Hailey shot to her feet from the chair she’d been sitting in, her gaze locked on the opening to the corridor that led to the lift. She was about to meet another clone. Her hands trembled a little as she smoothed down the skirt she wore, and she took a few calming breathes.
Smile? Not smile? She wasn’t sure.
Blade came in first, followed by a man slightly taller than him. They both had the same build. Large and muscular. The new guy wore jeans and a T-shirt. He had bright blue eyes and longer, curly black hair. All clones must be handsome, since he was pretty equal in hotness.
“Hailey, this is Big.” Blade came to her side and put his arm around her.
“Hi,” she blurted. “It’s so nice to meet you.” Her right hand twitched, and she was unsure if she should offer to shake. Clones might not use that greeting. She regretted not asking Blade.
“Hello.” Big smiled. “I’m glad to meet you, since you’re the reason I got my best friend back.”
She frowned. “He rescued me. Not the other way around.” She turned her head, giving Blade a questioning look. Too late, she worried that he might have lied to his friend. If so, she’d just exposed him.
Blade smiled. “He means that finding you and this shuttle got me away from the pirates and a ride home.”
“Oh. Right.” She turned her attention back to Big. She felt nervous again, unsure what to say. Her mother would tell her to fall back on manners. So that’s what she did. “Would you like something to eat or drink, Mr. Big? The kitchen is well stocked. I could list off the meal choices we have.”
A smile spread across Big’s face.
Blade chuckled from beside her.
She peered up at him again. “What’s funny?”
“No one has ever called us ‘mister’ before. It’s cute, baby. Big is fine, but thank you for offering to feed him.”
She flushed, feeling a little embarrassed. “Sorry.”
“Never apologize.” Blade winked at her.
“I was telling Blade that I met the love of my life while he was gone. Her name is Gemma. I think the two of you would get along well, Hailey. Would you like to meet her?”
“There’s another woman here?” That news excited her. “Yes. I’d love to!”
Big cleared his throat. “She’s a clone. Is that going to be a problem?”
“I told you it wouldn’t be,” Blade snapped. “Stop it.”
“I just need to be sure.”
She glanced between them, worried. Blade looked like he wanted to hit something. He even took a threatening step toward his friend.
Hailey reacted by grabbing his arm. “What’s going on?”
“He’s afraid that you’ll be mean to Gemma because she’s a clone.” Blade didn’t look back at her, but he did halt in his tracks, allowing her to keep ahold of him. “I told you that she’s not like that. Don’t you trust me anymore?”
“You’ve been gone for a long time. I’m not trying to be a dick, but I told you about Gemma’s tenuous state. I’m doing everything I can to make certain she suffers no setbacks. The last thing she needs is a verbal slap to the face about her new life.”
Hailey suddenly remembered how Blade had expected that she’d want to kill him, just because he was a clone. “Both of you stop it.” She moved to get between them, probably not the smartest thing to do, considering they were much larger than her, but it was better than them getting into a fight. Especially over her.
She gave her back to Blade, facing Big. “Look, you don’t know me yet, but I would never purposely hurt someone else’s feelings. I see three people in this room. Keyword being people. I don’t care if someone was born or grown.” She paused, noticing that Big’s gaze softened as he studied her. “I see you as a person,” she stressed. “I would really like to meet Gemma. I was grabbed by men and taken by force from my home. I miss my mom and my friends. Talking to another woman would be really nice after everything that I’ve been through. Again, keyword being woman. I’m going to see her as a person, too.”
Blade pressed against her back and wrapped his arms around her waist. He placed a kiss on the top of her head. “I told you that my Hailey is special. Are we done with this overprotective streak of yours, Big? I’d like to meet Gemma, too.”
Big stepped forward and held out his hand. “Will you accept