Page 81 of Frequency of Attraction

They drifted away bickering about vacation destinations while Quinn snuggled back into her man. She wondered what they’d be doing eighteen months from now, when they finally had their first commercial launch. Their house would be done by then. Would they still be splitting time between Boston and Victory? Or would Mila fall in love with California? So far Quinn didn’t mind the back and forth. Her tale of two cities brought her very different paces of life and, on both sides, people she loved.

Vadim shook his head, clearly amused at their still-wagering friends. “What about you? All this wedding talk. Is this what you dreamt about as a girl?”

Quinn lifted her head off Vadim’s chest. “I didn’t dream before I met you. Certainly not of weddings.” She smiled to pacify the concerned look on his face. “I followed my parents all over the world for their work. I knew what my future looked like. I always knew I’d serve the people of this company in some way. You, though? When I met you, that’s when I started dreaming.”

His fingers grasped her waist tighter though his gaze softened. “What did you dream of with me?”

“After that weekend in Boston, I wanted more than an orgasm donor.” She blinked up at him. “Truthfully, you were never just that to me. You brought me to life. And with Mila? How could I not dream of us? All of us?”

“You’ve changed everything for me, Quinn.”

Quinn smiled at the enamored look in his startling eyes. He’d done the same. “What about you? You’ve been to space now. You’re a designated and experienced astronaut. You need a new dream.”

He dropped a kiss on her mouth. “I have one. I want you forever,kiska. Every minute, every day, forever. My dream is to spend the rest of my life trying to make yours as beautiful as you’ve made mine.”

Quinn had no words for that. She only had tears.

Epilogue

Eighteen months later

Something incredible is waiting to be known.

Vadim tore his gaze from the words emblazoned on the wall at Hotel Astra, OrbitAll’s shiny new hotel that currently hosted its first guests. Tomorrow morning, under his command, Earth’s first paying passengers were headed to space. Something incredible indeed. The grinning, giddy people flanking him had only a vague idea of the wonder they were in for.

A genuine smile crossed his lips as lights flashed in his face.

“Each guest with the pilots now.”

Vadim chanced a glance at Doug, his new copilot. They’d been giving interviews for weeks. This press conference had been going for hours. As much as he enjoyed speaking about space from experience, an empty hotel room awaited he and Quinn. He had plans that involved the woman he loved cursing in French as she came in multiple ways. Doug’s brow rose in empathy. Vadim missed Harv, but Doug, closer to his age and snarkier even than Chen, had become a true friend. And Harv had promised to show in the morning.

The financier posed first, then the Silicon Valley kid. A multimillionaire at twenty-two. The Azerbaijani oil wife put her arms around both Vadim and Doug while her husband looked on. He was afraid of heights, of all things, and not interested in the trip. Then they posed with the kid with the failing kidneys, one of the lottery winners. Tate had hired a team of people to process the applications that came through the Dreamers section of their website. The teenager on a transplant list and a middle school STEM teacher from Minnesota had won the first round. Their last guest was Tommy Fines, the most famous actor in the world, who was less of a douche than Vadim had expected.

“I’m all done,” the photographer announced.

Vadim exhaled, searching for Quinn. Happiness burst in his belly when he spotted her shining blonde hair next to Chen and a very pregnant Elle. Xiaoming, Chen’s sister, accompanied them, in a walker instead of a wheelchair today. Her mobility had improved since joining Chen and Elle in San Diego. Elle had snagged her a spot at the adult family home that she ran with her stepmother. Apparently, they had fantastic physical therapists.

“Great job tonight. Your enthusiasm is catching.” Tate slapped his back, his signature greeting.

Vadim nodded. It was impossible not to be swept up in the enormity of what tomorrow would bring these people, OrbitAll, and the world. Tate and his very dedicated team had shrunk the distance from Earth to the stars.

“Nothing beats your speech, though. People were weeping.”

Tate grinned. “I have good people working for me. You know that.”

When Vadim brought his gaze back to his friends, Tommy Fines had taken Chen’s place and looked to be charming Xiaoming. Quinn had disappeared.

Disappointment twanged. He hadn’t touched her in hours. The next moment, his shoulders dropped in relief as her familiar fingers grasped his biceps and slid down to his hand.

“Kiska.” He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead, pulling her into his arms.

“Amour. Do you see what I see?”

He followed the tip of her delicate chin toward Tate and Rosie, who were chatting with Quinn’s cousin Hadrian and his girlfriend, Federica. Quinn had convinced them to make the trip.

“What am I looking at?”

She wiggled her bare ring finger, beaming. Craning, Vadim indeed saw what she did. Rosie wore a sparkling ring, big and bright enough to be seen from across the room. “She didn’t have that yesterday.”

---