to Earth. If Salvo is available, it could be within hours. It could also take a few days. I don’t want to promise something I can’t deliver.”
Her gaze searched his for a long, tense moment then she released a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry for being selfish. I’m not at my best right now.”
“Your desire for normalcy is understandable,” he tried to reassure.
“However you can get us home will be wonderful. Thank you. And I never said thank you for rescuing us. That should have been the first words out of my mouth.”
“You’re welcome.” He should end the conversation. He was supposed to be scanning their surroundings and guarding the ship. But he wasn’t ready to be separated from her, had barely begun to explore why he found her so fascinating. Rather than going back inside, he said, “Excuse me for a moment.” Then he accessed the ship’s control systems with the holo-band implanted in his arm. A three-dimensional grid rose from his forearm, and he used his other hand to manipulate the controls. He quickly set the sensors to continual scan and selected his holo-band as the primary alarm should anything go wrong. Then he told his holo-band to hibernate and turned his attention back to Nikki. “Sorry about that. I’m technically on duty.”
“Should I go inside?”
“Please don’t.” The odd catch in his voice startled him. What was it about this female that had him acting like a lovesick fool? And the strangest part was that she wasn’t even trying to attract his attention. She just stood there calm and quiet, and he was still going insane.
After another tense pause, she asked, “Is Salvo the sentinel who got you here?”
“He is. We’re cousins so I know he’ll agree to take you home once I explain the situation. You helped rescue Velmar. That alone will entitle you to transportation wherever you want to go.”
She made a bland gesture toward the ship. “I should probably find somewhere to lie down. I want my friends to sleep.”
He caught her hand, unable to stomach the thought of being without her. “I told you a bit about my world. Tell me about you and your friends.”
She didn’t pull her hand back, seemed as trapped in the magnetism as he was. “Haley and I went to school together. Selina is a couple of years older. I moved to a different state to attend college, so we lost touch for a while.”
He drew her closer then shifted his hand to the small of her back. “I only know a few of your cities, but I’m relatively familiar with the states. Where were you born and where did you attend college?”
“I was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico. That’s where I met Haley and Selina. Once I graduated from high school, I moved to Arizona. That’s one state to the west of New Mexico. The university was in Phoenix, but I live in a small town called Sedona now.”
“And how do you—how did you put it—keep bread on the table?”
Pivoting toward him, she leaned her shoulder against the ship and gazed up at him. Her expression was open and warm. It was such a relief to be able to see her clearly.
“Sedona is beautiful. The surrounding countryside is some of the most breathtaking in the country. Needless to say, it’s popular for tourists, but the town itself is known for its free-spirited people. A lot of artists live there,” she told him.
“Are you one of them?”
She shook her head, but quickly averted her face. “I’m much too sensible for art. Ask anyone who knows me.”
There was pain in her voice and regret. Clearly, there was a story here that she wasn’t sharing. “Then why did you settle in a town known for its artistic inhabitants?”
“Because I’m a shrewd businesswoman,” she stated proudly and turned her head back around. “I own a shop that sells art supplies for the townies and novelties for the tourists. I also rent out my back room for demonstrations and classes. Haley and Selina attended one of the demonstrations. That’s how we reconnected.”
“They didn’t know you had moved to Sedona?”
She shook her head, appearing relaxed again. “They had no idea until they walked into the front of the shop and saw me behind the counter.”
“That must have been fun for all three of you.” He liked seeing her like this, relaxed and happy. Inwardly, he cringed at the thought. He had known Nikki for a matter of hours. Why was he reacting to her