Alien Tango

he’s hot, but hell, you think the entire A-C population’s hot, too.” He looked more closely at me. “You sure it’s not me?”
    “Positive. Your name didn’t come up. Oh, but, you know, if he sees us together, I’m sure he’ll decide I’m cheating with you, too. Probably James and Paul and Tim, as well. Probably your dad. I mean, why not?”
    Christopher looked down. “Where are you going?”
    “We were supposed to go to my reunion tonight. I’m going. It’ll give me three days to figure out how to explain this to my parents. And I can’t be around him. He doesn’t love me—I don’t think he ever did.”
    “Kitty, that’s not true. He loves you so much.”
    “Oh. yeah? Well, you go talk to him about it and see how much he loves me.” I took a deep breath and forced myself to stop crying. “I’m not sure if I can stay with Centaurion.”
    “We need you.” Christopher sounded panicked. “I don’t know what’s wrong with Jeff, but we’ll fix it.”
    “Good luck. Figure if I do come back I’m going to base anywhere Jeff isn’t, okay?”
    “Don’t make any decisions until the weekend’s over, okay? Promise me that. Something’s wrong, let me try to fix it first.”
    “I should have stayed with you.” I’d been thinking it, but I hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
    Christopher stroked my face and then pulled me into his arms again. “I told you if he ever hurt you I’d kill him. I meant it. But before I kill him, I want to find out why he’s lost his mind. Okay?”
    “Okay. You don’t have to kill him. Just don’t let him know that I care, okay?”
    He let me go and nodded. “I’ll call you, if only to check on how you’re doing.”
    “Thanks.”
    He let me go, and I ran for the elevator. Made it to the motor pool area without anyone noticing how awful I looked. Flung my luggage in the trunk, myself into the driver’s seat, and got the hell out of Caliente Base.

CHAPTER 64
    THE PRINCESS WAS A BEAUTIFUL resort. I managed to remind myself of that as I drove up to the valet. Plastered a happy look on my face, and managed to keep it all the way through the registration process. When asked where the other party was, I just said he was running late and would check in when he arrived.
    The room was beautiful, a huge suite. There were a dozen red roses in a crystal vase. At first I thought they were standard, but I spotted a card in them. I pulled it out.
    “Kitty, you’re more beautiful than any rose could ever be, all my love, Jeff”
    I managed to make it to the bed before I collapsed in tears. I couldn’t believe someone who could think of something like this ahead of time would be so cold when it was time to say good-bye over nothing. Now that I wasn’t near him, I found it hard to believe it had happened. From the moment we’d met, Martini had been charming, protective, loving. The man I’d fallen in love with was nothing like the man I’d spent the last two weeks with.
    I wanted that part of Terry back more than ever. I knew she’d know what had happened, what I’d done to bring this out in him, how to fix it.
    My phone rang. My purse had come to the bed with me, so I managed to answer on the fourth ring. “Girlfriend, what the hell’s going on?”
    “Oh, James. . . . ” I couldn’t talk and started to bawl again.
    “Kevin said Jeff was acting like a massive jerk, Christopher told me you two broke up, Jeff got into a fight with Paul—”
    This shocked me out of tears. “A fight with Paul ? Why?”
    “Hell if I know. Paul won’t talk about it, but he’s furious. I think he managed to knock Jeff out, though.”
    “Jeff got into a fistfight with Paul?”
    “Something’s wrong, really wrong.”
    “Well, I’m here crying my eyes out, so tell me something I didn’t already know.”
    “Babe, I don’t think it’s you.”
    “Gee, thanks.”
    “No, I mean something’s wrong with Jeff. Not that you did anything. He’s lost it.”
    “Yeah, well, he seemed fine with me leaving.”
    “That’s what I mean. The man lives for you.”
    “No, the man lies well.”
    “They can’t lie. You’ve seen that for almost six months. They literally can’t.”
    “He did. Really well, too. I assume he’s had a lot of practice at it.” And I’d fallen for it, so very willingly.
    “Kitty, he wasn’t lying. I’ve known him for several years. Jeff’s not a womanizer. At all.”
    “Right. Well, I know he dated about ten human women, and more than ten A-C