Suddenly a Bride Read online

  He followed her and tried on a couple. She had to admit she loved the way men looked in a suit and a tie, and there was no denying the thrill that shot through her at the sight of him as he opened the door so she could see him.

  “The pants are a little loose,” he said.

  “Here.” She went to his back and turned down the waistline so she could read the size. Unable to resist the urge, she stroked his butt and whispered, “I’ll get you the next size down.”

  His lips turned up into a smile as she winked at him and headed back to the suits. After picking another one out, she returned to him and returned the other suit to the rack. She came back and saw the new suit fit him much better.

  “Do I look okay?” he asked.

  “You look hot,” she admitted, catching how good they looked together—him in a suit and her in a sundress.

  “Actually, I am. But don’t worry. It’s not that kind of hot.”

  It took her a moment to understand he meant that changing clothes made him hot, not sexual desire. She bit her lip so she wouldn’t giggle. The poor guy didn’t know her meaning for the word hot.

  Once he picked out a couple of suits, she led him to the other section of the store where he could select more casual items to wear.

  “I can pick anything I want?” he asked.

  “Yep.”

  He scanned the different shirts, pants and shorts. “I don’t even know where to start.”

  Out of curiosity, she asked, “What did you wear on your planet?”

  “Jumpsuits.”

  She waited for him to continue, but he turned his attention to the beige slacks. Following him to the rack, she asked, “Is that it?”

  Glancing at her, he nodded. “We didn’t see the need for such a wide—” he motioned to the all the clothes around them—“variety.”

  “Overwhelmed?”

  “It’s easier to make a decision when the selections are fewer.”

  “Maybe. But if there wasn’t variety, then life would be boring. I can’t imagine only wearing this.” She motioned to her dress.

  He smiled. “That wouldn’t be so bad.”

  Pleased, she asked, “And if I was stuck in my work uniform all the time?”

  “Okay. You got a point. The dress you have on now is much better.” He picked up a pair of beige and navy blue slacks. “What do you think?”

  “They’re a lot like your suit pants. Don’t you want some jeans?” She pointed to the jeans he had on. “Those are jeans.”

  “I know, but they’re not comfortable. I liked the suit pants more.”

  “Would you like some shorts?” She turned to the table a short distance from them and picked up a pair of black ones she thought was his style. “Florida is hot and humid in the summer, and that’s only a month away.”

  “Those are nice. I’ll take a couple of those as well.” He walked over to her and chose the black, blue and beige ones.

  He made his way over to another table and selected one white, two blue, one grey, one red, and two black polo shirts. Well, at least he picked more colors this time, she thought and smiled. No doubt, he’d be glad to stop wearing Randy’s old things. Randy had worn jeans and t-shirts. In fact, the only time he wore a suit was when they got married. Otherwise, he couldn’t be bothered with it.

  “I bet you’re a loafer kind of guy,” she mused.

  “Loafer?”

  “For shoes. You don’t strike me as a tennis shoe type. Come on. Let’s pay for these and then head on over to the shoe department.”

  Nodding, he joined her at the cash register and watched as she made her purchase. She assumed he was taking mental notes. As they walked out of the store, she asked, “Didn’t you make purchases on your planet?”

  “We had everything delivered to our homes. The money was automatically withdrawn out of our accounts.”

  “Seriously? Everything?”

  “We made our orders on the computer at home and it arrived within two days.”

  “Wow. That’s surprisingly efficient.” But she’d miss the experience of going to the mall and buying things. Some things, like window shopping, couldn’t be replaced.

  “You wouldn’t like that, would you?”

  Curious, she turned to him. “And how can you tell that? I didn’t say either way.”

  “Your face. You had a slight smile. After I mentioned how we bought things, your eyebrows furrowed and your smile faltered.”

  “Wow. That’s pretty good. But I suppose where you’re from, it’s easy to pick up on nonverbal communication.”

  “No. Not really. We never think about it. I’ve been watching you to see how you react to things.”

  “You have?”

  He chuckled. “Considering I didn’t see women until I came here, does that really surprise you?”

  Amused, she shrugged. “I guess not. Everything’s new to you, even if what we have on Earth is primitive compared to what you’re used to.”

  Shifting one of his bags to the other hand, he reached out and touched the small of her back before he kissed her. “I’d rather have primitive with a wife. All the years I spent on my world might have been filled with gadgets that made life easy, but it was a lonely one.”

  “I hope you remember that when we have our first argument.”

  “Argument? Why would we argue?”

  She laughed and motioned for him to find a pair of shoes in the shoe store. “Every couple argues sooner or later. It’s part of being—” Pausing, she considered what to call him. He wasn’t human, so to speak. Finally, she ventured, “It’s part of being in a relationship. All relationships, no matter how good they are, have their ups and downs.”

  “I can’t imagine any downs in ours.”

  “Yeah well, that’ll come in time. Just don’t stress out when it happens, okay? It’s normal.” Though he didn’t look convinced, she dropped the topic and led him to the shoes since he hadn’t made a move toward them. “Come on. We need to get you two good pairs of shoes and then cut your hair before we head on out to the beach.”

