Violet And Her Alien Matchmaker Read online

  Instead of pulling around back and parking in his usual place, he took a spot by the door. Ushering Violet inside, they were able to walk right up to the counter and place their order. He smiled at her rather complicated drink. Skinny, vanilla, half-caf latte. He just ordered black coffee, the strongest they had.

  “That can’t be good for you,” Violet said as they waited for their drinks.

  “And that frou-frou thing you ordered is?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with my drink order.”

  Tiraz laughed. “I like to keep things simple, but I’mhappy you ordered

  something you’ll enjoy. I’m sorry I only have black coffee at home for you.”

  “I’ve been putting a little milk and sugar in it.”

  “But that’s not the way you usually drink it, is it?”

  She shook her head. “I like flavored creamer. I tend to rotate between three different ones. I can just pick some up when we go to the store. We should probably plan on doing that tomorrow.”

  “You should have said something sooner. I’d have been happy to take you to the store on the way home from dropping Simon off any morning this week.”

  “It’s fine.” She shrugged. “I don’t have to have it; I just like it.”

  Their order was called and Tiraz picked it up and carried it over to their table.

  He set her drink and the paper sack with her brownie down in front of her and reclaimed his seat with his black coffee. He watched as she closed her eyes and smiled as she took a bite of her treat, and he wanted to put that look on her face in a more intimate setting. Would she let him kiss her tonight?

  Violet was different from anyone he’d been with before. He wasn’t in it just to get her into bed; he wanted to be by her side for the long haul. She probably tasted like ripe strawberries or something equally sweet. And if she made faces like that when she was under him, then he’d know he was doing something right.

  Violet polished off her brownie and took a long swallow of her latte before

  licking her lips. She was killing him and she didn’t even know it. He’d never met a woman so sensual, especially one who didn’t realize the power she wielded. The women he usually dated were seductive, but they were also deceitful. They’d do anything to land the position of his wife, and here he was willing to give it to Violet and she wanted time to think it over.

  Of course, they hadn’t discussed his considerable wealth or the benefits of being his wife. Perhaps if she knew what he could offer her, could offer Simon, then maybe she wouldn’t drag things out quite so long. Not that he didn’t want to date her. He looked forward to their outings, but he’d be just as happy, if not happier, going out with her as his wife.

  “Do you really think you can help me find a job?” she asked.

  “I can’t make any promises, but it’s no trouble for me to make a few phone calls and see if anything pops up. If things go well with us, if you decide to become my mate, would you still want to work?”

  She tipped her head to the side as she thought about it for a moment. “I don’t think I would want to work full-time because I miss so much with Simon when I’m working, but working a few hours a day might be nice. It would get me out of the house and give me some spending money.”

  He toyed with his coffee cup. “You know, we’ve never discussed my financial

  situation, and if you’re even considering becoming mine, you should probably know my net worth. You’ve seen the penthouse and the car, and I told you about the jobs I pick up here and there, but what I didn’t tell you was how very well they pay. My job on my world was considered a high ranking position and paid handsomely. The

  conversion rate of my money to the dollar was…generous.”

  “You don’t have to tell me, Tiraz. I don’t care what you’re worth, not as far as money goes. What I care about is the type of person you are, and I already know you’re honorable and kind. Simon would be lucky to have you as a father, and I’d be lucky to be your wife. But it’s a serious commitment to make, and I just want to make sure I’m not making a mistake.”

  He tried to ignore the pinch to his heart when she said being with him might be a mistake. How could she not see how incredible they were together? And all three of them? They made the perfect family. A family he hoped she would like to expand at some point.

  “I think the mall is open now, if you’re ready?” he asked.

  She nodded and followed him to the car. The mall wasn’t very far away and it only took them about ten minutes to get there. With it being so early, they practically had front door parking. Tiraz took a chance and reached for her hand as they walked through the mall entrance, his fingers curling around hers.

  “Was there something in particular you wanted to buy?” she asked as they

  neared the mall map.

  “It’s a secret.”

  She smiled. “How very mysterious. Well, I can just walk the mall and browse for a while. Do you want to meet somewhere at a particular time?”

  Tiraz pulled out his wallet and handed her a few hundred dollars. “I want you to go shopping and buy whatever you want, or anything you may need. And don’t even think about not taking the money. I agreed to hire you to cook for me and I have yet to pay you anything, so consider it part of your salary if you won’t accept it any other way.”

  She reluctantly took the money from him and looked like she thought it might bite.

  “Meet me in the food court whenever you’re finished shopping. It won’t take me long to pick up the things I need, but I want you to take as much time as you need. We have three hours until we have to pick up Simon, so if you want to spend that entire time in the mall, I’m okay with that.”

  “It’s too much, Tiraz,” she said softly. “Even if I consider it my salary, I’ve only cooked a few meals for you. Mostly, you’ve taken us out to eat.”

