Page 83 of Fly with Me

“I said what was true.” Olive never did well with people in small group situations except in the hospital. It was weird. Something about wearing scrubs gave her confidence. People tried to intimidate her in the ER all the time. Maybe the dress had done it tonight. Or something about having Stella at her side made her tap into that same confidence she had when she was working. Jack O’Halloran was a person. And if Olive could handle managing a bunch of narcissistic doctors’ personalities, she could handle Jack O’Halloran.

“But you didn’t have to do that.”

“Wasn’t this the plan?” Olive let her hand drop from the lapel, letting it fall slowly so it stroked down Stella’s front.

“Yeah, but I guess I wasn’t expecting it to go this well so quickly.”

“I’m glad it did. You deserve to be promoted.”

She beamed. “Thank you.”

Olive stood in front of the stairs to her apartment. “Come in. I made fried rice last night.”

“You’re sure? I already ate your cake.”

“I’ve got more of that too.”

“I’d love to come in. I’m starving, to be honest.”

Olive kicked off her heels at the door while Stella, as always, neatly lined hers up. “Where’s Gus?” Stella looked around.

“Derek probably came and got him after going to the gym. He’s practically a shared dog. He was my brother’s dog, and then I adopted him. With both of our weird shift schedules, we both walk him. Gus pines if I’m gone too late. Sometimes Derek just caves and takes him home with him.”

“That’s a good arrangement.”

“He’s a special dog. Been with me through a lot.” Olive sat Stella down on the couch and then heated up a bowl of the veggie rice. She stirred, sending tendrils of steam into the air, and brought it to Stella.

“You’re okay with me eating it on your couch?”

Olive chuckled. “I eat here more than my table.”

“If you’re sure.”

Olive still felt twitchy after a night spent with a crowd of people she didn’t know. “Do you want a drink? Tea?”

“Oh my god, tea would be great.”

“Any particular—?”

“Anything hot’s great.”

She brewed each of them a cup of her favorite peppermint tea. She put a mug in front of Stella and sipped her own. Olive settled beside Stella, who had dug into the rice. She made a couple of low purrs as she ate. Stella’s tiny, low moans when she tasted something delicious were vaguely explicit.

Stella’s full lips closed around the fork slowly, savoring each bite. “You’re an amazing cook.”

“I make simple things.”

“Simple and heavenly.”

After Stella finished the rice, she put her fork into the bowl. Olive made to reach for it, but Stella leaned forward at the same moment, knocking against Olive’s head. Olive flinched, and Stella’s thumb ran over the sore place on Olive’s forehead. “Are you okay?”

Olive set the bowl on the coffee table. She shifted her shoulders, squaring them to Stella’s as Stella continued to touch the sore place on her forehead. Their eyes locked together.

Stella’s eyes focused on Olive’s mouth. “You really look beautiful tonight. Not that you’re not always beautiful. You are. But tonight you were breathtaking. I really love this.” Stella’s attention lowered. She traced the design of the lace where it spiraled and swirled over Olive’s collarbone. Her finger stopped just before it would meet the bare skin. Her hand lifted to touch Olive’s oversized stud earrings, just skimming against Olive’s neck beneath her earlobe. “I… I was so happy you came tonight. What you said and did… you amaze me. Really.”

Olive dipped her head in a wordless thank-you. Her voice was low when she spoke, trying to seem casual even though every nerve ending was firing as Stella’s finger twisted a piece of hair that had escaped from the rest. “And I didn’t even trip when I got my award. That’s a victory for me.” Olive swallowed. “Being with you made me feel less scared.”

Stella’s gaze fixed on Olive’s. “Same.”