by Marie Force
After a long pause, he said, “You’re pissed.”
Her stomach ached. “Yeah, kind of.”
“Liv, I’m sorry. I really am.”
“I don’t like the feeling there’s something going on that I don’t know about. You tell me I can trust you, and then I can’t reach you when you’re the one who asked me to call. What am I supposed to make of that?”
“You can trust me, Olivia. I swear it.”
“I want to.”
“Liv…”
“Why did you send that message last night?”
“Because I was missing you and wanted to say good night.”
Almost against her will, the ice around her heart began to thaw. “I would’ve liked that.”
“Can we pretend it’s last night and try again? Please?”
She was tempted to let him charm his way out of it because she hated being mad with him, but this was too important to let him off that easily.
“Feeling edgy and uncertain about the man I love is not a fun way to spend a day, Cole, especially after a sleepless night.”
“It won’t happen again. I promise.”
Wanting desperately to believe him and to get things back on track, she took a deep breath. “Something kind of big happened today.”
“What’s that?”
“I got into art school. Officially.”
“Liv! Oh, my God, that’s great! I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks.”
“Such amazing news.”
“I just… I really wanted to tell you.”
“I’m sorry. I wish I could take you out to celebrate tonight.”
“Next week.”
“Yes, we’re going to celebrate this. So, um, I hate to say it, but Tuesday night’s a bust. I couldn’t get anyone to swap with me.”
Olivia swallowed her disappointment. “That’s okay. I need to get my homework and everything done before our trip next weekend. Where are we going anyway?”
“I’m not telling, and you can’t trick me by sliding that in there.”
“If you were here, I’d be able to get it out of you.”
He laughed. “You think so, huh?”
“I know so.”
“Do you still love me after I made you feel sick all day?”
He sounded so sweet and so genuinely concerned that she decided to forgive him. “I guess so,” she teased.
“That wasn’t very convincing.”
“Is all your so-called ‘shit’ dealt with now?”
“I really hope so.”
“And you haven’t been off with your wife or your other girlfriend for the last twelve hours?”
“There’s only you, Liv.”
“Then I still love you.”
“Good,” he said, sounding relieved. “Because I love you. A whole lot.”
“Call me later?”
“I will.”
And he did. He called that night and the again the next night while she was baby-sitting Billy.
“Hey,” she said, breathless from carrying the baby.
“What are you doing?” Cole asked.
“Well, at the moment, I’m soaking wet from attempting to give Billy a bath. I’m not even sure he got wet. He’s a madman.”
Billy squealed with delight and pulled her hair.
“He’s definitely large and in charge tonight.” Olivia put the baby down on his play mat on the floor. Exhausted, she sat on the sofa and put her feet up. “He’s killing me.”
Cole laughed.
“I don’t know how Jenny makes it look so easy.”
“Lots of practice, I suspect.”
“She’s out telling Will there’s going to be another one, which I gather is a bit of a surprise.”
“Ouch.”
“No kidding—two babies, fifteen months apart. Makes me shudder just thinking about it.”
“Speaking of babies… Any developments on our front?”
“Not yet. Jenny says the odds are in our favor, though.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Why do you sound so bummed?” she asked.
“I’ve never really given much thought to having kids, but now that it’s possible, it doesn’t freak me out as much as it probably should.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“So you’re saying you kind of hope you’re pregnant?”
“I guess maybe I am,” Olivia confessed. “I know it would throw my whole life—and yours—into such an uproar, but then I look at Billy, and the possibility of having one who looks like you…”
“Or you,” he said softly.
“This is nuts,” she said with a nervous laugh. “We hardly know each other, and here we are hoping we’re having a baby together.”
“We know each other, Liv.”
“Well enough to have a baby together?”
“Definitely.”
“What would we do, if I am, you know, pregnant?”
“You’d have to move out here to live with me.”
“Or you’d have to move here to live with me.”
“Either way.”
“You’d do that? Move here?”
“If that’s what you wanted.”
Amazed, Olivia had no idea what to say. It had never occurred to her that he’d pick up and move to be with her.
“Still there?” he asked.
She cleared the emotion from her throat. “Yeah. I should probably get Billy to bed.”
“I can’t wait to see you next weekend.”
“I can’t, either.”
“Talk to you tomorrow?”
“I’ll be here.”
“I don’t want you to worry about anything, okay? If there is a baby, we’ll figure it out.”
“I know.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
***
The next week was one of the longest of Olivia’s life. She studied for three tedious days for her international business midterm, telling herself all the while that she just had to get through this semester. Once she began taking art classes, her academic life would finally become interesting. Leaving the exam on Wednesday, she felt good about how she had done, but school was the last thing on her mind. Cole was due in at four, and they’d have thirty minutes together.
She headed for the airport in high spirits, which were dashed when she learned his flight was delayed. There would be no visit today.
