Page 12 of I Dated a Holiday Hero (Blind Date Corporation #19)

She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him. He smiled, and they continued the kiss while the sun blazed on the cool day. It wasn’t back the way it was, but they had the chance to build something on the rubble of their past.

Cloud had given them the new foundation.

* * * *

F rom her office in the Z-Corp building, she called her employer. “Hey, Zera. We are good. They wanted to be together, wanted to comfort each other, and now they are spending the day cuddling together.”

She rubbed the side of her belly where her son was kicking up a storm.

“ So, they are both in the present? ”

“In the present and planning a future together. It is so sweet.”

“ Why aren’t you more involved in her life? ”

“She needed to go her way, and I had to go mine. I still love her, if that is what you are asking.”

Zera murmured, “ I wondered, considering the cost. ”

“Ah, it is particularly taxing to do what I did today. I had to pull both of them in together and hold them in the same moments. That isn’t easy.” She didn’t mention that she was saving for an education fund.

“ Have you been watching the international requests? ”

“No, I was busy today.”

“ Well, just as you left, the prefect got an admittance request for a dream master. They don’t generally leave their library. ”

“How peculiar. I didn’t know they knew how to read a map.”

Zera huffed. “ Cloud, do you know why a dream master would be in Aksalla? ”

“Nope. Ask them. The last one I knew should be married and tied down by now. I mean, if he’s into that sort of thing.”

Zera frowned. “ Do they get married? ”

“Oh, sure. Ancient bloodlines and all that crap. No deviation from the plan is tolerated.” She continued making session notes from her visit with her sister and Worro.

“ Sounds unpleasant. Have you been to the library? ”

“Yes. I went when I was a teen.”

“ When did you leave? ”

“Six years ago.”

“ Have you visited recently? ” Zera was driving right toward the very obvious secret.

“Yes, about seven months ago. It was a friend’s wedding, so I was there to celebrate.”

“ How hard did you celebrate? ”

“Just ask the fucking question, Zera?”

“ Are you pregnant? ”

“Yes.”

“ How long? ”

“Six months.”

“ Shit. I had hoped he was wrong. Stay where you are. We are coming down. ”

“He’s here?”

“ Yes. Sorry. ”

“Don’t be sorry. This is my home, and he’s getting married to someone else. I have no regrets.” She calmly completed the notes regarding her morning, and by the time she was done, Zera was in the doorway with her ex and Sgoth. He seemed to have been selected as an escort or guard or something.

“Romar, what takes you out of the library?” She glanced up and kept working.

“Cloud. Why did you leave?”

“Your mother struck me in the face, called me a whore, and told me that you were marrying the woman of their choosing, and then that woman stepped forward and called me a whore. It was a banner day for me.”

Romar swallowed. “My mother wishes to apologize.”

“Good for her. It is always a sign of growth that she can admit her wrong. I am sorry if I missed the blessed event. I can still send a gift, I suppose.”

“I am not marrying Hilian.”

“Oh, she seems like a lovely girl with a delightful turn of phrase. Give her another chance.”

“Would you stop working and look at me?”

“Nope. That costs extra. Would you care to pay for a session?” She flicked a glance at his dark and roiling countenance.

Zera inhaled, and Sgoth hissed.

“What are your rates?”

“For normal consults and talk therapy, four hundred per hour. For what you have in mind, two hundred thousand.”

He blinked. “That’s a little steep.”

“I am a single woman collecting an education fund. I know what I am worth.” She shrugged. “Take it or leave it, monster.”

Romar smiled. “I will take it.”

Zera told him where to send the funds.

When the payment came through, she looked away from her terminal and said to Romar, “Please have a seat in my consulting room. Everybody else has to stay out.”

She waited until he was past her, and then she stood up and followed him. Her body showed her occupant as she walked, and Zera gasped, “How did I never see that?”

The mist wrapped around her and camouflaged her body.

Sgoth paused. “That would do it.”

Cloud walked into her consulting room and took a seat in the chair while Romar sat on the couch. She looked at him. “So, why have you come this way?”

