Page 20 of Alien Spare (Cosmic Mates #9)

Well, that was a dumb idea. Karma trudged through the palace more despondent than ever.

She’d hoped a trip to the Museum of Alien Horticulture would distract her from the shambles of her marriage, but the opposite had occurred.

After seeing Earth in the Flight to the Planets simulator exhibit, she ached for him all the more.

Like everyone said, her husband would have to return to the palace, and, when he did, she would be waiting to knock some sense into his stupid head.

She might not succeed, but she wouldn’t give up.

The queen could prove Soton and Bynti had colluded against them.

She could deal with her own hurt and anger at having to provide proof after she convinced him.

I have a year. If she couldn’t convince him by then, the Cosmic Mates contract would expire, and Falkor would send her packing.

Please, Goddess, let us come out okay. I haven’t asked for much—well, okay, I have, but please do one more thing for me, and I won’t ask ever again.

Rounding the fountain in the inside courtyard, she entered into the wide corridor leading to their apartment. Tontu hurried toward her. “Ms. Kennedy, so glad to see you. His Highness has been looking for you.”

“He’s home?” Her knees wobbled, and she swayed. “Where is he?”

“I saw him a few hours ago, and he was in the apartment.”

Her knees went weak with relief. “Thank you!” She hugged him and sprinted down the hall. Thank you, Goddess, thank you. But this was only the first step. They still had a long, rocky road to hike.

She burst into the suite.

Staring at the floor, he sat on the sofa, elbows braced on his knees, shoulders hunched.

“Falkor!”

He shot off the couch. “You’re still here! You didn’t leave! I’m so sorry, so sorry about everything.” He flew across the room, and she ran toward him. They almost collided head-on, but he caught her and swung her into his arms.

“I didn’t do it! I swear—”

His mouth smothered her words, and she melted into his kiss. “I know you didn’t do it,” he said when they stopped kissing. “I’m so sorry for doubting you.”

“You talked to the queen?” she asked, thankful he’d gotten the proof he needed.

“No, why? Should I have?”

“She has proof that Soton and—”

“I don’t need proof. I believe you.”

“You do?” Her voice wobbled. Tears pricked at her eyes.

“I do. I’m sorry for doubting you. I saw your messages this morning and came to my senses.”

“I sent them days ago.”

His mouth twisted. “After I left, I went on a drunken binge. I stayed drunk the whole time. I didn’t check my comms until this morning.

That’s when I realized what a jerk I’ve been.

It’s not an excuse; it doesn’t mitigate what I did.

My own insecurity caused me to doubt you.

” He raked a hand through his hair. “When I returned to the palace and you weren’t here, I feared you’d gone home to Earth.

I went to the spaceport; I was going to come after you, but the next flight isn’t until next month. ”

“I wouldn’t leave you. I love you. Earth isn’t home anymore. My home is wherever you are.”

He enfolded her in his arms and kissed her. “I love you so much.”

“Why would you think I would leave without speaking to you? Without saying goodbye?” Apparently, he still had some doubts. They would work on those together.

“Soton showed me a flight manifest with you listed as a passenger. I assumed it was bogus, but when you weren’t here, and nobody knew where you’d gone…leaving me was no less than I deserved.”

“Soton!” She spit out the name. She didn’t hate anyone, but he might become the first. “He approached me at MAH and tried to get me to leave the planet—said he could book me a passage to Earth—but I told him to fuck off.” She glowered, mad all over again.

Falkor laughed. “I fired him. And punched him.”

“Good. He wasn’t your friend.” She suspected he probably hadn’t been a very good business partner either.

“Obviously I realize that now. What’s MAH?”

“The Museum of Alien Horticulture. Kismet took me the other day to try to cheer me up. Each exhibit displays a typical biome for each planet. They have one for Earth. That’s where I went today.

I was worried about us, and I went to try to shake off the blues.

I thought seeing a bit of home would make me feel better—but it didn’t because I realized my home is with you. This is where I belong.”

“You’re my home, too,” he said, and then surprised her by dropping onto one knee.

“What are you doing?”

He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a gilded orb.

Oh, Goddess. Is he doing what I think he’s doing? She clapped a hand over her mouth.

“You are not just my home—you are my life. I want to spend every moment with you until the end of our days. Karma Kennedy, will you marry me?” He opened the orb to reveal a ring set with a sparkling, iridescent blue stone.

“We’re already married,” she squeaked.

“But under duress. I want us to marry because we love each other. Not because the king and queen ordered it.”

Oh, Goddess! Oh, Goddess! Joyful tears trickled down her cheeks.

“Am I not doing this right? Or maybe you don’t want to get married again. Maybe you wish to keep our marriage provisional and see how it goes?”

“Yes…no…I mean yes!” She realized she didn’t make sense. “Yes, I’ll marry you! I don’t wish to wait and see—I’m ready to commit to forever.” She held her hand out, and he slipped the ring on her finger and stood up.

“I love you so much!” She kissed him, lightheaded and dizzy, like she could float away with happiness.

“I love you, too,” he said.

She held out her hand to study the stunning ring.

It was the most beautiful, unusual stone she’d ever seen, but what meant the most was that he’d given it to her as a symbol of his love.

Love mattered, not jewelry, not possessions.

But it was a pretty ring. Unique. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

A thin silver-gold filigree wrapped around a blue gem mounted on a wide silver-gold band.

“I’m glad you like it. We don’t wear finger rings, so I had a jeweler fabricate one. Your sister said diamonds were traditional on Earth, but we don’t have them, so the jeweler substituted Kaldorite.”

“You talked to my sister about the ring?”

He nodded. “I told her I intended to ask you to marry me properly—and she told me about the tradition of the wedding ring. She helped me.” His mouth twisted.

“She offered to keep you occupied while I went to the jeweler, so she took you to lunch that one day. I swore her to secrecy because I wanted to surprise you.”

That fateful day. “She never said a word.” No wonder Kismet had been so certain he loved her.

Her sister was good at keeping secrets. You could tell her anything, and it was like locking it in a vault.

She almost wished her sister had broken his confidence and told her why she was so certain he loved her.

It would have given her more hope during the dark days.

But all was well that ended well. He had surprised her in the most amazing way.

“We’ll have to invite her to the wedding.” He winked.

“Absolutely!” She smiled. “How soon can we get married?”

“I’ll talk to my father about his schedule.”

“For sure, your parents should be at the wedding.”

“I meant, he could perform the ceremony.”

“That would be great!” A fresh start with her husband and a fresh start with her in-laws.

“If you prefer a big royal wedding, that will take time to arrange.”

“No, let’s keep it small. Immediate family.

” She didn’t need big and showy. The marriage counted, not the wedding.

A pang shot through her that her mother wouldn’t be able to attend.

It hadn’t mattered so much the last time because she hadn’t considered it a real wedding, but this one mattered.

Still, Destiny’s absence couldn’t dim her happiness.

She’d finally found the love she’d longed for.

She’d had to wait for it, kiss a lot of frogs, but she got her prince. The prince of her heart.

“Whatever you want,” he said.

“What I want,” she said, unbuttoning his tunic, “is to show you how much I love and appreciate you. You’ve earned some good karma .”