Page 8 of Alien Spare (Cosmic Mates #9)

“You must be Karma Kennedy! It’s so nice to meet you.” Soton exuberantly shook his wife’s hand, holding it longer than Falkor was comfortable with.

“It’s nice to meet you, too. My husband has told me a lot about you.”

“Not too much, I hope.” He winked.

“Just how much he appreciates your friendship and partnership.”

On the ride over, he’d given her more details about the business arrangement and lifelong friendship.

“You puknik , you never said a word you were getting married. You didn’t invite me,” Soton admonished and then flashed a teasing, scintillating smile. “I, however, have impeccable manners.”

“The wedding occurred rather suddenly.”

“Immediate family only,” Karma added.

Soton laughed. “Royal edict, I take it? Kaldor Celebrity News has been running your tryst at the hotel on a continuous loop.”

Falkor grimaced.

“Bynti still has it in for you. She’s never forgiven you.”

“I’d rather not talk about Bynti—if you don’t mind.” His gaze slid pointedly to Karma, and he gave a slight jut of his chin. He had nothing to hide, but it was inconsiderate to flaunt a past relationship in front of his wife. They’d married under duress, but she still deserved respect.

“Forgiven you for what?” she asked.

“She’s a former paramour. He broke her heart when he jilted her.” Soton had missed or ignored his signal to shut up. “Falkor is the love-’em-and-leave-’em prince.”

“That describes you rather than me.” He scowled. Soton had bedded more women than Falkor ever thought about. Plus, he couldn’t have broken Bynti’s heart because she didn’t have one.

“Ah. I get it now,” she said.

He wasn’t sure what she got . “The situation isn’t like he presents it. Bynti and I were together only a very short time.”

“You slept with her,” Soton said.

“Do you mind?” he snapped. The brief interlude with Bynti had been the biggest mistake of his life—until today. He regretted bringing his wife to meet his business partner. What the hekkel was Soton doing?

“What the reports didn’t say is how lovely your bride is.” Soton’s eyes gleamed with appreciation. The holovids don’t do you justice.”

No, they hadn’t. She was more beautiful in person.

“So, you’re from Earth?” Soton continued to chat her up.

“Yes.”

“What brought you to our humble planet? It couldn’t have been the prospect of meeting this guy? The spare apparent .” He chuckled.

“I want to go over the sales report you sent me,” Falkor interjected. Soton was being Soton, but he had the oddest urge to punch his friend in the face. “In addition, I’ve got a new product in the design stage we need to talk about.”

“Let’s go into the office, then.”

KAT had space in a low-key office complex Falkor owned. Displays and product demos were in the front showroom; strategy and planning sessions occurred out of public view where they could roll up their sleeves.

“Join us,” Soton invited Karma, setting Falkor’s teeth on edge. He’d intended to ask her himself, and it bugged him that Soton beat him to it.

“I’ll wait for you out here,” she declined. “I’d only be in the way.”

“No, you won’t,” Falkor said.

“I’m not familiar with your technology. I wouldn’t be much help.

” From a pouch she wore around her waist, she extracted a velvet bag.

“I brought my tarot cards. I can amuse myself. Don’t worry about me,” she said, and he was a bit relieved, even though he’d been eager to show her more of what he did.

But only the Gods of Kaldor could guess what else Soton would say. Nor did he like the way his partner looked at Karma.

She moved to a schoolroom holodesk, designed for two students to face each other, separated by a desktop holobase. When the instruction program ran, a teacher would appear in miniature. “I’ll park myself here—unless I’ll get catapulted from the chair,” she joked.

“Only if you accidentally push the secret button,” Soton said.

She turned to find another place to sit.

“There’s no secret button.” He glowered at Soton. “You can sit there. It’s perfectly safe.”

She nodded and slipped into the seat.

Annoyed with Soton and feeling guilty for reasons he didn’t understand, he stalked into the office.

“Are you upset about something?” Soton said.

“What would I be upset about?”

“I don’t know. You seem…terse.”

