Runaway Bride (Across the Stars: Book 2) (3 page)

Her attention went to the towing truck which drove over to them.  “That’s why Caitlyn recommends him.”

Mark got out of the car and she followed suit.  He waited for her to join him and they headed over to his car.

The owner of the towing company hopped out of his truck and headed over to them.  “Where should I take the car?”

Lexie listened as Mark gave the man the name of a repair shop.  Turning to her, Mark asked, “Can I impose on you to take me home?”

“I’ll be happy to,” she replied, realizing she no longer felt exhausted from her long day at work.  “Where do you live?”

“I live in Navarre.”

After he gave her the street, she said, “I know where that is.  I can take you there.”

He nodded and paid the owner of the towing company before walking back to her car.  “I really appreciate what you’re doing for me.”

“It’s no problem.”

“Do you mind if I take you out to dinner?  You know, to thank you.  It’ll be my treat.”

Her stomach rumbled at the mention of food.  “I’d be a fool to turn down that offer.”

“It’s a good thing you’re not a fool.” He winked and got back into her car, so she did the same and turned on the ignition.  “What is your favorite restaurant?”

“Well…” She paused and thought of the different places she liked to eat.  Out of them all, there was one place Nick didn’t like because he didn’t like its simple interior design, but she thought it had the best seafood around.  “Do you like seafood?”

“I love it, especially the food at Fisherman’s Hideaway.”

Surprised he mentioned the restaurant she had in mind, she asked, “Are you a mind reader?  I was about to suggest that one.”

“Great minds think alike.”

Returning his smile, she drove to the restaurant.

Chapter Three

“It’s true,” Lexie insisted as she poked the last of her shrimp and crab salad with her fork.  “The rearview mirror isn’t as secure as you’d think it is.  I had to glue it back on the windshield.”

Mark wiped his mouth with the napkin and chuckled.  “I guess I just can’t picture it.  Don’t get me wrong.  I believe you.  It just sounds like something you’d see in a comedy on TV or at the movies.”

“Oh, I did see it in a movie once.”

“Was it before or after your rearview mirror fell off the windshield as you adjusted it?” he asked.

“Ironically, I saw the movie a week prior to it happening to me.”

“Was it a good movie?”

“Yeah, but it was one of those campy horror movies.  It was supposed to be scary, except it was scary in a funny way.”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing it sometime.” Especially if he could see it with her.

Mark wondered if it was pushing things to ask her to see it with him.  He had already pressed his luck by getting her to drive him to his car and then eating dinner with him.  If he wasn’t careful, she would suspect his motives weren’t as innocent as he was pretending they were.  For the time being, he decided he wouldn’t ask her to see the movie with him.  Maybe he could seek out a similar campy horror flick and ask her to watch it.  He made a mental note to check out different movies online.

The server came over to them.  “Would you like dessert this evening?”

“I’ll have a slice of strawberry cheesecake,” Mark said and looked at Lexie.  “Do you want something?”

She hesitated then shook her head.  “No, I better not.”

Glancing at the server, he asked, “Can you give us a couple minutes?”

The server nodded and left.

Leaning forward, Mark studied Lexie.  She had the same look of longing on her face that she had when they were eating at Chris and Caitlyn’s wedding reception.  “I understand you signed a prenuptial agreement saying you’d watch your weight, but it’s okay to have a slice of pie or some ice cream from time to time.”

“I know.” She released her breath and clasped her hands in her lap.  “It’s just that I’m afraid once I eat a piece of pie or some ice cream, I’ll want more.  It’s easier to not start.  Know what I mean?”

“Yeah, I do,” he replied, thinking it was a shame her fiancé had her so worried over her weight that she was too afraid to even eat dessert.  It would do Nick some good to spend time on a planet without any women.  If he did, he wouldn’t be so particular about what Lexie ate.  Deciding not to voice his opinion, he asked, “Is it hard to watch other people eating sweets?”

She lowered her gaze and fiddled with the spoon in her tea.

“Lexie?” He waited until she looked up at him before he continued, “It’s okay if you say it’s hard to watch other people eating things you can’t.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

The server returned with his slice of pie, but he couldn’t bring himself to eat it in front of her.  He glanced at the other people who were eating and saw a young boy.  “You know what?  I’m not as hungry as I thought.  Can you give this to that boy over there and say it’s on the house?  I’ll pay for it.”

The server nodded and picked up the plate before he headed for the other table.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Lexie said.

“I know I didn’t, but I wanted to,” Mark replied.  There was no way he could enjoy a dessert when he knew she wanted to eat one too, but felt that she couldn’t.

“Now I feel bad.”

“Don’t.  It was my choice.  Besides,” he motioned to the boy whose eyes lit up when the server placed the pie in front of him, “I have a feeling he’ll enjoy it much more than I would’ve.”

Her gaze went to the boy and she grinned.  “You have a good heart.”

Pleased by her compliment, he said, “I was once a kid, and I loved it when I got a tasty treat.”

He would have loved it even more if he’d had a mother and father who ate the meal with him instead of eating in the school dorms with other boys his age.  Directing his attention back to her, he thought of how nice it’d be to one day buy a slice of pie for their child.  Such an event was still a way off, but he had no doubt it would happen.  And not only would their child enjoy dessert, she would, too.

The server returned with their bill and Mark took it.  As he slipped his debit card in with the bill and handed it back to the server, he smiled at Lexie.  “I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed eating out so much.” He noticed the way her face grew pink.  After the server left, he added, “I owe you a favor.  You know, for helping me with my car and driving me home.”

“You don’t owe me anything.  I’m happy to help.”

