Married to Krampus - Marina Simcoe Page 0,28
My head was spinning slightly, as if I were falling somewhere. Maybe under a spell? I swallowed hard. “Intense, but not scary.”
He leaned closer, brushing his thumb along my lower lip, and I quickly tucked it between my teeth. The aircraft seemed way too small all of a sudden, the vivid colors of the sunset closed in all around us.
“Are we there yet?” I asked, unable to tear my gaze away from his eyes that appeared to grow brighter and hotter.
“There?” As if yanked back to the reality, he blinked, his bushy eyebrows moved closer. “Yes. Almost. But there was something else I wanted to do before we arrive.”
Leaning over my lap, he slid open an aircraft compartment in front of me and took out a flat, orange box.
“I want you to wear these tonight.”
He opened the lid of the box and took out a cluster of orange-green balls, each about the size of a marble.
“What is it?” I squinted at them, wondering what he meant by me wearing this.
“It’s the jewelry set my father gifted to my mother when he was courting her.”
The baubles looked more like a child’s dress-up beads than anything a grown woman would wear, but I loved the bright shimmering colors.
“It’s pretty.”
Shifting closer, he circled my neck with the necklace, closing the clasp at my nape. The numerous strings of baubles draped over my entire chest, nearly reaching my waist.
“Did she end up marrying him?” I felt very much like a Christmas tree now, hung with bright, round ornaments.
“She did.” He took out two spirals strung with the same balls of orange, green, and brown swirls. “This is shalel, an extremely rare mineral mined only on the planet Aldrai. My father paid a fortune for this set, back in the day. And it’s truly priceless, now.” He wrapped one spiral around each of my forearms. “My father gave it to me after the ceremony at the Governor’s Palace last year, right after the announcement of my upcoming marriage was made.”
I’d been excited to be selected as the first bride to go to Neron. For the Colonel, I understood, this marriage held an even bigger significance. In Voran, our union was a state affair—a really big deal.
“I am the first son of my father’s to get married,” the Colonel continued. “He wanted you to have this.”
“Thank you.”
I took out my fresh-water pearl studs to let him put the long strings of baubles in my ears.
“How many brothers do you have?” I asked while he was doing it.
“Four. The fifth one died at birth, along with my mother.”
“Oh, no,” I gasped. “I’m so sorry, Colonel.”
He furrowed his brow slightly, moving a shoulder back. “It happened more than thirty-four years ago. Enough time has passed.”
“Time definitely helps.” I released a sigh. “But do we ever fully heal from a loss? My Grandma passed away when I was sixteen, and I still miss her every day.”
“How about the rest of your family?” he asked after a pause. “Are they well?”
“Yes. My parents are alive and well. And I have an older sister, who is married and has two children, a boy and a girl, my niece and nephew.” I smiled, thinking about all of them.
He stared at me intensely.
“You miss them.” It wasn’t a question.
“I do.” I nodded, stifling another sigh.
“Is that why you want to go back home?”
“What? No. I’ve made the conscious decision to leave my home and family to come here.”
“Why did you come to Voran, Daisy?”
This question he should have asked me a long time ago. Preferably even before he had made the call to bring me here. He should have asked me why I was ready to move planets to come live with him. Or better yet, he should’ve read my damn letter.
I inhaled deeply then looked straight into those bright red eyes of his. There was no point in lying, it’s not like I needed to worry about what he’d think of me, now.
“Because I hoped to find my place and my purpose here, Colonel. I was looking forward to making my home here and to raising a family with you.”
“My family,” he echoed.
“Right.”
I had hoped that he, his children, and I might all become one happy family one day, but that seemed like another lifetime, now—the time when I still had silly hopes and before I had the “pleasure” of meeting the Colonel in person.
I turned away, and we sat in silence for a few moments.
Never a fan of silence unless I