by E. D. Walker
She turned her fingers under his to clasp his palm. “Yes. But you don't have to give up the rescues if you don't want to. I have a ship, after all. I can ferry you all around the galaxy to rescue kittens if need be. We could be a floating barge of bajo cats.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Yes.”
It felt like champagne bubbles were popping in her blood, light, happy. Bright and sweet. “Yes to what?”
“Any of it. All of it. Just as long as I've got you.”
She held aloft her kitten, who had a milk mustache and gave an indignant mew. “And the cats.”
Zandro tucked his own kitten into the crook of his arm and leaned over the table to caress Aliette's cheek. “Of course.”
She plucked the kitten out of his arms and deposited the sleepy fur babies in their box. The two kittens snuggled down against their plush toy and promptly fell asleep. “I love you, Zandro. Just by the way. Always have.”
He kissed her, his lips smoothing softly over hers, and her heart squeezed tight with happiness. When he pulled back, he leaned his forehead against hers, his breath puffing against her cheek. “And I love you, Aliette. I’m glad I called you for a ride.”
“I’m glad I answered the phone. Come on. It’ll be hours yet before we reach the nearest planet. Let’s go to bed before we have to feed the kittens again.”
Zandro grinned. “I like the sound of that.”
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Also by E.D. Walker
Fantasy Romance/ Fairy Tale Retellings:
The Fairy Tales of Lyond Series
Enchanting the King
The Apprentice Sorceress
The Beauty’s Beast
The Changeling Child
Other SF/ F Work:
Heir to the Underworld
Zandro: A SFR Novella
The Weaver, An Anthology of Short Stories
Contemporary Romance:
(Writing as Beth Matthews)
Love’s Last Call
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Pauline Baird Jones and Veronica Scott for giving me the opportunity to participate in the third Pets in Space anthology, as well as Narelle Todd for all her hard work and fantastic organization skills. Thanks also to the other authors from the anthology; it was an honor to share this table of contents with you. Lastly, thanks to my beta reader Karen Anderson for her feedback on this story.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
E.D. Walker, a native of Los Angeles, is the author of The Fairy Tales of Lyond Series that begins with Enchanting the King. As a child, she grew up knowing all the words to the songs in Disney’s fairy tale retellings. (Sleeping Beauty was always her favorite.) Lo and behold, she eventually grew up to write fairy tale retellings of her own.
By day, E.D. helps corral engineers for NASA (without doing any of the tech stuff herself, of course). By night, she loves to write her clever heroes and heroines bantering their way to true love. E.D. is a total geek, a movie buff, and a mediocre swing dancer. E.D., her husband, and their toddler live in sunny Southern California with one of the neediest housecats on the planet.
For more information about E.D., please visit her website, “Like” E.D. on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter, Bookbub, and Goodreads. Make sure you also join E.D.’s newsletter to be the first to hear about her newest projects.
She’s always thrilled to hear from her readers. Email her directly at [email protected].
