Page 47 of My Christmas Alien Mate

I even forgot about the other envelope I had for Amber until it was time for lunch and I saw it on the counter.

"I have one more surprise for you," I said, holding the envelope up.

"I don't know," she shook her head. "I had so many surprises today, I'm not sure I can take another without thinking I died and went to heaven."

"You'll love it, trust me," I said and felt my heartbeat quicken as I handed it to her.

So far, we had been planning things together, and I wasn't sure if I had gone overboard in my last purchase.

"We can sell it and buy something else if you don't like it," I said, watching her open the envelope.

She pulled out the deed to a bakery in Charming. I met Fred, the owner, at the bank when I paid off Amber's loan. He said he had made so much money in Charming that he and his wife were ready to retire to a place called Florida, but first he needed to sell his bakery to pay for their dream home. One thing had led to another, and soon I was out another one point five million dollars but the proud owner of Freddy's.

"I put the deed in both our names and set things in motion to have the name changed toGrandma's Baked Goods, if you like it," I said in a voice that sounded so insecure it couldn't have possibly belonged to me.

"You bought Freddy's?" Amber asked, aghast.

"Is that bad?" Now I was really becoming insecure.

She laughed. "No. It's not bad." She laughed louder. "It's… you have no idea. I always loved that place. It's been around since I was a kid."

"I saw the kitchen. It's a lot larger than yours, and they have six ovens. Six!"

"Oh, Galexor!" She slung her arms around me. "This is… I don't know what to say."

"Say you like it."

"I love it."

Before I could say another word, a knock on the front door interrupted us.

"I'll get rid of whoever it is, but just in case, you guys might want to camouflage," Amber advised.

I had talked to my father and Adred about the possibility of going to town or having someone come over, so both activated their transformation devices to alter their skin tone and appear more human.

"Hi, Nora," I heard Amber say.

"Hey, Amber. My mom sent me. She thought you might get lonely all by yourself here, with… your grandpa gone. She wanted to know if you want to join us."

"Oh that is so sweet of you guys," Amber gushed. "But I'm not alone. Come in. See, this is Galexor, my… fiancé. He just proposed, and his brother, Adred, and his father, Kzod."

"Oh my gosh, that is the most beautiful ring ever, Amber. I'm so happy for you," Nora gushed.

"Everybody, this is my friend Nora. She and her mom live right across the lake. We've been friends since kindergarten," Amber explained.

"I'll go back to my house. I don't want to intrude," Nora said, looking at my brother from below her eyelashes.

Adred's interested glance in her direction didn't escape me either. "Why don't you and your mom join us if it's just the two of you?" I suggested, catching Amber's eyes and hoping I wasn't overstepping.

"We could not poss—" Nora began, but Amber interrupted her.

"Oh that's a great idea! We have so much food. And we were just about to eat lunch and watch a movie. I know you and your mom love watching Christmas movies."

Nora's lips turned into a smile, but she was only looking at Adred. "If you don't mind."

"Not at all," Adred said before I could.

"Okay, I'll just drive my boat back and get my mom." Nora turned to the door.

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