“Why?”
“Because normally we argue beside airplanes.”
“True.”
She looked at him.
“Want to insult my aircraft?”
“Diamond paint is ridiculous.”
“Crystalline accents.”
“There.”
“Better.”
The tension disappeared.
They talked.
Her childhood.
His.
Her father had been an investment banker who treated time like currency.
His father had worked construction and believed anything could be repaired if you owned enough clamps.
The CEO laughed.
The Single Dad told her about his daughter’s mother.
They had married young.
It failed slowly.
No betrayal.
No dramatic villain.
Two people becoming incompatible while a child remained between them.
The mother lived in another state.
Calls.
Visits.
Inconsistent.
The Single Dad had become primary parent.
The CEO listened.
“Does your daughter miss her?”
“Yes.”
“Does that bother you?”
“No.”
He thought.
“Sometimes.”
“Because?”
“Because part of me wants to be enough.”
The CEO understood that sentence immediately.
She whispered:
“I know that feeling.”
The Single Dad looked at her.
“You don’t have children.”
“No.”
“But I built a company because I wanted to become enough for myself.”
Silence.
The Single Dad reached across the table.
His hand stopped near hers.
He did not touch.
The CEO closed the remaining inch.
Their fingers rested together.
Small.
Nothing dramatic.
More intimate than either expected.
Outside the restaurant, he walked her toward her car.
No driver.
She had insisted.
They stopped beside the door.
The CEO looked at him.
He looked back.
She smiled.
“This is another awkward part.”
“Very.”
“We’re adults.”
“Allegedly.”
She laughed.
The Single Dad stepped closer.
“You can tell me no.”
The CEO’s expression softened.
“That’s an unusual thing for people around me to say.”
“Get better people.”
She stared.
Then pulled him closer by the shirt.
The kiss was slow.
Careful.
Then less careful.
His hand rested at her waist.
Her fingers moved behind his neck.
When they separated, the CEO’s breathing had changed.
The Single Dad smiled faintly.
“What?”
She looked annoyed.
“You look pleased with yourself.”
“I am.”
“Don’t.”
He kissed her again.
The CEO decided she could tolerate the expression.
The relationship became public accidentally.
A passenger photographed them at an airport café.
The article appeared within hours.
BILLIONAIRE AVIATION CEO DATING MECHANIC WHO SAVED HER JET.