Juliana looked disappointed. She glanced very briefly at her hallway and back into his face. “I’m sorry. I forgot I’d promised to take her to the grocery store. I should have picked a different day.”
“No problem. I should get back anyway.” Diesel forced himself not to look longingly in the direction of her bedroom. It didn’t really matter. It was too soon. He knew it was. He would have stopped any sexual entanglement, wouldn’t he? Probably. Maybe.
Unless she’d insisted.How can I resist her?
Juliana put a hand on his shoulder, distracting his wayward thoughts. “When will I see you again?”
Diesel grabbed her hand, putting it between his palms. “I don’t know,” he replied with a grin, “but I can’t wait.”
He glanced at her trash can and asked if he could take the menacing apple with him. She picked it up. Careful not to touch the eaten part, she dropped it into a plastic sandwich bag and handed it to him.
“Thanks. I have a friend in local law enforcement.”He’s my brother who works in the basement. “I’ll find out if he can analyze it for me. Probably nothing will come of it, but you never know.”
She nodded and a smile shaped her lovely mouth. “Maybe I could come back to Alienn next time. I still need to get some details for my article.”Was that a good idea?Diesel wasn’t certain, but he also wanted to see her again as soon as possible.
“Are you busy tomorrow night?” he asked, thinking about the typical way he spent Saturday evenings, which was either at work catching up on boring bookkeeping, or at home utterly alone.
“Saturday night? I figured that would be a busy night for you.”
“Any night can be busy, depending on the various trucking schedules. Doesn’t mean I need to be there every single moment, right?”Unless you talk to certain members of my family. Some folks think I should live there right in my office.
“Okay. Where should I meet you?”
“How about my office at the truck stop? And then if you’d like, I’ll give you a mini tour of the town. You can get actual facts for your article instead of innuendos and speculation about scary monsters running wild in town. What do you think?”
“Excellent. I would love that.”
“Good. I’ll look forward to it. I’ll even make you dinner.”
“You cook?”
He shrugged, uncomfortable in the role of bachelor chef. “I’ve been known to grill a burger or two. Besides, you cooked for me. Seems only fair to return the favor.”
“Thank you. And I appreciate your willingness to help me with my article. It means a lot to me. Maybe you could tell me a few stories or interesting historical things about the town of Alienn to write about instead of aliens hiding in plain sight.”
“My pleasure.” Diesel could tell her lots of alien-related stories, and how he personally lived his alien life in plain sight, but he took the out she offered, figuring he’d stick to a couple of old facts and tidbits few outsiders would know about Alienn.
“I also want you to know that my intent isn’t to cause any trouble for you or your town. I’m just trying to write an interesting article for a travel book.”
He nodded. “Good.”
“The rumors about Alienn aren’t new, obviously, but what I heard about the Boogieman Affair is certainly tantalizing. If it was only a wounded dog loose in town and the incident was overly dramatized, I’ll certainly make that my ultimate conclusion for the piece. But I’d love to have information or a story no one else has or that few people know about.”
“I’ll scout around and see if I can come up with something interesting for your article.”
“Thank you, Diesel. Also, I’d be willing to give you an advance copy to read.”
“I’d appreciate that.” He glanced at his watch. “I’d better get out of here so you can take Miss Penny shopping.”
Juliana already had her hand on his forearm. She squeezed briefly, getting his attention. “Sorry we were interrupted.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Diesel did kiss her again though. It was a lingering kiss, filled with as much restrained passion as he could muster. He broke their embrace before he wanted to, but was grateful he’d see her tomorrow. He’d have time to consider all the issues he faced contemplating a life with an engaging earthling and whether he’d have to give up his job at the truck stop and move to another galaxy with her.
“I’ll see you tomorrow night,” she said with a sweet smile.
“Can’t wait.” He moved toward her front door, not wanting to leave her, knowing he needed to go and think about things, not the least of which was preparing his family for her visit.
They would want full disclosure as to his intentions regarding Juliana as someone important in his life—especially Cam—and then he’d take her to his place in Alienn. He wanted her to see his home. Also, he wanted her.
