42. Terra #2
“Because I don’t know how he feels anymore. I rejected him, Mom. Not a lot of men come back for more of the same when you do that to them.”
Her mother stared at her as though she had just said something extremely foolish.
“You don’t know how he feels? Just look at him!” She gestured to Taurex and the children. “He belongs in this family, Terra.”
“I know, but I hurt him,” Terra protested.
“Yes, you did,” her mother said gravely. “But a man in love will forgive a lot.”
“Thank you for the support but I’m not ready to take a risk on making a fool out of myself when he might not feel the same way,” Terra said shortly.
Her mom put a hand on her hip.
“You want honesty or support?”
“Couldn’t I have both?” Terra asked.
Her mom frowned.
“Not when you’re acting foolish.”
Terra shook her head.
“I rejected him, Mom. Then he disappeared. Then he saved the kids and wouldn’t even let me apologize because he thought I was offering myself out of gratitude. Now I lied to the police and told them we’re mates so he wouldn’t go to prison, and apparently they think we’re getting married.”
Lucy stopped pouring lemonade and stared at her.
“They think what?”
Terra winced.
“Things got…complicated. I’ll explain later.”
Her mother kept staring at her for several seconds, then a slow smile spread across her face.
“Oh, this is getting interesting.”
Terra ran a hand through her hair.
“No. It is getting damn complicated.”
“Mmm-hmm. So I see.”
Terra ignored her.
“Look—let’s just get these snacks out there before the kids start gnawing on Taurex’s horns.”
They carried the drinks into the living room, and for the next hour Taurex remained surrounded by the children. Cody convinced him to play a racing game, which Taurex initially approached as though it were some kind of military simulation.
“You are supposed to remain on the roadway,” he said.
“No, you can cut through the grass there.” Cody pointed.
The big Monstrum frowned.
“That would violate the established route.”
“But it makes you go faster.”
“Then why establish a route?” Taurex asked, clearly perplexed.
Cody laughed.
“Just drive!”
Lisa cheered every time Taurex crashed, and Terra laughed until her stomach hurt. Eventually, though, the afternoon began fading toward evening.
Taurex looked at the time and rose to his full, towering height.
“I should leave. It will be dark soon.”
Terra’s smile vanished.
But I don’t want you to go! The words hovered on her lips, but somehow she couldn’t let them out.
Lisa, however, had no such difficulty making her feelings known.
“No!” she shouted. “You should stay, Bull-man!”
“I wish I could, but I have been gone from my business for several days,” Taurex told him.
Terra’s heart fisted in her chest as he got ready to go. She felt like Lisa and Cody did—she wished he could stay. But they had to talk before he left.
“We need to talk,” she told him.
Taurex frowned and his golden eyes met hers.
“About what?”
Terra glanced at Lucy and the children.
“Privately.”
Lucy immediately stood.
“Kids, come help Nana in the kitchen.”
“But—”
“Now.”
Cody groaned and Lisa slid reluctantly off the couch.
Lucy herded them toward the kitchen, but as she passed Terra, she gave her a look so obvious that Terra wanted to sink into the floor.
Taurex waited patiently until they were alone before speaking again.
“What is wrong?” he asked Terra.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said quickly. “We just need to talk about this wedding.”
His eyebrows rose.
“You mean the fake Joining you told the detective we would be engaging in?”
“Exactly.” Terra nodded firmly. “Now, look, we don’t necessarily have to actually get legally married, but we should look like we’re planning to.”
He looked confused.
“And how do we do that?”
Terra frowned.
“You know. We do wedding stuff together.”
His brow furrowed.
“What exactly constitutes ‘wedding stuff?’”
Terra blew out an exasperated breath.
“Just wedding planning.”
“That is not very specific. Please explain and remember I don’t know anything about your human Joining customs.”
“Well, first of all, we need to get a cake. Or at least look like we’re getting one,” Terra told him.
Taurex shook his head.
“Cake? Why must we look like we’re getting a cake?”
“Not just any cake—a wedding cake,” Terra told him. “Which is a cake you eat after your wedding ceremony,” she added, trying to explain.
He nodded thoughtfully.
“All right. And what else?”
“Well, we need to look at flowers and invitations. Oh, also we need a wedding dress.”
His eyes moved over her.
“I very much hope this dress is for you and not for me.”
Terra smothered a laugh.
“It’s for me. I promise I won’t make you wear a big white dress. We’ll rent you a tux instead.”
“What is a tux?” he asked.
“A special, spiffy suit that men wear on formal occasions,” she told him. “I bet you’ll look amazing in one…if we can find one in your size. I don’t know if they make tuxes in XXXXXL.”
Taurex went quiet, his golden eyes turned inward. The longer he said nothing, the more embarrassed Terra got. Was he going to think she was trying to trap him into marriage for real?
“Look, I know this sounds ridiculous,” she said quickly. “But if we’re going to fake this thing convincingly, we need to do it right. Don’t forget—we’re trying to keep you out of prison.”
“I appreciate your concern,” he said gravely.
Terra frowned.
“You don’t sound appreciative.”
“Forgive me. I am attempting to understand why avoiding incarceration requires baked goods and fancy clothing.”
Terra burst out laughing and the big Monstrum looked confused.
She covered her mouth with one hand.
“I’m sorry, you just crack me up sometimes.”
He shook his head.
“I guess I still do not understand human legal procedures.”
“It’s not a legal procedure. It’s an appearance thing,” she assured him. “If Detective Ramirez goes sniffing around, we want her to be able to see that we really talked to people about booking a wedding and all the things that go with it.”
“Ah.”
He still looked unconvinced.
Terra sobered.
“Taurex, I mean it. I don’t want to take chances with this.”
He looked at her for a long moment.