Page 59 of Fly's Path

He walks over to me. “I don’t mind the drive, but I think you need the space more than anything else.”

Honesty and understanding…wow. “You’re right.”

“I’ll give you that space, but I want to see you again.”

What do I say to that? “I’m going to be at the clubhouse setting up for all the wedding events.”

“No, I want to see you, not walk past you or sneak a kiss when we can. I want to take you on a date.”

“A date?”

“Yeah.” He reaches out and pulls me into his arms. “One where we talk, kiss, and do something fun together.”

When he says it like that, is there really any other option but to say, “Yes.”

“Give me your phone.”

Without thinking, I hold it out to him. Where did my survival instincts go? You don’t just hand a random stranger your phone.

He takes it, dials a number, then hands it back to me. “Now you have my number too.”

His number. I have Fly’s number permanently entered in my phone.

Wild.

***

“So tell me everything.” Dahlia turns around in her seat to stare at me as her husband starts driving us back to their mansion.

Can I just die of embarrassment instead?

If it wasn’t bad enough that he is sitting right there, Daria, who, it turns out, is his sister, is beside me. Daria and I have been friends for almost as long as Dahlia and I have been, but we aren’t the gossip-about-guys type of friends…Am I really that type of friend with anyone? The idea of explaining something that doesn’t make sense to me seems impossible.

Daria lifts her communication device and starts typing, “Now might be a good time for us to talk about my upcoming trip.”

“Where are you going?” Dahlia smiles, trying to twist her body even more.

“She isn’t going anywhere but home.” Maverick does the grumpy dad thing well, even though Daria is almost my age.

“Knight is going on a book tour for the next month. Isn’t that so cool?” Daria acts like he didn’t say a word.

Wow. But then it’s not totally surprising. Knight is a big thing in the literary world. He writes books that make people think about the world in a different way, whereas I write aboutaliens flying around in funny ships, blowing each other up and discovering new life forms.

Which is cool in a geeky kind of way, but definitely not in a change-the-world kind of way.

“That’s amazing. I knew his recent book was going to be a bestseller. I cried all the way through it.” Dahlia’s eyes fill with tears just remembering it. “When are you two leaving?”

“They aren’t going anywhere. Daria isn’t wandering the world with that man.”

Uh-oh. Maverick’s voice alone would be enough to stop me from even considering going.

“Yes, I am. Knight asked me to go with him. It’s important that I support my friend.” Daria finger stabs the screen.

“Friend?” Maverick snaps. “You aren’t sharing a hotel room with that friend for a month. It’s not an option.”

“Maverick, they’re just friends.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t care. She’s not spending a month in his hotel room. I’ll kill him first.”