you. When I went to the ultrasound with Caitlyn, we found out we're having a girl."

Mark patted him on the back. "That's great, Chris!"

"It is, isn't it? Can you imagine that after what we left on..." He glanced at the minister who glanced in their direction. Clearing his throat, he turned to Mark. "After where we came from, it's amazing I'd even say that," he whispered.

"I hope I have one when I get married. It's important more girls are born."

Lexie ran up to the gazebo with an excited smile on her face. "Caitlyn's ready. Chris, thanks for letting her do the wedding her way. I can't remember when I've seen her this happy."

That made Chris feel good. He liked knowing he made her happier than she'd ever been, and Randy's memory no longer bothered him. He and Caitlyn were making their own lives together and creating memories that didn't have anything to do with Randy.

"Where's your fiancé?" Mark asked her.

Lexie shrugged. "At work."

"Again?"

"That's the price he pays for being a surgeon. I better get back to Mother before she tries to talk Caitlyn into something. Lucky me, I get to babysit her until the wedding's over." She rolled her eyes before she headed back to the chairs.

"She doesn't seem happy to be engaged, does she?" Mark commented.

Chris shrugged. "I don't know how a woman's supposed to look when she's engaged."

Caitlyn's brother stood by the gazebo and began playing music on his violin. Chris turned his attention to the boardwalk where Sandy walked between the rows of chairs, smiling and holding a bouquet of yellow roses. Right behind her, Caitlyn strolled with her father toward him, and Chris couldn't help but smile. She looked absolutely radiant, her skin glowing and a big grin on her face.

"That's how an engaged woman should look," Mark whispered.

Chris thought to answer, but he was too busy watching Caitlyn to care one way or the other about Lexie. His eyes drifted for a moment to her mother since he wondered if the woman would protest, but her mother simply took a look at the slight mound that was Caitlyn's belly and rubbed her forehead. Lexie patted her mom on the arm but smiled in Caitlyn's direction.

Chris sighed but refused to let her mother's displeasure that her daughter was before family and friends in her white sundress while visibly pregnant deter him from enjoying the moment. They could deal with her mother some other time.

Sandy stepped onto the gazebo and Caitlyn and her father followed. After her father kissed her on the cheek and handed her over to him, Chris took her hands in his, unable to hide how excited he was to be taking part in the Earthly custom of getting married.

The minister began to speak and Chris listened to the vows, wondering why so many people on Earth opted to get divorced when the vows made it clear that the intention was for people to stay married for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as they both lived. It didn't seem any different from the life-mate bond on his home world, except maybe there was no way physically out of the bond unless one of them died.

He repeated the vows, and she did the same. Before they slipped the rings on each other's fingers, he took a moment to look, once again, at the engravings, liking how the symbol for unending love was sealed with the promise that they would be each other's forever. He was hers and she was his, and together, they were one.

"You may now kiss the bride," the minister said.

Squeezing her hands, he leaned forward and kissed her. Caitlyn's brother picked up the violin and ran the bow over the strings in a sweet melody while Caitlyn and Chris stepped down from the gazebo to greet the guests.

"That was a beautiful wedding," Sandy said as she hugged Caitlyn.

"Thank you, Sandy. I'm glad you could be here," Caitlyn replied.

"Yeah, I just love how you threatened to eat all the chocolate in the diner if Jack didn't let me off for a few hours today."

"I could eat all the chocolate he has, Sandy." Patting her stomach, she added, "This little girl is a child after my own heart. She knows that few things are better than chocolate."

"Chocolate is good for energy," Chris said. "It helps the baby develop."

Sandy laughed. "As long as the mother doesn't gain weight, but I admit, Caitlyn, you are keeping the weight off remarkably well for all you eat."

"Speaking of which, I'm hungry." Caitlyn looked at Chris. "Are you ready for the reception?"

