Future Prospect by Lynn Rae Page B

was rude and uncalled for. I understand if you would like me to find someone else to work with you.” Colan gusted out a pent up breath and took a gulp of wine after he finished. He didn’t even taste the drink as he swallowed and waited for her reaction. Lia’s eyebrows rose, and her mouth opened slightly as she swayed back. Incredibly, she began to laugh, big, full-throated laughs that made her eyes water. He was flabbergasted by her reaction and took another drink of wine to steady himself.
    Shaking her head with a few final chuckles, she wiped away a few tears and brushed wisps of hair back with her fingers. She wound the shiny strands into a loose rope while watching him with a grin.
    “What’s going on? Are you going to throw me out now?”
    Lia shook her head, and her hair spilled free again. “Sorry I laughed. I’m just surprised.”
    “By what? That I’m admitting I was wrong?”
    “No. I’m surprised you came here to apologize. I was going to track you down in the morning to do the same.”
    Now it was Colan’s turn to be surprised. Some of the tension that had been tormenting him for the last few hours dissipated with her good humor. “Why would you need to apologize to me?”
    “Because I was rude to you. It was very unprofessional of me to make those personal comments. I’m sorry.”
    Colan blanked out. All he could recall was how angry he’d been and how he’d accused her of being a cyborg. “What personal comments?”
    Lia blushed and stepped away from him and returned to her seat on the sofa. She picked up her glass of wine and took a sip. “You don’t remember?”
    “Not really.” Colan edged closer to her and took a seat on the arm of a chair.
    “Then I’m not going to remind you specifically.” A hint of a smile appeared on Lia’s lips, and Colan wanted to smile in return. He felt much better about the universe now. “In fact, I’m going to banish them from my memory, they were so terrible.”
    “How could I have missed something so interesting?”
    “I guess I’m lucky you were in such a rage, as odd as that may sound.”
    Colan sobered at the reminder of how out of control he’d been. He had to have frightened her with his shouting and leaning over her. He might have even pointed his finger in the air at one point. It was embarrassing. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d lost his temper to such an extreme degree.
    “I’m sorry about it. There’s no excuse for it. I overreacted when I heard about Rue and Tun’s house and was already upset with Riva, and I took it out on you.”
    “Who’s Riva?”
    “Riva Estep, second chair science officer. She was trying to get me on board with some sort of protest over your settlement plans here.”
    Lia watched him for a moment. “Would you like something to eat? Any allergies or dietary restrictions?”
    Colan shrugged. He hadn’t thought too far beyond the apology so now his evening stretched in front of him unplanned. Just like most of his evenings. Lia must have taken his non-answer for acquiescence, because she rose and walked past him to her kitchen where she opened cabinet doors and rattled plates around. He glanced over at her and saw her frowning over a box of something, and he decided to study her dining room curtains. It was too tempting to wander over and watch her decide what he might like to eat, too cozy a space for him to inhabit with her.
    Lia returned and held a plate out to him as she explained what sorts of cheeses, olives, and crackers she’d given him. He took it and watched her take a seat on her sofa, one cushion length closer to him than before.
    “What sort of protest?”
    Colan ate some cheese so he could delay his answer. This was a tricky proposition. Riva was wrong, but he didn’t want to cause trouble for her. “She’s claiming there’s some unified intelligence thing here. I tried to tell her it was nonsense, but she’s pretty invested in it. She used to be more