  Tiraz took a chance and cupped her cheek, leaning down until he’d captured her gaze. “Let me take care of you, Violet. I know that you’re a strong, independent woman who likes to make her own way in the world, but just this once, let someone help.”

  “You’ve already been helping.”

  “Then it won’t hurt to let me help a little more.”

  She sighed and nodded. “All right. I could use a few things. It’s been a while since I bought clothes.”

  Tiraz frowned. The three hundred he gave her wouldn’t go far if she truly

  needed to buy more clothes. Taking her by the hand, he led her into one of the nicer department stores in the mall and went straight to the women’s department. Once he located someone who worked there, he pulled out his platinum credit card. He just hoped Violet wouldn’t argue with what he was about to say.

  “This is my fiancé,” he told the store associate. “She isn’t on my charge account yet, but she has my permission to purchase anything she wants in this store and put it on my card. Will you let her use it?”

  “She’ll have to sign for it, and your credit card company might have an issue with it,” the woman said.

  Tiraz grumbled under his breath and pulled out his cell phone. He quickly

  dialed the number on the back of the card and explained the issue to the person on the other end of the line. After answering a few questions, he was able to successfully add Violet to his account, despite her protests. He hung up and handed her his card.

  “You’ll get one with your name on it in the next week, but for now, you can use this one and shouldn’t have a problem. I don’t know if the other stores in the mall will let you use it or not, but you can try.”

  “Thank you, but you shouldn’t have done that,” Violet said.

  Tiraz leaned down and kissed her cheek softly. “Quit arguing and go buy

  whatever it is you need.”

  She nodded and wandered off to look at clothes. With one last look in her

  direction, Tiraz went to run his errands. The first place he intended to go was the jewelr
y store, for more than one reason. Despite Violet’s need to date before making a commitment, Tiraz already knew he wanted her as his mate. He just needed an

  engagement ring so he could ask her to marry him.

  There were two stores in the mall and he went to the one with the more

  prestigious name. The diamonds in the front window glittered under the lights. The shop was empty because of the early hour and the woman behind the counter gave him some space to browse for a minute.

  “Are you looking for something in particular?” she finally asked.

  “An engagement ring.”

  The woman smiled. “How lovely! Well, we have three cases of engagement

  rings. Do you know how much you want to spend? We have everything from solitaires that cost a few hundred to flashier rings that cost up to ten thousand.”

  “Let’s start with the flashier rings. I don’t know that Violet is necessarily the kind of woman to wear a flashy ring, but I want her to have the best.”

  The woman walked around to the case on the far right and pulled out two trays of rings. He looked them over carefully, but none of them seemed quite right. He wanted something classy and elegant, but something that didn’t look like it came from a quarter machine.

  “None of these are right?” the woman asked.

  “They’re beautiful, but I don’t think they suit Violet.”

  The woman put the rings way and locked the case. “I have a few special rings in the back, but they cost a lot more than these. We don’t display them because of the insurance it would require to have them out in the open.”

  “I’d love to see them.”

  She opened a door along the back wall and called out to someone. A moment

  later, a portly gentleman in a suit carried out what looked like a lockbox. He dialed the combination and pulled out three small velvet jewelry boxes, opening the lid on each.

  The moment the last ring came into view, he knew it was the one. A round canary diamond circled by smaller white diamonds on a platinum band, it was stunning.

  “That one,” he said, pointing to it.

  “That particular ring is fifty-thousand,” the gentleman said. “We have a credit application you’ll need to complete if you wish to purchase it.”

  Tiraz smiled. “I was just going to use my bank card. Is that a problem?”

  Their eyes widened and the gentleman shook his head. “No problem at all, sir. If you’ll just give me your card, I’ll ring up your purchase.”

  “There’s one more thing I want to buy, but I’m not sure if you have it. I want a necklace or bracelet that says ‘mom’ or ‘mother’ on it. My soon-to-be fiancé has a five year old son and I think something like that would make the perfect Valentine’s gift.”

  “We have a small selection of things like that.” The woman walked around the counter and crossed the store to the opposite wall. “They’re in here.”

  Tiraz went to peer into the case she had indicated. There were a few necklaces and even some lockets. One caught his eye. A pretty heart with a rose in the middle and a scroll-like banner across it with “mother” in a fancy script.

  “That one,” he said, pointing it out.

  “That’s a lovely choice. It’s white gold, in case you were wondering. Would you like to see it?”

  Tiraz nodded and held out his hand. He studied the little pendant and checked out the chain it hung from, noting the price hanging from the clasp.

  “I’ll take it.”

  “We’ll just get both of these things rung up for you. It will only take a minute.”

  Tiraz pulled out his bank card and handed it over, not even caring about the price. He’d spend every last cent he owned on Violet if he thought she’d let him.

  Somehow, he thought he’d have better luck spending his money on Simon. He knew she’d do anything for her son, as she’d proven by walking into the dating agency, ready to do anything it took to keep her son.

