Page 25 of Zylus

Never before have I experienced so many warring emotions at the same time. Uppermost is pride. We’re having an open house for the townspeople before our first guests arrive to check in. I can’t wait to see the appreciative looks on the locals’ faces when they see what we’ve done with a place that had been in ruins only a few short months ago.

There are four different kinds of muffins, still warm from the oven, in baskets on the counter, and gallons of importeddrassahin a silver urn.

I baked the muffins in my state-of-the-art oven. Yeah, the one that three months ago I insisted I didn’t want. I woke up one morning, and on the still-to-be-repaired counter was Zylus’s computer pad, open to an ad for the best oven money could buy housed in an old-fashioned carcass.

The perfect compromise. All made possible by Zylus’s deep dive into catalogs from every planet in the sector. He’d obviously looked far to wide to find an appliance that pleased me and could still meet the needs of our joint business venture. I must admit, after all this time, it’s become harder to hate him.

The wood paneling has been oiled and is gleaming in the sunlight drifting in from clean windows. The old furniture has been repaired or replaced. The front steps are no longer a hazard. Even Vortex has been groomed to within an inch of his hairy little life.

For once, Zylus is wearing a shirt. As much as I swore at him under my breath about walking around like that just to make me crazy, now I regret that he’s covered up.

Mayor Azari Alderon is the first to mount our front steps. He and his human mate, Phaedra, are both smiling as they hand us a framed plaque with an honorary membership in the Chamber of Commerce.

My lips unconsciously pinch together when I see it emblazoned with both Zylus’s name and my own. Within a couple of weeks, we’re going to have the big talk to discuss who will buy the other out. Neither of us has changed our minds. We each still want to own the inn. I’ve fallen in love with it more deeply with every board I cut and every nail I hammered.

A few hours later, a steady stream of customers arrives. No one would know the owners have a grudge match going on. Instead, we work seamlessly, never failing to smile and say please and thank you to each other as we check in our guests and ensure their rooms are to their liking.

During a quiet moment, I sneak to the sunny breakfast room to sit and have a cup ofdrassahand a warm muffin. Of course, it’s just my luck that Zylus is already here. By the three muffin wrappers sitting in front of him on the glass tabletop, it becomes obvious where most of the previous goodies wound up. Not that you’d know it by his trim, rippling abs.

Vortex runs in, his hair whirling around him, and jumps on Zylus’s lap. Zylus pierces me with a stare for one of the first times in months.

With just that glance, my pulse speeds up, my nipples harden to needy points, and a little twinge zings between my legs. I feel a surge of disappointment when the big, green male simply tips his head toward his wrist-comm.

I spin on my heel, trying to leave before he knows he hurt my feelings by ignoring me. I’m nearly at the doorway when my comm pings.

The place looks spectacular. You did an amazing job from day one. Watching you tackle equipment and projects you knew nothing about and then master them was a joy to watch. I hope you’re feeling as proud as I am.

Hot tears gather behind my eyes at the extravagant praise, even as I scold myself for letting his words touch me like that. They’re probably lies like everything else he’s ever told me. I bite back a retort. We have over twenty people milling about. Instead, I respond via text.

I don’t know whether I can believe a word you say.Then I immediately erase it because maybe he’s extending an olive branch.

Too bad you’re trying to steal it out from under me.Nope. Got to erase that, too.

Finally, I settle on,You were a great teacher.I typed it grudgingly, but damn it, it’s true.

Almost immediately, I receive,You were an excellent pupil.

And there go the unwanted swirly, swoopy tummy feelings that highlight what an idiot I am for believing a single word he says.

Chapter Twenty

Zylus

I’ve waited three months for her anger to fade. After our little interlude in the breakfast room, it’s clear that’s not going to happen. What did I expect? My brother traumatized her, I lied to her, and we’re both preparing for a galactic grudge match over who buys the other out.

I’ve spoken to an attorney who said it might work in my favor that the property has been in my family’s possession for generations. She also said it might work against me, seeing as how my brother not only chose to get rid of it, but did so by breaking the law.

I have no doubt we’re going to wind up in court. We both love this place too much to voluntarily let it go.

It’s well after dark and all our guests are tucked into their well-appointed suites. Even though the upcoming battle with Misty is hanging over my head, I allow myself a moment to bask in how good it feels to have restored this beautiful mansion.

Most of the remodeling decisions were just as I’d imagined them over the years. Funny, the battles I lost to Misty wound up being improvements over my own ideas. She’s got a good head for design. The place is magnificent, which is as much due to her as it is to me.

As I exit the shower, I see my wrist-comm is about to vibrate off the counter. Just as I pick it up to see what’s so urgent, I’m interrupted by an insistent pounding at my door.

After wrapping a towel around my hips, I make my way to the door and open it. Who other than Misty would be knocking?

“We have guests,” she accuses.

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