“Even so, the offer stands.  Any time you need something, don’t hesitate to ask.” He opened his wallet and handed her a card.

“You have a business card?” she asked, looking surprised as she took it.

“I had a ton of them made because I heard it was the thing to do.” With a shrug, he added, “Later I realized it does me no good.” But that wasn’t entirely true.  He was able to slip her his number with it.  “It’s a good way to get rid of one if you’ll take it.”

Her grin widened, and she slipped the card into her purse.  “You have an awesome sense of humor.”

“My motto’s always been, ‘Why cry when you can laugh instead?’”

“That’s a good motto.”

“And what is yours?”

She shook her head.  “I don’t have one.”

“If you did, what would it be?”

“I don’t know.”

“Come up with something.  We’ll brainstorm what it can be.”

She giggled.  “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

The server returned with his debit card and left.

Mark filled in the tip amount and signed it.  Afterwards, he stood up with Lexie.  “Maybe we’ll think of a motto that fits you on the way home.  How about, ‘Be
ing beautiful is what I do best.’”

At that, she burst out laughing.  “No way.  That’s way too tacky.”

“But it fits.” He opened the door for her and followed her outside.  “You are beautiful.”

She motioned for him to get into her car.  “Come on.  I’ll take you home.”

Smiling, he slipped into her car, unable to resist the urge to come up with more ideas she could use for her personal motto as she drove him home.  If nothing else, it was worth the effort to hear her laugh.  She had a lovely laugh, and he was determined that he’d have the pleasure of hearing it for the rest of their lives.

***

The next morning, Mark found Chris getting a cup of coffee from the break room.  He walked over to him.  “Hey, Chris.  You know you can put some cream or sugar in that, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Chris replied, “but I like it the way it is.”

Mark followed him as he headed to his cubicle.  “Seriously?”

“Sure.  I drink it because it’s hot, not for the flavor.”

“Then why don’t you drink tea?”

“Because people only make coffee around here.” Chris set the cup on his desk and turned on his computer.  “Caitlyn says that coffee is one of those things that is popular in the workplace.  She doesn’t think many people actually enjoy it unless it’s got some chocolate or other fatty ingredient in it.  She said those types of coffees aren’t good for you because you’re dumping a lot of calories that can make you gain weight.  Maintaining a certain weight seems to be important on Earth.”

Mark shrugged.  Coffee and weight gain weren’t the reasons he wanted to talk to Chris, so he changed topics.  “Do you mind driving me to the car repair shop during lunch?”

Chris turned to him in interest.  “Didn’t you get a new car when you came here?”

“Yes.”

“It shouldn’t need repairs yet.”

“It doesn’t actually need repairs.  I had to get a chance to talk to Lexie, so I told her it broke down and she called a towing truck to take it to a mechanic.”

Chris’ eyebrows furrowed.  “I don’t understand.  Why would you tell her your car broke down if it didn’t?”

“I just told you.  I wanted to find a reason to talk to her.”

“Why didn’t you just go to her door, knock on it and start talking?”

He chuckled and pulled up a seat next to his chair.  “I can’t do that without arousing her suspicions.  I had to make it look like a chance encounter.”

Chris pulled his chair from his desk and sat in it.  He took a sip of his coffee before he set it back on the table.  “I didn’t have any problems with Caitlyn when I first met her.”

Lowering his voice, Mark replied, “But you didn’t barge into the diner where she worked and tell her you were from another planet either.”

“No, I didn’t.  I waited until the bonding ceremony was done.”

“And how did that work for you at the time?”

He shrugged.  “Okay.  She took me home and we’ve been together ever since.”

“Yeah, but you freaked her out.”

“What do you mean by ‘freaked her out’?”

“You scared her.  You told me she thought you were a runaway from the mental ward of a hospital.”

“Well, it was a lot for her to accept.”

“Exactly,” Mark replied, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs.  “I don’t want to do that to Lexie.  I don’t want her to go through the bonding ceremony with me until she agrees to it.”

“You plan to tell her everything—about being from another planet—before you marry her?”

“Yes, but I want her to get to know me first.  Her mother has been dictating her life for her ever since she was born and now she has Nick telling her she can’t even eat dessert.  I want her to make the decision to be with me.  I refuse to release the hormone for the bonding ceremony until then.”

“So you’re still taking the hormone inhibitor?”

“Of course, I am.  I don’t need the nuisance of sexual urges unless Lexie agrees to be my life mate.”

After a long moment of silence, Chris sighed.  “I don’t know, Mark.  If you’re lying to her about the car repair, isn’t that manipulating things?”

“Lying about the car was just an excuse to talk to her.  She can still tell me no when I ask her to marry me.”

“But she’s already engaged.  Caitlyn wasn’t engaged to someone else when I came to Earth.”

“Until the vows are spoken, nothing is set in stone.” Realizing Chris didn’t understand what he meant, he clarified, “Being engaged is different from being married.  Look, I want to make sure that Lexie agrees to be with me because she wants to, but unless she gets to know me, how can she make that decision?”

Chris nodded.  “I see.  You’re right.  She can’t make a decision if she doesn’t know you.”

“So, will you take me to the repair shop so I can get my car back?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks, pal.”

As Mark stood up, Chris asked, “How did you get here this morning?”

“Lexie brought me.”

“Does she have a sticker to get on the base?”

“She got a visitor’s pass.”

“She went through all that trouble to bring you here?”

Mark grinned.  “Now you know why I want to marry her.  She’s a keeper.  I’ll see you at lunch.” He gave him a pat on the back.  “Thanks, Chris.” Satisfied, he headed for his cubicle to get to work.