Page 75 of Alien Wants A Wife

That we noticed his ship moving was pure luck, thanks to Killan’s inane decision to hold our meeting in the middle of the night, when normally we would all be sleeping.

When my cart slows, I know it is because Sorin is approaching. A moment later, he comes within reach of our intercoms, and Killan signals him with an alert.

“What?” Sorin demands, sounding as grumpy as I was to be woken and pulled from the arms of my… my…almost-Mate.

“Turn around,” Killan demands. “John Smith is airborne, heading toward your cottage.”

“Fek!”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Harlee

“Itold you they’d fuck it up,” Lydia says the second the door closes and we can both hear ourselves think again. “I knew it!”

“Roan—”

“He can’t do anything.”

“It might all be a misunderstanding. Mr. Smith could still come back.” I grab Lydia by the shoulders. She looks like she’s on the verge of puking. Her breathing is ragged. Wheezing. “Come on.” I lead her back down the stairs, sit her down and then fetch her a cup of water.

“I knew it,” she says again, but she doesn’t sound half so triumphant anymore. Rather, her voice is weak. Stunned. Almost as though she didn’tactuallythink this moment would happen, despite how much she’d been worrying about it. “We’re stuck here.”

“Would that be so bad?” Despite commonsense telling me to keep my mouth shut, I’m unable to stop myself from asking the question. At least I’ve got enough restraint left to whisper it.

Unfortunately, Lydia hears me. “I forgot,” she practically spits. “You’re in love with Roan. You probably don’t even want to go back.”

“I don’t. Not really.” As soon as I say the words, I know they’re true.

“Fucking hell, Harlee! I knew you fancied Roan, but I’d always thought you’d chicken out and come home with me.”

“Whoa!” I raise my arms, surprised by the force of her outburst. “Chicken out?”

“You know what I mean.”

The sad thing is I do. Spending time with Roan has helped me realize how ashamed I’d become of me being me. I hadn’t wanted anyone to see how much my family and Asher had hurt me, so I’d changed into a new person. Harlee Jun 2.0.

Now… Now I think I might be Harlee Jun 1.5. I can’t go completely back to being who I was before I ever met my ex, especially after everything that’s happened in the last few days. At the same time, I feel more like myself than who I’d been at the beginning of LOVE GALAXY. It’s been days since I’ve second-guessed my instincts. Days since I’ve silently scolded myself for speaking too loudly or too excitedly. Days since I’ve faked a smile. Days since the buzz of anxiety made me jittery and scared.

Lydia’s got her arms crossed and is slumped in her chair.

I can’t stay angry at her. I get why her emotions have been yoyoing all over the place, first furious at Mr. Smith, then mad at me. She’s faced disappointment after disappointment, and they’ve all been stuff outside of her control.

Her yelling, I realize with startling clarity, reminds me of someone attempting to appear bigger and braver and louder than they actually believe they are. All bravado, no bite. I remember back to the first time we met—I’d thought then she’d been putting on an act. But I haven’t given it much consideration because I’d been acting too.

“No matter what happens,” I promise her, “I won’t abandon you.”

She peeks up at me through her lashes. I’m not sure she fully believes me, but I mean it. If she wants to get home, then I’ll do whatever I can to help make that happen.

Even leave Roan?my pesky brain asks. But I brush the question aside before I can linger on the answer. Because I’m pretty sure, if push came to shove and I absolutely had no choice but to pick between leaving with Lydia and staying with Roan, I know who I’d choose—and the answer isn’t going to make either Lydia or me happy.

“Did you hear that?” Lydia shakes my shoulder, and I straighten, scrubbing at my face with my fists.

“What?” I don’t remember falling asleep, but the pain in my lower back and shoulders from bending over the table is real.

She hushes me to be quiet, and I’m listening so intensely I’m holding my breath. There’s the sound of the front door opening. The screaming wind. Then no wind at all. Followed by heavy footsteps on the stairs—aliens in boots.

Chloe is the first one to appear, with Roan standing directly behind her. It takes me a second to notice he’s got both his right hands on her back, like he’s afraid she’s going to fall—or run.

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