Suddenly a Bride (11 page)

“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 walk
ed with her and said, “No.
”

“Well, t
his 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 i
f 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 an
d 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 mo
tioned 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 glanc
ed 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 ro
oting 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 muc
h.  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.”

“H
ow 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 l
ater, 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 bot
h of you.”

Caitlyn shot Chris an excited grin, and he couldn’t deny the pleasure he experience
d
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.  H
e 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

C
aitlyn 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. 
Ma
ybe 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.  S
he clocked
in and got ready for her shift.

***

T
he 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.