Disappointment settled on Dhavin’s shoulders. If this had been his day off, he’d be the one in the suit receiving all the accolades and being called hero instead of his cousin.
Hell, he didn’t begrudge Kristos of the attention. When he wore the mask, his efforts were just as celebrated. But today the praise for his cousin bothered him. More specifically, the praise of one person.
Fiona was jumping up and down, her hands cupped to her mouth, shouting her jubilation. Even at this distance he could see the sparkle in her eyes.
That was what he wanted. He wanted her to look at him as if he were her hero.
“Come on.” Brett slapped him on the back. “Let’s start directing the cleanup so we can head home.”
Home.
The word went right into his ear and struck a nerve that made the muscles in his jaw clench.
Home for the time being was living in his cousin Lucian’s former room at the house of their adopted Earth-uncle. It was comfortable and Uncle Harlan was an easy man to live with, but it wasn’t really a home. Not like what Kristos had with Brett, or Lucian had with his wife Amaryllis. He was missing the hearth to his home.
Ahh.
The realization struck him dumb for a moment. So there was the cause of his discontent. He was lonely. Not in the physical sense, but emotionally. He wanted a woman of his own, and not just any woman, a true partner, his other half.
As a
Llanos
warrior on his home planet of Skandavia, he hadn’t given much thought to having a family of his own. He had been the head of Princess Amaryllis’ guard and as such her safety and comfort had been his only priority. A wife and resulting offspring would have been left on their own, a price he could never ask a female to pay. The occasional affair sated his physical needs and they had been enough, for he had been resigned to his fate. It was a privilege, and one he had fought hard for, to be a member of the royal guard.
Then the revolution happened. Amaryllis had been sent to Earth in exile and his world had been upended. The enemy would have been defeated if not for the compassionate heart of his queen. The concussive wave caused by her murder rippled out in a tsunami-like wave that destroyed the
Llanos
family.
But with destruction came new and unexpected opportunities. Now his future was an open plane and fantasies he never entertained were a possibility, like a bonded mate.
He looked in the direction of the dispersing crowd, a magnetic pull beckoned him to follow.
Was his mate out there right now? Was she so close he could smell the sweetness of her skin if he inhaled hard enough?
The scent of cooked sugar and chocolate filled his nose as he drew a deep breath. A few blocks away, he saw the back of Fiona’s head as she talked with Mags.
A smile flirted with his lips. Perhaps another trip to the candy store was in order.
Dhavin knocked on the door to Brett’s office. “If you no longer have need of me, I will be departing now.”
“One second.” She finished typing the sentence she was working on then lifted her gaze from the monitor. “We’re covered, but thanks for asking. Good work today, by the way. You know, I wasn’t sure how you’d take to being a cop, if you’d find it challenging enough. Especially after you’ve guarded royalty and fought revolutionaries, but we do have our moments of excitement around here, and let me tell you, having you here has set the example to the others. For that alone, I owe you big.”
“It’s my pleasure,” he said with a slight bow. “I live to serve the people, and you are a leader worth following.”
The corner of her mouth quirked up. Brett knew she was the best sheriff Cedar ever had, but it had been a struggle to earn her men’s respect. Once she established she was a force to be reckoned with, no one questioned her abilities. However Dhavin sensed she was still hesitant to accept praise, even from family.
“Have good night, Sheriff.”
“You too.”
He turned to leave but held back. His thoughts of the day came back to poke at his conscience. ”Brett, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“What does the word player mean?”
She frowned. “Can you use it in a sentence?”
He took a breath. “That man is a player.”
The frown melted as her jade eyes sparkled with laughter. She tilted her head back and let loose with a big belly laugh.
Now it was his turn to frown. He stepped deeper into the room and closed the door. Why did he think he didn’t want whatever she was about to say to be overheard. “What is so humorous?”
She wiped at her eyes. “Let me guess. You’ve found the first woman who’s immune to your
Llanos
charm?”
For a human, his cousin-in-law had a frighteningly high level of empathetic powers.
“Then I am correct in thinking that it’s a negative term.”
“A player is a person, usually a man, who treats dating like a game and moves from woman to woman in the pursuit of sex.”
He sat heavily in the chair across from her desk. “That doesn’t describe me at all.”
“Well…” She bit her lip. “I can see how you might be thought of that way.”
“What are you talking about? Since I’ve come to Earth I’ve courted only one woman from this town.”
