that way. Her ex-husband came to mind. He had been too lazy to take out the trash and couldn’t be bothered to remember her birthday when they’d been married. Big was prepared to commit major crimes and risk his life to keep her.
She released his hand and gripped his shirt, going up on her tiptoes.
He leaned forward a little with a confused look on his face.
She kissed him on the lips, then eased back down. “Thank you.”
He arched his eyebrows. “You aren’t upset?”
“I’m a little freaked out, but I understand what you’re saying. I’m going to be fine though. I am grateful to be alive. I’ll focus on that instead of flipping out that I’m suddenly living in the future. Just don’t expect me to learn fast. I was always techno challenged. I couldn’t even program names and numbers into my cell phone in the past. I doubt I’ll be able to run an entire moon base station when you’re out doing your pirate gig.”
“It runs itself. I just want you to monitor the systems and make corrections if there’s a malfunction.”
“I’ll try my best to learn.”
“Everything about you has been enhanced. You’ll learn faster now. I’m very glad you’re in my life, Gemma. I was extremely lonely here.”
She could relate to that. Once her sons had turned into young adults, they’d had college classes, friends, and the occasional girlfriends. They’d spent less and less time with her. She had a few good friends but most of them had been married and occupied with family.
There had been a lot of nights spent alone, wishing for someone to talk to or share a meal with. Now she had Big. He was sexy, handsome, and he seemed desperate to be with her. Life was looking up, even if it wasn’t the one she was used to.
He stopped at the very end of the hallway and pressed his fingertips to a panel. The double doors opened, revealing a huge suite. She entered, still holding his hand.
“Wow!”
“I hope you enjoy our home.”
It had to be one of the biggest living room areas she’d ever seen. A kitchen sat along the far back wall, with a massive island and several barstools. It even had a dining room area to the side, with a table that could easily seat twenty. A wide corridor opened off the kitchen that she assumed led to at least one bedroom.
“Who lived here?”
“The owner of the mine. I took it as my own since, I’m the one who remained.”
“Nice digs.”
He chuckled. “I agree.”
“The owner liked to entertain, I guess.” She glanced at the table again. It would be weird to ever use it with just the two of them.
“I read the logs. He invited the mine operation heads to dinner often and they held business meetings here.”
Movement had her gasping as a tall metallic thing came out of what she’d assumed was a tall closet in the kitchen. It looked humanoid, but even with clothing on it was scary as hell. Gemma shoved her body up against Big’s.
“Easy,” he chuckled. “That’s just Magna. She’s a kitchen-aid android.”
The thing stopped on the other side of the island, hands neatly resting on the gray stone that made up the countertop. “Are you hungry, Big? What may I make for you?”
He wrapped his arm around Gemma and led her closer to the robot. She could admit that her steps might have dragged a bit. More horror movies were reeling through her head. Killer robots. And it was in a kitchen. Which meant it had access to knives.
“Easy, sweetheart,” he rasped. “Magna is harmless. Are you hungry?”
“That thing cooks?”
“Yes. Magna, this is Gemma. She lives here now, and you’ll take orders from her as well. Do you understand?”
Metallic round eyes fixed on Gemma, and the thing smiled, revealing silver teeth. “It is a pleasure to serve you, Gemma. What would you like to eat?”
She was beyond thinking at the moment. “Do you have a menu?”
“Of course.” The appliance behind the robot, what she’d assumed was maybe a modern-day version of a fridge, lit up, now looking more like a computer screen. A list of words ran down its length.
Big gently maneuvered her around the island. “We’re well stocked. Chose something. I’m sure you’re hungry. I am.”
“This is going to take a lot of time to adjust to.” Gemma’s gaze darted to the lower half of the robot. It had wheels on the bottom of what passed for feet. It had two arms, legs, a human