He nodded so they joined everyone and went to the restaurant further down the boardwalk where they had reserved a room for their party. While they ate, he noticed that Mark sat by Lexie.

"Caitlyn," he whispered as she poured more chocolate syrup onto her brownie sundae until he couldn't see the vanilla ice cream anymore, "didn't you fix Mark up with Sandy?"

After she took a bite of the ice cream, she shrugged. "I didn't fix them up in the traditional sense. I introduced them and decided to let nature take its course." She dug her spoon into another portion of her sundae. "I can't believe how good this stuff tastes. I should try chocolate syrup on hot dogs. I bet that would taste good."

She stood up to go to the all-you-can-eat buffet to get a hot dog while Chris glanced over at Mark who leaned forward and whispered something that made Lexie giggle. Granted, he wasn't an expert on women or relationships, but it was obvious that they were more interested in each other than they should be. He certainly wouldn't like it if someone was that friendly with Caitlyn.

Caitlyn returned to him with a hot dog and bun and glanced around the room to make sure no one was looking before she put syrup on it. He hid his smile. If she knew how normal it was to eat everything with chocolate for women on his world when they were pregnant, she wouldn't feel so self-conscious about it. She took a bite of her hot dog and sighed with pleasure. Slipping his hand under the table, he rubbed her thigh.

She groaned. "Chris, I'm trying to eat."

He laughed. Now that he knew how horny she was while pregnant, he couldn't resist messing with her. "What?" He raised his eyebrows, hoping to look innocent while his fingers brushed the inside of her thigh.

She gave him a pointed look and shook her head. "You don't play fair."

Pulling up her dress until he felt her bare skin, he said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

She took his hand and placed it on top of the table. "Be good, Chris, or I won't give you the wedding present I picked out for you."

Intrigued, he turned toward her. "You got me something?"

"Kind of."

"Really? What is it?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

Slipping his hand back under the table, he caressed her knee. "Not even a hint."

She took another bite of her hot dog before she put his hand back on the table. "No. It won't be fun if I spoil it." She stood up. "I'm going to get relish to put on this hot dog."

He didn't usually cringe when she blended foods, but thinking of a hot dog with chocolate and relish made him shudder. And not only did she come back with relish, but she had two more hot dogs, cottage cheese and a slice of pizza. She added chocolate a little at a time, always checking the other people before she did.

When she was done eating, she whispered, "I've had enough of everyone. Let's slip out of here."

Since the only person he was comfortable talking to was Mark, who happened to be busy talking to Lexie, he figured there was no need to stick around anymore, so when Caitlyn took his hand to sneak out of the room, he didn't protest. Once they were out of the restaurant, he said, "Your mom did a good job of staying away from us. Maybe she won't try to bother you about doing things you don't want."

"One can only hope," she replied as she unlocked the doors with the remote on her keychain.

He opened his door and slipped into the passenger seat. After she got behind the wheel, he said, "I think it'll be fine. Your mom got the message."

"Like I said, 'One can only hope'," she mused. "I don't think she's done intervening into people's lives."

"She did well today."

"Yeah, but we're dealing with a lifetime of behavior for her." She started the car and smiled. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that you're on my side." She took his hand and squeezed it. "As long as it's you and me, we can handle anything she throws at us."

He squeezed her hand in return. "I'll always be on your side."

While she drove out of the parking lot, he turned his attention to the scenery and sighed in contentment. In a week, they would be moving into their new home. He was looking forward to it. They would not only be closer to the base, but they'd be closer to the beach, and he liked the beach a lot.

To his surprise, she didn't take him back to the apartment. Instead, she pulled over to a deserted place with trees sheltering them from view of anyone else. He frowned and looked at her. "Why did you stop here?"

"I figured since we're renewing our vows today, it might be fun to renew our bond." With a wink, she jumped out of the car and went to his side. Opening his door, she placed a hand on her hip and offered him a seductive smile. "Care to join me in the backseat?"

