"I'm still stunned, Nate. I never thought I'd see you again."
"And are you happy about that?"
"So much! I had hoped to see you again before landing, but you never came back."
"His fault," he replies, pointing behind him, to his father.
"Would you have looked for me?"
"I had already thought about asking for the passenger list," he admits. "Too stalkerish?"
"The list is confidential, so yes."
"I know. It's just that you intrigued me. I needed to know you better. I couldn't get you out of my mind, Izy. It's such a weird thing."
"I get it. Why didn't you join me at the airport?"
"I wanted to join you but you were hugging your boyfriend," he says, looking up at the sky as if he were embarrassed. He did the same thing as a child. When he wanted to avoid looking at me, he looked away.
"My boyfriend? Who? Xander? He’s just Dad's assistant."
His gaze returns to me and I think he's holding back a smile. "So … you're a lawyer."
"You know that was what my parents decided for me, but to be honest, I like it."
"I'm glad of that, Izy."
"God, I missed hearing you call me that," I say, laughing. I notice that the duke is looking at us and I don't know why but I have a strange feeling.
"What's up?" Nate asks.
"Mmm, nothing. Your father is watching us."
"You’ve always been his favorite. I think if you’d been his daughter, he would have been the proudest father in the world."
"Don't be silly, Nathan. You were a child prodigy, excelling in everything. You’re the pride of everyone here."
"I had to, Izy! It was what he expected of me. Too bad he then sent me to a military academy. Not that I regret it. I learned so much there, building fantastic friends, but I also lost a lot of friends."
"I know, and it wasn't what you wanted for the future, either."
"No, but it’s too late to think about what I wanted. Now I’m this and I’m proud of my work."
I touch his arm and Nathan hugs me, holding me tightly. It’s as if he missed me, and I hold him, too.
"I really missed you, Izy. You've always been in my thoughts," he confesses.
"You too, Nate. I was hoping to meet you again one day,” I tell him, inhaling his cologne as he loosens the embrace. "You know, it's not late to be an astronaut," I whisper.
Nathan bursts out laughing, catching the attention of our parents. "How do you still remember that?" he asks.
"The important things are never forgotten, and you’ve always been my safe haven," I answer, adjusting his shirt collar.
Nathan smiles. I can tell that he’d like to say something but we’re interrupted by his father, who breaks the harmony we’ve created.
"Yes, you absolutely have to find the aliens to have him kidnapped," I whisper to Nathan, making him laugh.
"You don't know how many times I've prayed to the stars that they would."