She was slogging through her shift at the store when he called from the gate.
“Can you talk?” he asked.
“For a second.”
“Sorry about today.” He sounded equally disappointed. “I was really looking forward to it.”
Her eyes filled. “So was I.”
“Two more days until Friday,” he said brightly.
“Nice try.”
“Not working?”
“Not so much.” Knowing he was so close but out of reach did nothing to bolster her spirits.
“I hate to say it, but I’ve got to run. Call you tonight?”
“All right.”
“Olivia?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll see you next time. Pinky swear.”
She smiled. In only two days, they’d have four days together—four whole days. That is, if she didn’t die from missing him in the meantime.
“I’ll be here.”
“Counting on it.”
Chapter 18
Olivia paced as nervous energy and excitement dueled with the butterflies storming around in her stomach. Being this excited to see a man was wrong on so many levels, but she couldn’t seem to help it. And then there was the matter of her first airplane ride. To where she still had no idea. But did it really matter? She’d be with him, and that was all she cared about.
Back and forth she went in front of the gate where she was due to meet him. They had announced his flight was “in range.” Whatever that meant. Sh
e had picked up the ticket he had arranged to have waiting for her at the Capital Airlines counter, and despite her burning curiosity she had kept her promise not to look at the destination. When she’d handed her boarding pass to the security screener, she’d fought the urge to glance at it. As she navigated the security line for the first time as a traveler, she had realized it was no wonder she was so excited. Seeing him and flying. This was quite a day!
He had told her to pack warm clothes—jeans, sweaters, a coat, something to wear out at night, and something sexy to wear to bed. “It won’t be on for long, so don’t go to too much trouble,” he had said.
Olivia smiled as she recalled the conversation they’d had the night before during which he had spelled out exactly what was going to happen the instant they arrived at their destination. A bolt of heat went right through her as she recalled his low, sexy voice describing in intimate detail where he wanted to lick her. She took a deep breath and glanced around at the people waiting in the gate area, all but certain her heated cheeks were announcing her thoughts to the world.
Drawn to the window, she watched three Capital flights land in rapid succession. Two of them came toward the gate where she waited and then dashed her hopes by continuing on to other gates.
They finally announced the arrival of the flight from Chicago a few minutes later. A stream of passengers disembarked, but there was no sign of him. After a long lull, the flight attendants came up the ramp pulling suitcases behind them. Olivia wanted to ask them how much longer he’d be, but she couldn’t bring herself to interrupt their conversation.
The crew for the next flight arrived, and announcements were made that boarding would begin shortly. Where is he? Just when Olivia thought she would lose her mind if she had to wait another minute, she saw him coming up the Jetway while talking to an older pilot. The other pilot said something that made Cole laugh, and the sight of his smiling face made Olivia’s heart dance with excitement and love and impatience. Oh, he looks so good!
His eyes connected with hers, and his smile got even bigger.
She wanted to play it cool and wait for him to come to her, but she found herself moving toward him anyway.
The other pilot watched the scene with amusement as Cole and Olivia did a poor job of hiding their desire to leap into each other’s arms.
“Um, Jake, this is Olivia,” Cole said, drinking her in with his eyes.
She tore hers off him long enough to say hello and shake hands with the other pilot.
“I haven’t seen her in nine days, so you’ll have to excuse me,” Cole said. “Because I can’t wait another second to do this.” He wrapped his arms around Olivia and lifted her right off her feet.
Startled, she clung to him.
“Well, don’t let me get in the way,” Jake said with a laugh. “I’ve got a flight to catch.”
Cole’s “see ya” was muffled by Olivia’s hair. He held her for a long time before he eased her back down. He pressed his lips to her forehead. “Let me go get changed so I can kiss you the way I’m dying to.”
“Hurry up,” she said, pushing him toward the men’s room.
He squeezed her hand. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“Not without you.” She watched him go and then checked the time. Their flight was leaving at seven o’clock, and she’d soon find out where they were going. She couldn’t wait.
A few minutes later he returned, wearing faded jeans with a long-sleeved, maroon button-down shirt he’d left un-tucked. “Come on.” He reached for her hand, and with both of them dragging luggage behind them, he steered her through the concourse to a deserted gate area.
“Don’t we need to get to our gate?” she asked, her heart hammering as he maneuvered her up against a big pillar so his back was to the crowd.
“It’s right there,” he said, bringing his lips down on hers. “We’ll hear them.”
Her arms encircled his neck.
His fingers dug into her hips as he brought her up tight against his instant erection for a hot, urgent, carnal kiss. He tasted of toothpaste and sin.
Olivia didn’t even care that people might be watching them—she wasn’t letting him go until she’d had her fill.
