Runaway Bride (Across the Stars: Book 2) (12 page)

Lexie studied Sandy’s expression to see if this was all one big joke that she and Mark had concocted, but Sandy didn’t give an indication that she was kidding.

“I didn’t believe it either when Caitlyn told me about Chris.  I told her to call the cops and have Chris locked away for good.”

“So, what made you decide Chris is an alien?”

“Caitlyn’s my friend.  I had to believe her.” After a pause, Sandy continued, “And when I met him, I realized he’s honest to a fault.  He wouldn’t lie to her.”

“So you met him and just knew he wouldn’t lie to her?”

“Sometimes you meet someone and you just know whether or not you can trust them.”

That made sense.  Lexie studied her nails for a long minute, not really seeing them but needing to look at something while she processed everything Sandy was telling her.  “Is there any proof that Chris and Mark are aliens?”

“Well, Caitlyn’s further along in her pregnancy than she should be.  She got pregnant about a month and a half ago, but the doctor says she’s five months along.”

“She could have gotten pregnant out of wedlock.”

“She didn’t.  I was at the diner the night Chris showed up for the first time.  She didn’t get pregnant until two weeks after that.  I was there to read the pregnancy test with her.  At her first prenatal visit, the baby was measuring at twelve weeks.  Her second, which she just had, has the baby measuring at nineteen weeks.  She originally thought the baby would be due in November, but now she thinks it’ll be in October.”

“But isn’t the doctor suspicious?”

“She went to a different doctor the second time so they wouldn’t ask questions.  But sooner or later, the baby is going to be born; on Chris’ world, women used to carry babies for six months before giving birth.  Fortunately, I think her measurements won’t be so erratic anymore.  The greatest growth spurt for the baby seemed to be early in the pregnancy.” Sandy shrugged.  “Anyway, my point is that Chris is an alien.”

Lexie bit her lower lip.  “You really think Mark is an alien, too?”

“I know he is.  I also know that he would be a good husband.  Men from his planet know the value of women, since there are none left on their world.  When they marry, it’s for life.  And when I say ‘life’, I mean until one of you dies.  They don’t divorce.  Ever.  So if you want loyalty and love, you can’t do better than Mark.  If I were you, I’d drop Nick and run off with Mark in a New York minute.”

With a nod, Lexie rose to her feet.  “Thanks, Sandy.  It’s still hard to believe, but I guess anything is possible, right?”

Sandy stood up and smiled.  “It is hard to believe, but it’s true.  You’ll be happy with Mark.  He’s a good guy.”

She gave Sandy a hug and whispered, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.  And a word of advice: go before your mother catches you.  Something tells me she won’t be happy to lose the doctor as a son-in-law.”

Chuckling, Lexie hurried to get back to Mark, excited about the possibilities waiting for them in their future.

Chapter Thirteen

As Mark waited for Lexie, he wondered if telling her he was from another planet had been a wise move.  He could have waited until they were married and then popped it on her, like Chris had with Caitlyn.  But it wasn’t right.  Sure, it had worked for Chris, but Chris had an innocence about him that made his error easy to forgive.

No.  He wasn’t Chris.  His way of doing things was different and he had to tell Lexie the truth before things between them went any further.  It was enough that he waited as long as he had, but he wanted to give her time to know him.  He just hoped he hadn’t blown it.  There was probably a better way he could have told her.

He noticed a couple walking in his direction and glanced their way.  When he realized it was Chris and Caitlyn, he rose to his feet and approached them.  “Hey, guys.  Why aren’t you at the party?” Lexie couldn’t talk to them if they weren’t at Nick’s house.

“We’ll get there, eventually,” Caitlyn replied, winking at Chris.

Chris smiled and put his arm around her shoulders.  “We see no reason to run into her mother any sooner than necessary.”

“Come on.  Her mom can’t be that bad.” Mark turned his gaze to Caitlyn.  “Seriously, she’s got to have some redeeming qualities.”

“Well, she has been faithful to my dad and she was there while all her kids were growing up,” she replied.  “A little too involved in our lives, but she was there all the same.”

“We try to keep a low profile around her at all times,” Chris added.  “Besides, today is about the doctor and Lexie.  I doubt she’s fretting over whether we’re there or not.”

“We’ll pass by, say a quick hello, and direct her attention to something so we can slip back out,” Caitlyn said.

“So,” he glanced toward the house and wondered where Lexie was, “have you seen Lexie?”

Caitlyn shook her head.  “No, but what happened with Sandy?”

“Sandy?”

“Yeah.  My friend.  Blonde hair, pretty.  She came with us to this party.”

He shot her an amused grin.  “I know who she is.  Last time I saw her, she was listening to Nick go on and on about his awesomeness in his award room.”

“He has a whole room dedicated to his awards?” Chris asked.