“You’re flirting with my wife.” He gave voice to the feeling in his gut. It wasn’t so much what Soton had said or done, but more his animation and admiration.

“No more so than with any other woman.”

He had to admit that was true. His friend flirted with every woman, including Falkor’s former paramours. But on a few notable occasions, he’d inserted himself between Falkor and a woman of interest, turned up the charm, and ended up with her.

It hadn’t bothered him to this degree before. “This one is my wife.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll try to curb my charm,” Soton said.

“I’d appreciate that. Now, if you don’t mind, let’s get to work. My wife and I have plans for the afternoon.”

* * * *

Karma shuffled the tarot cards. Supposedly, Soton was Falkor’s friend, but he acted like a competitor.

Of course, her husband would know his friend better than she did—but Soton hadn’t left her with a good first impression.

He was flattery and flash without the substance.

Men like him thought they were the Goddess’ gift to womankind.

She wondered if he truly had her husband’s best interests at heart.

Maybe I should have attended the meeting.

I could have gotten a better read on Soton.

Except her instinct had been to avoid him.

He reminded her of the jerk who copped a grope on a crowded public transport and claimed it was an accident.

Soton had made her uncomfortable right from the start.

But she couldn’t call him out on it—because he hadn’t done anything overtly wrong. He’d left her feeling icky.

But more appreciative of Falkor’s genuineness. Perhaps because they had gotten off to a bad start, there had never been pretense between them. They’d seen the best and worst of each other and liked each other anyway.

She’d gotten the idea there was more to the Bynti story, but she wouldn’t pry. She wouldn’t like it if Falkor grilled her about her former flames and mistakes. For the sake of their marriage, the past should remain in the past.

She drew a card from the Tarot deck and turned it face up.

The Moon card represented uncertainty, hidden emotions.

That described her current situation, but could it apply to Falkor, too?

Did he feel uncertain? Was he hiding the way he felt?

Was she? Emotions were in flux; she wasn’t sure how she felt anymore.

The next card was a Two of Swords. More uncertainty.

She drew a third and got Justice, represented by a king with a sword and scale.

It could be telling her she needed to apply reason instead of emotion.

On the other hand, there was an actual king in the real-life picture.

Could the card hold a more literal meaning?

Would King Rullok decide her fate? Or was this saying he already had? King Rullok had forced them to marry.

Tarot served as her personal counselor who didn’t provide the answers as much as it asked the right questions, leaving her to figure it out on her own. Still, she wished the reading had provided more clarity. “You’re not giving me much to go on,” she told the cards.

“Who are you talking to?” Falkor reappeared, Soton beside him.

“Myself.” She scooped up the cards. “Did you get all your business done?”

Falkor glanced at Soton. “We figured out our next steps. Reached an understanding.”

She had a hunch that “understanding” involved her. Soton’s aura had changed from flirty to cordial, but cool—a welcome relief. Falkor must have picked up on the same vibe she’d been getting and told him to stop.

The only male’s attention I desire is my husband’s.

“What are the cards for?” Soton asked.

“Divination,” she replied crisply. “They provide guidance. They put the past into perspective, illuminate the present, and suggest a path for the future.”

“Cards can do that?” Falkor asked. “How?”

“I’ll show you. I’ll give you a reading. Have a seat.” Pleased by his curiosity, she gestured to the opposite side of the small desk. He’d been skeptical, but seeing was believing.

“I’d like that!” He slipped into the seat. His openness pleased her. We’ve come a long way. She remembered how he’d seemed to mock her interest in mysticism.

“There are different configurations, but we’ll do a past, present, future. You should shuffle the deck to infuse the cards with your energy.”

“Shuffle?”

“Mix them up. Like this.” Bracelets clanged as she demonstrated the riffle shuffle. She interlaced the cards and passed him the deck. Soton moved closer to watch.

“How many times do I shuffle?”

“Seven ought to work.”

“Cut them,” she said when he finished.

“With what?”

