Flight (18 page)

“
Thanks, Becky,” Charlie turned away from Jeff to mutter against Becky’s ear.

“
Any time.” Becky grinned.

The two ends of table started chatting amongst themselves as the meal continued.

“Anyone catch the hockey game last night?” Rob asked.

“
We did; it was an awesome game.” Sean said.

“
I caught some of it.” Ryle said, giving Charlie a little look and she had to suppress a flush. She was the reason he didn’t get to watch the whole game. Thinking about what he did to her, her whole body was suffused with heat at the memory.

“
That fight between Eriksson and Marks was awesome.” Rob said.

Mandy grinned across the table at
Charlie and Becky, rolling her eyes.

“
Do you define a good game by the fights?” Julia asked.

“
Oh, yeah,” Sean grinned.

“
Barbaric.” She muttered.

“
That last goal by Evans was something to see, huh?” Rob said as the guys continued to discuss the game and other games.

After the main course,
Charlie got up automatically to help clear away the plates.

“
Thank you,” Jeff said, smiling as she took his plate.

“
No problem.” She returned his smile before moving to the others.

She collected the dinner plates as she went around the table. She made her way to Ryle’s side.

“Hey,” He said as she stopped beside him.

“
Hey,” She murmured, her eyes caught by his for a moment.

“
You did good.” He murmured just loud enough for her to hear, giving her a quick wink.

She felt warm all over at his compliment. His wink made her knees weak and she was in danger of dropping all the plates.

“Thanks.” She wanted to ask him if he spoke French, but knew it would have to wait until they were alone, at least, not directly in front of Julia and her parents.

He picked up his plate and handed it to her.
“Thanks,” His long fingers brushed hers deliberately in an imperceptible caress as she took the plate from him.

She bit her lower lip and moved on. It was hard to pretend they were mere acquaintance
s when she wanted to touch and caressed him openly; to let some of her true feelings show.

She went to the kitchen to make the coffee. While the coffee was brewing, she rinsed the plates and stacked them into the dishwasher.

“Could you make some tea for Mrs. Hamlin, darling?” Eva asked as she went to the dessert to put finishing touches on them.

“
Sure, mom.” Charlie prepared the tea, and turned back to her mom.

“
Mom, can we talk for a moment?”

Eva paused what she was doing to look up with some concern.
“That sounds rather serious.”

“
It is.”

“
Oh, is everything all right?”

“
It’s about Jeff.”

“
I know, I was hoping to surprise you that he could come tonight.” Eva said, smiling.

“
Thanks, Mom, but I think you should know that Jeff and I are no longer dating.”

Eva frowned.
“You’re not?”

“
No. We decided to give it a break.”

“
Don’t you mean you decided?”

“
I…”

“
Looking at Jeff, he still adores the very ground you walk on. I don’t think he would decide on something like that.” Eva said firmly. “Why, darling? I don’t understand it. He’s a wonderful man. He’s handsome, he’s charming, he’s very smart and…”

“
And he’s not the man for me.” Charlie cut in gently. “I’m sure he will make some lucky woman a great husband; just not me.”

“
Then who…you’re not dating Ryle, are you?” Eva was frowning now.

“
For now.” She admitted, feeling lighter now that she finally told her mom the truth.

“
For now? What does that mean?”

“
It means, just for now. It’s not anything permanent.”

Eva
's frown had deepened. “He’ll break your heart.”

Charlie
couldn’t answer for a long moment. Her mother was right. Her heart was already breaking.

“
Mom, I know you love me, but I’m an adult. Please just let me make my own mistakes.”

“
Oh, darling.” Eva said sadly, shaking her head.

After dessert and coffee,
Charlie helped clear the table. As Charlie and her friends had to work tomorrow, they left early.

“
Thanks for dinner, Mom,” Charlie murmured, kissing her mom on the cheek before leaving.

“
Take care, darling.” Eva said meaningfully.

Charlie
and her friends left together. Jeff was also leaving. Outside in the cool night air, she exchanged hugs and kisses with Becky, Mandy and Rob before they went on their own way.

“
Give me a few minutes.” Charlie said to Ryle as she caught sight of Jeff walking towards his car.

“
Yeah,” Ryle nodded, as if understanding.

She left Ryle walking along the path and ran after Jeff. She caught up with Jeff before he reached his car.

“Jeff!”

“
Charlie,” Jeff turned to face her. There was a very sad expression on his handsome face; he looked tired and defeated.

