Page 63 of Frequency of Attraction

She shouldn’t have stayed to watch. While he spread his limbs wide, the woman measured his inseams, shoulders, arms, chest, waist, legs. Quinn would be lying to herself if she said the ache between her legs had nothing to do with his body on display, or that the ache in her chest had nothing to do with his magnetic eyes stripping her bare.

Her erratic emotions did not bode well for the gala. She hoped she could get through an entire evening at the same table as him without drooling or crying. Or both.

30

Seeing Quinn after eight days of absence soothed him like cool water on a burn. And yet, he still burned. He wanted to know where she’d gone and if her disappearance had been his fault. He wanted to apologize for shutting down her efforts to make his life better.

Instead, he let himself be measured by the flitting seamstress and he walked right back out to train in the sim. They had a new technician in there now that Miriam was on maternity leave. The new guy, Lance, went a lot harder at him and did not appreciate Vadim’s comebacks. Whatever made Thomas happy. Whatever brought Vadim closer to becoming an astronaut.

When he climbed out of the sim several hours later, Thomas was leaning against the door of the control booth. Smiling.

“You’re looking real good, kid. I haven’t seen you make a mistake in days.”

Vadim nodded. “The controls are starting to feel like part of me now. Stratos and I are like this.” He crossed his fingers together.

“That’s what I wanted to hear. Team meeting in ten to go over the glide flight data.”

Stratos had flown unpowered the day before, tucked under Mothership, the massive aircraft that carried Stratos to altitude. They had mountains of reports to sift through after the test. The long meetings inevitably caused grumbling from the team, but Vadim, educated as a mechanical engineer, loved the kinds of details glide tests revealed about the spaceplane. It was akin to learning to read a woman’s body. The knowledge gained brought him that much closer to full understanding. To partnership. Like with Quinn. He’d learned every inch of her. Together, they’d made her soar. He’d be doing the same for Stratos.

As they left the sim together, Thomas cleared his throat. “Look, I need to say something. You’re working hard. Maybe too hard. I didn’t mean to make you think you weren’t doing a good job before this. You don’t have to put in all these extra hours. I just wanted you more teachable, more willing to listen, you know? I wanted to get through to you, and I can see that I did. Don’t think this is an all or nothing scenario, Vadim. You’re our guy. You can take a break every now and then.”

Vadim stayed silent while he processed that information. He’d saved his job. He considered whether or not that changed anything. Maybe some long weekends in Boston could be an option now. Maybe he could visit Chen in San Diego, now that he’d given up China—and space—for Elle. As for Quinn, as to a relationship, it was too late. He’d seen to that when he told her there had been no “us.” That he didn’t appreciate her. When he’d told her to stay away from him. There was no coming back from that.

The bright white tux jacket felt like silk under his fingers. The lapels were thin and stylish. Black buttons stood out against the white fabric. The black pants were snug and cuffed to show the tattoos on his ankles. He buttoned up the black dress shirt, leaving the top button open, then added the jacket on top. The fit was flawless.

He checked himself out in the floor-length mirror in the hotel room Quinn had booked for him. It was the exact outfit he would have picked had he been given a choice.

Quinn, Quinn, Quinn. The woman was everywhere, whether he wanted her to be or not. He tried not to think about what he’d see in this mirror had they been getting dressed—or undressed—together. He tried not to dwell on her unhappiness at his hands. Or his mouth, rather. He’d shattered her happiness with just a few sentences. He’d hurt her even though he loved her. For Vadim, love looked like brokenness. Like chaos. Love looked like bad decisions. Best to keep her away from all that.

Perfect outfit in place, Vadim left his hotel room with twenty minutes to spare. He punched the first-floor button in the elevator, but a tan hand stopped the door from closing.

Matt Geier, Tate’s older brother, strolled in, a petite dark-skinned beauty on his arm. Vadim had only met him once, on one of his very first days at OrbitAll, but he remembered the man with clarity. He was now OrbitAll’s president, having given up the CEO role to Tate.

“Vadim, hi. Thanks for coming.” Matt gave him a strong handshake. “This is my wife, Pia. My love, Vadim is the newest astronaut at OrbitAll.”

“Wow,” she breathed, also shaking his hand. Her dark eyes appreciatively swept over his body.

Vadim couldn’t help but smile. “Pleasure to meet you, Pia.”

“That outfit is very unique.”

“You’ll turn heads, for sure,” Matt added, no trace of irritation in his tone. He was remarkably like Tate in that way.

“Quinn commissioned the tux,” he told them.

Pia smiled. “What are the chances I can convince her to start spending more time with us at the beach house? Is she still working herself to death?”

“You’ll have to ask her,” he replied. “But she did take a few days off last week.”

Matt whistled. “Wonders never cease.”

They walked across the street to the events center, a Mission-style white structure with a sprawling brick staircase. Pia had to sweep her flowing yellow dress into her hand to make the trek. Matt took her sparkly handbag without being asked. The simple, effortless gesture struck Vadim. Quinn would do something like that. She’d see a potential problem and circumvent it. That was how she showed love.

And what about me?he wondered.How do I show love?

He didn’t. That was the problem.

The ballroom was all cascading white fabrics, blue lighting, and overflowing greenery, like the most vibrant parts of the earth had blended together in one sparkling space. He broke off from Matt and Pia, scanning the room for Tate or a bar, whichever he found first.

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