Violet And Her Alien Matchmaker (7 page)

Simon shrugged.

“Or is there something else bothering you?” Tiraz asked. “You've had a lot of changes in your life already. Are you worried about another one?”

“She wants him to be my daddy, doesn't she?” Simon asked.

“Well, I'm sure she's going out with him because she enjoys his company, but yes...if they continue to see one another, there's a chance he could be your new daddy.”

Tears welled in Simon's eyes and Tiraz wanted to hold him close and promise

everything would be okay. He watched as one slipped free and streaked the boy's cheek. Tiraz reached out and wiped it away.

“What's really bothering you, Simon? You can tell me anything.”

“I don't need a daddy. I already have one.” Simon sniffled then wrapped his

little arms around Tiraz. “Please don't let her take me away. You're my daddy now, aren't you?”

Tiraz's chest ached with longing and he pressed a kiss to the top of Simon's head.

“Simon, I would be very proud to call you my son, but I'm not sure your mother wants that to happen. She seems to like Zarin and there's a good chance she'll marry him. You have to promise to give him a chance if that happens. He's really nice and a lot of fun.”

“Can I still come see you if I have to leave?” Simon asked.

“Of course, Simon. You'll always be welcome here, and so will your mother.”

“Why can't Momma marry you?” Simon asked softly. “I thought she would

when we moved in with you. Don't you like my Momma?”

“I like her a lot, Simon, but sometimes that isn't enough with adults. She's very beautiful and sweet. Any male will be lucky to call her his mate, but I don't think she feels that way about me.”

“Then you need to change her mind.”

Tiraz smiled. If only it were that easy.

Chapter Five

Violet felt tears gather in her eyes as she listened to Simon talking to Tiraz. She'd had no idea her little boy had gotten so attached to the alien, and from the sound of things, Tiraz was just as attached to Simon. But if the blue alien liked her, why had he set up the lunch date with Zarin? Violet was so confused, and she knew Zarin was downstairs waiting for her. Quietly moving down the hall, she eased her purse strap over her shoulder and left the penthouse, making sure the door closed softly behind her.

The elevator ride gave her time to get herself under control. She plastered a smile on her face as she stepped into the lobby and looked for Zarin. She saw him leaning against the front desk, chatting with a woman in a sexy, black dress. Violet smoothed her hand over her own dress, which was nowhere near as fancy, and wondered if that was the kind of woman he preferred. And if it was, why was he going out with her tonight?

She didn't approach, but instead decided to watch and see what would happen.

Would he look her way and come greet her? Or would he flirt with the woman until Violet made her presence known? She watched as he laughed at something the woman said then leaned in closer, a smile on his lips. The woman gave him a flirty smile, then turned his hand over and wrote something on his palm. Violet would be willing to bet it was her phone number. Zarin's smile grew and he talked with her a few more minutes before glancing Violet's way. His eyes widened in surprise and he seemed frozen.

Whatever he had to say, she didn't want to hear it. With a shake of her head, she turned on her heel and marched back to the elevator, pressing the button repeatedly until the doors opened, and then she slipped inside. Zarin hadn't moved when the doors slid shut and Violet tried to tell herself it was for the best. If he was going to flirt with another woman when he had planned a date with her, then what would stop him from flirting even after he was married? No, she didn't need that kind of drama in her life.

The elevator doors opened to the penthouse floor and Violet hurried to Tiraz's door and pushed it open. Simon was buttoned up in his jacket and they looked ready to go out. Tiraz cocked an eyebrow at her sudden appearance and she felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment.

“Didn't you have a date?” Tiraz asked.

“Apparently Zarin forgot that since he was flirting with a woman in the lobby while he waited for me. I decided I didn't need someone who was going to play games and could end up doing a bit of damage to my heart in the long run, so I came back up.”

Surprise flashed in Tiraz’s eyes. “He was flirting with someone else?”

“A woman who was my exact opposite. Tall, lithe, and very well put together. I bet her dress cost more than my entire wardrobe.” She fingered her dress. “I felt rather frumpy in comparison to her.”

“What did Zarin have to say about it?” Tiraz asked.