As if she had to ask! He undid the seatbelt and got out of the car so he could get into the back. She joined him and shut the door so the air conditioner could continue to cool things off. They weren't radiating heat from their bodies this time, but he learned that being stuck in a car that didn't have the air conditioner running was a killer. He gave the car no more thought as she pulled off her panties and unbuttoned his pants.

"So we're acting out the bonding ceremony?" he asked, his voice betraying his excitement as she unzipped his pants and slid her hand into them so she could rub him.

"Yes," she whispered and slipped her fingers under his briefs.

A moan escaped his lips at the flesh on flesh contact. She had a way with touching him that drove him crazy. Her hand descended further and wrapped around his erection before squeezing it. His body tingled with pleasure.

She leaned forward and kissed him, her tongue brushing his as he reached up and cupped her breasts. Even with the sundress on and her bra preventing him from feeling her bare flesh, she was amazing. When she ended the kiss, her eyes met his and she gave him another smile. "I love you, Chris. I want to bond with you, to be your life mate. What do you say? Want to be my life mate?"

Excited, he nodded. "I wouldn't have any other."

He couldn't help but recall the first time they'd been together this way, how new and wonderful it was to be intimate with her. This time, she was choosing to bond with him, and though it wasn't the real bonding ceremony, he was enjoying this one much more.

She backed away from him and pulled his pants and underwear down to his ankles. Lifting her dress up to her waist, she straddled him and let the dress fall back down.

He slid his hands under her dress and cupped her butt. He guided her hips up and down, enjoying the friction as she rubbed against him. She gave a slight gasp and bit her lower lip as she followed his lead. Unlike last time, he was the one in control, and he watched her as she closed her eyes, her face revealing her concentration as she focused on riding him. As much as he longed to be inside her, he wanted to get her to climax.

When she had established a steady rhythm, he let his hands travel up her back and to her bra. He unhooked it, slid his hands under it so he could brush and tease her nipples, knowing it intensified her pleasure as her hips continued moving up and down.

With a groan, he threw her dress and bra off. His fingers brushed her hardened nipples, teasing and rubbing them until she cried out and stopped. Her body shuddered over him and he looked back at her face, satisfied to see her expression at a cross between pleasure and pain. Shifting his hips, the tip of his erection found her entrance and went into her, noting how she clenched around him.

"Yes, Chris," she moaned.

He loved it when she said his name. It meant she was thinking of him.

She leaned forward and kissed his lips, his cheeks and his neck. He moaned and thrust deeper into her, his movements growing faster and more urgent. And when he reached the peak, he cried out while she held him close to her. He remained suspended in the moment, wishing he could stay there longer but knowing he couldn't. His heart pounding loudly in his ears, he relaxed and settled back into the seat, his breathing heavy and his head light. He barely had enough energy to wrap her in his arms as she snuggled up to him.

"That was incredible," she whispered.

"Yes," he managed while he tried to focus on where he was.

She giggled and kissed him. "What do you say we spend all weekend at home, wear absolutely nothing, and continue to bond?"

With a chuckle, he said, "I'd like nothing more."

"Good because I got tomorrow off too."

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Caitlyn," he whispered, opening his eyes and smiling at her.

"You're the best thing that's happened to me too." She gave him another kiss, this one longer than the one before.

He reached up and cupped her breasts. "You know, I can go again."

"So soon?"

"Well, I do feel loved." His erection was beginning to grow inside of her. "I guess I didn't tell you that part. If a woman opts for the bonding, it has a very pleasant effect on a certain part of the male anatomy. I know I can come again."

She kissed him again, this time letting her tongue brush his.

"We just might never make it home."

She moaned as he kissed her neck. "Oh, I'm sure we will...eventually." Then she was renewing their bond, once again.
Also Available in the Across the Stars Series

Book 2: Runaway Bride

From the moment Mark Tanner saw Lexie Rogers, he knew she was destined to be his life mate. There is only one problem: her fiancé. But she's not married yet, and Mark is sure he can convince her that she's better off with him.