The sweep of his tongue against hers made her knees go weak with desire. She tunneled a hand into his thick hair and held on. By the time he finally slowed the kiss to a more manageable sliding of his lips over hers, Olivia was ready to say, “To hell with the trip—let’s find a hotel!”
A shudder rippled through his big frame, and she loved that she’d done that to him.
“God, I want you,” he whispered, dragging his lips from her throat to her ear where he lingered.
This time, Olivia trembled. Her hands fell to his chest where she could feel his racing heart. “We could skip this whole trip thing and be in a hotel in twenty minutes.”
His agonized groan made her smile. “Don’t tempt me.”
“But I love tempting you.”
“And you do it so well.” He tilted her face up, seeking out her eyes. “I love you, and I’m literally dying to make love with you. But I really, really want to take you on your first flight to somewhere you’ve never been before.”
“Oh, all right,” she teased. “If you’re going to be that way about it.”
“But once we get there,” he said, nipping at her bottom lip, “watch out.”
She released a choppy, ragged breath. “Yes, you mentioned that last night.”
He hugged her tightly. “I’m never going to make it. I might have to indoctrinate you into the Mile High Club.”
Olivia looked up at him. “Do I even want to know what that means?”
His smile was as sinful as his kisses. “Think about it. A mile up, a bathroom… Are you getting a visual?”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “What I really want to know is whether you are already a member.”
He laughed. “I’ll never tell.”
She pinched his butt. “Give it up.”
“Hey! Get your hands off my ass.”
“I love your ass.” To prove her point, she let her hand slide down to cup one muscular cheek. “So have you? Done it on a plane?”
Amazed by her audacity, he stared down at her. “I’ve done a lot of things in an airplane, but that’s not one of them. Now what I want to know is where has my shy Liv gone?”
“She’s history.”
“You’re making my blood boil,” he hissed.
She smiled, delighted by the effect she was having on him.
He reached for his back pocket and withdrew his iPod. “Before they call our flight and blow my surprise,” he said as he placed the buds in her ears, “I need to get you wired for sound.” As he dialed through the songs to find the one he was looking for, he added, “And no peeking at the signs in the gate area.”
She was surprised and pleased to hear Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” the song she had once told him she loved.
He raised his eyebrows to ask if she approved of his choice.
“Thank you,” she said softly. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest.
He kept his arms around her as they leaned against the pillar and waited to board the plane.
Olivia listened to three songs before he nudged her to signal it was time to go. Suddenly, she couldn’t move. Her stomach lurched and her heart pounded.
Sensing her anxiety, he brought their joined hands to his chest and mouthed the words “Trust me.”
Because she did and because she couldn’t wait to know what it felt like to fly, she let him lead her to the gate.
He handed their boarding passes to the agent and shepherded Olivia down the long Jetway.
With a deep breath for courage, Olivia stepped onto an airplane for the first time in her life.
After storing their bags in the overhead bins, Cole gave her the window and settled into the middle seat.
Olivia pointed to the headphones, asking if she could take them off.
He raised both hands to say ten more minutes.
She watched the people getting on the plane, stowing their belongings, and acting as if they did this every day. A lot of them probably did. Rubbing her sweaty palms on her jeans, Olivia looked out to the tarmac where the ground crew loaded luggage into the belly of the plane while two other men disconnected a long hose from the wing. She nudged Cole and pointed to the wing, raising an eyebrow in question.
“Gas,” he mouthed, reaching beneath her to find the other half of her seatbelt, which he fastened tight around her.
A few minutes later, he removed the headphones and turned off the iPod. “I think we’re safe. The pilot just said he expects a smooth flight.”
“That’s a relief.”
“This is one of the best times of year to fly—very few thunderstorms and no snow.”
“Good.”
“You’re tight as a drum, Liv,” he said, running his hand up and down her leg. “What’re you feeling right now?”
“Excited, curious, scared.”
He held her hand between both of his. “Don’t be scared. Remember what I told you—it’s safer than being in a car.”
“And remember what I told you—there’s no breakdown lane.”
He smiled and rolled his eyes.
When the flight attendants began the preflight safety spiel, Olivia reached for the brochure that outlined the features of the Boeing 757.
Cole snorted with laughter.
“What?”
“No one ever pays attention to the flight attendants. They should, but they don’t.”
“Why not?” Olivia asked, horrified. “What if something happens?”
“Nothing ever does. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
“The pilot could have a heart attack.”
“You think you’re funny, don’t you?”
“Be quiet,” she said. “I want to hear about the oxygen masks.” She paid intense attention to the instructions. “So if we lose pressure in the cabin, I should help myself before I help you?”
“Yeah, right,” he drawled. “I’ll be too busy cleaning up after you pee your pants.”
Olivia laughed and then shushed him so she could learn how to use her seat cushion as a flotation device in the event of a water landing. Pondering the notion of the big plane splashing down, she was scared again.