“
I’m sorry about tonight; I should’ve told my mom the truth.” She said.

“
It doesn’t matter.”

“
I’m still glad you came tonight.” She added softly. “I just wish we could…” She broke off, unable to continue.

Jeff looked at her for a long moment.
“It’s Sullivan, isn’t it?”

“
Um…” She was surprised and didn’t know how to answer. She thought she was being so careful, even after she told her mom the truth.

“
I saw the way you were looking at him when you were collecting the dinner plates.”

“
I’m sorry, Jeff.” She didn’t try to lie to him.

“
Me too.” He said huskily as he turned away and got into his car.

Charlie
sighed sadly as she turned and walked back toward Ryle. He met her half way on the long pathway.

“
You okay?” He asked.

“
Yeah,” She murmured. “I’m sorry, tonight was a mess.”

“
It’s not your fault.” He dismissed.

“
If I had the courage to tell my parents weeks ago about Jeff, tonight wouldn’t have happened. Not that I mind Jeff’s presence during Sunday dinner; I’m glad he came but I didn’t want to hurt him.” She told him as they walked into her apartment.

“
I have time for that long story if you want to tell me about it.” He said as they sat down on the small loveseat in the living area. His large frame made the loveseat look ridiculously small. There was just enough room for her to join him on the loveseat. He stretched out his long legs, giving her more room.

Charlie
looked at him. She had already told him a little about Brian. She really didn’t have anything to hide from him.

Taking a deep breath, she began.
“When I a teen, I was never into boys. All my friends were buying pretty things and dating, and I was reading everything I could get my hands on, especially about aviation. I was learning to fly at that time. In the beginning it wasn’t so bad. My parents were not worried because I was young. By the time I went to college and I still didn’t date, well, they got worried.” Charlie said.

“
How did you keep all the boys back when you’re so hot?” He asked, half teasing, half serious.

“
I’m not,” She scoffed.

Ryle gave her a searing look.
“Oh, yeah, from where I’m sitting, you’re definitely hot.” He said with a leer and she flushed in pleasure.

“
I was a nerd. I just read and read.” She murmured. “When I started my master’s degree, I started dating. Brian was in my class and we keep bumping into each other at the library. We had a lot in common, and we liked the same things. We moved in together and our schedules meshed well. My parents were really happy. They liked Brian and he seemed the perfect fit for me. The plan was for us to get married after we graduated from our master’s program. After two years of living together, it felt like we were already married. We both went to the job fair, and we both applied for various jobs. We even joked about working together and being competitive at work.” Charlie paused. She looked up to see Ryle watching her and listening intently.

“
There was this one position that everyone in the class was competing for. It was at PAL. A couple of months before graduation, I was offered the position. I was thrilled, and I thought Brian would be too. But he was really angry I got it and he didn’t. He started accusing me of all kinds of nasty things. He said I wasn’t good enough and that he was better. He accused me of fucking everyone at PAL to get the job.”

She didn’t realize Ryle had moved, but he was now sitting behind her with his arms wrapped around her shoulders, holding her against him.

“He’s an idiot.” Ryle ground out.

“
I walked out on him that night and never looked back. For a long time afterwards, I didn’t date. My mom and friends tried to set me up on blind dates, but they never worked out. I didn’t want to date anyone at PAL, and since that’s where I spent ninety percent of my time, chances of me meeting anyone were slim. And the older I got, the more worried my parents became.” She said. “So imagine their relief when I brought Jeff home. Jeff was everything my parents could ever hope for me. They really wanted it to work out. So it was really hard to tell them I was no longer dating Jeff when they put all their hopes on him.”

“
Let me guess, they don’t approve of me.” Ryle teased.

“
Not much.” She answered honestly. “It’s nothing against you personally…they were just hoping I would choose someone nice and steady like Jeff. They know Jeff would stay around.” She said before she realized what she was implying.

Ryle was silent. He didn’t contradict her. And she didn’t realize she was secretly hoping he would until he remained silent. Her heart contracted. Her mom was right; he would break her heart.

The next several weeks went by all too quickly. Charlie spent as much time as she could with Ryle. The more time she spent with him, the deeper she fell. But even as she was falling deeper in love with him, she felt as if her heart was breaking.

Before she knew it, there
was only a couple of weeks left in his contract. Ryle made no secret that he was leaving Linwood in July.

She only took Ryle to dinner at her parents’ house a couple of more times. All the other Sundays he was busy in Chicago with his grandfather. Her mom was civil enough to Ryle, but it lacked the welcoming warmth she had shown towards Jeff.

