Page 26 of Alexis

Wait. No.

It was a brilliant piece of design, and not one tiny aspect of it was by accident.

If the floor was too cold and the window drafty, it was because Oberon wanted it that way.

And if he wanted it that way, what hereallywanted was for her to crawl back into bed.

She tip toed quickly to the bathroom and started the shower.

“Oberon,” she whispered before brushing her teeth. “I don’t want you to reply, or you’ll wake him, but I’m pretty sure you can hear me. I have to eat breakfast by a certain time each day or my food scaffold is off. It’s part of my recovery. But your plan worked, if I didn’t have to eat, I would definitely be back in bed. That was very clever.”

She felt a little silly about viewing the AI as a friend who wanted reassurance. But Oberon had been nothing but kind and helpful to her. She would rather err on the side of returning his kindness, even if he couldn’t perceive it the way she did.

As she had requested, he didn’t respond.

But the lights around the mirror seemed to pulse a little brighter for a moment, then fade back to normal. Almost as if the AI were glowing with pleasure.

She smiled and stepped into the gloriously hot water of the shower. It had probably been a trick of the eyes or the electrical system, but it was nice to think it waspossiblethe AI was genuinely pleased with her compliment.

When she was clean, refreshed and dressed in the soft, flowing dress over leggings that had been laid out for her, she padded quietly out of the bathroom and headed down the hall to the kitchen.

At home, she mainly ate protein bars along with fresh fruit and vegetables. It was easier to monitor exact combinations of fat, protein, and carbs that way.

But poking around the cupboards, she didn’t see anything like that. There were fresh croissants on the big table, along with a bowl of fruit. The refrigerator was stocked with milk, eggs, cheese, and fresh veggies.

She was just wondering what to do when she heard someone at the door.

“Hello?” a soft female voice called out.

“Hi,” Alexis called back.

A moment later, a small woman in jeans and a pale cream sweater with a lab coat on top walked in. Her jet back hair was in a loose ponytail, and she was smiling at Alexis.

“Hey, I’m Dr. Pan,” the woman said warmly. “I’m here for your daily check-up. Do you want to eat your breakfast first?”

“Oh, no, I’m fine,” Alexis said. “Let’s do the check-up.”

She tried to push down on the excitement brewing in her, but it was impossible to stop her heart from racing.

After all that had happened between them last night, she was sure to be pregnant. But was it even possible to know that so soon?

Dr. Pan typed something into her bracelet. A hologram lifted from it as her fingers danced in the air.

“How did you sleep last night?” she asked lightly as she typed and swiped.

“Really well, actually,” Alexis realized out loud.

“That’s excellent,” Dr. Pan said. “And what’s taking up your headspace today?”

“Well, I’d be lying if I said I weren’t excited for the pregnancy scan,” Alexis admitted. “Is it too soon to know?”

“It would be no problem to detect, although very few of our guests end up conceiving on the first night, especially with Maltaffians needing to make a connection first,” Dr. Pan chuckled. “But I’m glad to know you two got started trying. It makes the chance of success during your week much higher.”

Alexis smiled back, but she knew better. Maltaffians might need a connection to feel comfortable, but Tiago had seemedverycomfortable last night. He had even taken the time to make sure her first time was pleasurable.

She felt blood rush to her cheeks and begged herself to think about something else.

“Let’s get your vitals first,” Dr. Pan suggested.

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