moment. “What are you doing here?”
“I did my research,” he said with a genuine smile, motioning to the violinists and to the lovely natural décor of the place. “On Earth, this is supposed to be romantic. All this serves as the ideal setup for a man who is about to declare his eternal love.”
Abby's heart seemed to skip a beat and her eyes brimmed with tears. “You came all the way here to show me how to be romantic on Earth?”
He lifted a hand to tuck a strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear. Then he brought up his other hand and cupped her face with his two hands. “No, Abby,” he answered. “I came all the way here to tell you how much I've been going crazy without you, how much I miss you, and how much I love you.”
A sob escaped Abby's lips. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. “Are you crazy?” she asked softly.
“Yes, crazy about you,” he said, his eyes fixated on hers. “I love the way your hazelnut eyes easily fill with tears even when you're trying to hold back your emotions. I love the way your hair shines like the glowing grass in Planet Cravton. I love the way you smile at me and melt my worries away. I love the big heart you have for everyone you care about and even for aliens you hardly know. I love the way you're such a wonderful mom to Kyle. I can go on and on, you know…”
Abby smiled widely amid her tears. “I love you too, Ashkin! So much it hurts.”
“Please come back with me to Planet Krach, Abby,” he pleaded. Then to her utter surprise, he got down on one knee and took out a small silver box from his pocket. He opened it, revealing a beautiful gold ring that seemed to change colors as the light reflected on various parts of the unique metal. “It's not a diamond ring like what humans are accustomed to. But I made it with an extraordinary alloy that can only be found on our planet. The metallic elements I combined are very, very rare… just like you, a rare gem who came into my life.”
“It's beautiful, Ashkin. But really, you don't have to do this…” Abby started to say, although she was truly blown away.
“I want to be with you forever, Abby,” he interjected. “Will you marry me?”
A tear rolled down Abby's cheek. “Yes,” she whispered.
Dr. Ashkin smiled brightly as he stood up and placed the ring on her finger. “So… how about we get married here and ask your friend Claire to be our photographer?”
Abby laughed, her heart bursting with happiness. She turned to her friend Claire who had moved back a bit but was watching them in fascination and disbelief. “Claire?”
“I would love to!” Claire exclaimed joyfully. Then she rushed forward to hug her friend. “I'm so happy for you, Abby! I can't believe you've found yourself a romantic alien!”
Abby laughed even more as she wrapped her arms around her fiancé. “Lucky me, I guess,” she said.
“No,” Dr. Ashkin disagreed. “It's destiny.”
He then took her in his arms and gave her the sweetest kiss.
THE END
Bonus Stories
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Bonus Story 1 of 20
Desired by the Vampire
Chapter One
The day I, Becky Matthews, fell in love with a vampire started when I was standing in front of my full length mirror. I said, “I really like my body, now.” I turned this way and that to get a different view in the mirror. During the last year I’d lost a hundred pounds.
Yesterday, in a moment of pure ego, I looked up the measurements of Victoria Hendricks. She appears on the television show “Mad Men”. We’re almost the same size. We’re within five pounds of our weight. Her boobs are DD and mine are D. Notice I didn’t put the word ‘just’ before ‘D’.
There’s nothing ‘just’ about my breasts. They’re my best feature, and I love them. Let me rephrase that. Now, I love them.
I’ve spent so much time hiding my
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