Page 47 of Fly with Me

“I only made it to Atlanta.”

“But what about the flight back?”

Olive grimaced, but didn’t answer.

Stella arched an eyebrow. “You didn’t…”

“I canceled the ticket, rented a car, and drove.” Olive shrugged as if the revelation didn’t make her want to shrivel up inside. “With a good audiobook, driving is great. I drive all over. It helps that I can take Gus on my trips.”

Stella shook her head. “Okay, so if I can get you to be comfortable with flying, I’ll get you a ticket to Italy.”

“It’s still too much.” Her hand curled into a fist as it rested on one of the plastic-covered pages in the binder.

“It’s really not. You haven’t been to these events.”

“They’re that terrible?”

Stella played with her food. “They’re long. Lots of people. Not bad, just overwhelming. Crowds make me nervous sometimes.”

“That’s something we have in common. You’re so poised, though. Like you were with the reporters.”

Stella shrugged. “I can fake it.”

Olive flipped a few more pages. “Stella…”

“What? Is there a typo?” Stella lurched forward in her seat, reading the words upside down.

“You have a tab in here for PDA. This is something we need an entire section on?”

Her blush spread, and her ears went pink. She pulled at the collar of her ivory cashmere sweater. “I thought it was something we should discuss.”

Olive pretended to adjust an invisible monocle like she was a grizzled librarian investigating an ancient text. “The binder has spoken. Hand-holding is fine. A quick kiss on the cheek is good in some situations. Arm around the shoulders. What excellent news. Hugs are completely appropriate. Good, because I was worried.” Olive widened her eyes in mock concern.

Stella clicked her tongue. “I think things work out better when there are clear expectations.”

“When did you make this?” There were pages and pages of information here.

“Today. I didn’t have to fly for the airline. The weather was too bad, so I canceled my lessons.”

Olive coughed, interspersing the word nerd between pointed hacks.

After giving Olive’s ear a playful flick, Stella hid her face behind her hands.

“You really can’t take me to Italy.”

“Honestly, I’d buy you a ticket to Italy for making me a few more of those pound cakes. Are they made of fairy dust?”

“No, just a shit ton of butter.” Olive flipped the binder closed. “Okay. If we can figure out a way to get me on a plane, I’ll think about it. In the meantime, I need a favor.”

“Anything.”

“So, the local news is doing a thing about me saving the guy on the plane. They called me today.”

“Not surprised. It was really amazing.”

Olive shook her head, dismissing the compliment. “Anyway. In addition to having a fear of flying, I don’t like public speaking or anything close to it. But my hospital thinks it would be cool, so I’m going to try. But the way you handled the reporters at the race… any chance you could do that?” She drummed her fingers on the table, nervously.

“Are we going to say how we met and that I’m your girlfriend?”

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