Free Close Encounter by Deanna Lee Page A

route to the station,” she admitted. “And a reprimand for getting married without filing the appropriate forms with Space Command.”
    Sean sighed. “Forgot about those, but we didn’t have time for them anyways.”
    “He attached them. I have to send them back as soon as I can, preferably with my official report.” She leaned back on her hands. “Your grandmother is pretty fierce. What if I didn’t want to send her the report personally?”
    Sean shifted into a sitting position in front of her. “I would have had Arti send it to her anyway. She’s more than just my grandmother, Eliza. She is the elected leader of my country, and that holds a lot of weight with me.”
    “Family first,” she said carefully.
    “Yeah, family first.” Sean rolled to his feet and offered her a hand. “I need to shower. Are you ready for a meal?”
    “I could eat. Did you want me to start while you’re in the shower?”
    He raised an eyebrow. “That depends. Can you cook?”
    She flushed. “Actually, not at all.”
    “Then, no. You can order Arti to start the coffee though.”
     
    * * * * *
     
     
    Eliza was perched on a stool at the counter with her data-pad when Sean entered the kitchen. She had a coffee cup and a full carafe on the counter in front of her. He watched her for a minute, taking in her relaxed posture and the way she’d curled her socked feet around the lower rungs of the stool. She had put her hair up in a bun with a pair of plastic chopsticks. One of the other scientists who rotated on Ganymede was from Japan, and as a result the kitchen on the station was equipped with a wok. Chopsticks could be found in most of the rooms of the station. Sean had spent the better part of a year gathering them up and dropping them in a drawer. He’d also fired off four different emails to Dr. Akira Ito on the perils of eating in the operations center. The man had sent him pictures of large gourmet meals in retaliation. He sort of hated the smug bastard.
    She looked up from her work and met his gaze. “Hi.”
    “Eggs and bacon?” Sean asked.
    “Real eggs and bacon?” she asked suspiciously.
    He laughed. “After a fashion. The bacon is real, and the eggs are…a mixture of real eggs and egg substitute. It holds up better for shipping. Teko Solutions has a larger central space station in orbit around Mars. They distribute supplies for the entire operation.”
    “Samuel Tek offered me a job,” she said bluntly. “He also offered me a legal team separate from you if I want to annul our hasty little marriage and take my chances on my own. Apparently, your grandmother announced my return and our marriage in the same speech about fifteen hours ago, so no one has any hope of keeping my return a secret at this point.”
    “Did he actually use the words hasty little marriage ?” Sean asked with a laugh.
    “Yes.” She scowled at him briefly before dropping her gaze to her tablet. “Also, I received an email from your mother welcoming me to her family, and she threatened my life.”
    Sean turned to stare at her in shock. “Arti…why didn’t you tell me my mother sent Eliza an email?”
    “You didn’t ask.”
    That was so much bullshit that Sean didn’t even have a response, because he hadn’t asked. There were times when he really resented the fact that Arti didn’t have a face. He could never tell when he was being fucked with. Sean focused on his wife and found her grinning at him. “What exactly did my mother say?”
    She flicked through a few screens on her pad and cleared her throat. “ Dear Eliza, welcome to the Cohen family. We are proud to have you be a part of our present and future as we endeavor to leave an honorable legacy for future generations. Sean is precious to me , and I hope you come to realize what a gift it is to know him. If you intentionally hurt him, they’ll never find all of your pieces. All the best, Dei r dre Cohen . ”
    Sean inhaled sharply and shook his head. “She’s