Page 108 of GROW (Your Own Boyfriend)

“No?” he asks, raising a brow.

“No. No, notno. No, that’s not it. It is still pronounced the same. But you don’t spell it like that.” The smile splitting her face makes his chest want to explode. “Ask me again,” she says. “But get it right this time.” She tips her chin to the pane behind him. Her name has changed from Kate to K8. Like fromK8lynin her identification number. It’s so obvious now. He should have realized this a long time ago.

His thirty-five-year-old knees are getting stiff. There’s probably a treatment for that he needs to look into. James lets out a playful groan. “Please stop torturing me and say you’ll marry me, K8.”

Now she’s nodding and crying. But instead of kissing him as he rises, her gimmie hands are out, reaching for the ring, and he can’t help but laugh at her antics. She’s perfect.

He holds it back. “You didn’t actually answer the question.”

A cute smirk plays on her lips and her eyes glaze for a moment as if she’s remembering something. “If I say yes, will you give it to me? Promise?”

“Promise,” he replies, recalling that those were the same words she used to coax promises out of him in the private Bubble before they had sex for the first time.

“Yes,” she says, but she moves past the ring, momentarily wrapping her arms around his neck. He can taste the salt of her tears as she repeats into his lips, “Yes.”

The moment he releases her, her hands find his. She’s snatched the ring from his grip and is attempting to put it on her fingers, moving between them, trying to figure out where it’s meant to fit. Apparently,this is another dead custom. James takes the ring from her, holding her hand as he slips it onto the correct finger. It fits perfectly.

“There,” he says, and she beams. His K8 glances between him and Lessa, and he understands she’s dying to show it off. “Go on,” he says.

With that, K8 dances away, and James can only watch with love threatening to burst his chest. Grateful for the unbelievable second chance that has made him something more, better than what he was before. Now and finally, James is real.

Epilogue – Res6 and Electra

James

January 17, 2391.

Days earlier Sable messaged,Res6 is ready for his favor.

The deal was, he didn’t identify them during the GROW inspection, and they kept quiet about his freckled reincarnate. He grew them replacement manupartners to turn in to GROW in place of their reincarnate clients, thus helping them gain their freedom. They provided Res6’s reincarnate with an ID.

Would this back and forth go on forever, or would this exchange mean their score is even? Granted, that doesn’t mean James is opposed to doing business with the man again in the future, even as hard to pin down as he is. Just not with such a heavy weight hanging over their heads.

Giving a last glance to K8, his fiancée, who’s basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking session, he quickly dresses, then hops in a SAT heading for Z Quadrant. When he strides into the private meeting room they’ve rented, Res6 and his reincarnate are already there.

The man stands, nearly stumbling as he reaches out a hand. “Res6.”

“James,” he says in return, not releasing the man’s hand. The question that’s been nagging him pops into his mind again. “You know, I still can’t figure out your motivation. Especially considering her.” He inclines his head toward the frowning woman. “I see the marketing angle of getting a competitor shut down—a tactic that only lasted a week, mind you. That can’t be your only reason.”

Res6 tugs his hand away and returns to his seat, not too subtly glancing over to the freckled woman. “Perhaps I have other reasons.”

“Are you going to keep me guessing?” James asks.

“I didn’t realize we were friends,” Res6 says.

James chuckles. “My partner, Oro1, will be here any minute.” He turns to the woman. “You must be the reincarnate. Like me.”

Their stares snap to him.

Electra stands, taking James’s hand. “Electra Lynch,” she says. “Born 1998. Died 2027. I’ve been back for a few months now. I’m glad to finally meet another normal human being.” She nods in Res6’s direction. The man scoffs, making James want to press the issue of his motivations. Clearly there’s some lingering animosity between them, which Sable hadn’t mentioned.

“Good, good. And I know what you mean. Trust me,” James says, chuckling, which seems to set her at ease. “You’ve come to the right people. If a discreet identity is what you’re looking for, we’ve got you covered.”

She gives him a warm smile.

James studies the man. His scowl makes James slightly on edge, but he isn’t sure it has anything to do with him. “You turned us in forusing reincarnates in the fighting ring, but by then, Electra would have already been in existence. Now you’re going to great lengths to protect her. I’m still trying to understand why.”

Res6 shifts uncomfortably and the pair share a charged glance. The tension between them is palpable. Were he and K8 like this in the beginning?

The woman beside him smirks, confirming the source of the man’s scowl. Her dark eyes flash with challenge. “Good luck with that.”

Does this man have any idea what he’s gotten himself into? For a moment, James can only smile fondly.

Nope, he has no idea.