Trying to calm her elevated heartbeat, Mia walked upstairs and into a room where she spotted an old-fashioned landline phone. When she was sure she had herself sufficiently under control and could think of something besides Korum’s plans, she called her sister, dialing her cell phone number from memory.
Marisa picked up on the fifth ring. “Hello?”
“Hey, Marisa, it’s me . . .”
“Mia? I was just on the phone with mom! Holy shit! You’re dating a K?!?”
Mia sighed. “Yep. Listen, remember that thing I told you?”
“About your supposed wealthy executive lover?” Her sister’s tone sounded caustic. “Yes, I remember perfectly.”
Mia winced. “Well, I was not fully honest with you –”
“No shit!”
“I’m sorry,” Mia said sincerely. “I really thought he might leave for Krina at that point and I would never see him again. I needed to talk to someone, but I just didn’t feel like I could tell the whole story . . .”
For a second, there was silence. “Mia,” Marisa said, sounding upset, “you can always tell me the whole story, even if it’s worthy of being on the cover of National Geographic. I’m your sister, and if anyone can understand, it would be me.”
Mia squeezed her eyes shut, feeling ashamed. “I know. I’m sorry. There was just a lot going on and I wasn’t thinking clearly at the time –”
“What was going on? And what changed? How did it go from ‘this can never work out’ to meeting the parents and spending the summer in Costa Rica?”
&nb
sp; “We worked out our differences,” Mia said, not wanting to go into the particulars. “And he’s staying here, on Earth.”
There was again silence for a second. Then her sister said, “Seriously, Mia? A K? You couldn’t choose someone of the same species?”
Mia smiled, relieved. The worst seemed to be over. “I know, it’s insane –”
“Insane is putting it mildly,” Marisa said seriously. “Freaking awesome is how I would phrase it.”
Mia laughed, startled. “What?”
“My baby sis is dating a super-hot, wealthy alien genius who just cured dad’s migraines? Hell yeah, it’s fucking amazing!”
Mia couldn’t believe her ears. “You’re not going to read me a lecture and tell me how foolish I am to get involved with someone so dangerous and not human, and blah, blah, blah?”
“Oh please, I’m sure parents already did that. What can I say that’ll be in any way additive? No, baby sis, I’m happy for you. You’ve walked the straight and narrow for way too long. A little danger and spice in your life is exactly what you need. And besides, from what mom tells me, he’s unbelievably gorgeous and has been around since the dawn of time. It really doesn’t get any cooler than that . . . I can’t wait to meet him!”
Mia grinned hugely. Her sister always managed to surprise her. “You’re the best sister ever,” she told Marisa. “So when am I seeing you and Connor?”
“Tonight at six. Apparently, your extraterrestrial lover invited the whole family for dinner.”
“He did? When?” Mia couldn’t remember him doing anything of the sort.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t there. Shouldn’t you be the one to know? I thought he did it at your request . . .”
“Um . . . he takes initiative a lot when it comes to these things.” Too much, considering that Mia didn’t even know about the invitation. He must’ve talked to her parents when she visited the restroom. “So are we meeting at a restaurant somewhere?”
“It’s kind of crazy that I’m the one telling you this, Mia.” Marisa sounded like she was laughing. “We’re coming over to your rental house. He’s cooking. Still doesn’t ring a bell?”
“That does sound like something Korum would do.” Mia smiled, even though Marisa couldn’t see her. “You’re in for a treat – he’s an amazing cook.”
“And does the laundry, right? Unless you made up that part too?”
“Nope,” Mia said, grinning. “He definitely did the laundry when we were in New York. He has this weird thing for human appliances. I think it mostly has to do with his cooking hobby, which is strange in and of itself. They have these intelligent houses that cook for them, Marisa. He doesn’t need to lift a finger to have gourmet meals, and yet he does –”