Page 67 of Frequency of Attraction

“Forgiveness. Or something more. For us.”

She’d already forgiven him. Despite words that cut to her marrow, she still loved him. But did Vadim have room in his broken heart to love her back? She didn’t think so.

She exhaled into his Paris-scented skin. “Yes. And no.”

Distance slowly appeared between their bodies. His hands were shoved into his pockets, his posture stiff. She could not read the expression on his face. “Okay.”

Quinn frowned. “Okay?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“Nothing, Vadim. Nothing at all.”

She had lied. When it came to them, hehadfailed. When it came to love, he had given up. And Quinn had let him.

32

Quinn left Victory two weeks later without even a goodbye.

Scratch that. An OrbitAll-wide email had gone out announcing her departure. Vadim told himself he was fine with her move and her silence and the fact that she had rejected whatever he’d been offering that night of the gala. He didn’t have time for little blondes who made everything better and worse. In two more weeks, he’d be going to fucking space. Not a damn thing else mattered.

The weeks leading up to the payload test flight were crammed with meetings, sometimes for eight hours straight. Every part of OrbitAll became involved when Stratos lifted off. It was beautiful to witness.

But the prep also made Vadim restless. He couldn’t fuck away his excess energy anymore. He’d learned that the hard way the previous week at The Saloon, when he’d tried to leave with a stranger. Following her back to her place, he’d pulled a U-turn in the middle of the goddamn street and sped to the gym instead. Quinn had broken him. His dick resented her as much as it craved her.

He had tracked down Lisa, the physician’s assistant, and had drinks with her a couple of times just as friends. He’d badgered Suresh, one of Stratos’ engineers, to start going with him to the gym since he was always moaning about how he had no confidence to get girls. He’d visited Chen and Elle’s place on the coast. They’d chosen October for their wedding. Vadim was to be best man, a rite of passage he had never thought he’d experience. Once he started letting people in, the more he realized he wasn’t as alone as he’d always considered himself.

He missed Mila and called as much as he could. He planned to visit after the test flight. He couldn’t wait to tell her—to tell all his family—he’d finally become an astronaut. He really wished he could rub that shit in Adrik’s face. He wished he could tell the man who had told him he’d never go anywhere or be anything that he’d left the fucking planet. But everything he wanted to say to that bastard would stay inside. Not every problem got its solution.

He bought a one-way ticket for Dasha before the Stratos flight. He wanted someone all his to be in his corner. As confident as Vadim felt that both he and Stratos were prepared, he was still wary of the variables. What better person to be by his side than his sister?

He picked her up at LAX, where his willowy sister went straight into his arms. “Oh my God, look at you. You’re huge and handsome and I’ve missed you so much I could cry.” Unnecessary words, as she wept all over his leather jacket.

Vadim had to clear his throat more than once. Four years had gone by since he’d seen her face. He’d missed his sister like crazy. “I may never let you go home,” he warned.

“I may never want to go.” Her cornflower blue eyes took in the palm trees and fragrant flowering shrubs.

He chuckled. “Wait until you see the beach.”

They spent the first night in Santa Monica, indulging in tapas, new clothes, and warm summer waves. She had a hard time accepting that he had money to spare, but Vadim was determined to spoil her. They’d spent childhood deprived. Maybe it was Quinn’s influence or his own instinct, but he wanted to take care of her.

Surprisingly, she loved Victory just as much. Vadim didn’t dislike his new home, but a flat, dusty desert could hardly compare to the sea-soaked suburban playground of Santa Monica.

He showed Dasha to his room. “Yours for as long as you want.”

“What, are you sleeping on the couch?”

To save an argument, he didn’t reply. Sleeping on the couch would be worth it to give his sister a break from her life. Their mother had gone to stay with one of her sisters, a long overdue break for both of them. Instead, he made chorizo tacos and distracted her with an after-dinner drink at The Saloon.

Trav sauntered up, sporting yet another band T-shirt. Vadim could see the transformation on his scruffy face as he took in his long-limbed, dark-haired sister. He even thought he could read the man’s mind.Quinn who?

“Vadim, something strong and local for you. And for your date?”

“His sister, not his date,” Dasha cut in. “Gross.”

Trav’s grin hit both earlobes. Vadim rolled his eyes as the man leaned on the bar. “What do you drink where you’re from, beautiful?”

“I don’t.”

---