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Was she teasing him?
He could peek into her mind and get his answer, but what would be the fun in that? It would also be an invasion of privacy that he found abhorrent.
"How come you have a suite to yourself?"
"It's only until my bestie joins the cruise in Cabo."
"Your bestie? You mean your best friend?"
"Yeah. Margo, Mia, and I have been best friends since childhood. Margo is also going to be a beta tester for Perfect Match."
"I see." He leaned closer and tried to inhale her intoxicating scent as inconspicuously as possible. "Tell me more about the space pirates' adventure. What is it all about?"
Annani
"I'm nervous." Alena lowered herself onto the couch.
Her pregnant belly was quite evident by now, making sitting down and standing up a little more difficult.
"Why are you nervous?" Sari asked. "Are you worried about Carol and Lokan getting here tonight?"
Alena chuckled. "I completely forgot about that, and I'm not worried about them. I think they are being extra cautious, and that's a good thing. I'm nervous about the wedding."
"It's just a ceremony." Sari waved a dismissive hand. "It doesn't change anything between you and Orion. You are fated mates."
Annani gazed lovingly at her four daughters—the three she had birthed and the one she had acquired through her son's marriage. As soon as Sari arrived and settled in her suite, Annani invited all four for an afternoon tea. It was not often that she got to enjoy all of them at once.
While the ladies were having tea, Kian treated their mates to cigars on his and Syssi's balcony. Syssi's parents had Allegra, and Evie was in the hands of the clan's two young babysitters, Lisa and Cheryl, with Onidu on standby in case the girls needed help.
Alena rubbed her belly. "Orion and I are going first, which means our wedding will have the most blunders. It doesn't matter to me, but it does to Orion. I don't want him to be disappointed."
"He won't be." Syssi leaned over and patted her shoulder. "I'm more worried about whether you'll still fit into your wedding dress. Have you tried it on lately?"
Alena's wedding cruise had been postponed many times. In the meantime, the baby in her belly kept growing, so there was a good chance that the dress she had commissioned two months ago might not fit.
"It fits." Alena smiled. "I tried it this morning before packing it. It's so loose that I could get married the day my water breaks. I wasn't taking any chances."
"That's good to know." Amanda crossed her legs and put her hands on her knees. "I'm not nervous about my wedding, but poor Dalhu is. You know how he hates being the center of attention."
"He won't be." Syssi shifted her eyes to Annani. "All eyes will be on the Clan Mother, which brings the issue of tonight's welcome dinner to mind. How are you going to handle it?"
Annani frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You will need to shroud yourself from the human crew and staff."
"Kian has not said anything to that effect, and I do not see a reason to hide who I am while celebrating with my family. The crew and staff will get their memories altered at the end of the cruise."
Syssi nodded. "That's true, but perhaps we should let them gradually get accustomed to your presence. Otherwise, we will have broken dishes and spilled food everywhere."
Amanda snorted. "These humans lived with the Kra-ell, and in my opinion, the purebloods look much stranger than a glowing goddess. It won't be as shocking to them as you expect it to be."
Annani lifted her hand. "I am willing to suppress my glow when I enter the dining hall, and I can keep it down until the food is served. Once that is done, the doors can be closed, and the staff will be told not to come in. I will only release my glow when they are no longer present."
"The glow is not the only thing giving you away," Syssi said. "Your beauty and the way you dress are also pretty conspicuous."
"What do you suggest, Syssi, that I eat alone in my suite?"
"Of course not." Syssi recoiled. "But maybe we can dress you in something more contemporary and braid your hair. That will somewhat diminish the impact."
