Page 32 of Too Much In Common
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Tian ran out of questions. Predictably, he’d played high school football and baseball. He enjoyed swimming, but didn’t join the swim team, and he hated black licorice. The last was another thing they had in common.
“Did you find out about your jury duty?” she asked.
“I have to fill out a lot of online forms to find out my selection date. They do most of it online now with video calls. It will be the end of February before I know anything.”
“They must give people plenty of time because of work schedules.”
Chris set his pizza slice on his plate. “I feel like I’ve been monopolizing the conversation. What is your favorite thing about your job?”
“I fell in love with flying before I could walk. Grandpa used to take me up in his plane. I was eleven the first time he let me touch the controls. Mom didn’t want me following the family business, so I went to Bradford College. After a semester, I knew I wanted a degree in aviation.”
“How did your mom react?”
“She wasn’t happy, but she knew it was coming. Because I had my license already, I was ahead of the game, so to speak. Since Grandpa has his own plane, I could accumulate most of my 1500 flight hours easily. He also made sure that I was on with Legacy’s regional service as my first job. Had I realized how many people would ridicule me for that choice...” Her voice faded off and she sipped the last of her root beer.
“You would have done things differently?”
“Probably not. I’m a fourth-generation pilot. My great grandpa was flying before World War II and was one of Legacy’s first pilots. I have a photo of me sitting on his lap in a cockpit with his hat on when I was four. He’d already retired, but everyone thought it would be cute to let his first great grand fly with him.” She used air quotes on the fly. “My grandpa and dad are in photos from that shoot too. Of course, I was not in the cockpit for takeoff or landing. It was before 9-11, so Dad brought me back in when they were at cruising altitude. Anyway, my point is, the only way I could have done things differently was to run away and join the Air Force and hope they let me fly.”
“Wow. Four generations, that’s cool.”
“So I keep hearing.”
“What did I say wrong?”
“Nothing. There was a huge magazine article and cable TV show a couple of months ago for Legacy Air’s centennial celebration. The entire Johnson clan is part of the fun. Almost all my cousins over the age of twenty-one are involved in the airline somehow, but yours truly is the only female pilot in the mix. In May, I was featured in a full-page article in an airline magazine.” She circled her finger in the air.
“Let me guess, you don’t like the attention.”
“No. Simone and Brit are not thrilled, either. None of us like the spotlight. It was hard on Simone because of the whole assault and lawsuit mess—I assume Javier told you that her stalkers are why we have the apartment. Brit and I don’t need some blogger to realize how our mothers found out about each other.”
Chris raised a brow but didn’t ask.
“I’ll tell you in the car.”
He asked for the check, and Salvo came out from the back. “You know you can’t pay here, especially if you’re on a date. Your sister would make me sleep on the couch.” He turned to Tian. “I am Salvo Conti. I am so pleased that Chris brought you here. He usually only comes with his bodyguard buddies.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Tian, and Chris was right. This was the best Chicago deep dish I’ve ever had.”
“I knew I liked you.” Salvo looked at their empty plates. “What is this? No dessert? I will get you the deep-dish brownie with the ice cream on the side to go.”
Tian shook her head at Chris, who answered. “No, we don’t need—”
“Nonsense. The night is young. You may still want dessert.” Salvo hurried into the kitchen.
Tian put her coat back on. Salvo hurried back and handed Chris one bag, and Tian another. “Here it is. Only one, so you’ll have to share. Chris, you have the brownie, keep it warm. Tian, you have the ice cream with a special ice pack to keep it cold. When you put them together, you make perfection.”
No hint of innuendo marred his delivery yet somehow Salvo seemed to be talking about more than brownies and ice cream. They thanked him and left.
New falling snow greeted them as they exited. Once again, Chris held the door for her. It must be bodyguard training. Men rarely did that—at least not men she knew. As he walked close, his free hand brushed hers once before he took her hand in his. The warmth of the contact melted her already frozen fingers. Tian didn’t regret leaving her gloves in her gym bag on the floor of Chris’s car.
The parking lot was nearly empty. The lights on Chris’s SUV flashed in response to his remote. As they approached, the tailgate lifted.
“We can put the desert back here.” He let go of her hand to take the ice cream from her.
Tian stepped back as the tailgate closed. Her shoe slipped. Before gravity pulled her down, Chris’s arms were around her, pulling her into his sturdy form. She looked up into his eyes. They were as warm and inviting as that brownie would be.