“You obviously don’t have cards on Kaldor.”

“No.”

“Cutting the cards means you take a certain measure of the cards off the stack. It helps to ensure randomness.”

He picked about a quarter of the cards off the top. She tucked his cut under the others and dealt out three cards facing him. After hundreds of client readings, she had no problem reading upside down. Her heart lurched as she saw the third card.

Interpretation; it’s all open to interpretation. What counts is what it means to him.

Shoving aside her consternation, she focused on the first card.

“This card is your past.” She tapped the one on his left, her right.

Three robed individuals stood next to a pillar topped by three pentagrams. “The Three of Pentacles represents cooperation, working with others, combining the contributions to achieve a goal or success.”

“Like the business. Like the way I started Kaldoronics at Home, working with Soton.” He glanced at his business partner before looking to Karma for confirmation.

“If that’s your interpretation,” she said. “It depends on you.”

“What else could it mean?”

She shrugged. “I can’t tell you. You must decide what it means.

” His guess was certainly possible. “This next card is the Ace of Cups.” The middle card showed a chalice balanced on a hand.

“This represents your present.” Her pulse raced.

Maybe the tarot didn’t represent the business.

She’d forgotten to tell him to think of a question before shuffling the deck.

“And…what does it mean?” he prompted.

“It stands for new beginnings, emotional awakening, a time of love and joy, and letting go of old patterns.”

His eyes met hers, and she could guess—hope—what he was thinking—because she held the same thought. It’s about us. A marriage was the epitome of a new beginning. Her gaze shifted to the future card.

“And the last one?” His brow furrowed. “It doesn’t look very promising.”

The card on his far right showed three swords piercing a heart beneath a rain cloud. “The Three of Swords,” she said in a muted tone, “represents heartbreak and betrayal.”

Soton gave a bark of laughter and slapped Falkor on the back. “That sucks!”

“It also suggests a release from suffering,” she hurriedly added, and scooped up the cards, and tucked them into their velvet sack. “Most people don’t put any stock in tarot readings at all. My sister doesn’t.”

“You do,” he said.

“I use it as a tool to clarify my options. It’s no different from talking to a friend, and the friend says, ‘You ought to do this.’ Is she predicting my future?

No. Besides, tarot results are open to interpretation and are in no way set in stone.

They suggest a path. Whether you take it is up to you.

” Who was she trying to convince—him or herself?

Is our marriage going to end in sorrow? Will he betray me? Will I betray him?

She couldn’t imagine doing anything to deliberately hurt him. Would he hurt her? She didn’t believe that either. She regretted doing the reading—wished even more Soton hadn’t witnessed it. That discomfiting, speculative gleam sparked in his eyes again.

I really dislike that man.

“We should go,” Falkor announced, to her relief. “Keep me apprised of the beta tests of the new system and the feedback,” he instructed Soton.

“I always do.”

“Nice meeting you,” she lied politely and scooted toward the exit before he decided to shake her hand—or, worse, kiss it.

They climbed into the hoverlimo and shot into the sky. “Thank you for bringing me,” she said. “I enjoyed seeing the shop and your inventions.” Meeting Soton? Not so much. If she and Falkor had a history, she’d suggest he find a different partner.

“Thank you for coming with me,” he said. “That reading…”

She covered his hand and squeezed. “It’s a path, not a fate. And it’s all open to interpretation.”

“I did not like Soton’s interest in you.” He threaded his fingers through hers.

“You noticed.” She hadn’t been imagining the sketchy behavior.

“I noticed.”

“I disliked his attention, too.” The man was...slithery.

“Women find him charming.”

“Not this woman.” She didn’t know whether to be insulted or amused.

She couldn’t fathom any woman being attracted to Soton.

Were they crazy? “In the first place—ick! In the second, and most important place, we’re married.

I keep my promises. Until this marriage is annulled, you are the man in my life. ”

“I’m glad to hear that.” His smile chased away the clouds and brought out the sun. “You are the woman in my life.”

But is that temporary, or could it be more?