Page 30 of Grumpy Alien Boss

"What's wrong, Liv?"

I stare at my melting snow cone. "Darwin told me he loves me."

"Holy shit." Mel grabs my arm. "When?"

"Yesterday. After we..." I clear my throat. "You know."

"And? What did you say?"

"Nothing really. I just asked 'do you?' and left it at that."

"Liv!"

"I know, I know." I toss my snow cone in a nearby trash can. "I just... I don't know how I feel about it. Or how I should feel."

Mel leans against the railing, watching the waves crash against the shore.

"You know what's funny? I keep waiting for this moment when I'll understand what love is. Like there's going to be some divine revelation that explains everything."

"And?"

"But I'm starting to think that moment never comes for anyone. I think that we're all just doing our best to muddle along and understand what our feelings mean." She turns to face me. "When you think of him, how do you feel?"

The salty breeze whips my hair around my face as I consider her question. "Like the weight of the world isn't so heavy anymore. When I'm with him, I can just... be me. All the weird, awkward, embarrassing parts I usually try to hide? He sees them and accepts them. More than that - he seems to love those parts best."

My fingers trace patterns in the weathered wood of the railing.

"Before Darwin, everything felt like a performance. Like I had to be this perfect, polished version of myself. But with him... I don't know. He makes my world better just by being in it."

I trail off when I notice Mel staring at me, her mouth slightly open.

"That's the best description of love I've ever heard, Livvy," she says softly. "Are you sure you don't know how you feel?"

"Thanks for blowing my mind, bitch." I pull Mel into a tight hug, breathing in her familiar vanilla perfume.

"Anytime, bitch." She squeezes back just as hard. "That's what best friends are for."

We flag down separate cabs - her uptown to the gallery, me downtown to my apartment. As my taxi pulls away from the curb, I watch her yellow cab merge into traffic until it disappears around a corner.

The ride home gives me time to process our conversation. My fingers absently trace the hickey on my neck as I replay Dar's words in my head.I love you.Three simple words that scared me speechless at the time.

But Mel helped put things in perspective. The way my heart races when Dar enters a room. How safe I feel when he takes control. The electricity that crackles between us with just a look. The fact that I can be completely myself with him - both the fierce and submissive sides of my personality.

Maybe what I feel for my dominant alien boss is love after all. The thought should terrify me, but instead it fills me with a warm certainty.

The cab pulls up to my building and I hand the driver my fare. As I step onto the sidewalk, my phone buzzes with a text from Dar:

Missing you.

My heart skips a beat. Yeah, this is definitely love.

CHAPTER 12

DAR

The navigation console beeps as we pass over Montana. My claws tap against the controls, betraying my unease.

"Look at that sunset," Olivia says. "The clouds look like they're on fire."

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