  “The beach?”

  “Lots of sand and some water.” She motioned to the shoes. “So, do you see any shoes you like?”

  He directed his attention to the shelves and, sure enough, picked out a pair of loafers. Then he selected black dress shoes to go with his suits.

  They made their purchase and he got a haircut. When she saw him with his short, neatly trimmed hair, she did a double take. She knew he was good looking. Even his shaggy hair couldn’t hide that, but now she couldn’t help but think her new husband who literally fell from the sky and into her life was one of the best looking men she’d ever seen.

  “Do I look okay?” he asked as he stood up from the chair.

  “Yeah. You look great,” she blurted out.

  “You’re saying that to be nice.”

  “No. No, I mean it.” Words weren’t adequate to describe what she thought. Not really. He took her breath away.

  “You’re smiling widely, so I believe you.”

  Oh. Right. He could figure out what she was thinking by reading her facial expression. Clearing her throat, she said, “I think we’re done with the mall. You ready to eat?”

  He nodded and they left.

  ***

  After they ate, she took his hand and led him to the beach. The emerald surf rolled gently into the shore, and she took off her sandals and motioned for him to take off his boots.

  “Let’s walk along the shoreline of the beach,” she said.

  He bent down and took his boots off.

  Amused, she added, “You should take off your socks too. Otherwise the experience won’t be the same.”

  “Oh.” He did as she instructed and wiggled his toes.

  “What do you think?”

  “Weird. Not bad, but weird.”

  She took his boots and socks and set them on the sand by her sandals. “We’ll come back for these.” Taking his hand, she led him to the water. “On a
warm day, few things are better than cool water lapping at your feet.” When they reached the water, their feet sank into the sand. Glancing at him, she asked, “What do you think now?”

  “Wet and weird.”

  She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck so she could pull him in for a kiss. He brought his hands to her waist and gave her a light squeeze as she deepened the kiss. A thrill shot through her. Even better than a walk along the beach was a kiss shared with a man. Sighing in contentment, she asked, “And now? Is it still weird?”

  “I’m warming up to it,” he admitted with a sly smile.

  “Yeah?”

  He pulled her closer and kissed her again. “Yeah.”

  She glanced around the beach and noted they were far enough from others so she gave him another kiss, this time pressing her body against his. Her skin tingled in delight. She loved being close to her new husband. “There’s no reason why we can’t enjoy a walk along the beach. It’s one of my favorite activities.”

  “Is it?”

  “Yep. And there’s no one else I’d rather do it with.”

  A wide smile crossed his face before he kissed her. “I don’t care what we do as long as we’re together.”

  Laughing, she joined him in walking down the beach. “Yeah, well, just wait until you meet my family. You might change your mind.”

  “Why? Are they mean?”

  “No, not mean. But they’ll be shocked to learn I got married and probably give us a hard time about not having a wedding. Heck, they’ll wonder why I didn’t even mention you.”

  “How could you? You weren’t told I was coming.”

  “I know, but I don’t think they can handle the fact that you’re from another planet.”

  “I don’t think most people on this planet would be ready for that.”

  “Right. So we’ll just tell them we met at the diner where I work and got married.”

  “That’s the truth.”

  “It is. And it’s all they need to know. Deal?”

  Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. “Deal.”

  Smiling, she snuggled up to him and walked along with him, enjoying the nice sunny day on the beach.

  Chapter Ten

  Three weeks later, Caitlyn knew she couldn’t put off seeing her family anymore, and they’d want to see her new husband so she gathered all the courage she could muster and invited him along. On the drive into Fort Walton, she kept fiddling with the radio stations.

  “Is something bothering you?” Chris asked, reaching for her hand before she could change the station again.

  With a sigh, she squeezed his hand and smiled. “Oh, it’s just been awhile since I last saw them.” That part was true, but it wasn’t the full story. Though she’d told them she got married, she didn’t tell them how she met Chris. Boy, would they flip if they knew the details! “Remember, don’t mention you’re from another planet, okay?”

  “I won’t. You can trust me. I won’t say or do anything to make them suspect I’m from another world. Besides, we have some great news for them, don’t you think?”

  Noting his excitement, she couldn’t help but grin. The pregnancy test confirmed what he’d been telling her ever since that day he said she conceived a child. He claimed he could feel the new life forming in her womb, but she shrugged it off as his hope to have a child until she missed her period a week ago.

  She still couldn’t understand how he just knew she was pregnant. The connection established by the bond was something he was more sensitive to than she was, but she reasoned it was because she was from Earth. Females who once inhabited his world likely knew as soon as they conceived. Her parents, no doubt, would probably wonder if she got married because she was pregnant, and that was the part she was dreading.

  When she drove her minivan down her parent’s street, she inwardly groaned. In the front yard stood her father and Randy’s father. It was just her luck that her parents saw it fit to invite their good friends over at the same time, and their good friends happened to be Randy’s parents. This was bound to get awkward. She slowed the car and considered turning around and going back home.

  “There is something wrong,” Chris insisted. “What is it?”

