Page 13 of Help Wanted: Wife

Pru wanted to smack her with the bouquet. She knew the circumstances surrounding this marriage. She’d discouraged her from doing it! Could she have made this more awkward? But Larth had turned toward her. His head bent. Soft, warm lips brushed hers, lingering for an instant. His breath caressed her face.

Her stomach fluttered with awareness and an unexpected longing.

He pulled away, a bemused expression on his face.

The assistant cleared his throat. “Sign here.” He thrust a tech-tab at Larth.

Her new husband scribbled his name and passed her the tablet. She signed. The officiant finalized it.

“Congratulations! I’m so happy for you both.” Hope gave Larth a quick hug before embracing her. “He’s such a sweet, genuine guy,” she whispered in Pru’s ear. “You both deserve the best, and you got it. Cosmic Mates did a great job matching you.” Initiallyagainst her marrying through Cosmic Mates, Hope was all for it now.

She’d never told her friend that while Cosmic Mates had been the vehicle, the program hadn’t paired them. Larth had placed a help wanted ad, she’d answered it, and he’d hired her.

The three of them left the officiant’s office. The assistant called in another couple from among the half dozen waiting their turn.

“What do you have planned for the rest of the day?” Hope asked.

Pru lifted a shoulder and glanced at her husband. “Get back to work.” She almost laughed at the dismay on her friend’s face. True, it wasn’t what most brides would wish to do on their wedding day, but regardless of what the electronic record showed, this was a business arrangement.

“Perhaps you’d like to come see the future site of the bakery,” he suggested.

“I would love that.”

Should she invite her friend to see it? Hope had worked at Flour Power, too. She liked to bake. Before she could offer, Hope chimed in, “It’s a great space. You’ll like it.”

“You’ve seen it?”

Her head bobbed in assent. “Yeah, Larth showed me. I helped him out in the booth a few times.”

Her friend probably knew him better than she did. A funny feeling curled in the pit of her stomach. Not jealousy, exactly. “Oh.” She clutched her bouquet.

They walked to the vaporator at the end of the hall. “We’ll take the next one,” Larth said to Hope.

After hugging her, Hope boarded and vapped away.

They waited for another transport to arrive. “I didn’t realize she had worked for you,” Pru said.

“She hasn’t recently. She relieved me a few times so I could visit Sala in the stasis pod.”

Just what I need on my wedding day—to hear about his beloved dead wife,she thought and then felt uncharitable and mean.What’s wrong with me?

“Why did you advertise through Cosmic Mates, then? Why not hire Hope?”

“She’s not interested in full-time employment. She only did me a favor. She attends a lot of political functions because Krogan is governor-general, so she can’t commit to a regular work schedule. Besides…unlike you, she’s, um…very sweet—”

Unlike me?Her jaw dropped.

“But”—his voice lowered—“she is not as capable as you. Even after a year, our tech confounds her. She can barely vap on her own. She overcharged or undercharged customers when I left her alone in the booth. You picked up on the tech right away, processed transactions correctly immediately, and figured out the appliances on your own. Hope probably would have set the kitchen on fire.” He winced ruefully. “You’re smart, capable, efficient—”

Warmth bloomed in her chest. She hadn’t fallen short in the comparison. Just the opposite. She loved Hope like a sister and knew her to be a capable individual—they’d worked together for years—but technology wasn’t her strong suit.

The vaporator opened, and he gestured for her to enter.

He thinks I’m smart, capable, efficient, and I have a nice ass.With a little strut, she boarded.

* * * *

Jittering with anticipation and nerves, Larth led Prudence into the third-floor space of the future bakery. Overnight, her opinion had come to matter to him. The shop didn’t look like much yet—just an empty space with construction dust coatingeverything—but, in his head, he could picture it perfectly.

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