Terms of the Flight

Prologue

The thumping of my heart muted the sounds around me. I was in this fancy-ass restaurant about to make a decision that could change my life. Mia smiled up at me between bites, showcasing the most perfect set of teeth I’d ever seen on a woman.

I couldn’t hear a damn thing she was saying, but if I had to take a guess, I’m sure it was about the latest fashion show she’d gone to, or about her celebrity friends she needed to be with every second.

These days those things seemed to be her only concerns, but I figured it was a phase. We all had those.

I rubbed my now moist hands onto my slacks and closed my eyes to count down from five. I reached for my pocket to pat the black suede box with my gold crest in the center. I needed to make sure I hadn’t forgotten it.

Then I opened my eyes and released a breath before sliding my chair back.

Mia’s brow rose in confusion as I reached out for her hand, walking around the table.

I stood in front of her, then slowly dipped down onto one knee.

Realization quickly settled in. Her eyes expanded and she glanced everywhere but at me before finally peering down at me.

A hush seemed to fall over the restaurant, so I knew we held everyone’s attention, even if it was just for a moment. I reached down to pull the box from my pocket, but Mia stopped me with a shake of her head.

“Wait, can you step outside with me?” she asked.

“Can it wait?” I asked with the lift of my brow.

She stood from her seat and stormed out of the restaurant.

The waiter walked over at that moment, and he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. I slowly stood to my full height, and one of the older white men called out.

“It’s going to be fine, son. Every man has been turned down proposing a time or two.”

I glanced over at the older man with my lip curled up. I wanted to tell his old ass to mind his business, but I chose not to. It wasn’t his fault I chose to do a public proposal, assuming she was going to say yes.

I turned and headed in the direction Mia had rushed off in.

I finally made it outside onto the restaurant’s balcony, which faced the harbor.

They had lights strung up around us. If she’d said yes, this shit would have been considered romantic.

Yet, there I was, waiting for her to say the words I never expected.

Mia’s back was to me as we stood in uncomfortable silence. I reached out but pulled my hand back—for the first time, it didn’t feel like the right thing to do.

I cleared my throat to gain her attention. She knew I was standing there and was only prolonging the inevitable.

“What was that back there?” I asked.

Mia’s shoulders lifted and then lowered before she turned to face me with a straight face.

“I feel like I should be asking you the same thing. I shouldn’t have been caught off guard. We’re just having fun.”

I glanced away and chuckled before returning my attention to her.

“Fun, is that what the last three years have been? Fun? How long you planned to just have fun, Mia?”

She crossed her arms and shifted her weight with her hip poked out. Then she waved her hand around.

“We—we’re just having fun. It wasn’t just me. Don’t act like I’ve never caught your eye wandering to the next bitch. You couldn’t have thought I would ever marry you.”

I nodded, then stuffed my hands into my pockets. It was like I was seeing a whole new Mia. She slowly walked over to me and lifted her hand to touch my chin, but I quickly moved out of her reach.

“Nah, you good.”

She pulled her hand back and poked her chest out.

“I never meant to hurt you. I always thought this was transactional. You’re just not really the marrying type. But I take this as my sign to go. I guess it was fun while it lasted.”

I kept my eyes trained on the harbor behind her, unable to accept a single word she said.

Mia walked around me and back into the restaurant.

The moment the doors closed behind her, I walked over to the balcony, but not too close.

I still didn’t get down with heights like that, unless I was on a plane, although I never sat next to the window.

I pulled the ring box from my pocket, then opened it to glance down at the ten-carat diamond ring. I twisted it between the tips of my fingers, fighting the urge to toss this bitch over, but I wasn’t that damn crazy. This ring was worth more than a quarter of a million.

I slipped it back into its case and turned to face the judgmental stares. One thing I learned after tonight was I might as well accept the fact that no woman would ever take me seriously. Shit, like she said, I wasn’t the marrying type anyway.