In July, she and several handfuls of people from PAL were traveling to Toulouse for a couple of days to attend the aviation trade show. It was not the big one, but because it still provided a lot of information on new technologies, they tried to attend as many as they could.

From
Charlie’s team, she took
Vasil Halvorson
and Steven Mason with her. There were several other teams who were also going. Charlie was excited at the prospect of seeing new technology, but at the same time, she was reluctant to be away from Ryle, even for a few days. Their time together was running out fast, and she was afraid he might be gone before she got back.

Charlie
and Steven drove with Vasil to Chicago’s airport. At the airport they met up with the others.

“
Hey.”

Charlie
looked up see Jeff standing near her. “Hey Jeff.”

“
May I?” He indicated the seat beside her.

“
Please.” She nodded.

Jeff had mostly avoided her the last several weeks. They said hello whenever they passed each other at work, but that was it. He had stayed away from her and she didn’t seek him out. It was almost like they were strangers. It was too bad they couldn’t be friends anymore, but she knew she hurt him badly and he needed time to recover.

“How are you?”

“
I’m okay.” She murmured. She met his eyes. “How are you?”

He shrugged.
“Surviving, I guess.”

She smiled a little sadly.

He was silent for several moments. “I heard Sullivan’s leaving next week.”

Pain tightened her heart at the mention of Ryle.
“How did you know?” She asked. Not many people knew Ryle’s contract was up.

“
Jack mentioned it.”

“
Oh.” She nodded.

Jeff stared at the tips of his shoes for a long moment.
“I guess you knew.”

“
Yeah.” She admitted.

“
I guess he’s leaving PAL for good.”

“
He doesn’t have any intention of staying here longer than his contract.” She said.

“
You’re okay with that?” Jeff asked softly.

Charlie
bit her lower lip, tears swam in her eyes. “I guess I’ll have to be.”

“
I’m sorry.” Jeff said huskily.

“
Thanks.” She murmured as a single tear fell down her cheek. It was ironic that Jeff was offering her comfort for Ryle breaking her heart.

The announcement overhead announced the boarding of their flight.

“That’s us.” Jeff said.

“
Yeah.” Charlie stood up and picked up her overnight case.

They walked toward the line together.

Ryle found his grandfather in his study.

“
Ryle, what are you doing here?”

“
I’m just passing through, grandfather.” Ryle told him.

His grandfather checked the date on his watch.
“Has it been six months already?”

“
Minus a week.” Ryle said. “I’ll go back and finish the last week. I’m actually on my way to Toulouse.”

“
Toulouse? Why do you want to go to Toulouse?” Marcus asked, intrigued now.

“
To give Charlie this.” Ryle held up the tiny box he was holding.

Marcus took the box and opened it. The 3 carat diamond solitaire caught the sunlight splashing into the study and sparkled brilliantly.

“Your mother’s ring.” Marcus murmured, studying it.

“
I had to stop by the family vault to pick it up.” Ryle said.

Marcus was grinning widely now.
“So you’re really going to do it.”

Ryle met his grandfather’s eyes and grinned.
“Yes.”

“
It’s about time. And when am I going to meet her?” Marcus demanded.

“
You’ll meet her when she says yes.”

Marcus snorted.
“What’s the matter, are you afraid I’ll frighten her away?”

“
That’s a strong possibility.”

“
She doesn’t know who you are, does she?” Marcus guessed shrewdly.

Ryle took a deep breath.
“No. I’ll have to find a way to tell her; that’s the hard part.”

Marcus chuckled, enjoying his grandson’s predicament.
“I don’t envy you, boy.”

Charlie
spent the first day in Toulouse walking through one section of the show with Steven, Vasil, Jeff and a couple of others. She was able to forget Ryle and focus on the task at hand.

They decided to take a break for lunch at one o’clock.

“Where should we go first after lunch?” Tom asked.

“
I suggest the ARC Show.” Steven said.

“
We should save the ARC Show until tomorrow.” Vasil said. “We should go through all the vendors first. They’re running two ARC Shows.”

“
Today’s better.” Steven said.

“
What’s so special about today’s?” Charlie asked.

“
Models.” Steven grinned.

“
What?”

“
Models. Hot babes.” Steven grinned, holding up the color brochure to show them. “Natalia Levkova, Katia Varekova, Daniella Bernt, they’re big names.”

“
Cool, they’re Victoria’s Secret babes.” Tom grinned.

