Page 89 of My All American Girl

For a moment, silence hung in the air between us. “Just seeing me grow into an amazing pilot, which I kind of already am.”

I rolled my eyes. “So humble.”

“But you’re cool hanging out in Columbus just because you want to be able to say you trained me?” she pushed.

I knew what she was getting at. I just wasn’t sure I was ready to get into the feelings and all of that just yet. I knew how to handle jets, not these complicated feelings. “I like spending time with you,” I said. “Like you said, it’s a fine balance.”

“That’s fine.” She smiled. “We don’t have to get into the dirty details. We’ll just enjoy London. See where this goes. No reason to push it.”

The rest of the ride to the hotel was spent in relative silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I couldn’t shake off the feeling of contentment that washed over me. After the separation and then the divorce, I thought I would end up alone. I married the military and that was my life. But maybe the key was finding someone who understood my passion for flying.

She understood it and it gave us something in common. We could help each other and push each other to do better.

Our hotel was nestled in the heart of the city. We were welcomed into a vibrant lobby that pulsed with life. I paused before approaching the front desk.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I reserved a single room, but if you want to get two separate rooms, I’ll take care of it,” I said.

She grinned. “Do you really think I crossed the pond with you to sleep alone?”

I smiled. “I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to assume.”

“Can we check in now? I’m starving. Our in-flight meal was a little lacking.”

I laughed and took her hand. The in-flight meal had been a bag of trail mix each. I leaned in and dropped a kiss on her cheek. I planned to remedy that. We each carried our duffel bags that declared we were military. But they didn’t know we weren’t supposed to be sharing a room. We were completely anonymous here.

I quickly handed over my credit card to the hostess at the desk. I had splurged on a luxury room with a giant soaker tub. She would probably appreciate being able to take an actual bath after living in dorms the last four years.

As we stepped into our suite, she gasped, darting to the balcony overlooking the city’s impressive skyline. I simply stood by the door, watching her as she took in the view with starry-eyed fascination. Sarah was the best sight in the whole city just then, and I hoped the moment would last forever.

“Is this real?” she mumbled, eyes wide, her hand reaching out to touch the cool glass of the balcony. “It’s too beautiful.”

“I thought you’d like it,” I said, trying to keep my voice casual despite the fluttering in my chest.

“Uh, yeah!”