44. Morelle

44

MORELLE

M orelle watched Brandon out of the corner of her eye as his fingers flew across the keyboard. Something had been bothering him all day, but each time she asked, he deflected with explanations about InstaTock and the short attention spans of human teenagers.

"I need to create high-value production short clips," he'd said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "They'll convey the message better than anything written. These kids have the attention span of insects."

She didn't fully grasp what he meant, but she'd stopped asking. They might be a couple now, fully and blissfully joined and bonded, but they weren't one person. They each had their own interests and preoccupations, and it was okay not to understand everything about each other .

On the contrary, it added to the mystery and excitement.

Still, after last night she was walking on air, and he had seemed to feel the same in the morning before the testing ensued. But then his mood had soured for some reason, and despite his assurances that it was not about her, she had a feeling that it was.

Turning back to her own laptop, Morelle pulled up the Perfect Match questionnaire. Kaia had shown her how to set the device to translate questions into Kra-ell, and since most of the questions were multiple choice, she didn't even need to write her answers in Kra-ell first and have them translated into English.

Still, the language barrier wasn't the only challenge. The cultural differences were glaringly evident in many of the questions, and she found herself struggling with the answers and second-guessing each choice until her head throbbed.

One question asked about her ideal vacation. The options included backpacking through Europe, lounging on a tropical beach, or exploring ancient ruins. What was supposed to be exciting about carrying a pack on your back? The beach seemed nice but boring, and so did the ancient ruins.

She chose the last option, which said none of the above.

Another asked about her favorite type of cuisine, listing options she'd never heard of. While she was learning to appreciate Earth's varied food offerings, she didn't know which country they had originated from and certainly couldn't rank them by preference yet.

She was about to close the laptop and take a break when her phone rang, displaying Annani's contact information.

"Hello, sister," she answered, eager for a break. "I'm so glad you called, so I have an excuse to stop answering the Perfect Match questionnaire. It's giving me a headache."

From across the room, Brandon lifted his head and arched a brow.

Had he forgotten that she intended to fill out the questionnaire?

He'd said he would reconsider joining her on a virtual adventure, but they hadn't discussed it since, and she hoped he hadn't changed his mind.

Still, even if he decided not to join her, she intended to go on as many solo adventures as she would be allowed on, and to experience as much as she could of Earth in a short period of time. It was unnerving to be an adult in a place she knew next to nothing about, and that was made even more evident by the questionnaire.

She had to learn fast.

Annani laughed, the sound warm and beautiful. "I am happy to provide a distraction. I am calling to invite you and Brandon for dinner tonight. Eight o'clock at my house. I have already spoken with Ell-rom and Jasmine."

Their brother and his mate had gone for a walk around the village, so Annani must have caught them out there. "That sounds lovely. Brandon and I would love to come."

"Excellent. I have also invited my children and their mates along with their children," Annani added. "So, it will be a larger than usual midweek family meal. Or start of the week, as it may be. It is only Monday."

The prospect of seeing the little ones had Morelle's heart swelling with warmth and anticipation. "That would be wonderful. I love spending time with the children."

Annani chuckled. "Blood truly is thicker than water. I'm the same way—nothing makes me happier than being surrounded by children."

After ending the call, Morelle turned to Brandon. "Dinner at Annani's tonight. The whole family will be there."

He nodded, but something flickered in his eyes. Concern? Anticipation? She couldn't quite read his expression.

"That's nice," he said, his tone carefully neutral.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked. "You've seemed distracted all day."

Brandon's expression softened. "I'm fine, Princess. Just work stuff." He stood and crossed to her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I know it must be terribly disappointing that your storyteller sometimes gets grumpy."

She caught his hand and brought it to her cheek. "I'm not at all disappointed. I love you in all your forms, and you don't have to pretend to be upbeat for me. I get grumpy, too."

"You do?"

She laughed. "As if you haven't noticed. I'm not a ray of sunshine like Syssi."

"I'm sure she has her grumpy moments as well." He leaned and kissed her lips. "So, what questions have you answered so far? Did you get to the naughty parts yet?"

She shook her head. "I'm just on the first page, and so far, the questions are both boring and confusing because I don't know what half of the answers mean."

She glanced at her laptop screen displaying the Perfect Match questionnaire and decided that it was enough for one day. Something was clearly weighing on Brandon's mind, and perhaps talking about it would help his mood.

"Tell me about these InstaTock videos you're planning," she said instead. "Maybe I can help."

His smile this time was more genuine. "It's pretty simple, really. We need to grab their attention in the first three seconds or we will lose the audience completely. Then we have about fifteen seconds to make our point before they swipe to the next video. "

"That doesn't seem like much time to convey anything."

"It isn't." He settled on the arm of her chair. "But that's the world we're dealing with. Everything has to be quick, flashy, and instantly engaging."

"Unlike the Perfect Match questionnaire. They are not catering to the same audience. Some of these questions require serious thought."

Brandon glanced at her screen, but since it was displaying the questions in Kra-ell, he couldn't read them. "What are the questions about?"

"Vacations." She closed the laptop. "It can wait. We have about two hours till dinner, and Ell-rom and Jasmine are not home."

He arched a brow. "What do you have in mind?"

She smiled up at him. "Exactly what you have in yours."