VS: This is my second Intergalactic Dating Agency scifi romance and it’s a Grumpy/Sunshine story…here’s the first time the couple meet on what’s to be a five day date:
The snippet:
The lights and sounds of the club swirled around Helaine Davies as she sat and stared at the Ardannan man the Intergalactic Dating Agency algorithm had declared was her match. She’d thought the hardest part of the evening was going to be finding the guy in the crowd. Glancing at the small placard in her hand, which bore the symbol of a towering tree, she sighed and tucked it into her glittery purse. Actually they’d pretty much picked each other out of the crowd right away, one of the first couples to do so. She didn’t know why but she’d gone straight to him, the placard warming in her hand the closer she got and sure enough he was her date for the five days.
She had no complaints about the man she’d matched—all the Ardannans appeared to be pretty hot and handsome, or maybe their government had deliberately selected the best for this first iteration of the exercise. Her date, Latham Muirtx, was tall, well over six and a half feet and buff, with a face fit for a trideo star. piercing blue green eyes and thick brown hair she wanted to muss up in the worst way.
So far so good.
Except he acted ill at ease, flinching when the music got too loud, answering her get-to-know-you-questions in monosyllables and not asking her anything in return. Did he not want to be here? She’d heard their government had ordered all eligible males between the ages of twenty and fifty to sign up for this IDA dating experience, as part of a plan to make themselves model Sectors citizens sooner than later. Maybe not everyone on their planets was a fan of the idea.
Well she and this man with social anxiety were a couple for the next five days so Helaine took a deep breath and tried again. “Want to dance?” She gestured at the crowded floor close by. “Looks like fun and the music is really good.”
The expression on his face was as horrified as if she’d suggested committing a crime. “I don’t dance.”
“We could join your friends,” she said desperately. “Who did you come out here with?”
“I’m by myself.” He cleared his throat. “I’m a forest ranger on Ardanna so there’s not a big crew of us and we couldn’t all be spared at the same time.”
Encouraged because that was the most he’d said to her since they met, she said. “I’m an office manager at the University of the Northern Hemisphere. I took a leave of absence once I got the all-expenses paid offer to come here.”
Latham had no reply so she ordered another feelgood from a passing waiter and tried not to feel too depressed. Sure she’d love to dance but this wasn’t an actual club and she couldn’t simply say goodbye to this man and find another. As if I was so experienced at flirting and attracting men to dance with. I wouldn’t have needed the IDA in that case. Desperately she searched the crowded room, hoping to see any of the girls who’d been on the spaceship she arrived here on. They’d had a good time getting to know each other during the short cruise. Unfortunately she didn’t see anyone she recognized and the sight of other couples obviously hitting it off made her sad. She sipped at her new drink and considered how to make this awkward evening work.
“Want to get out of here then?” she asked. “We could find somewhere quieter or maybe stroll down the beach.”
He looked like she’d tossed him a lifeline and got up from his chair hastily. Helaine grabbed his hand, enjoying the skin to skin contact and led the way out of the club into the cool night.
LATHAM: SOLDIERS OF THE ARDANNAN BOOK TWO (INTERGALACTIC DATING AGENCY) by Veronica Scott
Helaine Davies is an office manager on Earth whose life is routine, boring and dull. Safe. She accepts an all-expenses paid trip to the Intergalactic Dating Agency’s Resort Planet to spend five days with a hunky alien forest ranger. The only problem? She may have exaggerated a few things on her matching preferences sheet and told a few white lies but that shouldn’t matter, right? Latham Muirtx is ex-military, participating in this dating event under orders from his government which wants Ardannan-human matches in order to become more fully seen as members of the galaxy-wide Sectors civilization. He doesn’t want to be there. As a result of his experiences in the military he can’t handle crowds, he loathes clubs, doesn’t dance and isn’t looking for a mate. Give him the great outdoors and freedom to roam. Can these two totally opposite personalities find common ground? When catastrophe strikes will they pull together as a team to survive the chaos or will their differences drive a permanent wedge between them? The Intergalactic Dating Agency has been successfully matching humans and aliens for centuries. Now they’ve expanded to also operating a luxury resort just in time to help the interstellar Ardannan kingdom find human mates in hopes of smoothing their way into becoming well accepted Sectors citizens and allies. Every eligible Ardannan male between the ages of 20-50 has been ordered to spend a week at the resort with the woman the IDA algorithm says is their match These are a few of their stories. A 26K word novella crossover between the Sectors SF romances and the Intergalactic Dating Agency. It’s not necessary to have read any of the interconnected Sectors series to enjoy this book.
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