"Don't worry, I will loan you the money," Galexor insisted.

I didn't think I could take his offer though. My grandfather had raised me to be independent, plus, even as much as Galexor and I got along, we hadn't known each other for even a week yet. Not to mention the fact that he was an alien.

Something I did forget more and more, even when he pranced around half naked, not camouflaging his blue skin.

We ate in town, and I was very much aware of the looks from anybody who knew me. Thankfully, there weren't that many, because us townspeople tended to stay away from main street during the tourist season.

Galexor leaned over the table and whispered, "This food is good, but yours is better."

I giggled, feeling very much like a teenager on her first date. The flutter in my stomach was constant and the need to touch him all the time to make sure he was really here was nearly overwhelming. It didn't help that he was the most attentive man I had ever met. He helped me into my jacket, my chair, refilled my glass of water, basically read every need I had and fulfilled it. That included our sex. Which was simply out of this world.

Just like I had predicted, over the course of the next few days, baskets with goodies arrived from the neighbors, and soon my house really did look like a bakery.

"We'll never be able to eat all this," I groaned when I stuffed myself on another piece of Terrie's famous brittle.

Galexor, who was actually putting a pretty good dent in all the baskets, conceded, "I think you're right."

An idea seemed to occur to him. "You know who would though?"

I shook my head, debating if my waistline could take another piece of Mable's fudge and decided that with all the sex we were having, I was probably burning a shitload of calories and popped the deliciousness into my mouth.

"My fellow pilots on board the flagship. I think even my dad and brother would enjoy them, despite being a bit uptight."

My eyes grew large, and a clump filled my stomach. "Will you come back?"

He instantly pulled me into his arms. "I could never leave you, Amber. We belong together. I thought we'd go deliver them together."

"What?" Adrenaline shot through me. He wanted to take me up to a spaceship? He wanted me to fly with him on a… spaceship?

"What will your commanders say?" I wondered. I dated a soldier in college for a few weeks and getting on and off the base had been quite the undertaking.

"Well, that might pose a problem, but a male should be able to show his girlfriend off to his father and brother."

"What are you implying?" I asked suspiciously.

"My dad is kinda the commanding officer of our fleet, well, all fleets in the Galactic Union."

"Wow," I let out a deep breath and repeated, "Wow," when I slowly absorbed the implications of what he just told me.

I had no idea how big the Galactic Union was, how many members it had or anything, but it had to be big. Probably bigger than I could possibly imagine. Probably like dating a four-star general's son.Times ten or more, my mind added.

"And your brother?"

"He's kinda his second-in-command," Galexor said with a crooked grin.

"And you?"

He shrugged. "I'm more of a test pilot, the risk taker in the family. I never wanted any of the accolades and responsibilities that come with my father's and brother's higher titles."

"Test pilot?" If he was anything like what I imagined the title implied, he was a born risk taker, a person who thrived on adrenaline rushes. I blinked a few times, because suddenly my little illusion of us playing house here seemed to dissolve. How could he possibly ever be happy playing house here with me, on Earth, when he flew fucking test spaceships through space?

"Amber? What is it?"

Galexor was sensitive enough to pick up on the sudden downturn in my mood.

"I'm… I'm just a bit overwhelmed," I said, not wanting to go into the whole busted bubble thing.

"It's more than that," he observed, taking my chin into his hand and gently forcing me to look into his eyes.