I stay silent, letting her take the lead. With a hesitant hand, she opens it to reveal a gold bracelet. It’s just a simple, small, dainty plane, with the wings encrusted in rubies.
Red—for the second time I’d ever seen her, all dressed up for the event that kick-started this all.
“Hopefully you like it. I thought it was symbolic.”
Over the past month, I have tried my hardest to help Vivienne overcome her fear of planes. We started small—watched thePlanesmovie, went to the aviation museum, got in and out of planes parked at the airport, before we took it up a notch and taxied around. And it all paid off when we finally got on the Archer Aviation jet bound for Italy.
Although she’d been nervous at each new step, she pushed through. Admittedly, she was out cold from the melatonin she took on the flight over here, but I’m not counting that. So when I saw this bracelet through the window of a local jewelry store here, I knew I had to get it.
Her head shoots up to me in shock. “This is beautiful. Thank you so much.”
She’s about to lean in for a hug when a female voice calls out, “Vivienne Brown?”
The hand on her leg darts back to my own just as Vivienne bolts upright. We both turn to see a woman dressed in a crisp pantsuit.
“Julie Mitchell.” The blonde holds out her hand, and Vivienne shakes it. “VP of R&D at Thomson & Thomson. I just wanted to say what a stellar presentation that was. Very well done.”
Vivienne’s lips part, clearly taken aback by the compliment, but she recovers quickly with a smile and a “Thank you so much.”
“By the looks of it, you’re about to wrap up your PhD, and I wanted to see if you’re interested in working for us once yougraduate. We’re currently hiring an organic chemist for one of our new departments, and with your research experience, I think you’d be a perfect fit.”
Julie hands out her business card, which Vivienne takes with a smile.
“It would be an honor.”
“We’d love to fly you to our headquarters in California for a tour of our facilities. Given that you spent the past four years of your PhD in New York City, it could also be a great experience to see what the West Coast has to offer.”
“That would be wonderful,” Vivienne says, but then my heart drops.
I’m happy for her, but this offer…
“Then I guess we’ll be in touch.” Julie seems satisfied with the outcome of their interaction as she walks away.
The second she’s out of sight, Vivienne turns back to me, mouth wide open. “They’re one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world.”
“Guess you did better than you thought?” I grin despite the heavy feeling in my stomach.
California.
That’s on the other end of the continent. And though that shouldn’t be a worry for me—I’m theCEOof an aerospace engineering company, for fuck’s sake, and I could hop on any one of our planes to visit her. But that’s part of the problem.
I didn’t want to visit. I wanted a life with her, and that’s going to be hard to accomplish if there’s distance between us when this arrangement is over.
“I—” She looks between me and the business card. “I can’t believe this.”
Although it’s strained, I give her my brightest smile. “You ready for a coffee break?” I nod toward the hallway, where hundreds of people stand with cups in hand.
“Actually, I was thinking you could clasp the bracelet on me over tiramisu?” Vivienne raises a wary brow.
“Anything my scientist wants, she gets.”
She bumps her hip into mine excitedly, walking us in the direction of the hotel exit. “I can’t believe I get to eat real Italian tiramisu. Best dessert to ever exist—so light, so creamy. You can eat so much of it without ever getting sick.”
I laugh, shaking my head at the mental image. “While that all sounds great, I can think of better things with a similar description.”
That earns me a gasp and a smack to the arm that makes me guffaw louder. Apparently, that’d been the wrong reaction when she circles my wrist and pulls me into a secluded corner of the conference center.
Hands planted on her hips, she stares at me with that completely unimpressed look in her eyes.