  The sales woman handed his card back to him and he put it away before

  accepting the small sack. Next he went to the big toy store downstairs and tried to find the perfect thing for Simon. He’d seen the toy soldiers the boy had, even though there were very few of them. There was a large playset on the back wall that had a helicopter, small tank, and six soldiers. Tiraz didn’t even hesitate to purchase it for Simon, along with a six-pack of cars. There were tons of wonderful toys in the shop, but he didn’t know what else Simon would like.

  “Shopping for your son?” a woman asked as she practically leaned into him.

  “Yes. But I’m not quite sure what a nine year old human would want to play

  with. I know he likes soldiers and cars, but I’m not sure about the rest of this stuff.”

  She pouted. “I didn’t see a ring on your finger. How is it you have a human

  son?”

  “I’m very much taken, but I’m flattered by your interest.” Truthfully, he wanted to get as far from her as possible. And take a hot shower.

  “If he likes super hero movies, then he’ll probably like the action figures over there,” she said, pointing to another wall. She eyed him up and down one last time before walking away.

  Tiraz breathed a sigh of relief when he no longer held her attention and went to look at the action figures. Simon was still a little young for the super hero movies, or so Violet had said, so he wasn’t sure if the boy would like them or not. He was about to walk away when another section of the store caught his attention. It contained figures and playsets from a movie they’d just rented on Amazon the other night.

  Simon had seemed engaged by the movie and had laughed quite a bit. What

  would it hurt to buy him a few things and see if he liked them? He chose three of the larger figures and a tube that contained every character from the movie. Finally, happy with his purchases, he went to pay for everything.

  Laden with two toy store bags and his jewelry store bag, he went to look for Violet. He passed the food court, but she wasn’t there. Thinking she may still be at the department store, he headed that direction. He found her at the register checking out with what looked like three shopping bags. Tiraz smiled, realizing she’d finally gotten over her fear of breaking his bank account.

  “Did you find everything you needed?” he asked, stopping to kiss her cheek.

  “I probably spent too much.”

  “I want you to have whatever you need, Violet. A few bags of clothes aren’t

  going to make a dent in my account.”

  She noticed his sacks and her eyes widened. “Is all of that for Simon?”

  “The toy bags are. But the small black bag has something in it for you. You’re not getting it until Simon comes home though. I figured we would go to lunch when we pick him up, and then we can go home and you can both get your gifts.”

  “But I didn’t get you anything.”

  “Violet, just having you in my life is gift enough. I don’t need you to buy me anything, just like I know you didn’t need for me to buy you a gift, but I wanted to. It’s been a long time since you let someone spoil you, and I intend to do my best to do just that.”

  “We should probably take all of this home before we pick up Simon.”

  “Do you want me to carry your bags?”

  She smiled broadly. “No. This is the first big shopping spree I’ve had since I was a teen and I intend to lug all of this out to the car myself.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  Chapter Seven

  Before picking Simon up from school, Violet had changed into one of her new

  outfits. She felt more beautiful than she had in a long time. The last time she’d purchased something new from the mall was back in high school, before she’d gotten pregnant with Simon. Since then, it had been trips to Wal-Mart and thrift stores for whatever they needed. Although, she tried to buy new things for Simon so the kids wouldn’t make fun of him at school.

  “When we get home, there’s a surprise for
you,” Tiraz told Simon.

  “A puppy?” Simon asked with wide eyes.

  Violet laughed. “Not a puppy. I don’t think a puppy would do well in a

  penthouse.”

  Simon pouted. “But we’ve never had a pet.”

  There was a twinge in her heart as she wondered if that was just another way she’d failed her son over the years. She’d done her best to take care of him, but there was so much they hadn’t had. People might say material things didn’t matter, but she knew her son was the charity case at school…the boy who missed out on parties because he couldn’t afford to join in. The boy who received free lunches. The boy who didn’t have a game system or a bike. It hurt her heart to know she hadn’t been able to give those things to Simon, and made her feel like she’d failed him.

  “We’ll discuss a pet another day,” Tiraz said, pulling her from her melancholy thoughts. “Not a puppy, but maybe a kitten or something that can live in a cage.”

  Simon nodded.

  “You actually have a few surprises at home.” Tiraz took a sip of his water. “I’ll let you have them when we get home, but I want you to promise me that you’ll be good for Uncle Gryf later tonight. You can take some of your toys with you.”

  “Are Mommy and you going to be out a long time tonight?”

  “I made early reservations for us so we wouldn’t be out a long time. Once we’re leaving the restaurant, I’ll call and let your Uncle Gryf know that we’re heading home.

  But just in case you get sleepy, I’m going to send your pajamas and Bear-bear with you.

  That way you can take a nap if you want to.”

  “Does he have Netflix too?” Simon asked.

  Tiraz smiled. “Yes, he does. I’m sure he’ll let you watch whatever you want, as long as it’s a movie your mom would approve of.”