Afterward she sat down next to Ryan at the head table and gave a sigh of relief.
“It’s finished. The hard part is over,” she whispered, since another committee member now spoke at the podium.
“Congratulations for a job well done,” he said quietly. She gratefully accepted the glass of ice water Ryan handed her. “I’d make it champagne, but under the circumstances...” He faded off, glancing down over her stomach.
“Water is just perfect,” she said, sharing a smile with him.
After they’d finished their meal, a four-man band began to play music and couples moved onto the dance floor.
“What do you think? Are you too wiped out to dance?” Ryan asked, nodding toward the dance floor, which was situated directly in front of floor-to-ceiling windows and an outdoor terrace that overlooked the lake and the setting sun.
“I’d love to,” Faith said.
She took his hand and they joined several other couples on the floor. He took her into his arms and they might have been the only people alive on the planet.
“Another gorgeous sunset,” he murmured, even though his stare was on her face, not on the brilliant palette of streaking color in the western sky.
“Yes. It’s nice. For the fundraiser, I mean,” Faith breathed. “You’re pretty light on your feet for a flyboy.”
“You’re not a bad dancer yourself, for a C-minus gym student,” he replied, his mouth twitching in a grin. She laughed. He pulled her closer, sealing their fronts together, her breasts pressing against his ribs. His nostrils flared slightly as he looked down at her. She couldn’t pull her gaze off him.
“Remember the other day, when you said that an adrenaline rush wasn’t your main reason for becoming a pilot?” she asked. He nodded. “What was the primary reason, then?”
He studied her face silently for a moment before he responded.
“It’s kind of hard to put into words,” he said eventually.
“Try me.”
“Okay. The first ti
me I ever flew in a plane, it was on a commercial airliner to Hawaii with my family. I was seven. I’ll never forget it—the brute force of the plane lifting me, looking out the window and seeing an entire new world. It didn’t hit me immediately that my mom and dad and sister weren’t as blown away by the whole thing as I was. For me it was like a religious experience or something. I just knew I was meant to be up there.”
Faith stared at him for a moment, touched by the force of his conviction.
“Do you miss it a lot? When you’re...you know. On the ground?”
“Since I entered the academy, I was usually never on the ground long enough to go through withdrawal.”
“I’d like to see you fly,” she said. “I’d like to see you in your element.”
“Name the day,” he said quietly. She felt him studying her as she looked out at the radiant sunset as they slowly spun on the dance floor.
“Does it bother you?” he asked.
“What?” she asked, puzzled.
“That I love flying so much.”
“Of course not. It’s wonderful that you’re so passionate about your job.”
His gaze narrowed on her. “You’re not being entirely honest. You associate a love of flying with an impermanent character.”
She dropped her chin, looking sightlessly at his immaculate white shirt.
“Faith?”
“Yes?” she asked with false cheerfulness.