The Gigolo's Bride (The Necklace Chronicles) (14 page)

"I don't believe in fate."

"Well, I didn't believe in alien planets and
traveling through space, either," Ashleigh joked and Kate
chuckled.

"Yeah, well, at least I'm out of that
horrible
Bordelayz
. He thought we could go live with his
mother, but she said the house was too small for us. We'll be on
the streets soon, and I heard one of the tenants say the other day
that if you get picked up by the military police as homeless, they
throw you back in the
Bordelayz
until you can afford to pay
for a home."

"Paoli will figure something out. He cares
for you."

Kate hummed in her throat and said nothing.
Ashleigh watched Eden and Paoli hug, and then Paoli dipped his head
and kissed Ashleigh's hand, thanking her for the meal.

Eden wanted to work some more in the
classroom before his pottery class showed up, and Ashleigh sat down
on a large, square pillow in the corner and watched him. His long,
agile fingers worked with a lump of clay, twisting and carving it
into something that was sure to be incredible.

Her mind wandered a bit, and she stood up,
walking over to the nearly empty storage room. The door slid open,
and she walked inside.
It could work
, she thought.

Leaning against the door jam, she said,
"Didn't you tell me that Paoli liked to make clothing?"

"Yes, sweetheart," Eden said without looking
up. "He fixed up a few of the tunics I purchased for you."

"Could he sell them?"

Eden looked up, his brows drawing in
confusion. "Of course. He would just need a place to work. Any of
the garment stores would take his creations. Why?"

"I was just thinking that this room," she
gestured behind her, "is really big enough to be a bedroom, and
there's a full bath in here. And the other storage room could
become another workshop. Sloan's storage room in her home has a few
garment machines, I'm sure she would be willing to loan them to
Paoli. We could organize your things better in here, add some more
cabinets."

Eden straightened, and a curious smile came
over his face. "He could help me out in classes, too, and I could
pay him a little so he could purchase materials."

She closed the distance to him and hugged
him, ignoring his clay-smudged clothing.

"Then they won't be homeless," she said, a
feeling of relief filling her at being able to help not only Kate
but also Paoli, as they treaded the waters of their new
relationship.

"My sweetheart," Eden said, pressing a kiss
to the top of her head, "you have the biggest, kindest heart of
anyone I've ever known. I'm so very fortunate to have you as my
soul mate and my bride."

Even though it had only been a few months,
she felt truly at home on Norlan, with Eden. She'd believed at
first that she'd lost everything she had ever valued as important.
Now, she realized that Eden had become the most important person in
her life. She would always miss her family and wonder what had
happened to them, but Eden was her family now. And someday, she
hoped they would have children to love and nurture. Male or female,
their children were the next hope of the Norlanian people, and she
was proud to stand on the edge of the future, with her husband.

One day, a delivery man had brought her a
necklace. But what he'd really brought her, was her heart.

The End

* * * * *

Contact R.E. Butler

By Blog:
www.rebutler.wordpress.com

By Email:
[email protected]

On Twitter: @rebutlerauthor

On Facebook:
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* * * * *

Other Works by R.E. Butler

The Wolf's Mate Series

Jason & Cadence (Book 1)

Linus & The Angel (Book 2)

Callie & The Cats (Book 3)

Michael & Shyne (Book 4 - Coming Fall
2012)

Wiccan-Were-Bear Novella Series

A Curve of Claw

A Flash of Fang

A Price for a Princess

A Bond of Brothers

A Bead of Blood (Coming Fall 2012)

The Necklace Chronicles

The Tribes' Bride

The Gigolo's Bride

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