Page 97 of Fly with Me

“Well, watching you both together, you can see how in love you are. I’d love to get some background on each of you. Olive, I was looking into you and found out about your brother—”

“I’m sorry, can I ask you something off the record?”

“Of course.”

She clasped her hands together. “Is it okay if we don’t talk about my brother?” Talking about Jake was a sure way to lead to a meltdown, and if she answered questions about him, they might look into the full story of what happened to him and the legal battle with her family. She hadn’t told Stella the full story about what was going on with her family yet. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her. It was more that talking about it just made it feel more real. She hadn’t entirely processed it yet. These moments with Stella felt so separate from what was happening with her family. She liked it that way.

“That’s fine. I understand.”

A wrinkle deepened in Stella’s forehead. She spoke in a low voice only Olive could hear. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Well, then let’s talk about Stella and her career. How long have you been a pilot, Stella?”

As she answered, Stella reached over and squeezed Olive’s hand.

Olive was getting far too used to this feeling. Maybe everything that Derek had said was right. The next event was in two weeks. If this was how Olive felt now, how much harder would it be to let go of her after the events were over?

After the interview finished, Stella ended the call and smiled at her. “I have a surprise for you.”

Chapter 34

Stella came back from her car with a hanging bag and then reached inside. She pulled out a V-neck dress in a deep green velvet. It had a slight vintage flare. Different enough from what she had worn to the awards event, so that it would look okay in photos and it wouldn’t clash with Stella’s uniform. It had been the perfect dress.

“I thought it was out of stock,” Olive said in a breath. “When I called the store the next day, they said it was out of stock.” Shipping wouldn’t have gotten it to Olive in time for the event, so she had given up and started looking for other options. None of them seemed to measure up, though.

“I called around and they happened to have a few sizes at a mall near the airport in Akron. You kept sending me other dress options, but you didn’t seem as excited about any of them like you were about this one. I thought you should at least get to try it.”

Olive hugged Stella. “Oh my god. Thank you.”

“If Derek’s stories about you at high school dances were any indication, I know dressing up isn’t always your thing, so I wanted you to have something special to wear.”

“Derek used our high school dances as opportunities to cosplay John Hughes movies, so I’m not sure he had room to talk.” Olive smoothed the fabric. “Wow. I love the color even more in person.” She walked into the bedroom and stood in front of the full-length mirror with the dress held up to her front. “What do you think?”

Stella followed her into the bedroom and stood behind her, looking at the reflection in the mirror over Olive’s shoulder. “It looks very pretty with your eyes.”

Olive smiled. “I’m really excited for the party. You said this event is usually the most fun?”

“Less stuffy. A lot more women at this one. I can’t wait to introduce you to more of my friends. I think they’ll all be at this one. Usually a lot of the women end up skipping the Pilots’ Gala for a variety of reasons.”

“I’m excited to meet them.” Olive hung the dresses on the back of her closet door. Stella had even grabbed the couple of sizes Olive planned to order. She faced Stella.

Stella’s hair was down, loose onto her shoulders. A flush was across her cheeks. She’d dressed in that white button-down for the interview with a classic gray blazer. The top button had come open now, and there was a gold necklace hanging there.

What was it about buttons that made Olive so desperate to rip them open on Stella Soriano?

There was a gorgeous woman in her bedroom. And for the sake of this arrangement, she was off-limits. They hadn’t spoken about their make-out session since it happened.

All it would take was a step. Olive could cover the distance between them in a single stride. Stella was right next to Olive’s bed.

Stella took a step toward Olive. Her lips parted just enough for a slow exhale.

Olive leaned forward, looking up at Stella, but not reaching out to her.

“Tacos,” Stella said with a sudden change in posture, folding her arms over herself.

“What?” Olive near crashed into her mirror as she stepped back.

---