“I didn’t wait around to find out. He stared at me when he noticed I was

watching him, but he never made a move to come after me. Which means the only reason he asked me out is because you asked him to and he never had any real interest in me. I’m glad I found out now rather than later.”

“I’m sorry, Violet. I know he’s been seeking a mate and I truly thought the two of you would do well together. Give me some time to think about it and I’ll come up with some other names for you.”

She glanced at Simon then back at Tiraz. “We’ll discuss it later.”

Tiraz nodded and motioned toward the door. “Would you like to join us? We

were about to head to that burger place over on Seventh Street. I told Simon they let you shoot toothpicks into the ceiling and throw peanut shells on the floor.”

“Sounds fun.” Violet smiled. “Am I dressed okay?”

His gaze caressed her. “You look beautiful.”

Violet felt warmth suffuse her cheeks and she smiled. Tiraz grasped Simon’s

hand and Violet took her son’s other hand. There was a certain buzz in the air as they rode the elevator down, a tingling down her spine, as she was now more aware of Tiraz than ever. After having heard him talk to Simon, she knew for certain he was the one she wanted to marry. He’d been nothing but kind to them, and it was obvious there was a bond between Simon and him. Her little boy hardly ever asked for anything, but now that she knew he wanted Tiraz as a father, how could she deny him? Especially when her body was hyper aware of the sexy, blue alien. She’d been attracted to him from the first, and now she knew she actually had a chance with him.

At Jernigan’s Pub, Tiraz parked along the curb near the front door and helped Simon out before coming around to assist Violet. Not that she needed help, but it was nice of him to offer. She placed her hand in the crook of his arm, while he grasped Simon’s hand and led him inside. The hostess smiled in greeting and escorted them to a booth along the far wall, their feet crunching on the peanut shells that covered the floor.

“Is this okay?” the hostess asked.

“It’s fine,” Tiraz said.

“Can I sit with you?” Simon asked Tiraz.

The alien glanced at Violet and she nodded that it was okay. Once everyone was seated, the hostess passed out menus and told them a waiter would be by shortly.

Simon stared up at the ceiling in awe. “How do they do that?”

Tiraz smiled. “I think that’s something you’d better try when you’re older. You have to shoot them up there with a straw, kind of like a spitball.”

Simon’s eyes widened as he stared at Tiraz. “You know about spitballs?”

“We’re very thorough in our research before we come here. Imagine how you

would feel if you moved to another country and no one spoke the language. It’s a hundred times worse. We not only have to learn your many languages on Earth, but we have to study all of the customs as well.”

Violet giggled. “Spitballs are a custom?”

“Well, maybe not spitballs,” Tiraz relented. “But we learned about those through movies.”

Simon looked at the menu with his brow furrowed. “I don’t see a place that says

‘kids’ anywhere.”

Tiraz flipped through the menu, locating the children’s portion. “It’s right here,”

he said, pointing to the lower section on the back flap. “Can you read it?”

“Not really. I know some of the words because Momma taught me.”

Tiraz read the menu choices to Simon, pointing to each one, until a decision was made. By the time the waiter came by to take their order, everyone knew what they wanted and ordered with ease. Of course, the first thing Simon asked for was a basket of peanuts so he could drop shells on the floor. It didn’t take Violet long to learn that her son didn’t like the taste of peanuts, even though he adored peanut butter, and he would make scrunched up faces while he chewed.

“You don’t have to eat the peanuts,” Tiraz said. “I’ll take them if you don’t like them.”

Simon flashed him a huge smile and did exactly that.

“Valentine’s Day is tomorrow,” Tiraz said. “Violet, I know I promised you a

mate, but I was hoping you would spend the day with me. I thought we could take Simon somewhere for lunch after school, then maybe he’d agree to hang out with my brother while I took you to a nice dinner.”

“I don’t think your brother liked us very much,” she admitted. “Would he really watch Simon? Can you trust him to make sure Simon doesn’t get hurt?”

“I’ll tell Gryf how important Simon is to me, and I know he’ll watch him

carefully.” Tiraz smiled down at Simon. “What do you say? Want to hang out with Uncle Gryf tomorrow night? You can make him watch your favorite movie with you and pop some popcorn.”

Simon’s eyes lit up before dimming. “Momma is right. He didn’t like me.”

