Page 28 of Alien on the Moon

“I left them to freshen up and rest in their rooms before the party. Travel like that takes a lot out of you, so I wanted to let them relax for a bit.” Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. “I guess you’re stuck with me then.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He pursed his lips, trying to figure out how to phrase the next question. “Have they said anything about the project? Reading emotions is not my strong suit, so I couldn’t quite tell how they felt about it when I was with them earlier.”

“Carmen is impressed.” She shrugged. “I guess you expected that, though. It’s hard not to be when you come from a planet like ours. Arccoo has always been more stoic, so he’s harder to read.”

“If you had to guess, though…”

“I’d say that he’s on our side. He wants this to succeed, but I can tell he’s holding back on something, and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s a problem with the council. But with the progress we’ve made, I don’t see how they could defund us.”

He nodded, supposing he should have expected that answer. The prince would reveal his plans. Rylan just had to be patient until it was time. “And if they end the project?” he asked, hating himself for the feeling of bitterness welling in his chest.

The prince’s support could make or break this project, and he was far from an expert in Rylan’s field. He might not understand what progress looked like because it wasn’t going to yield immediate results.

She looked up at him and offered a weak smile. “Well, we’ll always have Kheros, I guess. Unless—unless you’d want to keep in touch after.” Something so hopeful lingered in her gaze that his heart clenched. Didn’t she know what he felt for her?

“Of course.” He leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. “Even if this project ends, I have no intention of ending things between us.”

“Good. Because I don’t, either,” she said, though the relief in her voice was palpable. Was she really so afraid that he was nothing but a fair-weather lover?

He kissed her again, harder this time, and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling herself flush against him.

“Whoo!” a familiar voice interrupted their moment.

Elena leaped back as though she’d been bitten as Sofia approached with a teasing grin spread across her face.

“Is that really necessary?” Elena grumbled, her face flushing adorably.

“As your sister, it is my god-given right to embarrass you in front of all boyfriends.” She turned to Rylan. “Just like it’s my god-given right to threaten anyone who hurts my little sister with extreme bodily harm. Carmen won’t do it because she’s royalty, and those threats might accidentally be taken seriously, but I have no such limitations.”

Elena rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you already threaten him at lunch?”

“I just think it bears repeating. Do not fuck with the Flores sisters.”

Rylan chuckled. “I wasn’t planning on it.” He liked Sofia’s spirit. She struck him as fiery and willing to stop at nothing to make sure her family was safe. He didn’t have much living family, but if he did, he knew he would be the same way.

He was so glad Elena had that. No matter what happened to him, she had people to love and protect her. Maybe soon, they would accept him into this family unit they had formed.

Using two fingers, Sofia pointed at her eyes and then at him. It was clearly an Earth gesture, but the meaning was obvious across languages.I’m watching you.

“Anyway,” Sofia said brightly, her tone changing as abruptly as the subject. “Everyone is awake now, so Carmen wanted to know if we could do anything to help.”

Rylan shook his head. “We have things well in hand here.” He gave Elena’s shoulder a squeeze. “You should go, though. Spend time with your family.”

Smiling, she stretched up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Call me if you need me.”

He laughed. “Don’t worry. I can plan a single party. Family is far more important.”

He watched Elena leave with her sister and sighed. As a kid, he longed desperately for a sibling, but his mother nearly died carrying him, and after she passed, his father never remarried and never had any more children. He understood why, but it didn’t stop his childhood from being lonely.

Shaking his head, he returned to his work. After all, he had a party to plan.

The band ate first so that they could play during the party itself. Once they were all ready, he called Elena and told her to bring her family. The band started up as they entered the room.

The others all made noises of appreciation, but he was most focused on Elena. She took it all in with wide-eyed wonder.

In addition to the physical decorations, he’d set up holo-screens to make it look as though they were in the middle of a forest. The streamers hanging from the ceiling gave the appearance of jungle vines and the birdsong complemented the band’s music.

“What do you think?” he asked.

---