Claiming His Unexpected Baby (Assassins Guild #2) - Michelle Howard Page 0,1
she’d allowed herself to be swept away by his lies. No more. She took steadying breaths as she rubbed her hands down the sides of her pants and told herself she’d dodged a big mistake. It was a good thing she saw his true colors now rather than later.
Raising a baby by herself might be hard but it would have been far worse if she tried to do it with a non-committal father.
Amelie grabbed her communication device and keyed in the code for her best friend who’d moved away two years ago but stayed in touch. “Scarlett? It’s Amelie. Were you serious about moving with you to the Gerelin colony?”
The answer had her closing her eyes in relief. Ten years of friendship was better than anything Roan had ever given her. Thank all the higher powers she hadn’t ended the friendship with Scarlett the way Roan had encouraged her to do.
If she’d been smarter and not blinded by love, she should have left the day Scarlett invited her to visit instead of letting Roan convince her to stay here. Now he was leaving and she was left to figure out the pieces of her life that he’d smashed in the process to gain his own success.
***
“I’m not sure about this.” Amelie sat up on the exam table and tugged at the thin paper gown she wore which covered the bare minimum.
Her best friend, Dr. Scarlett Tun, had completed her physical confirming everything was on track with her pregnancy and she was two months along.
From across the room, going through her notes, Scarlett sent her an exasperated look. “The only people who can stay here are those with a familial connection to the Gerelin or those here in a work capacity. I can’t get you a job. Yet. So this is the next best thing.”
Amelie eyed the injector in Scarlett’s hand. It sounded simple and easy but Amelie couldn’t wrap her head around the concept. “Explain it to me again.”
Scarlett sat on a rolling stool and slid over, stopping in front of Amelie and the bottom of the table. “Alright. Gerelins form relationships through a bonding process with the individual they deem their mate. The men especially are very protective and go crazy if they even think their bonded mate is in danger.”
“Ooo-kaaay.”
Scarlett sighed as if she couldn’t understand why Amelie was missing the point. “We need to fake such a connection for you. If we make it look like you’re mated to a Gerelin, we can get you approved to live here.”
Shaking her head, Amelie searched the room for the clothes and shoes she’d taken off for her exam. She was desperate but what Scarlett proposed was farfetched. “No. I already told you I’m not looking for another relationship, Scar.”
Scarlett leaned forward and gripped her knee, stopping Amelie from leaping from the table to leave. “Fake. Fake relationship.”
Amelie sucked her teeth. When Scarlett said she’d help, this wasn’t what she’d expected. It sounded a bit much to Amelie. “How am I going to fake it? I don’t know any Gerelins and I’ve only been here a week.”
“That’s where I come in.” Scarlett smiled and held up the injector filled with a gold liquid. “As the Lead Medic, Gerelins see me for health reasons of all sorts. When I knew you were coming and why, I started figuring out a way to make this work.”
Amelie crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m listening.”
Relief crossed Scarlett’s face and she did a fist pump with her free hand. “Good. Gerelins inject their mates with a special hormone to form the bond. Which I happen to have right here. Others can sense it or something and that’s how we’ll fake the relationship for you.”
Amelie inhaled sharply and eyed the injector. “Scarlett! How did you get the hormone? What if I run into the guy and he knows I lied?”
Wincing, Scarlett said, “I’m not proud of it but I stole this from a visitor. He was injured and stopped here for medical assistance two weeks ago. I extracted the hormone when I put him under for a minor surgery.”
Amelie couldn’t believe her by the book friend would do something like that. Being a medic meant everything to her. “That’s wrong, Scar!”
“I know.” Scarlett stared at the injector in dejection. “I was trying to think of a way to help you and then he came in all hurt and...I just did it.”
“We can’t do this.” Amelie wasn’t in agreement at all. What they were discussing wasn’t