Chapter Three

A knock sounded on the bedroom door.

"Just a minute!" Prudence tossed a jacket over the tech-tab on the bed and scooped the empty Rocky Road ice cream cartons into the trash. "Come in!"

The door cracked open, and Hope poked her head inside. "Are you decent?"

"Yeah." Decent enough. She wore old stretchy pants and a chocolate-stained pullover shirt she'd had on for two days. She'd even slept in it.

"Krogan and I are leaving for Caradonia," Hope said in a hesitant voice. "We came to say goodbye."

"Come on in." Pru beckoned with a forced smile.

Hope and her husband entered. The man's broad-shouldered, tall form caused her room in her parents' cottage to shrink. Were all the men on Caradonia that big? William, the cheating, cowardly weasel, had been short for a man, only an inch taller than her, so they'd stood eye to eye .

"I hate leaving you like this." Her friend's sympathetic gaze bounced off the empty ice cream containers in the trash before meeting Pru's eyes.

"There's nothing you can do, and Krogan's responsibilities need his attention." She glanced at her friend's husband, catching a flicker of relief on his face before he masked it. He was afraid Hope would insist on staying longer. Counting the four days roundtrip travel time, he'd be gone from his planet almost two weeks—far too long for the leader of a planet. But he'd made the trip for the wedding and then extended their stay on Terra Nova so Hope could console Prudence. It was a huge concession for a man of his stature. He loved her very much.

Pru's chest constricted with envy and sadness. Engaged to her childhood sweetheart, she had been considered the lucky one, while Hope had despaired of ever meeting Mr. Right. In a short time, their situations had reversed.

"I'm glad you both came. I am grateful for all your help," Pru said.

After receiving William's message, she'd been so shell-shocked and humiliated, she couldn't face the guests, couldn't even bear to tell her parents. Hope had taken charge, informing her mom and dad what had happened and announcing to the guests the wedding had been called off. Later, with Pru's mother, she'd arranged for the return of the wedding gifts and assisted with a million other little tasks Pru couldn't deal with. Krogan had rolled up his sleeves and helped her father with the teardown of the wedding venue, ensuring chairs and tables were returned and removing the decorations.

"It is little consolation now," Krogan said, "but any man who would jilt you on your wedding day is not a man worth marrying. You can do much better."

William hadn't merely jilted her; he'd humiliated her in front of a hundred people. He'd had plenty of opportunity to back out—when they'd set the date, when they'd chosen the wedding venue, when her mom started working on her dress, before they sent out the invitations, at the rehearsal the day before the wedding . How could he have gone through that and pretended everything was fine? He'd acted so loving, and it had all been a big, fat lie. Any step along the way, he could have backed out. But no. He'd chosen their wedding day to break it off—in a tech-tab message. He didn't even have the balls to tell her to her face .

"That's what I keep telling myself." She forced a smile. Any woman could do better than a cowardly cheat. Including the barmaid he'd eloped with. The skank would find out one day that if a man will cheat with you, he'll cheat on you.

However, she had no intention of trying to do better. How could she trust a man ever again? She'd known William for twenty-three years! She'd come home from her first day of school and announced to her parents she was marrying a boy named Will. The two of them had been inseparable, best of friends then boyfriend and girlfriend then lovers. There was nobody on Terra Nova she knew better than William. How could she have been so wrong about him? There had to have been signs.

Like him postponing the wedding time and again? They were both twenty-eight. The first wedding date had been set five years ago then rescheduled for three years ago then set for a week ago. For each postponement, William had had what sounded like a legitimate excuse—a new job, a family illness—

But, with a flash of epiphany, she saw the truth. He'd gotten cold feet. Why couldn't he have been honest ?

She hadn't just lost her fiancé—she'd lost one of two best friends. And now the other one was leaving to return to Caradonia. Her shoulders slumped.

Hope touched her husband's arm. "Krogan, would you give us a minute please?"

"Sure." He looked at Pru. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

Sorry for your loss was what people said when somebody died. But that's kind of what it felt like—like William had died. Except for the anger and the betrayal.

"Hope has mentioned you often, so I'm glad I got a chance to meet you. I wish it had been under more auspicious circumstances," he said.

