Chapter 40

Dante felt a twinge of sadness as Lorr receded behind them. It was always hard to leave his home planet, and after the three weeks they’d spent there together, it was even harder.

He hadn’t realized it, but showing Tinsley his home planet, introducing her to his family, and sharing his customs with her—all these things felt like the beginning of their life together. He’d loved how well she got along with his father, how she embraced the Lorr customs—even the ones that didn’t make sense to her—and how she’d fallen in love with every plant and insect she saw.

Changing scenery so suddenly was jarring. But the closer they got to Noxxa, the more his sadness slipped away. It was soon replaced with visions of what lay ahead, and by the time the planet came into view, his heart was full with excitement.

“That’s it. Right?” Tinsley called out, pointing at the large planet in the distance.

“That’s it,” Dante replied, smiling. “Home sweet home.”

It wasn’t exactly Lorr, but there were plenty of things to like about Noxxa. Their treatment of humans unfortunately wasn’t one of them, but attitudes were changing slowly, and Tinsley wouldn’t be the only human woman in the neighborhood.

He was sure Tinsley would become fast friends with Gianna, Scarlett, Willow, and Layla and he couldn’t wait for them to meet.

Plus, there wasn’t a war going on, unlike on his home planet, and for all Noxxa’s shortcomings, this fact alone made up for them. All that mattered to him now, though, was that Tinsley was safe, and they could work toward peace on Lorr.

As he brought the ship down to land in one of the transporter docks outside the city, he glanced at Tinsley. Once again, she was wide-eyed, but unlike her reaction to Lorr, Dante didn’t understand why.

“You’ve been here before. Haven’t you?” he asked as they jumped into the pod that would take them to his home.

Tinsley must have intuited his meaning because she turned to him with a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, a bunch of times,” she revealed. “But it was always for work. I haven’t really had a permanent home in a long time. It’s like seeing Noxxa for the first time again.”

Dante reached over and clasped her hand briefly. “I’m so glad you chose to share your life with me,” he said. “It reminds me of how I saw Lorr again for the first time by bringing you there.”

He gave her hand a squeeze before putting the pod into gear and zooming through the Noxxan streets toward his home. Our home, he corrected himself, smiling.

They arrived within a few minutes, and Tinsley had her face pressed up against the window the whole way. He could almost see her absorbing the surroundings into her new concept of home.

The local bar, the supermarket, the city square, the theater, and the holocinema—these were all her places now, the way they were his. It made him feel warm inside.

The feeling only expanded as they made their way into the house.

The couch, the kitchen, the dining table, the bath, and the huge Lorr-sized bed—these were all hers now, too.

“Welcome home,” he said as he led her around. “I hope you like it.”

Tinsley smiled, hugging him. “I love it,” came her muffled reply, her face pressed tightly against his chest.

“I brought something back for you as well,” he told her, watching the excitement in her eyes as she pulled away.

Dante reached into his pocket and pulled out a small envelope. He handed it over and waited as Tinsley opened it up.

“Seeds?” she asked, a little puzzled.

Dante chuckled. “Spotted sararose seeds,” he explained. “So, we can have a little bit of Lorr here with us.”

A wash of gratitude and happiness came over Tinsley’s face, and Dante could see how much it meant to her.

“Thank you,” she told him. “Maybe we can try to get some Earth seeds, too. Make ourselves a little blended garden.”

Dante loved the idea, and although he didn’t have a purple thumb himself, he was happy to learn.

“Tomorrow we’ll get everything we need to build a garden in the backyard,” he told her, and he stuck to his word.

It was a few days before Dante went back to work. In that time, he did his best to help Tinsley settle in. They managed to find a couple of Earth seeds and some soil that matched their needs as well as some imported Lorr soil. He got the feeling their new garden helped Tinsley feel like this home was hers, too.

Once the garden was done, they invited others on Noxxa to something of a housewarming party, showing off their handiwork. Dante was surprised to find he was just as proud of the garden as anything he’d done in his career as a private investigator, probably because he’d done it with Tinsley.

The party was a huge success. As expected, Tinsley got on swimmingly with his sisters-in-law and even his brothers. They’d all met at the wedding, of course, but here in the routine of their daily lives Tinsley got to know them all better. Once again, Dante found himself thinking that maybe his family wasn’t so bad after all.

That feeling only grew as they went to work at PAPS together. Kozien and Grux were still busy with their kids, and Trigg and Willow had become less involved in the firm since the birth of their daughter, Sarita. Zyair and Layla, however, had remained a strong force in the agency, even after Caspian was born.

Through the agency, Tinsley really found her groove, both in the family dynamics and on Noxxa.

“Ready, captain?” Dante asked as they boarded one of the stealth ships owned by the agency.

“Ready.” Tinsley grinned as she took her place at the helm.

Dante wasn’t in the copilot’s seat this time. Bran sat there, ready to take orders. Dru was also on board, along with a few of Dante’s other crewmates. Some of Tinsley’s crew had joined the team as well, following her to her new job captaining some of the PAPS vessels.

“Fire up the engines!” called Tinsley, and Dante sat back in the seat reserved for the mission leader.

The ship hummed into action—a sound Dante knew all too well, only it felt different now that he wasn’t the one in charge of piloting the ship.

“Engines ready!” called back Bran.

Dante knew he should be taking some time to go over his paperwork and prepping for the mission ahead, but he couldn’t help but watch Tinsley. At times like this, he found her most beautiful—in her element, doing what she did best, fully focused on her work.

He knew how much she loved captaining her ship, and he was so grateful they not only got to spend their spare time together, but that they got to work together, too. And they made an incredible team. That much had been clear from the start. They made an even better team now that they weren’t arguing about who would drive.

“Prepare for launch!” Tinsley called out, and Dante felt his heart swell with pride for her.

This was everything he wanted—to share every day with the love of his life. And somehow, against all odds, he had exactly that.

As the ship lifted off, Dante thought back to the very first time they’d shared the bridge, even if it wasn’t intentional. Whoever had been looking down on him that day he accidentally stole Tinsley’s ship, he owed them one.