“You left.”

“I left quite a while ago. Why are you here now?”

“I didn’t know what had transpired at the wedding until my sister mentioned it. She was very smug about Mother successfully driving you off.”

“Your sister doesn’t like me. Your mother doesn’t like me, and that other lady hates me.”

“You could have told me when I returned. You could have waited.”

“And how long would I have to deal with the hostility. I stayed a week, and you didn’t return, so off I went. I know when I am not wanted.”

“Did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That you were pregnant.” His shadows moved around him slowly.

“Nope. I was just highly agitated and tired of letting people shout whore at me. We were both adults and entered into that situation, and then you left me to deal with your family, and they hated my guts. So, I left, and they probably had a celebration. Your fiancée definitely did. You could have mentioned her at any point.”

He looked at her and sighed. “She was important. She was my family’s decision. You were mine.”

“Well, Dream Master Romar, my child and I are fine here.” She sighed and pressed her bump.

“Will you touch your mind to share your experiences?”

She nodded. “That’s why we are here, after all. Your nannies are nervous.”

He snorted, and his shadows moved toward her, so she reached back. He was precise as he analyzed her experiences, and she felt his hand resting on her belly. When he receded, he nodded. “You are telling the truth.”

“Have you known me to do anything else?”

He stroked her cheek. “Just the once.”

She blushed. “Well, I wasn’t sure that I was in need.”

“Your body was on fire. How could it be anything else?” He trailed his fingers over her jaw and neck. “It is a boy?”

“Yes. He joins me in the dreaming now.”

He froze. “He does what?”

“You heard me. When I am in the dreaming, he is with me.”

“Oh, that is unusual. Will you come back to the library?”

“No. It isn’t safe for me there. My birth sister is here. I just have to run one errand in Hyreno, and I will settle back here.”

“What is the errand?”

“I have to break my father’s nose, arms, and legs. Being unwieldy myself, I can only imagine the terror my mother must have gone through. I have a request filed to visit the city and speak with the king, his queen, and their adviser. It should be done by the end of the week.”

Romar’s hand hesitated near her belly. She could feel the heat.

“May I?”

She nodded.

His hand touched her belly cautiously, and there was a solid thud to his palm. His icy gaze flicked to hers. “He’s strong.”

She winced. “Very. He also knows you are big on proof.”

“I want you to come home with me.”

“No. It isn’t safe. I am safe here. You can visit as you like, but I am not going to be anywhere your family is.

I am less and less able to defend myself.

I am not putting myself into a position where I am unwieldy and they will attack.

They had started with tripping me and salting my food, but they have had time to think on it. ”

“Yes, I saw it. Will you be all right here if I go for a few days?”

She laughed. “Of course. Why?”

“I need to speak to the prefect.”

“Right. Well, have a nice day. I will let you know when I deliver.”

He chuckled. “He will also let me know when he is here.”

Romar leaned in to kiss her, but she backed up. He wasn’t going to weaken her resolve. “No. You lost that right when you didn’t tell me you had a fiancée. I don’t tread where others will walk, and you made me into a mistress instead of a lover. I don’t know if I will ever forgive you for that.”

He frowned, and his shadows flickered. “I understand. Please excuse me.”

He left, and she walked out after him with a practiced, calm expression.

He nodded, and Sgoth led him out of the building.

Cloud walked to her desk and wrote the session notes.

Zera sat near her. “So, the dream master is the baby’s father?”

“Yes. He neglected to tell me that he was engaged at the time, so I came to Aksalla, and now I make it my home.” She chuckled. “My sister works in the building, after all.”

“Sister? Who?”

Cloud looked away from her notes. “Keera. You knew that, didn’t you?”

“Uh, no. Or maybe I did. Things get blurry around you. So, he lied to you?”

“He thinks of it as a simple omission. I consider it a betrayal.”

“Ouch. So, what’s your schedule like?”

“I have next week off. I am going to see some family for the first time.”

“Does the dream master know?”