"Thank you, Krogan. Despite the way things worked out, it was a real pleasure to meet you. You've made Hope very happy."

The door closed behind him. Hope rubbed her baby bump and fixed a sympathetic gaze on Pru. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll manage. Don't worry." She didn't know how she would get over this. One of the people she trusted most in the world had betrayed her.

Hope tossed the jacket on the bed aside, nudged the tech-tab out of the way, and sat .

"Clifford said you haven't been back to Flour Power." Clifford owned the bakery where Prudence worked and Hope used to work.

"I'm on my honeymoon," she said bitterly.

"Your parents say you've barely left the house in a week."

"I can't face people right now," she admitted, her gaze flicking to the tech-tab. Hope hadn't noticed what was on the screen yet. "Their pity. It's so humiliating. Everybody in Bloomhaven knew we were a couple." How many of the concerned wedding guests and villagers knew William was screwing the bimbo? Had they come to the wedding expecting drama? William had invited the skank to the wedding!

"Everyone sympathizes. They're on your side."

Sympathy, pity. Potato, potahto . She eyed the tech-tab. Could she grab it before Hope noticed what was on the screen?

Hope followed her gaze. Her mouth formed an O. "Cosmic Mates? Why are you looking at that? You're not planning on signing up. Tell me you're not."

"Why not? You did."

"My situation was different. You're suffering emotional trauma. This isn't the best time to make a life-altering decision. "

"Gleezer wasn't traumatic for you?" Pru countered. Hope's horrid stepmother had conspired with Ivan Gleezer, Bloomhaven's former mayor, to force Hope to marry him. Her friend had fled Terra Nova and wed an alien stranger to escape a fate worse than death.

"Not the same thing," Hope insisted. "My heart wasn't broken. You loved William. Don't do anything rash. Let yourself get over this first. If Cosmic Mates still appeals to you, then do it."

"I hate William," she said vehemently. She would never get over the broken trust, and if she couldn't trust, she couldn't love.

"Running away won't solve anything," Hope said.

"It did for you."

Hope made a face. "My situation was dif—"

"Different, I get it." It was exactly the same. "You raved about the program. I saw your testimonial on the HyperSphere site."

"Pru, this program is critical to the survival of the Caradonians. The men need wives. They are hoping for love matches, hoping for children. You're not ready for that yet. It wouldn't be fair to whomever you were matched with."

"You two weren't looking for love. "

"We both agreed to a temporary marriage of convenience. We entered into it with our eyes open and with the same expectations. And…then when our feelings got involved, we went through some rough times."

Not every man in the program expects a love match. There is one…

Somebody rapped on the door.

"Come in!" she called, grateful for the reprieve. How ironic that she'd been the one to introduce her friend to Cosmic Mates and encourage her to give it a try, but now Hope was trying to discourage her from doing it. Her friend's objections came from a place of love, and her arguments were rational but unconvincing. Pru still wasn't swayed. Hope would not be happy if she discovered what Pru was considering.

Krogan poked his head in. "I hate to rush you, but our ship needs to leave soon."

"Okay. I'll meet you out front," Hope said.

Krogan left, and Hope hugged Pru hard. "Please give yourself more time to mull this over. Don't do anything rash, okay?" Her face scrunched with worry.

"I won't," she fibbed, crossing her fingers behind her friend's back. No harm, no foul. Chances are I won't be accepted. He won't like me. William didn't. There was just the one prospect who seemed to offer a solution to her troubles. But, like all Caradonian men, he was drop-dead handsome. He could have his pick of hundreds of women. What were the odds he'd be interested in a freckled, blonde beanpole? "Don't worry. I won't do anything dumb."

"I'll take your word on that," said Hope, but her expression remained doubtful. "Again, I am so sorry about William."

"I know. Have a safe flight. Thank you for coming."

Hope left, and Pru grabbed her tech-tab and scrolled to Larth's page. Widower seeks human wife to serve as business partner in a baking venture. Must work well with people. Experience with baking preferred. Not looking for a love match. Marriage of convenience only. Message for more details.

Before she lost her nerve, she uploaded the hologram she'd taken, filled out the application, and hit send.