Page 4 of Tail, Dark and Handsome: Celestial Mates
“And we’re going to eat a delightful meal, eat cake, and dance,” Joseph said. He took the empty glass and handed her another with a sparkling golden liquid. That was more like it.
“I like all those things,” she said, gulping the sparkling wine like a lady, because she had manners, dang it, and only sputtered a little when the bubbles tickled her nose.
“Do you want to wear the dress or not?”
Mari looked down at the concoction of lace and tulle. At one point, the dress made her feel like a fairy princess, Princess Sunshower in Marigold Fields. “It’s terrible, isn’t it?”
“Keep wearing it. Go for the full Miss Havisham,” he said.
“Nerd.” She didn’t want to smirk, but there it was, a tiny smirk. She’d be okay in the end. Screw Tomas and Sandria. “Do you still think we can find a pair of costume fairy wings?”
“On it.” He already had out his communicator, ready to order. “We can hang out here until the drone arrives and be mysterious.”
“Or we can drink.” Mari waved her empty glass at him, then sighed. “Thanks for footing the bill. I’ll pay you back, you know.”
His dark eyes gleamed. “Don’t worry about it. Consider it your future gift for when you get married for real.”
“That outlook is not good,” she said.
“I mean,Idon’t understand the compulsion, but I am 100% behind you.”
“You’d have to be in this dress.” He snorted at her snarky comment. Mari couldn’t explain the compulsion, either. One day, she realized that she was thirty and felt like she had a clock ticking down in her chest. Living on a busy space station meant that she met tons of people, but relationship material people? Not so much. Joseph seemed to be content with flings, but Mari wanted something with substance. She wanted to wake up to the same face, not for a handful of days while they hung about the station waiting for a connecting flight or ship repairs, but for years.
One face for the rest of her life.
She didn’t think it was that hard of a request, but her fruitless dating life proved her wrong. Frustrated by only meeting men who seemed to have a girl in every port, she signed up with Celestial Mates. The agency introduced her to Tomas, a pilot based out of the station.
On paper, they wanted the same thing, and in person, they clicked. He had been charming, sweet, and knew all the right things to say. Her longing for a commitment made her an easy target, and her desire to see the best in people made it easy to carry on an affair.
“I should go talk to the cops,” she said.
“Hmm? Oh, yes. Them. Are you going to return the dress or can I order these water guns? Because you’re really going to like my next suggestion.”
She should take the dress off and try to get some kind of refund, or at least sell it to a secondhand shop. “Do it. I’m feeling like I need to make some bad decisions.”
A grin spread across Joseph’s face. “My favorite kind.”
“Cops now. Then cake.” Her stomach rumbled. So much cake. Enough cake to burst the stitching in the dress. “I can’t believe I gave up carbs to fit into this dress.”
Turns out the men weren’t cops.
A Tal man wearing an expensive suit waited, sprawled in a chair like he was at home with one leg over the chair’s arm. His tail swept over the floor, back and forth. Behind him stood two bulky males with grim expressions, obviously kept around for their menace.
“He sent his female,” the Tal man said. He straightened in the chair, then leaned forward to rest his elbow on his knees. “Cowardly. I cannot abide cowards.”
“I don’t know what business you have with Tomas, but he’s not here. He took a ship this morning,” she said.
The man seemed bored by her information. “And where is this ship headed?”
“Do you think I’d be standing here in a wedding dress if I knew? He ran away. He’s not coming back.”
“I have no idea what you humans do or wear,” he said dismissively. “Tomas owes me a considerable amount of money. Mostly gambling, but he has expensive taste, doesn’t he?” He eyed her in the dress. Mari felt the need to cover herself, but remained still. He continued, “I intend to collect. Considering the circumstances, I will forgo my normal interest rate if you can pay today.”
Mari pressed a hand to her forehead, unable to process the day’s events. “Yeah, no. He’s not my husband. We’re not legally bound or obligated to each other, thank the stars. So why don’t you have a piece of cake and a drink?”
The man stood, tugging the cuffs of his suit. “That’s adorable, but I wonder what gave you the impression that I’m a bank. I want my money.”
Mari craned her head back, as the man stood a good few inches taller than her. “What did you say your name was?”
