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T he gardens were, as usual, lush and green and aromatic with the scents of damp earth, growing things, blooming flowers, and delicious aromas. Butterflies flitted past while bees zipped by as if they were in a hurry to get to the best flowers before anyone else.

We strolled leisurely, with no other purpose than to enjoy the feeling of being immersed in nature.

The citrus fields had become one of my favorite spots, especially when the trees were in bloom. There was nothing like it. The incredible perfume from those little blooms made me happy to be alive. It was hard to explain, but there was something about that smell that reminded me of life on Earth.

I wasn’t homesick, and I didn’t in any way regret my decision to come aboard the Athos , but there were times when the realization that I couldn’t just walk out my front door and feel the grass under my bare feet and the sun on my skin hit harder than others.

And now that we were six weeks away from our next starport, the reminder that life this abundant and real existed inside the hull of this starliner was a welcome thing.

I inhaled as Gracie swooped overhead and Harry batted at something near the base of one trunk. “I love this place.”

Frank nodded. “So do I. It’s easily the best-smelling place on the entire starliner.”

“La Patisserie is a close second, though.”

He laughed. “No argument from me.” He tipped his head at a bench along the path. “Want to sit for a minute?” He looked at Harry. “Might as well give them time to explore.”

“Sure.”

We settled in and just took in the moment, watching our compdroids. A little white butterfly seemed to take an interest in Harry, but he was too busy to notice it. A soft ping came from Frank’s wristband.

He checked it. “The disabled ship is in range.”

“Does that mean you can scan it now?”

“Marginally. Enough to know that it seems to be an older vessel, a Class 4 cruiser. No info on where it departed from or how many souls are on board. Really just preliminary data at this point. I’m sure your daughter’s getting a lot more than that.”

Harry abandoned whatever he was swatting at to climb the tree. Halfway up the trunk, he glanced at me. I nodded my approval, and he darted higher into the branches. “Still feel worried about it?”

Frank sat back and stretched his arms out along the back of the bench. “No. There are plenty of other people on board this ship whose job it is to do just that. No need for me to get involved.”

I leaned into him, enjoying the closeness. I had a feeling he wasn’t really letting this go. Not to the extent he wanted me to believe, but there was no duplicity in that. It just wasn’t in his nature to do so.

I had no issue with him keeping an eye on things. Nothing wrong with him—or anyone—being concerned about their surroundings or the safety of those on the starliner. That was just who Frank was.

I heard rustling and looked up. There was no sign of Harry in the tree, but branches were moving. “Harry? You okay up there?”

More rustling. Then, a moment later, Harry came crashing through the branches in a shower of leaves to land on the ground. He shook himself, then sat down and casually began to lick his paw as if everything that had just happened had all been part of a larger plan.

A worker in a green jumpsuit frowned in our direction. Harry hadn’t really hurt anything, so I just smiled and gave the man a wave. He stared a second longer, then went back to work.

Gracie landed on the bench on Frank’s side and dropped a beetle from her beak onto his leg.

“Um, thanks, Gracie. But you’re not supposed to hurt any of the…” Frank peered closer, then picked the beetle up and inspected it. “Ah. Interesting.”

“What is?” I had no real aversion to bugs, but I wasn’t madly in love with them, either.

“This isn’t real.”

“What do you mean it’s not real?”

“I mean, it’s mechanical.” He looked at me.

I blinked in surprise. “When did the agricultural department introduce nanotechnology insects?”

“Never, that I’m aware of. All the versions they tried were failures. Couldn’t compare to the real thing.” He studied the beetle some more. “I knew there were some that hadn’t been collected.” He glanced at Gracie. “Was this working when you found it?”

I knew she wouldn’t use her voice to answer him, not in public like this, so the shake of her head was no surprise.

“That makes sense,” Frank said. He slipped the nonfunctional beetle into his pocket. “I’ll return that to them on Monday. They’ll want it back. No doubt to study the data and see what went wrong.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

He grinned. “I also happen to know they pay a five-hundred-credit finder’s fee to anyone who turns one in.”

I slanted my eyes at him. “Very nice. But you don’t need the money.”

“You’re right, I don’t, but that’s five hundred credits I can put toward a very nice dinner at Luna’s. Unless you’re tired of eating there.”

He knew better. The place had the best Italian food on the starliner. Smiling, I nudged him. “I could eat there once a week and not get tired of it.”

“How about tonight?”

“That would be lovely.” I hooked my arm through his and leaned my head on his shoulder. “You spoil me.”

“Good to know my plan is working.”

Harry jumped up and climbed into my lap. I ran my hand over his fur, feeling his purr more than hearing it.

“Ready to go home, Harry boy?” He curled up tighter. I took that as a no. “This is really nice, isn’t it?”

Frank nodded, then kissed the side of my head. “It is. But you know what I miss?”

“Sunsets?”

He laughed softly. “Got it in one.”

I straightened so I could look at him. “We could always go watch one on a simdeck. Tonight, even. If there’s one free.”

“That’s a great idea.” His eyes narrowed. “How did you know I was going to say sunsets?”

I shrugged. “You love the outdoors, and it’s one of the few things you can’t truly experience on board. And the last time we went planetside, it was the thing you were most excited about seeing. That and the giant bats.”

He grinned. “You pay more attention than I realized. That’s very sweet.”

“Well, you are my man. It’s what a good woman does.”

He shook his head. “You’d better watch yourself, Ellis McFadden, or I might be forced to go jewelry shopping.”

I snickered. “Don’t you dare.” I could tell the threat of an engagement ring was going to be his new way of teasing me.

He did look pretty pleased with himself. “Think we should get going? Or are you all right to sit here a while?”

“I’m all right to sit here. This seems like a great way to kick off our fallow phase, don’t you think?”

“Followed by dinner at Luna’s and a simdeck sunset? I’d say it’s just about perfect. So long as I can make those arrangements.” He took his arm from around me to tap at his wristband, pulling up the holoscreen so he could make a dinner reservation and then book time at a simdeck.

When he finished, his arm went around me again. “All set.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. You know, I’m looking forward to this fallow phase more than I realized. Just think, we can get some extra gym time in, maybe do a few movie marathons, even?—”

“What kind of movie marathons?”

“Well, I was thinking maybe a John Wayne retrospective.”

I smiled, not that he could see me with my head on his shoulder. His appreciation for John Wayne wasn’t news, and I did enjoy old movies. “All right. I can go for that. If you agree to a night of dancing at the Playhouse Lounge. Thursdays are Rat Pack night.”

A subtle noise, something that was half sigh, half groan, came out of him. “I like the music, so I guess that would be all right.”

I sat up. “I thought you liked dancing too.”

“I do. With you. At my place. Going to the Playhouse Lounge will mean a suit.” He wrinkled his nose.

“Yes, it will. And you look very good in a suit, so quit pretending otherwise.”

One corner of his mouth twitched up. “Not as good as you look in that little off-the-shoulder number.”

I knew the dress he was referring to. I nodded. “I can make that happen.”

“Then dancing at the Playhouse Lounge it is.”