Page 35 of Fly with Me

Stella already had a card out. “My treat.”

Olive would have liked to argue, but given that she stupidly didn’t even have a way to pay, she settled for blushing bright red and stammering awkwardly before saying, “Thank you.”

Stella chose a table at the way back of the shop, far from any other patrons. It was that doomsday part of the late afternoon when only real caffeine addicts imbibed, and Olive was grateful for the nearly empty shop.

They sat and sipped in silence before Stella took a deep breath and set her coffee down. “I’d like you to be my girlfriend.”

Chapter 15

It was fortunate Olive had already swallowed when Stella spoke, because if she’d been drinking, the coffee would have ended up splattered across Stella’s crisp white shirt. Two spit takes in one day was too many.

Olive held her coffee cup aloft as if she’d turned to stone.

She should say something.

She needed to speak.

“I mean my fake girlfriend. To be clear.” Stella shifted her weight and tapped her fingers on the table.

Nothing was clear. Not clear at all.

Olive should go running out of the shop while telling Stella how preposterous the question was. Escaping. That was the only way to go here. At least that’s probably what any reasonable person would do.

But instead…

“Okay.”

“Just… okay?”

“No, I mean… Okay. As in I understood the words of your question. Because I understand words.” So clever, Olive. Her voice became a thick whisper. “Um. Why?”

“Getting promoted at an airline like mine is political. The airline’s in trouble, like many airlines are these days, and they make it tough to climb to the next level in a career.” There were dark smudges beneath Stella’s eyes. Something had dulled them since Disney World. Was she not sleeping well? Some ridiculous part of Olive felt instinctively protective over sweet and sunshiny Stella. Like she’d do anything to stop her from looking so nervous and agitated. This wasn’t the Stella who ate Swedish Fish at 3:00 A.M. and sprinted from ride to ride at Disney.

Was there more to this than she was saying?

“How exactly does this lead to you wanting to fake date me?” Olive said, trying to keep the cynicism out of her voice.

Subtext: Why the hell don’t you want to actually date me?

“This could help me advance in my career by building goodwill with the powers that be at my company. I have a friend who works in event planning, and she told me they’re going to invite you to our awards banquet to honor what you did on the plane.”

“Invite me?”

Stella wrinkled her forehead. Adorably. That jerk. “People who had never heard of Allied Airlines are talking about us after your video went viral. Our Google searches and bookings went up sixty-five percent after the story about you saving Mickey Mouse hit the news.”

“I didn’t save Mickey Mouse.”

“He plays Mickey Mouse.” She nodded for emphasis. “Morning shows haven’t approached you?”

Olive had been too occupied pathetically pining about Stella to listen to the forty voice mails on her phone. She’d only listened to the newest one in hopes that it was Stella herself, but it was just some radio station wanting an interview. Her inboxes on all social media platforms were too full to know where to start. Stella had been right about that.

“I… I don’t know.”

“I know this is a lot to ask. And I’m sorry to spring this whole thing on you. I… I didn’t realize we didn’t have each other’s numbers when I left—like I said. I don’t know what came over me. I knew where you worked, and I thought I’d stop by.”

“It’s completely fine that you stopped by.” Olive forced an expression she hoped approximated a smile. “I’m really happy to see you. I’m just trying to process this. Can you explain one more time, please?”

“I’ve been eligible for promotion to captain for three years. I have the hours. I have the experience. But I can’t wait any longer. I need this to happen now because… I just do. My company is a boys’ club. I could quit and start over, or I could do something that makes me stand out. Something they can’t ignore. Basically, if people find out that we fell in love after you saved a man’s life on one of my flights, it might be what I need for the right people to finally remember my name.”