Page 77 of Alien Wants A Wife

The rest of the room must be set to mute; I know Killan and Lydia are still talking, but I’ve lost track of their conversation.

“Killan is being presumptuous,” Roan says, speaking only to me as he rubs the back of his neck and closes the distance between us so that he can take hold of my hands. The way he’s watching me, eyes wide with uncertainty, tells me he doesn’t know how I’ll react to everything that’s happened this morning.

“No, he’s not being presumptuous. I promised you that I’d seriously think about whether I wanted to stay, and I know our twenty days aren’t up yet, but I’ve already made my decision.”

“Harlee—” he swallows.

Mesmerized, I watch his throat. I can see the muscles moving—that’s how much tension he’s holding in his body in anticipation of what I’m going to say.

Suddenly, it’s the easiest thing in the world to tell Roan my feelings. My chest is full to bursting with yearning, and it spills out.

“I’m so incredibly in love with you, Roan. I love your kindness. I love your playfulness. I love your enthusiasm. I love your bravery. I love?—”

The end of my sentence is muffled as Roan wraps all four arms around me, pulling me against his chest. I wrap my arms around his neck, kissing his cheeks, his chin, his mouth—any part of him I can reach. They’re messy, wetkisses. Uncoordinated. Passionate. Filled with happiness and excitement.

Behind me, distantly, I hear Lydia groan, but it’s Chloe’s voice that cuts through the air like a knife.

“God, you’re pathetic, Harlee,” she says, her voice full of enough contempt that it catches my attention, despite the kisses Roan is tracing along my jaw. I pull back to shoot her a glare.

Roan’s looking dazed. His usually slit-shaped pupils are wide. He’s breathing fast, his arms still holding onto me so tightly my feet are dangling above the ground.

“You know Harlee’s only saying all that rubbish because she wants you to believe she’s on your side,” Chloe says to Roan, who has to blink a few times before he can pull his attention off me long enough to glance confusedly at Chloe.

“Akh…”

“Harlee is manipulating you,” Chloe continues. “She’s been manipulating you this entire time.”

“Chloe—” My heart skips a beat.

“I’ve got proof. Look.” Out of her pocket she withdraws her tablet, which folds open to its full size.

“You didn’t think to search their pockets?” Lydia asks Killan dumbfoundedly.

“Look,” Chloe reiterates, turning her screen to face the rest of us. It’s playing a film clip, from the interview room back on Mr. Smith’s spaceship, with the LOVE GALAXY wallpaper and the heart-shaped seats. Video Chloe and I are sitting, facing each other. I’m wearing a maniacal smile, and I’m dressed in the clothes I’d been abducted in.

“You’re my special project,” video Chloe tells video me. “I’m not saying I can guarantee you’ll find love, but I can guarantee you’ll get the best edit. I can guarantee you’ll be the star of the show, the heroine everyone is rooting for. But only if you do exactly what I say.”

“That’s really kind of you,” video me replies, my smile widening.

“Chloe—” I warn, my heart in my mouth. I remember checking the room for cameras when we’d had that conversation and had seen none. I’d thought we’d been private.

Chloe turns up the volume, pointedly ignoring me.

“Excellent.” Video Chloe clasps her hands together. “Listen carefully. You, Harlee Jun, are going to make Roan fall in love with you, and then you’re going to break his heart for all the world to watch on intergalactic TV.”

Chapter Thirty

Roan

You are going to break Roan’s heart. On intergalactic TV.

“Of course,” the recorded Harlee agrees. “Simple.”

“That’s not…” The real Harlee tightens her hold of my neck. “Roan— It wasn’t like that,” she says, as I set her on the ground and step back.

I’m shaking.Did Harlee just say… Did she just say… She loves me?

“Harlee…” I can barely speak. There are so many things I want to tell her, and they all try rushing out of my mouth at the same time, creating a lump in my throat.

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