I knew the difference between a man pulling away to punish me and a man pulling away to protect me. I did. My body knew it, even if my brain was being a dramatic little traitor.
Kazan had knelt in front of me like I was something precious. He'd told me the paper didn't get to decide what I was worth to him.
He'd meant it. Knowing that helped.
It did not magically fix me, which was rude.
The holo chimed before I could spiral any further.
I nearly knocked the chair over getting to it.
Chloe's frequency flashed over the table, and relief hit me so hard I had to grip the edge of the chair. Chloe was my best friend. She was real. Chloe had seen me before James, during James, and after James.
Chloe knew where the bodies were buried emotionally, which was probably good, because if actual bodies ever got involved, she'd also bring a shovel.
Her image flickered into place, small and hazy over the table. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head, and I could see the familiar cracked wall of her apartment behind her.
The signal stuttered.
Then her face sharpened.
"There she is," Chloe said. "Alive. And weirdly shiny. Are you glowing? Why are you glowing?"
I sank into the chair and pulled my legs up under me. "It's the fruit. I think everything here glows a little. Maybe it's contagious."
"What kind of place did you land on?" It wasn’t a serious question.
I smiled. "Hi, Chloe."
Her expression softened. "Hi, babe."
For one second, neither of us said anything. The delay stretched it out and made it worse.
Then she clapped her hands together. "Okay. I have been patient and supportive. I have been a saint, frankly. Now tell me about the husband."
I groaned. "Chloe."
Her eyes got wide, and she made an almost vulgar gesture. "The giant husband."
"Don't."
"The seven-foot alien farmer husband who carried you off into the sunset."
"He did not carry me off."
"Did he carry you at any point?"
I opened my mouth and closed it.
Her grin widened. "Oh my God, he did."
"I hate you."
"No, you don't. You love me, and you owe me details because I drove you to the spaceport and cried in a parking garage while you abandoned me for a man with horns."
“What is it with you and horns?” She’d practically vibrated with excitement when I showed her the brochure for Ceres-9.
"So he's ugly?"
