Page 182 of The Alpha

She wandered into the kitchen to find Melvale at the stove. “What are you making?”

“Chili and cornbread.” He nodded at her mother’s cookbook on the table. It was one of the few things Pari had left of her.

She smiled at him. “You cook too?”

“Of course.” He smiled back and stirred the pot.

Yep. Melvale waswaytoo good to be true. The thought almost made her cry, and she was starting to wonder how she was going to escape this emotional death trap. Sooner or later the other shoe was not only going to drop, but land square on her head. But part of her wanted to believe that all of this was real, that she could fall in love with this crazy, dorky, yet fierce alien man. But nothing ever went that way for her. Ever. What made her think things would be any different with Melvale?

57

Pari refused to go shopping the next day. Guilt assailed her the prior evening, and all sorts of scenarios began running through her head. Melvale was not only from another planet, but another culture entirely. What if his kind did weird things to humans? What if he wanted her just so he could feed her to Q, but the deal was she had to go willingly?

Pari kept to herself most of the day, and Melvale blessedly left her alone. Instead, he busied himself straightening up her apartment and helping Uncle Al fix the wrought iron fence around the front yard areas. In the afternoon he disappeared entirely, and Pari was shocked at how far her heart sank at the thought he might have left.

She was really going to have to work on her abandonment issues. One more thing to talk to Dr. Merrill about. Speaking of which, her next appointment was tomorrow, the day of their party!

“What’s the matter?” Kitty asked as she entered Pari’s bedroom.

“Nothing. I just have something I need to do tomorrow.” She stared at the floor. “Melvale isn’t back yet?”

“No, he had Kwaku and Zara take him somewhere.”

“Somewhen, you mean?” Pari stared at Kitty. “How do you do it? I mean, you seem to know everyone well. How do you deal with it all?”

Kitty sat next to her and took a deep breath. “I’ve been Shona’s best friend for years. Everything happened to her, not me. I was just along for the ride.” She made a face. “I take that back, I was more than riding along.” She heaved a sigh. “What happened to Shona affected me too. Shona was almost killed by… by someone close to me. I thought of them as family at the time. But they weren’t, not really.”

Pari looked at her in confusion. “So someone stabbed you in the back, is that it?”

Kitty nodded as she took on a far-off look. “Yeah, something like that.” She made a show of studying her fingernails. “I need a manicure.”

“There’s a place up Franklin a few blocks,” Pari said. She stared at the floor. “Is Melvale… nice?”

Kitty laughed. “What do you mean? Of course he is. He’s the best!”

Pari looked at her and Kitty’s face fell a second time.

“Wow,” Kitty breathed. “You’re afraid of him.”

She swallowed hard. “Wouldn’t you be if you were me? I get kidnapped, locked up with this gorgeous guy who isn’t exactly from around here, and who starts coming on to me but… not.” She shook her head in disbelief. “And he wants to dateme?!”

“Hey,” Kitty said and took one of her hands. “You need to stop it.”

Pari gaped at her.

“No, really. Open your eyes, Pari. Stop getting hung up on why this is happeningto youand start believing that somethinggoodcanandishappening.”

Pari opened her mouth to talk then snapped it shut. What did she know?

“I get it,” Kitty said. “You’re terrified this isn’t going to work out, that it’s all too good to be true, but these people, these Muirarans, are real. And in the time I’ve known them, I’ve found them to be kind, generous, loyal, loving, and yeah, they’re also a bunch of bad asses, but they’re that way to protect you and me. Please don’t push Melvale away. He’s my friend, and the last thing I want to see is for him to get hurt.”

Pari’s eyes rounded to saucers. She’d been so wrapped up in her own issues, she never once thought about Melvale being hurt by her actions.

She stared at the wall in front of them, mouth agape. “I… I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Kitty asked.

“For being a selfish idiot.”

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