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Chapter 21

“That’s amazing. IvyBlain’s in love with you.” Billy held his hand up for a high five.

Karn ignored him. “It’s not like that. Ivy doesn’t love me.”

“She just said it. Didn’t you hear?” Billy lowered his hand.

“Ivy said that because she knows I’d find it weird. The whole conversation was weird. It’s a signal she’s in serious trouble. She’s lying.”

“She sounded like she was telling the truth to me.”

“Marcus wants us to back off and leave them alone.”

“Ivy isn’t into you?”

“I’m sure she is. She’s only human.” Karn flashed Billy a smile, but it felt forced. “Let’s slow down, act like we are changing course. Take your time. We need to keep them in sight.”

“No problem. I’ll make it look like we’re leaving and make a few course corrections. That should convince Marcus we’re moving away.”

Karn sat forward in his seat. It had felt great to hear Ivy say she loved him. He knew it wasn’t true. She could barely tolerate being in the same room with him after he’d betrayed her. He wasn’t giving up on her. She’d put on a good act, but he could tell she was scared.

“I was thinking,” Billy said.

“About?”

“Would you be into it if Ivy did love you?”

Karn shrugged. “It’s not a valid question. She’s not that kind of woman.”

“That figures. I didn’t have you as the kind of alien who would settle down. There are too many gorgeous women out there after you.”

“Something like that.” Karn was into Ivy in a big way. He’d never been like this with any other woman. He couldn’t forget they’d been matched by My Single Alien. Even before that, when they’d been dating and getting to know each other, he’d felt something different, something special about Ivy. The woman made his heart race and his future cloudy. Could she be in it? Could he convince her she wanted to be?

“I wouldn’t mind a woman like Ivy falling for me,” Billy said.

“I didn’t think she’d be your type.”

“Maybe not. She is a bit scary, but she’s amazing to look at. She has a way of pulling off those jumpsuits—”

“Keep your eyes off Ivy.”

Billy chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m not competition.”

Karn cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. “Our profiles were matched.”

“No way! By My Single Alien?”

Karn nodded. It felt good to tell someone about his match. “I’d forgotten I’d submitted a profile. I did it when I first came here, more for a laugh than anything else. I wondered what kind of woman would be matched with me, given my lifestyle. Unsurprisingly, I got no matches. That was until Ivy uploaded her profile to the database. We’re a perfect match.”

“Then it’s fate. You’re meant to be together. I’ve seen all the great pairings that come out of My Single Alien. Nearly all the couples are happy. Just think; you and Ivy will be having space babies before long.”

Karn rolled his shoulders. “Maybe sooner than you think.”

Billy turned and stared at him. “Ivy’s pregnant?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. That was one shocker he’d still not gotten his head around. When he thought about raising a baby with Ivy, it made him smile. “It’s complicated.”

“It always will be with a woman like her. Ivy’s into you. You can tell. Whenever she’s around you, she starts to smile. Ivy never smiles.”