Page 37 of Love at First Flight

“What?” she asked.

“Your sister did what?” Dex replied, equally confused.

“I’m so sorry. It’s not your fault, it’s mine. I shouldn’t have asked her to create content for us. It did get the word out, but she took a lot of liberties in creating something, um, sensational, so that’s where all this might have started. I’ve already had a talk with her and tried to get her to take it down but... these things tend to have a life of their own. And now it appears that no one is listening or cares.”

Dex dropped his head against the back of the sofa and rubbed his eyes. Her anxiety in anticipating his reaction, one involving him kicking her out of his house forever, caused her heart to race. “I’m really, really sorry. It’s not fair for your personal life to be on display like this when you’ve been great and trying to do something good here. You definitely don’t deserve to get mixed up in the chaos of the Moreno family, and I understand if you want to drop us.”

To her surprise, he laughed. “Oh, God. I thoughtIhad screwed up.”

“What? How?”

“That interview I did for the Colorado radio station. They kept asking me if there was something between us and what was the real story. I was so caught off guard, I sort of stumbled through it and may have given the impression that, yes, it was true. And then this”—he motioned toward the TV—“and I thought, oh shit, they heard about that interview and I really screwed it up. Now this reporter is twisting my words even more.”

Her panic gave way to mirth. “So, it’s not true? You don’t think I’m magnificent?”

“I was talking about Harper—or I guess ‘Harpo,’ since they screwed that up too.” He shook his head while chuckling exasperatedly. “Not that you’re not magnificent, but... well, you know.”

Selah hid a smile behind one of her hands, barely able to contain her reaction at the whole ridiculous situation. Maybe someday they would find the whole thing funny and laugh but, truth be told, she wanted to laugh now, especially after spending so much time worrying about it. “It’s okay. I hope you feel better, knowing it wasn’t your fault.”

“I don’t think it was your fault, either.”

She scrunched her nose. “But it kinda was.”

“I’ve known you long enough to see you put a lot on your shoulders. You don’t need to do that.”

Selah realized she was doing the same thing she’d accused her mother of. She was covering for Hailey, shifting the blame to herself to protect her sister. This time she did laugh, shaking her head, absentmindedly touching Dex’s forearm. “What my sister did was a really... jerky thing to do.” There were better ways to describe her sister’s actions, but Selah took baby steps at saying it out loud. “Just do me a favor. If you ever come across her video, don’t watch it.”

His eyes glinted with humor. “Why?”

“It’sreallyembarrassing.”

“For me or for you? It can’t be any worse than everyone knowing I’m a loser that got dumped on a hot-air balloon ride and it being blasted on the local news.”

“Yeah, I—You’re not a loser, Dex. And if that’s what someone takes away from ‘our story’—and she did finger quotes around the phrase in hopes of lightening the mood—“then they’re missing the bigger picture.”

“A story where we’re just friends.” It was weird how his statement also sounded like a question.

She shrugged. “People see what they want to see, I guess.”

He laughed again, but this one was short and tinged with bitterness. Selah wished she could peer into his brain, read his thoughts. Was he thinking about Ava? Or was he worried about people mistakenly thinking he and she were together? Did he really see himself as a loser because of one silly event on a balloon ride? She didn’t want this for him, preferring to gather up all his worries and carry them herself, as though her emotional backpack had plenty of room inside.

“Dex,” she started, unsure how to finish it. Selah wanted to say something about how she appreciated his friendship and everything he’d done for her. Everything could have turned out differently after his initial balloon ride. He could have walked away, not wanting to be reminded of it, and she would have understood. But he hadn’t. Instead, she had received an unexpected miracle of a relationship, one that was a friendship unlike all the other ones she’d had before. It was like being thrown into a new plane, one she’d never trained on before. She could have basic knowledge while being terrified of mucking it up.

She continued sliding her fingers across his forearm and, like a fog being lifted, suddenly saw all the other parts of the picture. Selah wasn’t sure how he did it. How being around him made it so easy to slip into this comfortable space. How she could feel so at home with a person. She’d thought nothing of shucking off her shoes, reclining into him, her bent legs snuggled against his thigh, practically on his lap, and thought nothing when his hand slipped over her knee.

Her hand stilled. His hazel gaze drifted across her face, taking her all in. The strength of her pulse and breath increased.

She’d been kidding herself.

There was something always passing between them, electrified molecules zipping back and forth. Her family had seen it, along with the news, and probably countless others.

Except, the timing wasn’t right. He’d just gotten out of a serious relationship and she had bigger things in her life to worry about. The two of them getting involved would do nothing but make things messy. Only fate didn’t care about her excuses. In fact, fate was having a big laugh at their expense as it flung them together like some chaotic game of chess while including pieces from other board games. None of this was fair.

She drew away from him, bringing her feet to the floor and gathering the dirty Tupperware pieces together. If she had any chance at all of escaping temptation, she needed to leave and do it without making eye contact with him. Her willpower was held together by a delicate thread at this point.

As she went to stand, he grabbed her elbow. His voice was a little rough, full of some unspoken emotion. “Ma’am, I’m gonna need you to get off the path you’re currently on.” His voice gentled with, “Stay here in the brush with me, Selah.”

She froze, taking a few slow breaths, every atom screaming for her to give them what they’d wanted this whole time. Him. The way she justified it—she’d already kissed him, so she was already his emotional rebound. Selah might as well take all the perks that went with it. Besides, she wasn’t hanging around long, anyway. A rebound was probably the best thing in this period of her life. It might make things easier for both of them.

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