“He even has stuff from when he was a kid,” Mark said.  “Little League trophies, Spelling Bee awards, certificates for perfect attendance…  It’s a museum to himself.  If you ask me, he’s already married to himself, so Lexie would be a third wheel.  Speaking of her, she’s looking for you.”

“For me?” Chris pointed to himself.

“Both of you,” Mark clarified, motioning to Chris and Caitlyn.  “I told her I was an alien, and she didn’t believe me.  I asked her to talk to you two about it.”

“Why would you tell her you’re an alien?” Caitlyn glanced at Chris who shrugged.  “I can see telling a couple of people you trust, but people you barely know?”

“I do trust her.  I want her to be my life mate.”

“Your life mate?  But what about Sandy?”

“What about Sandy?”

“Well, I…” She glanced from him to Chris.  “Did you know he liked Lexie?”

Chris shrugged.  “He said Lexie was going to end up with him instead of Nolan.”

“Nick,” Mark corrected.  “And he doesn’t love her, Caitlyn.  Lexie won’t be happy with him.  I was able to tell that on the day I met her.  I don’t know why no one else sees it.”

Caitlyn turned to Chris.  “If you knew he liked Lexie, why didn’t you tell me?  I wouldn’t have tried to fix him up with Sandy.”

“You did what?” Mark asked, surprised.

Chris held his hands up.  “I didn’t know Lexie could marry Mark.  You said that she and Nick were a sure thing, that once a couple gets this close to the wedding, there’s nothing that will stop it.”

“But I didn’t know he was in the equation.” She motioned to Mark.  “How long has this thing with you and Lexie been going on, Mark?”

“A couple weeks,” Mark replied.

“See?  It wasn’t long,” Chris told her.  “I didn’t realize anything came from it.”

“But she’s still engaged to the doc…Nick,” Caitlyn argued.  “Why are we at this engagement party if there’s no longer an engagement?”

Chris groaned and turned to Mark.  “Will you please explain what’s going on?”

“Lexie’s going to end up with me,” Mark explained.  “She just realized it today, but she doesn’t believe I’m an alien.  Will you please find her and tell her the truth so I can fly her to Vegas and marry her?”

Caitlyn stared at him for a long moment then looked at Chris.  “Is he serious?”

“Yes, I am,” Mark said.  “Do you really want your sister to end up with Nick?”

“It’s not up to me to decide who she marries,” she replied.  “That’s her decision.”

“Well, up to now it’s been your mom’s, and your mom has told her she’s marrying Nick.  Today, she realized otherwise.”

“He has a point,” Chris told her.  “If Lexie wants to marry Mark instead of Nick, then we should give her our support.”

“Exactly,” Mark replied as he got behind them and gently pushed them in the direction of Nick’s house.  “And right now that support means you’ll tell her that I’m from another planet.  Hurry up.  You have about half an hour.”

“Or we can wait for her to come here,” Chris said, shoving Mark’s hand away from his back.  “She’s heading in our direction.”

Mark stopped nudging them.  “Wait here.” He stepped around them and jogged toward her.  When he reached her, he said, “I found them.” He glanced back at where they stood, well out of hearing distance.

Lexie laughed and waved to them.  “I can see that.”

They waved back but didn’t make a move to approach her and Mark.

“So, you want to talk to them?” he asked.

Tucking her hair behind her ear, she shook her head.  “There’s no need.  I talked to Sandy.  She explained everything.  How you and Chris came from another planet and how Caitlyn’s pregnancy is further along than it should be.  Even if it sounds crazy, I believe it.”

Relaxing, he smiled and took her hands in his.  “What do you say?  Would you like to spend the rest of your life with me?”

“Yes, I would.” She gave him a kiss and returned his smile.  “Though I confess I never thought I’d end up marrying someone from another planet.”

He squeezed her hands and led her toward her sister and Chris.  “It’s not really any different than marrying someone from Earth.  The reason men from Pandoran come to Earth is because the women are physically and emotionally compatible with them.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

When they reached Caitlyn and Chris, Caitlyn said, “Mark’s an alien, just like Chris.  So now you know and can marry him instead of Nick, if you’re sure it’s the right thing for you to do.”

“Mom wants me to marry Nick,” Lexie clarified.  “But it’s like Sandy said.  He’s already married to himself.”

“I’m glad you’re doing this for you and not for her,” Caitlyn replied.

Lexie looked at Mark and smiled.  “I am.”

“Good.”

“You’re not missing anything by not marrying Nick,” Chris added.  “On our world, we don’t even need doctors.  We’re much too advanced.  Everything we need can be done by machines.”

Caitlyn sighed.  “Get used to the comparisons between Pandoran and Earth, Lexie.  If it weren’t for women, Earth wouldn’t have anything to commend itself.”

Mark shot Chris an amused look.  “Pandoran wasn’t that great.  We might have had a lot of comforts, but we didn’t have the personal touch this world has.  I think it’s nice you can have a doctor perform surgery, especially one who is qualified and has a good bedside manner.”

