Page 68 of Beginning at the End
“Yeah, but I am about to consummate a relationship with Sern, and that is a lot of extra steps.”
He blinked.“I see.I will arrange a remote check-in while you gather footage.”
“Sensible.I am not going to feel like sprinting around a lot until I get used to him.”
Kern grinned, and Sern’s arm snaked around her waist.“That is more information than he needs, Eudora.”
“Well, come on, for a guy, you have really wide hips and thighs.Well, wide everything.”
Kern waved a hand.“I do not need details.”
Rhymbia grinned.“I wouldn’t mind a few.”
Sern casually and carefully put a hand over Eudora’s mouth.“And that is enough of that.”
Eudora took out her phone and texted Kern.“I will let my boss know when the remote visits will start.”
Kern chuckled.“Fair enough.I will warn him of the charity donation that his department has just made.It will drive you up in the company rankings.”
She gave him a thumbs-up.
Rhymbia laughed.
Eudora turned to Sern and typed.“Let’s go.Bring the cake.”She showed him the screen and wagged her eyebrows.
He looked at her in astonishment, released her mouth, and picked her up in one arm, wrapped in the blanket, and the cake in the other.He looked toward Polly.“Good fundraiser.”
Laughter rippled through the room, but Eudora didn’t care.Sern was humming.
* * * *
Likon watched themgo, and he shook his head as he grinned.He would not have thought to do any of that with Eudora.She had always seemed so decorous to him, like a sixty-year-old matron in a twenty-something’s body.He wished her well.He had always wished her well.He just hadn’t known how to start a relationship with someone who looked like she could see through his soul.
Sern was a good match for her.
He looked around and saw Nessa on the prowl for another partner.He smiled at something Eudora had said.He wondered what Nessa was going to do when she got to X, Y, and Z.
Likon looked around and saw one of the servers tidying up the station, and to his astonishment, he recognized her.He walked up to her.“Khira?Khira Lenser?”
The woman looked at him and nodded.“Hello, Likon.”
She continued working, collecting discarded items.
“What are you doing here?”
“Working.Mom lost everything in one of her boyfriend’s schemes, so I got a job.”
He frowned.“What do you mean by ‘everything’?”
“Everything.House, money, jewellery.She’s got nothing left.”
“What about you?”
“Oh, that was never mine to have.I had to go back to square one just to get her an apartment.She’s not really a useful sort of woman.This is my third job.”
Likon frowned.“Do you need anything?”
“I need to get moving before the chef comes out.She’s super protective of her servers.”Khira took the tray and moved through the crowd, staying away from the guests.This was her crowd.Her community.Now she was serving, and Likon didn’t like to see her expression that blank.