  “Randy’s family is there.”

  “Why?”

  “Probably because my parents are best friends with his parents. I guess everyone wants to check you out.” Taking a deep breath, she pulled into the driveway and waved to the two men. She turned off the ignition. “Here goes nothing.”

  As she opened the door, her dad and Randy’s dad came over to the minivan, but they didn’t go over to her side. They made a beeline right for Chris. She sighed. And so it started. She could only hope Chris passed their inspection.

  By the time she made it over to Chris’ side, her dad was already beginning his interrogation. “So, how long did you know Caitlyn before you married her? I don’t recall hearing about you before you two eloped.”

  She quickly stepped up to Chris and slipped her arm around his waist. “Oh, I met him at the diner. He came in to eat, and we started talking. One thing led to another and we got married.” She patted his chest and smiled. “He was one of the nicest people I’ve ever served.” That was true. So far, so good.

  “I guess you getting married again was bound to happen sooner or later,” her father admitted, turning his attention to Chris. “Where do you work?”

  “Eglin Air Force Base,” Chris replied, putting his arm around her shoulders.

  “Yes. He’s an engineer.” Now that was something she loved to say. She actually jumped for joy when she saw his first paycheck. Her dream of having a home of her own was quickly coming true. “They were only going to hire one, but he and the other guy were so good, they hired both.”

  Her dad nodded. “That’s good news.” He shifted from one foot to the other. “You know, Caitlyn, we would have liked to have been at the wedding.”

  Considering the fact that the wedding took place in her van, she bit back her laughter. “Yeah well, we wanted a private affair.” And how private it’d been indeed!

  “Well, it’s your marriage,” her dad began, “but your mother was devastated. You know how she can get with these things.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Caitlyn glanced at her watch. If she and Chris stuck around for about three hours, that should be long enough.

  Chris squeezed her shoulders. “Did you want to tell them the good news?”

  Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head.

  “What good news?” Randy’s dad asked.

  “It can wait,” she said. “Is everyone here?”

  “Oh come on,” her dad argued, motioning to Chris. “Your new husband is obviously excited about it.”

  She glanced at Chris and saw the big smile on his face. If her family found out she was pregnant, they’d assume she married as quickly as she did because she got knocked up, and it wasn’t like she could tell them the truth—that her new husband was from another planet and that he released a hormone which drove her to the point where she had to have sex with him. What do you mean you had to have sex with him? her mother would ask. Yeah, Caitlyn, that’s pretty lame, her dad would chime in. Never mind what the others would say.

  “Yeah,” Randy’s dad said. “What is it?”

  Before Chris could speak, Caitlyn cleared her throat and laughed. “You should meet everyone else,” she told Chris. Taking his hand, she headed for the house. Might as well get it over with.

  The two men followed them. “Everyone’s out back. We’re having a barbeque.”

  “A barbeque?” Chris asked, glancing over his shoulder.

  “Hamburgers and hot dogs on the barbeque grill,” she replied. “You’ll love it.”

  Her dad laughed. “Oh come on, Caitlyn. The guy’s had barbeque before.”

  If only her dad knew, but she wasn’t going to tell him. She hurried through the house until they reached the patio where everyone else was min
gling about on the large deck. Her mother was setting out the salad and her brother was frying up the burgers.

  “Blake makes some of the best burgers and hot dogs around, but don’t tell Jack I said that,” she told Chris as they approached her brother. “How’s it going?”

  Blake turned a hamburger over and smiled. “Well, if it isn’t the great eloper. Mom and Dad have been talking about your sudden marriage nonstop.”

  She sighed. “I figured they would be. This is Chris West.”

  Blake extended his hand and Chris shook it. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you too,” Chris said. “So, this is a barbeque grill?”

  Blake laughed. “What else would it be?”

  Shrugging, he said, “It could be a lot of things, really. It depends on what you plan to do with it.”

  “Uh…okay.” Blake’s uneasy gaze shifted to Caitlyn.

  “Well, you did use it to burn photos and a letter from an ex-girlfriend,” she reminded him.

  Blake nodded. “So I did. It was actually a cleansing experience. As the flames turned her memory into ashes, I was able to move on. For all I know, the ashes could still be under the charcoals.”

  She grimaced. “Lovely thought.” She scanned the patio where her dad talked to her mom, Randy’s parents, Andy, and Sandy. Her dad motioned to her and Chris. Readying herself for more questions than she’d care to answer, she squeezed Chris’ hand. “I better introduce Chris to everyone else.”

  “Good luck.”

  She caught the meaningful look her brother gave her and rolled her eyes. Of course, her mother wasn’t all that excited to know she missed out on planning the wedding, but what else could Caitlyn do? Besides, she was in her thirties for goodness sakes. Didn’t being an adult count for something?

  As she led Chris toward everyone else, he whispered, “Why don’t you want to tell them about the baby?”

  His hurt tone brought her steps to a halt. She looked over at him and winced. Quickly taking him to the edge of the patio where no one would overhear them, she said, “You don’t understand. It’s best to wait until next month before mentioning the fact that I’m pregnant.”