the baby would implant and develop quickly—the doctors weren’t kidding, were they?
I shuffle downstairs and use the new food dispenser to get myself some decaf coffee and a snack of cookies and fruit. And then I walk back up the stairs and into Berg’s room. I put the coffee on the nightstand and notice my tablet is blinking with a vid request from Riley.
I laugh. Even though we’re now on the same planet and I’m only two streets over, she’s still pinging me? I sit cross legged on the bed and tap the screen.
She’s standing in her kitchen. “Where are you?” she asks. “Are you still at Bestla’s?”
“No, I’m moved into Berg’s house for real,” I tell her. “I slept here last night and I’m in his bedroom right now, using the fancy new tablet he gave me.” A smile brightens my face because I can’t get over the fact that he left me this gift. Usually no one gives me gifts, besides Riley.
“Bestla said you have to stay in his room until more furniture can be ordered?”
“Yep.” I can hear the sound of country music playing in the background as she moves around. “Are you cooking dinner?” I ask, because she’s a really good cook and I’m…not.
“I am. Want to come over and eat with us? I’m making pizza.” Riley walks into her pantry to grab something. She’s always in there, obsessing with organization. It’s her thing. She also loves to cook original planet human food. She’s started a terrific Intelgram channel about her Hyrrokin family life and her human cooking, therefore she’s pretty busy with the babies and her subscribers. But even though she’s married to a billionaire and also technically famous on Tarvos, she’s still the same Riley I’ve always known, and I love this about her.
Oh gods, did she say pizza? I think about it, but that would require walking over to her house, which suddenly sounds like the worst kind of torture. “That sounds great, but I’ve had a long day and I’m really tired. I think I’m just going to chill here tonight. Thanks for asking.”
“No prob. I’ll bring leftovers for you tomorrow. So…how was your appointment at the med lab? I mean, I know you heard the heartbeat, which is amazing. Thanks for sending that audio. Aegir and I listened to it a bunch of times already, we even played it for the twins, letting them know their cousin was on the way. But I want to know how you’re doing.”
“It went well and I’m fine,” I tell her. “But the ladies who work there were all heartbroken that Berg wasn’t with me.”
“Heh, I bet they were,” she snorts. “You’re just going to have to get used to that. The females on this planet all basically lose their minds over Bergelmir because he’s so mysterious and edgy.”
“He is? It’s all so weird to me. He’s an amazing male but…”
“I know, right? To us he’s just Bergelmir, the silent grouch. And come on, Aegir’s way more handsome.”
I shrug because to me it’s obvious Berg is better looking. “I don’t know, I like how the barb on Berg’s tail is bigger. And his voice is deeper.”
“His voice isn’t deeper!”
“It is. He’s got more of a hiss, when he talks with his forked tongue. You haven’t noticed?”
“I course I haven’t. Aegir has longer fangs.”
“Well, maybe…” Although… “You do realize we’re debating which satanic-looking being is more handsome?”
She spits out the coffee she was trying to drink. “Gods, can you believe? It’s so funny. When I first met Aegir I was so scared I fainted, and look at me now! I married him.”
I nod in agreement. It’s crazy how quickly we’ve both become acclimated to these big-hearted satanic-looking beings.
And then Riley gets distracted with a timer going off and she starts fiddling with her oven. “Are you okay?” she asks suddenly.
My brow furrows. “Yeah. Of course I am.” And I bend down to grab my decaf coffee and take a sip.
“Chloe…”
“Hmm?”
“Chloe.”
I look up and see my friend with her hands on her hips. “You can fool all of them, but you can’t fool me.”
Oh hell. “Okay, I guess it’s just harder for me to leave home than I thought it would be,” I admit. “You’ve moved all over the four sectors, but I’ve always lived in that one place, in that one house. I’ve always had my eyes on the stars, and I wanted to leave to experience other cultures and their species and history, but now