She raised a blonde brow. “And what about the women at Amaryllis’ club?”
Of course she’d bring
that
up. “I would be beyond stunned if the people of Cedar knew about The Cavern and the activities that transpire there. Besides, I haven’t been there in months. The novelty of sampling a variety of women at the snap of my fingers grew old very quickly. Regardless, I have done nothing to establish such a reputation.”
“You are an outrageous flirt,” Brett shot back before he finished his sentence.
“A what?”
“Flirt. You’re extra nice to women. You give them lots of compliments and make them think they’re special.”
What was she talking about? “And that’s a bad thing? I have noticed the women of this colony have very low opinions of themselves for no reason. By telling a woman she is beautiful, she will feel beautiful and therefore will become beautiful. How can that be wrong?”
Her smile was genuine, but gave him the impression she was indulging him. “It’s not wrong, to a point. I don’t know how people behaved on your home planet, but on Earth, especially America, when a man compliments a woman it usually indicates that he is romantically interested in her. We don’t have the advantage of being able to use empathic abilities to differentiate between someone who is being polite and someone who is looking for a more intimate interaction.”
“I still do not understand.”
She chewed on her lip and held out her hands. “Okay, so you’re a military guy. When you were in training I’m sure everyone was treated the same. You all failed or succeeded as one unit, correct?”
“Ya.”
“But then you were promoted over all the others. You were singled out and acknowledged for your skills. How did that make you feel?”
“I felt great. Accomplished.”
“Now let’s equate this to women. You treat all women with the same courtesy, which is over and above what other men do on a normal basis. The one woman you are actually interested in isn’t going to notice you’re into her. How can she feel extra-special when you treat her the same as other women?”
He sat back in his seat. “Ah, I think I see now. I need to turn down the compliments in casual conversation and turn them up when I’m with her.”
“Exactly.”
Could the answer be so simple? He rose to his feet with a renewed sense of hope. “Thank you, Brett. I didn’t think Earth would be so complicated to traverse. I appreciate your council. Kristos is lucky to have you by his side as an advisor.”
She laughed so hard, she snorted. “Can you please remind him of that?”
“I will do so, often. Have a good night.”
“You too,” she said with a smile that suggested she knew his route home was going to take a detour.
The Sugared Thistle was a convenient five blocks away from the police station, a distance that could have taken him the blink of an eye to travel, but he took his time, needing the scarce few minutes to compose what he wanted to say to Fiona.
She said it herself that morning that she appreciated a man who was straightforward and direct with his intentions. He thought he had been, but now that he replayed their earlier encounters, he had kept his conversation in the friendly range in deference to the nervousness he always sensed from her whenever they were together. If she wanted a take-charge man, he was definitely qualified.
The door to the Mediterranean restaurant opened and out spilled all twelve members of the Cedar Ladies Bridge Club. Their laughter tickled over his skin like seltzer water. He pulled the hood of his windbreaker farther down over his face and skirted past the group before they could stop him with conversation. From experience he knew they could talk about any subject for hours.
He reached the door to the import store just as Fiona was turning the sign in the window to
Closed
. When she looked up at his hooded face she jumped back with a startled gasp. He flipped back his hood and her look of surprise shifted to an unease of a different sort.
She opened the door and motioned him in.
“Hello, Fiona. I’ve come—”
“For your chocolate.”
“My what?”
She stepped behind the counter and retrieved a bag. “Bridget found the chocolate you left behind earlier. She thought you might be back for it.”
“Oh, thank you.” He shifted the white paper bag from one hand to the other. He wasn’t expecting to have to hold a prop.
Fiona rocked on her heels and looked everywhere around the room but at him as silence fell between them.
What was wrong with him? Never before had he been so tongue-tied, especially around a female. Where was his legendary charm now? As the quietness continued, he realized they were the only souls in the shop. While that worked in his favor for his plans of courtship, who was there to protect her from late-hour assailants?
“Is it just you here?”
She nodded.
“Is that safe? Who’s going to protect you if you have an intruder?”
Her eyebrows rose. “There aren’t that many people looking to knock over a sweet shop. Normally there are two of us here, but business was slow. It usually is when it starts raining in the late afternoon, so I let Mags go home early.”
“Who’s going to escort you to your vehicle?”
A grin flirted with her lips. “I can walk the five feet to my car on my own.”