Book 3: His Abducted Bride

All Sandy Davis wants to do is forget about romance. Romance is for other people, not for her. To escape, she writes an epic fantasy, picturing herself as the queen who rises against the threat of King Blackheart who is determined to conquer her kingdom.

On the eve of when she's going to write the ending where she kills him, King Blackheart arranges it so that he takes her into the story. But he doesn't abduct her so she'll be his prisoner. His plan is to make her his wife and prove that he's not the villain she's made him out to be.
All Books by Ruth Ann Nordin

(Chronological Order)

Regencies

Marriage by Scandal Series

The Earl's Inconvenient Wife

A Most Unsuitable Earl

His Reluctant Lady

The Earl's Scandalous Wife

Standalone Regency

Her Counterfeit Husband (happens during A Most Unsuitable Earl)

Marriage by Deceit Series

The Earl's Secret Bargain

Love Lessons With the Duke

Ruined by the Earl

The Earl's Stolen Bride

Marriage by Arrangement Series

His Wicked Lady

Her Devilish Marquess

The Earl's Wallflower Bride

Marriage by Bargain Series

The Viscount's Runaway Bride

The Rake's Vow

Taming The Viscountess

If It Takes A Scandal

Marriage by Fate Series

The Reclusive Earl

Married In Haste

Make Believe Bride

The Perfect Duke – coming soon

Marriage by Fairytale Series

The Marriage Contract

One Enchanted Evening – coming soon

Historical Western Romances

Pioneer Series

Wagon Trail Bride

The Marriage Agreement

Groom For Hire

Forced Into Marriage

Nebraska Series

Her Heart's Desire

A Bride for Tom

A Husband for Margaret

Eye of the Beholder

The Wrong Husband

Shotgun Groom

To Have and To Hold

His Redeeming Bride

Isaac's Decision

Misled Mail Order Brides Series

The Bride Price

The Rejected Groom

The Perfect Wife – coming soon

Chance at Love Series

The Convenient Mail Order Bride

The Mistaken Mail Order Bride

The Accidental Mail Order Bride

The Bargain Mail Order Bride

South Dakota Series

Loving Eliza

Bid for a Bride

Bride of Second Chances

Montana Collection

Mitch's Win

Boaz's Wager

Patty's Gamble

Native American Romance Series

Restoring Hope

A Chance In Time

Brave Beginnings

Bound by Honor, Bound by Love

Virginia Series

An Unlikely Place for Love

The Cold Wife

An Inconvenient Marriage

Romancing Adrienne

Standalone Historical Western Romances

Falling In Love With Her Husband

Kent Ashton's Backstory

Catching Kent

His Convenient Wife

Meant To Be

The Mail Order Bride's Deception

Contemporary Romances

Omaha Series

With This Ring, I Thee Dread

What Nathan Wants

Just Good Friends

Across the Stars Series

Suddenly a Bride

Runaway Bride

His Abducted Bride

Standalone Contemporaries

Substitute Bride

Co-Authored Romances

Historical Romance Anthologies (with Janet Syas Nitsick)

Bride by Arrangement

A Groom's Promise

Contemporary Anthology (with Catherine Lynn)

Bride By Design

Thrillers

Return of the Aliens (Christian End-Times Novel)

Late One Night (flash fiction)

The Very True Legends of Ol' Man Wickleberry and his Demise - Ink Slingers' Anthology

Fantasies

Enchanted Galaxy Series

A Royal Engagement

Royal Hearts

The Royal Pursuit

Royal Heiress

Nonfiction

Writing Tips Series

11 Tips for New Writers

The Emotionally Engaging Character

To find out more about Ruth Ann Nordin's books and upcoming titles, you can go to the following sites:

Her Website: www.ruthannnordin.com

Her Blog: https://ruthannnordinauthorblog.com

