Page 64 of Close Encounters of the Hot Kind

"Indeed," I reply, forcing a smile. "A pleasure to meet you...?"

"Aunt Gina! Can you believe little Aileen is married?" She cackles, grabbing my face and planting an overly moist kiss on my cheek. "Don't you break her heart now, you hear?"

"I would never dream of it," I assure her, though the thought of betraying my mate fills me with revulsion.

Aunt Gina wanders off, replaced by a steady stream of well-wishers - cousins, friends, coworkers from the pizza place. I nod and smile and thank them for their kind words, though their names and faces blur together into a meaningless parade.

Through it all, Aileen remains at my side, squeezing my hand and laughing at their jokes and stories. She handles the onslaught with remarkable poise. If the constant interruptions bother her, she gives no indication.

At one point, Pyke comes over to offer his congratulations. He clasps my arm in the traditional Vakutan warrior's handshake, his grip just a hair too tight to be friendly.

"A joyous celebration," he says, his tone neutral. "Though I must admit, I do not fully understand the human rituals."

"Nor I," I admit with a wry grin. "But it pleases my mate, and so I endure."

Pyke's gaze drifts to where the other Vakutans are getting increasingly rowdy, downing glasses of champagne and bellowing raucous drinking songs. A young recruit has already passed out under the dessert table.

"Endurance is a Vakutan virtue," Pyke says dryly. "Though some of our brothers seem to be struggling more than others."

I throw back my head and laugh. Let the louts have their fun - this is a night for revelry, after all. "They'll learn."

At last, the night winds down. Aileen's relatives depart one by one, leaving us in blessed quiet. I pull her close, breathing in the scent of her hair.

"At last," I murmur, "the honeymoon."

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