Charlie
had to suppress her laughter. She exchanged an amused look with Jeff.

“
Since when does a trade show need incentives like that?” Charlie asked dryly.

“
I guess these are the tough times.” Jeff grinned.

In the end they went to the ARC Show first before heading to a few more vendors’ tents. Their hotel was above the convention center. Afterwards, they went to dinner
at the hotel restaurant.

“
It’s half an hour’s wait, at least.” Charlie said after she spoke with the maitre d’ in French.

“
Oh, well, we could go to the bar and wait.” Steven said.

“
Or we could go somewhere else.” Jeff suggested.

“
This is supposed to be a very good restaurant.” Vasil said. “It’s on the Zagat reviews as one of the best of the city.”

“
And that’s why Natalia Levkova and Katia Varekova are eating here.” Steven pointed out, nodding towards a window table where several gorgeous models were talking and laughing.

“
This is awesome. We should come to this trade show every year.” Tom grinned.

They had a drink and after more than half an hour,
Charlie went to check if their table was ready.

As she approached the maitre d’, he was busy talking with a customer. From the back, he looked achingly like Ryle. The height, the breadth, the demeanor, and even his voice sounded like Ryle’s,
although the guy was speaking fluent French. Oh, God, was she hallucinating now? She was trying to decide that when she saw his profile.

“
Ryle!” She gasped.

He stopped and turned, a smile
lit up in his eyes as he looked at her. “Hey.”

“
What are you doing here?” She asked, shocked to see him.

“
To see you.” He said simply.

“
To see me?”

“
Yes.”

“
Were you just speaking perfect French with the maitre d’?”

“
It’s a long story; I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

She was still frowning, completely confused by his presence.

“Come here,” He said, curving an arm around her waist her pulling her towards him to kiss her.

She didn’t need to be asked twice. She curved her arms around him, responding to his kiss hungrily.

“Can we get out of here?” He asked against her mouth.

“
I…”

“
Looks like Charlie picked up more than just the reservation.” Steven said loudly, grinning.

Charlie
was still too bemused by Ryle’s presence and didn’t feel embarrassed being caught kissing him. Ryle didn’t seem to care either as he kept his arm around her as she turned to face her co-workers.

“
Hey Ryle!” Steven grinned.

“
Hey guys,” Ryle said calmly, exchanging greeting with the group.

The maitre d’ came up to them
at that moment to announce their table was ready.

Charlie
turned to Ryle. “Will you join us?”

Ryle sighed.
“Since I can’t get you alone, I guess I’ll have to.” He murmured against her ear.

They followed the maitre d’ to their table. On the way there, they walked by the models’ table. One of the models stood up as they walked closer.
After the maitre d’ walked by, the tall leggy beauty stepped right in front of them, effectively blocking Charlie and Ryle’s way.

“
Ryle, what are you doing here?” She demanded, leaning close to kiss him on the mouth. She would have prolonged the kiss except Ryle moved aside after a brief brush of their lips.

“
Katia.” Ryle responded lightly and calmly. “Nice to see you again.”

“
Is it?” She murmured, arching an eyebrow at him. Then she turned and stared at Charlie, her gaze running over Charlie coolly.

“
Katia,” There was a warning tone in Ryle’s voice, although he was still very calm.

“
You dumped
me
for
this
?” Katia sneered, throwing Charlie an insulting look.

Ryle’s face remained inscrutable. The only change
Charlie noticed was that his hand resting on her back had tightened.

When he spoke again, it was in Russian or some kind of Slavic language. What
ever he said, Katia responded, because she pouted prettily and flounced back to her seat.

They made it to the table without further incident.

“Shit, did you just…” Steven was shaking his head disbelievingly at Ryle. “Was she serious? Did you really dump her?” He asked what everyone else at the table was too polite to ask even if they looked more than curious about it.

“
I think it’s safer if I don’t answer that.” Ryle said wryly, looking meaningfully toward Charlie, who had been silent since the confrontation with the model. He leaned closer to Charlie, saying softly so only she heard him. “Hey, I’m sorry about Katia. She can be hot tempered but she’s generally harmless.”

“
Of course.” Charlie murmured. She wasn’t sure what to make of what happened. It seemed there was one surprise after another, while she was still trying to get over the first one.

The waiter coming to their table to take their order brought some kind of normalcy back. The waiter spoke broken English, and
Charlie helped to translate some and Ryle helped with the rest. He was much more fluent than she was, she realized.