Excelsior (54 page)

Alexander walked up behind his wife as she went back to washing vegetables in the sink. He wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered in her ear, “You let me handle that. When the time comes, he’ll understand.”

“I hope you’re right, Alexander.”

“I am, but let’s not talk about this anymore,” he said, turning her to face him. “We should be celebrating. I’m done with the navy!”

Catalina cracked a smile. “We’re done. So now what? What are you going to do for a living? Have you thought about it? Jobs aren’t exactly easy to come by.”

“I’ll find something. Anything. Teach myself a trade if I have to. The sky’s the limit, Caty.”

“No it isn’t.”

Alexander regarded her with a curious look.

“You of all people should know that. You’ve been to space, so the sky is clearly not the limit.”

“Ha ha,” Alexander said, smiling wrly at her. “You know what I meant.”

“Do I?”

“I meant that we’re only limited by what we can dream or imagine. Anything is possible.”

Catalina nodded slowly. “After what the Alliance did to you with the Excelsior program, I might actually believe that.”

Alexander frowned. “When that technology becomes commercially available, we’re going to end up with more virtual worlds than real ones.”

“Just so long as you don’t trade me for a virtual wife, we’ll be okay.”

Alexander sent her a lopsided grin and grabbed her face in his hands for another kiss. “Never.”

He withdrew, allowing a whisper to escape from her lips. “Never is a long time.”

“But time is an illusion.”

Caty smiled and kissed him again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jasper T. Scott Jasper Scott is the USA Today best-selling author of more than 13 novels written across various genres. He was born and raised in Canada by South African parents, with a British cultural heritage on his mother's side and German on his father's, to which he has now added Latin culture with his wonderful wife.

Jasper spent years living as a starving artist before finally quitting his various jobs to become a full-time writer. In his spare time he enjoys reading, traveling, going to the gym, and spending time with his family.