Exactly one standard year had passed since Ian had last visited, but nothing much had changed: Donavan’s Blunder was still the sorriest stopover in the frontier.
At old Garjha’s bar, Ian sipped his tock and studied the woman next to him. “Just think; two more months of being single, then you’ll be shackled to me for life.”
“I know,” Tee said in lousy imitation of acting glum. She plunked her elbows on the bar. Her almost shoulder-length hair curled in the humid evening air, the color evened out thanks to a bottle of Clairol’s Desert Sunrise. Affection swelled in his chest, and he stroked his hand over the silky strands.
She smiled and propped her cheek on the knuckles of her clasped hands. “Buy you another tock, bad boy?” she asked in heavily accented English.
“No. I think your last trip to Donavan’s Blunder as a single woman calls for something stronger.” He pounded his fist on the counter. “Bartender—Mandarian whiskey!”
Garjha perked up. Mumbling to himself, the man reached under the bar for a dusty red bottle. Uncorking it with steady hands, he filled two glasses.
Tee’ah waved her hands. “Oh, no. Not that stuff.”
Ian smiled innocently. “Why? Have fun. You’ll soon be a quiet, compliant wife.”
She snorted. “Right.”
He took one of the glasses, distracting her with conversation while he slipped an extra ingredient into the pungent smelling whiskey. “Don’t forget, we’re taking Lara’s cloaker friend Eston out to dinner. We can ply him with food and alcohol and make him tell us what Gann and Lara have been up to.”
“Gann and Lara. I can’t wait to see if they arrive at the wedding together or separate.” She laughed. “Together is my wager, but we’ll have plenty of entertainment either way.”
Vash weddings lasted six days. There were feasts, parties, and ceremonies, making it clear why couples were required to wait a year after taking the promise vows. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough time to memorize the required passages from Treatise of Trade and the rituals they’d have to perform. Tee’ah had worked closely with her mother through all the arrangements, helping to heal her relationship with her family.
“Entertainment,” he said, cradling the glass of whiskey in his hands. “You wouldn’t mean Ché and my sister, would you?”
“They won’t admit it, but they’re boozers about each other.”
He laughed. “That’s bonkers, pixie.”
She pursed her lips. “I don’t speak English like an Earth dweller, but I’m getting close, yes?”
He leaned closer, his fingers sliding up her thigh. Her eyes darkened and her muscles bunched under his hand. “Drink up, Miss Tee,” he said and handed her the glass.
She tried to force it back into his hands. Whiskey splashed onto their jeans. He crossed his arms over his stomach and leaned back on his stool.
Her mouth twisted. “I cannot believe you really want me to—” She noticed something glinting on the bottom of the glass and fished it out with two fingers. A small sound of pleasure escaped her. Staring at the dripping diamond ring cupped in her palm, she bit her lower lip. “Ian…”
“An engagement ring. It’s time to do this right.”
Her nostrils flared with emotion. She gazed down at the ring, her fingertip making tiny loving circles around the radius of the platinum band.
Quietly he explained, “I wanted to do this before we headed back for the wedding, and since this is the one-year anniversary of our first meeting, I thought the timing was right.”
Her lips curved in a soft smile. “It is,” she whispered.
He took her hands in his. “I always thought, deep inside, that we were meant to be together. But only recently did I find out how true that was.”
Her brows drew together.
“My stepfather married my mother the night he left for the battle of Balkanor. It was a rushed ceremony, and painful. They figured they’d never see each other again. A very old woman married them, a seer. Afterward, she told them that they’d have good futures, long lives.” He searched Tee’ah’s face and smiled. “And many descendants. ‘Your progeny will travel to many worlds,’ she told them.”
He took the ring from Tee’s hand. “Naturally my mother didn’t believe her. Even if Rom survived, he couldn’t father children. But now we know what that old woman meant. Us, Tee. Jas’s son, Rom’s niece.”
Tee’s face was luminescent with love. “Our children will be a part of them both.”
His back tingled—destiny looking over his shoulder, he thought. Swallowing, he crouched on one knee. “Some things have to be done the old-fashioned Earth way,” he explained. Then he took a deep breath. “Tee’ah Dar, will you marry me?”
“Ah, Ian.” She leaned forward. “I will.”
He slipped the ring on her finger. They kissed and slowly moved apart.
Then he led her away from the bar to where the lights of the town didn’t reach. He murmured into her hair, “Once I wondered if I’d ever be up to the task of taking Rom’s place.”
“We’re a team,” she said. “We’ll go the distance together.”
And so they stood before a sea of stars, and a future that was finally theirs.