“Thanks, Mark.” Caitlyn nodded in satisfaction.  “See, Chris?”

“I like Earth,” Chris assured her.  “I never said I wasn’t happy here.”

She turned to Lexie and gave her a hug.  “Give me a call if you need someone to talk to.  Besides you and me, I don’t know who else is in a relationship with an alien.”

“Hey, can you give us a quick ride to the airport?” Mark asked Caitlyn, remembering that he hadn’t driven to the party.

“Why do we need to go to the airport?” Lexie asked him.

“To go to Las Vegas.” With a sly grin, he added, “I hear that’s a great place to elope.”

“Elope?  You want to get married right now?”

Turning to her, he said, “I’ve seen how happy Caitlyn and Chris are.  Now that I’ve found you, I see no reason to wait for that kind of happiness.”

After a moment’s consideration, she nodded.  “Okay.  Let’s do it.”

“This is the first impulsive thing I’ve ever seen you do,” Caitlyn said with a grin.

“I know,” Lexie admitted.  “I’ve never been so adventurous before.  It’s scary and exciting at the same time.”

“Hopefully more exciting than scary,” Mark said.

“It is,” she assured him.  “But we don’t need to get a ride from them.  I came here in my car.”

“Well, a word to the wise,” Caitlyn began, giving Lexie a pointed look, “is for you to get out of here before everyone realizes you’re running off with another man.  I, for one, am hightailing it out of here as soon as I can.  I don’t want to be here when Mom finds out what happened.  And you’ll need your purse.  You can’t fly without the proper ID.”

“Good point,” Lexie agreed.

“We’ll get it for you then you can head out of here.”

Thanking her sister, she reached for Mark’s hand and squeezed it, excited about their future.

***

Of all the places Lexie imagined getting married while growing up, she never once thought she’d go to Las Vegas.  She took in the bright lights as the plane landed.  Next to her, Mark held her hand.  She glanced at him and smiled, her heart racing with excitement.  She’d never done anything this impulsive.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have left my cell phone with Caitlyn,” she said, thinking of the many times her mom, and maybe Nick, had probably called her.  She owed them an explanation for running off the way she had.  “Maybe I should have talked to my parents before we left.  I think Dad would be okay with it, but my mom…”

“She would have guilt tripped you into changing your mind.  This was the best way we could have handled it.” When she bit her lower lip, he added, “Don’t worry.  Everything will work out.  But let’s worry about it when we get back to Florida.  Right now, let’s get married and enjoy our honeymoon.”

She took a deep breath and nodded.  “You’re right.  This is our moment, and we shouldn’t let anything spoil it.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll go with you when you explain things to your parents.”

“It does,” she admitted.  “Especially when it comes to talking to my mom.”

As the plane came to a stop, he lifted her hand and kissed it, sending an electric jolt straight through her.  When he lowered her hand, it still tingled.  Brushing his thumb along the top of her knuckles, he said, “Just promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“Please eat some dessert.  I still feel guilty for not giving you a piece of pie when we had dinner at Fisherman’s Hideaway.”

The idea that she could finally have dessert was more exciting than she thought it should be, but it’d been so long since she’d been able to eat something sweet.  “I want a piece of chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream.”

“You got it.”

The plane came to a stop and they went into the terminal which was busier than the airport in Pensacola.  She walked closer to him, glad he held her hand.  She still couldn’t believe she was going through with this.  It seemed like a dream.

“Where do we go to get married?” she asked, scanning the advertisements lining the walls.

“I thought we’d find a cab and tell the driver to take us to the nearest chapel.”

She glanced at her watch and saw it was almost ten.  “Do you think the chapel will be open?”

“It’s Saturday.  Things are bound to be open later than on a weekday.”

“How late do you think chapels stay open?”

“In a city like this, I’m sure we can find one that is open past ten.” He paused by the restroom.  “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.  I’ll be waiting.”

He gave her a kiss.  As he went into the restroom, she turned around and caught sight of a phone.  She wondered if she should call her parents.  The least she could do was leave a message and let them know she was in Las Vegas.  With a glance at the restrooms, she twiddled her thumbs.  Caitlyn would have told them where she was going.  Sure, she would have told them after hightailing it from the party so she wouldn’t have to deal with their mother’s drama in person.  But even if they knew Lexie eloped with Mark, shouldn’t she let them know she made it to Vegas, safe and sound?

No, she couldn’t.  Her mother would try to talk her out of marrying Mark and she knew Mark was the right one for her.  The last thing she needed was an argument with her mother on her wedding day.  But she could call Caitlyn and let her know that she was okay so she could pass on the message to their parents.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she headed for the phone and dug out the money she’d need to make the call.  She dialed Caitlyn’s number, tapping the phone as she waited for her sister to answer it.