Page 89 of Shared By the Pilots

Oh no.

I jumped up from the table so fast I almost knocked the chair over, then hurried to the bar on long strides. The guy was turned sideways to talk to Veronica, and I caught the last bit of what he was saying: “I don’t want to be too forward, but do you—”

“Veronica,” I interrupted. “Will you go on a date with me?”

She blinked in surprise. “What, like tomorrow? There’s that new movie showing that I wanted to see…”

“I’m formally asking you out on a date.”

Veronica snorted. “We’ve been on, like, a hundred dates.” She turned to the other man. “You seem nice, but I’m taken.Verytaken.”

The man winced. “Sorry for the trouble.”

“No trouble. Youalmostscored a date with this fine lady.”

Veronica gave me a confused look. “Taylor. I think you know more than anyone that I wouldn’t say yes to—”

“I never asked you out,” I explained.

“Huh?”

“You and I started seeing each other a year ago, but I never actually asked if you wanted to go out with me. Your agreement with Dexter is technically still in effect. So: will you go out with me?”

Her eyes widened with realization. Then they narrowed at me. “I don’t know. Now that I know I have options…”

“The next time we fly together,” I warned, “I’m gonna spin the plane in aileron rolls until you’re emptying your guts all over our passengers. I don’t even care if we lose their business.”

Veronica turned away from the bar and gazed up at me. “Taylor, I would love to go out with you.”

I grinned, slid my fingers around to the back of her head, and pulled her into a long kiss.

“I don’t understand what’s happening here,” the guy at the bar said. “Is this some weird fantasy thing you two do?”

“It’s not fantasy,” I said, smiling down at the woman I loved. “It’s the real deal.”

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