“Unacceptable. I will wait until you are finished and ensure you make it to your car safely.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“I insist.” Why hadn’t he realized the risk she took closing up the store in the dark winter nights on her own? Mental note. More nightly patrols of the neighborhood during closing hours.
“I’m sure you have better things to do than wait for me to mop the floors.”
“It is not an issue. I’ll even help.” After setting his bag on the counter, he picked up a table with one hand and two chairs in the other, moving them to the side of the room.
“Well, aren’t you handy?” She disappeared through the doorway to the kitchen and came back rolling a bucket filled with purple water. She began in the corner closest to the front door and moved the mop with a smooth back-and-forth motion that spoke of her experience wielding the implement. “So… Will this be your first winter in the Northwest?”
Did his ears just deceive him? Fiona was initiating a conversation? Perhaps wooing her was not going to be as difficult as he thought. “Ya, but compared to winters back home, whatever your weather throws my way will feel tropical.”
“That cold in Sweden, huh? I don’t mind the rain here so much, but the gray can get really oppressive. That’s why my parents and brother moved to Phoenix. Soak up some vitamin D and lounge by the pool. They love it there, but pool attire is not really my style. Have you been south at all?”
“No. I’ve been to the city, but that’s all I’ve been able to see of America.” He shifted the furniture around as she worked, easily anticipating her needs before she directed. “I’d like to see more and explore. Especially if I have the right person to show me around.”
“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of volunteers.”
There was an odd note in her tone that deflated his earlier elation and urged him to get right to the point of his visit.
“Fiona. Would you like to accompany me to dinner this Friday?”
She paused then looked up at him with a wrinkled brow. “Who’s all going?”
“It will be just you and me.”
“Oh.” She worried that full lower lip and strangled the mop handle. “No, thank you.”
He waited, but then she returned to her task as if that was the end of the conversation. No way he was going to leave her rejection at that. “Why not?”
“I know my aunt probably pressured you to ask me out. She thinks a woman can’t be happy unless she’s in a relationship. I can let her know that you did the nice thing and offered, so don’t worry about her bothering you about it again.”
“She didn’t pressure me. I want to go out with you.”
“That’s okay. I get it. You and I don’t orbit in the same circles. It was sweet of you to try to make my aunt happy. You’re a nice guy, very popular. There are at least a couple dozen women you would have a better time with than me.”
The more she talked, the faster she moved, mopping herself right out of the room. The salty-sour taste of her embarrassment coated his tongue. How could she think that he had to be persuaded to spend time with her?
“Fiona, this has nothing to do with your aunt.” He followed her squeaky trail and caught up with her near the cleaning closet. “Why don’t you believe me?”
“Because I’m me and you’re you, and I know she thinks I need to find a real man instead of fantasizing about the one I can’t have.”
There was another? His breath caught at the thought. “Who?”
She avoided the question by bending over to tilt the bucket of dirty water into the low utility basin. He lifted the container with ease and tipped it the rest of the way for her.
“Whoa, you’re huge,” he heard her murmur under her breath.
He looked down at her and realized how much smaller she was than he. This was the first time she stood before him without a counter or table between them. The top of her head reached him mid-chest and her eyes were as large as chocolate chip cookies as she stared up, way up at him and visually measured the breadth of his shoulders as he unintentionally trapped her in the corner.
He stepped back so as not to overwhelm her. “I would like to know who this competitor for your affections is, especially if he is too stupid to have made a bid for your hand already.”
A crooked grin touched her lips. “Are you for real? I don’t know anyone who talks like you do.” She took the bucket from him and retreated to the closet, releasing a small sigh once she increased the distance between them.
“English is not my native tongue, and you’re avoiding the question.”
“I don’t want to discuss this with you. It’s silly and you’ll think I am the stupid one.”
“I will not think you are stupid.”
“Why not? The man doesn’t know I exist and I know nothing about him. Nothing. Not even the color of his eyes or hair. I don’t even know if he has hair. How ridiculous is that?” She dropped her head and bit her lip as she swirled the mop across the floor. “But I can’t stop thinking about him, and until that stops, no one else compares. Not even you, who is like the second most gorgeous man in Cedar.”
That made him smile. She thought he was good-looking? At least that gave him something to work with. “Second?”
“He comes first. And your cousins are taken. I don’t crush on men in committed relationships, even in my imagination. Look, just forget I said anything. Please.”