“Nope. None of his business.” She glanced at Zera. “I have done a long-range analysis of Hever and Krix. They are both stable for a date, and you can allow them to do it without the masks.”

“Why? There will be an emotional tie.”

“Those two are so knitted to each other, it isn’t funny. He was just starting with eagerness and no education. Things weren’t as good as he could get them. Sgoth helped him do research, and I believe things will be better now.”

“How did you do that?”

“Oh, I went through Keera and got to Hever. She’s easy to check, and she is very attached to Krix. Outside of a heat, I don’t think she would even consider another alpha. And once they have actually bonded, they are going to lock in and be steady. I think they will make really cute kids.”

Zera snorted. “That isn’t a huge concern.”

“It is very much on my mind right now. Keera and Worro are cuddling their brains out today, and I can see all kinds of plans in your mind for Veradil. She has a suitor?”

“Yes. I had no idea that you could read surface thoughts.”

“I was reading thoughts before I left the womb. I just am not interested in other beings. Just me and mine. I am very insular.”

“Cloud, do you think Keera will want to be involved in your child’s life?”

“Oh, yes, I just have a few things to do first.” She scrolled through her correspondence and grinned. “Excellent. I am going to Hyreno.” She smiled. “Well, I have to go pack. I travel in the morning. I will be back on Wednesday.”

“Are you going alone?”

“No, my assistant is coming with me. She has family there. She’ll get me out if I do something stupid.”

Zera blinked. “I didn’t authorize that.”

“We rent from you; we don’t work for you unless contracted. If you want to break our lease, you are welcome to try.” Cloud smirked. “Yahtana works for me.”

“She has a no-Hyreno dating policy.”

“Yeah, she stands out among her own people, and some of them don’t care for it.” Cloud smiled. “But she will keep me and mine safe. She’s also a delightful person to have around.”

Zera blinked. “I see. And I see she has suspended her account for a few days.”

“Aw. She moonlights? Nice.” Cloud laughed.

“You didn’t know?”

“Of course I knew. She ran it past me first. I hear about all her dates in the vaguest of terms. No confidentiality is ever broken.”

“She shouldn’t have told you.”

“She had to. We share a residence. She’s my roomie.” Cloud laughed.

“That isn’t in her file.”

“I believe you will find it is. I am her next of kin and emergency contact.”

Zera stared at her display. “How did I miss that?”

“You weren’t looking for it.”

“Does Keera know?”

“Nope. I am going to tell her next week.”

“Why?”

“Because the problem will be solved or it won’t. Either way, I need a few days.”

Zera sighed. “It was so much easier when we were in the capitol. Now, the escorts aren’t as desperate for sex, and they are more interested in finding a partner.”

“So? Expand again and make a matchmaking service. Three dates, no sex, and there you go. They can at least meet other actives they would have difficulty killing.”

“So, what’s between you in the dream master?”

“Nothing. My body called, he answered, and then I found out he had a fiancée.” She drummed her fingers on her belly. “So, that was that.”

Zera blinked. “Right. That was it?”

“Oh, his family fucking hates me, so I can’t set foot in the great library without risking me or the baby. And I will not risk my baby.”

“Right. Well, let me know if I can do anything.”

“Don’t give Yahtana trouble for her absence from your little project for a few days.”

“Fine, but I don’t like my escorts to risk themselves, especially if they are as popular as Yahtana.”

“Fair enough. She is one of a kind.”

The woman in question came in the door. “Come on, preggo. We need to get you home and get you packed. The car is waiting.”

Zera blinked. “You are going to Hyreno? I thought you hated them.”

“I do and I don’t. My grandma keeps trying to hook me up with city-based Hyreno, and I don’t want to live there. I like living where I can get a tan, and when I want to go for a snack, I can just go. No wading through kelp. Bleah.”

“Wait. You are a Hyreno, and you don’t like kelp?”

“Yes. Also, not crazy about fish. Do you understand now?”

Zera blinked. “Yeah, I think I do. Well, have a nice trip.”

Cloud looked at Yahtana, and they closed up the office while laughing softly. It was going to be the trip of a lifetime.