Tiraz bumped Simon with his shoulder. “He liked you just fine. Gryf just isn’t used to showing a lot of emotion.”

Violet fiddled with her drink. “If you’re sure he’ll be okay with it…”

She had to admit a night out with Tiraz sounded wonderful. She’d had fun with Zarin earlier, but spending some time with Tiraz? Maybe she could talk to him about the future and see if he might be open to having a ready-made family. Even if he didn’t want to claim her right away, perhaps he would agree to date her for a little while and see if something could grow between them. She’d never been more attracted to someone in her life and she hoped he felt the same about her.

Their food arrived and she watched as Simon happily demolished his

cheeseburger and fries. Violet had to say that Tiraz was right about the burgers being sensational. She couldn’t remember ever having eaten a better one. As she ate, she observed Tiraz and her son, marveling at how close they seemed to be.

“Why don’t you tell your mom about the zoo?” Tiraz asked Simon.

Her son’s eyes lit up.

“We got to see elephants and tigers. The bears had this huge ball they were

playing with, and the ostriches weren’t like the cartoons at all. I didn’t see a single one with its head in the sand.”

“That sounds like so much fun,” Violet said, wishing she’d been there to witness his first time at the zoo.

“There was a show with sea lions and they did all kinds of tricks. They even had camel rides, but they were closed. Daddy said we can go another time to ride them.”

Her eyes widened and she looked from her son to Tiraz to see if the slip had bothered the alien, but he was merely smiling down at Simon.

“Did you tell her about your lemur?” Tiraz asked.

“I got a new stuffed toy. It’s a lemur with a pretty ringed tail,” Simon said. “I’ll have to introduce you to Jasper later.”

“Jasper?” she asked.

Simon nodded. “Jasper is the monkey in a book we read at school.”

“Well, I look forward to meeting Jasper.” Violet smiled at him, uncertain if she should bring up the “daddy” slip or not. Was this the first time he’d done it? Or had Simon called Tiraz daddy while they were at the zoo? The alien didn’t seem upset by it.

“If everyone is finished, I say we call it a night and watch a movie before a certain little boy needs to go to bed,” Tiraz suggested.

Simon yawned. “But I’m not tired.”

Violet laughed. “Of course, you aren’t. You need to take a bath and put on

pajamas whether you’re ready or not.”

Simon sighed but nodded.

Tiraz paid for their meal and escorted them outside to the car. She knew

tomorrow night wouldn’t come soon enough. Violet just hoped that when she finally got to talk to him about their future, or whether or not they had one, that he would be open to dating her. If Simon had to say goodbye to Tiraz, she knew it would break her son’s heart. Violet wasn’t too sure it wouldn’t break hers too.

Chapter Six

Tiraz yawned and sat up on the edge of the bed. With a groan, he ran his hands through his hair, making it stand on end, scrubbed his hands down his face and wandered into the bathroom. Pulling his toothbrush out of the cup on the counter, he quickly brushed his teeth then splashed some water on his face. The icy liquid jolted him awake and he rubbed a towel over his face before heading to the kitchen. The sound of laughter made him smile as he turned the corner and saw Violet dishing up slices of bacon. There was a bowl of scrambled eggs, a platter of bacon, and another platter of biscuits.

“You’ve made a feast,” Tiraz said as he wandered over to the coffee pot. He

pulled down one of his oversized mugs and filled it to the brim before taking a seat at the table.

“I wasn’t sure if you would be up in time for breakfast. I heard you moving

around pretty late last night.” Violet returned the skillet to the kitchen then sat next to him.

“I had a few things to work on, and I tend to pace when I’m working.”

“Since you’ve been home with us every day, I just assumed you didn’t work.”

Tiraz smiled. “I guess you could call me more of a consultant. I was an architect on my world and I’ve studied extensively in preparation for my trip here. So some of your firms in this state, and even as far as California, call me when they run into a problem, and I help them fix it. For a fee of course. Not that I didn’t have money when I moved here, but it’s nice to have money flowing in on a regular basis.”

“Well, first thing Monday, I’m going to start aggressively looking for a job. I don’t want you to think we’re sponging off you. If this whole mate thing doesn’t work out, then it would be nice to have a back-up. If I have a job, then I’ll be able to take care of us again.”