Page 17 of Fighting Gravity

Definitely a smirk. “You’re ruining my romantic moment.”

His smirk faded when she didn’t respond. She shouldn’t be having a romantic moment with anyone, regardless of how quickly Tate had felt likesomeone. She hadn’t healed yet.

“You do have a right to be upset,” he agreed, tone slipping back into seriousness. “I’m sorry.”

Rosie sighed, giving in just a little. He could have justalmostslept with his neighbor and kept silent. She tried to see Tate’s confession for what it was. “Fine. I guess it’s not fair to punish you for something that didn’t happen when we’re nothing but colleagues.”

His brows drew together. “Nothing but colleagues? You know that’s not true, Rosie.”

“Why me?” Truly, she needed to know. Tate was gorgeous, a billionaire businessman in an elite field. Why an out-of-town architect with serious trust issues?

“Truthfully?”

She nodded. “Of course.”

“You’ve awakened something in me. I want to see where it goes.”

Rosie’s stomach tumbled. Did she want that same clarity?

Smiling, his lips brushed the top of her hand. His voice was so low she had to lean in to catch his words. “We always have an after-party at The Saloon in town after the first test flight of a campaign. Stay?”

The effect of his touch and his honesty on her resolve told her she shouldn’t. The bloom in her belly told her otherwise.

“I’m not sure I can. My dad drove me here.” She cringed. “Yikes. Sounds so middle school when I say that out loud.”

Tate chuckled. “I wouldn’t know. I barely attended the lastacadémiemy parents thrust me into.” He smiled knowingly. “If your dad is an out, you can take it. If not, you can take my jet back to San Diego tonight or tomorrow morning, or Sunday for that matter. Your choice.”

The crowd Rosie had forgotten surrounded them began to surge toward Stratos. The noise of the engines and the crowd grew louder, but the spell she was under hadn’t broken.

She sighed. She must be crazy, because she wanted to see where this dance led, too. “I’ll stay for one drink.”

10

It was a party mostly for Chen, but the man of the hour was nowhere to be seen. Didn’t matter. Tate wouldn’t have been looking at him anyway. Not with Rosie there.

After executing a perfect test flight to the Karman Line and back, Tate was sure Chen had gone in search of Elle. Tate was no dummy. He saw the two of them dancing around each other. He had no rules in place at OrbitAll about interoffice dating. He wasn’t his mother. If OrbitAll brought his team in contact with like-minded people they wanted to get to know better, so be it. He was curious to see what happened between his pilot and the experiential planner who seemed driven crazy by him more often than not. If a work-based relationship worked for them, maybe it would work for him, too. Maybe love and legacy could go hand in hand. Maybe one didn’t have to be at the expense of the other.

Maybe.

He watched as Rosie giggled with Quinn and some of the engineers. She was on her third bottle of pale ale. Her cheeks glowed pink and her sweet smile seemed permanent. He loved her soft, dressed-down look. The jeans allowed him to learn the outlines of her. Her short-sleeved top highlighted long, graceful arms. The flats brought her closer to his height: Tate stood at five-nine; Rosie was at least five-ten. He wasn’t bothered by their reverse height difference if she wasn’t.

When he brought his eyes back to her face, he realized she was watching him. He returned her resolute gaze, warmth growing in his gut. He sipped his whiskey as she sauntered over and plunked down on the stool next to him, their legs tangling as she got situated.

He stroked the silky skin of her wrist because he couldn’t help himself. He was glad she’d stayed, even if she didn’t end up staying longer than her “one drink.” “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Immensely.”

He chuckled, leaning closer so she could hear him in the crowded bar. OrbitAll had taken over the whole place, and engineers could get surprisingly rowdy. “I have a serious question.” He paused for effect. “What do you think your patronus would be?”

She gasped, her perfect lips parting over straight, white teeth. Fuck, he wanted to kiss her. “Oh, mygosh! Did you actually read Harry Potter?”

“Books one through three before I needed to come back.”

She touched his arm as she leaned closer. “Tate, you have no idea how happy that makes me. I love when people actually take my reading recommendations to heart. And a wolf, absolutely.”

“A wolf?” Tate laughed loudly. He couldn’t imagine a more incongruous animal for the modest woman next to him. “Why a wolf?”

“Wolves take care of their own and they rarely give up.” Her smile faded as she looked down at her beer. Whatever sadness plagued her plucked at his own heart. But then her grin returned. “Yours?”

---