Never Choose Flight (A Fighter Romance Novel) by Danielle Forte Page B

at first. He was wearing a button-up shirt and some dark blue jeans with a black belt. Shiny black shoes. I stared for a moment before I realized that it was Malcolm.
    My eyes darted to Samantha, who was staring at me with a huge grin.
    Malcolm turned his head and saw me there. I got up out of my desk immediately and he was standing next to me in an instant.
    He pulled his hand out from behind his back and he had flowers. Forget Me Nots. They were arranged with several other beautiful flowers, in a plastic bouquet.
    I grabbed them and smelled them, trying to hide my far-too-big smile. He smiled as well, and we both laughed.
    “I found you,” he said.
    “I didn’t think you were going to,” I admitted.
    The flowers smelled wonderful. He’d made up his mind. He wanted to give it a shot.
    “I thought I remembered the name of the company from the card,” he said. “Found you in the phone book. I was totally prepared to end up in the wrong company a million times though, if it took me that long.”
    Suddenly I felt so dumb for all of the worries I’d had. He wasn’t just trying to ditch me afterall. That was just my low self-esteem.
    I just smiled at him.
    “So are you going to be on lunch-”
    “My name is Derek,” said Derek. He’d stood up and walked around the desk, positioning himself between Malcolm and I.
    Malcolm looked at me with a smile and tilted head, and then at Derek.
    “Nice to meet you, Derek.” They shook hands. It was ridiculous.
    “So how do you know Jessica?”
    “We met a week ago. Took the same flight.”
    “Wow,” said Derek. “I’ve known her for seven years.”
    Malcolm just looked at me. Like he couldn’t believe that someone like Derek really existed.
    “That’s neat, Derek.”
    “Were you about to ask her to lunch?” he asked.
    “That was the idea.”
    “Mind if I tag along?”
    I had to cut in there. “I think it’ll just be me and Malcolm this time.”
    “So it’s a date then?”
    I looked to Malcolm. “Yes,” he said. “It’s a date. A lunch date.”
    Derek looked concerned. “Well lunch isn’t for another forty five minutes.”
    “We can go now,” I said. I grabbed my purse and Malcolm and I walked out of there.
    Samantha blatantly looked Malcolm up and down while we walked by, and then gave me a wink. “Have fun, you two,” she said.
    “That guy Derek sure is something,” said Malcolm as we walked down the stairs.
    “Yeah,” I said. “Imagine sitting next to him for years .”
    “Shit, you really do have an awful job,” he said.
    “I really, really do.”
    * * *

 
    We ended up in a cafe where I go to lunch sometimes when I don’t have time to make myself anything. I’d never been there on a date before - and honestly it’s not the kind of place I’d normally want to go on a date - but anywhere with Malcolm felt good.
    It was an old place that’s probably been there for forty or fifty years, always run by the same family. They have a few long counters with glass display cases, showing off their pastries and their sandwhiches. The place smells like fresh-baked bread, and the chairs have just the right amount of cushiness. The man behind the counter is getting old, and still speaks in a thick accent, but he knows what he’s doing.
    Malcolm got a water and a BLT, I went with a coffee and a croissant. We sat near the back, far from the large windows, at a table made for two.
    “So,” I said, looking down at the flowers he’d brought me. “I take it you’ve made up your mind.”
    “Yep,” he said. “And it feels crazy. But I kind of want this for the same reason as you.”
    “You want to add something exciting to your boring job selling paper?”
    He laughed. “Nope. The exact opposite.”
    I tilted my head.
    “My life is all excitement. Or preparing for excitement. I work out every day. I get in fights every couple of days - sometimes ones that don’t even pay. I make ends meet, but just barely. All the opposite of you. There are no