Everyone Loves a Hero

by Marie Force

  Cole brought her hand to his lips. “Not going to happen, honey.”

  “Tell that to the people who landed in the Hudson.”

  “A once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.”

  Trying to think about anything other than landing in the Potomac, she returned the brochure to the seat pocket, pulled out the barf bag, and glanced over at him.

  “For wimps.”

  “In that case…” Olivia put the bag on her lap.

  “You won’t need it.”

  “Could you fly this plane?”

  “If I had to.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I’m not checked out to fly passengers on a 757, but in an emergency I could get it down.”

  “That makes me feel a little better.”

  Amused, he asked, “How do you know I’m any good?”

  “Because you’ve told me—often,” she said, laughing at his offended expression. As the plane rolled back from the gate, Olivia gasped.

  “Deep breaths,” he said. “You can do it. We’re going to taxi to the runway for a few minutes, so no need to panic yet.”

  “What happens then?” she managed to ask.

  “Just like I told you last night, the pilot will come on to tell us we’ve been cleared for takeoff.”

  “Do you know them? The pilots?”

  “Nope.”

  She swallowed hard.

  “Baby, do you think I’d be on this plane or would’ve brought you on it if I wasn’t sure it was totally safe?”

  “No,” she squeaked.

  “Then please try to relax and just enjoy it, will you?”

  “Um, sure… easy for you to say. You’ve done this what? A million times?”

  Laughing, he raised the armrest between them and put his arm around her.

  Grateful for the gesture, Olivia rested her head on his shoulder and focused on breathing.

  “Make sure you look out as we lift off. The view of D.C. at night is unbelievable.”

  “I’ll be too busy trying not to pee my pants.”

  “It never occurs to me that there might be people on my flight who’ve never flown before. It’s so rare these days.”

  She watched the dazzling array of lights on the taxiway. “As rare as a twenty-seven-year-old virgin?”

  “No,” he said softly against her ear. “That’s in a league all its own. How lucky am I to be able to share all these amazing firsts with you?”

  Feeling like the lucky one, Olivia raised her head to reward him with a warm smile.

  “Good evening from the cockpit,” came a voice over the loudspeaker. “We’ve been cleared for takeoff. Two hours and three minutes to Denver. Flight attendants, please be seated.”

  Cole winced.

  “Denver, huh?”

  “Shit,” he groaned.

  Olivia laughed at his distress. There were other places she’d rather go, but she wasn’t going to complain about an adventure like this.

  “We were so close!”

  “It’s all right. I don’t care where we go as long as we go together.”

  The plane lurched forward, and Olivia tightened her grip on his hand.

  He kept his other arm around her as they hauled ass down the runway.

  “Oh, my God,” she whispered, watching the airport buildings whiz by.

  “Keep your eyes open, honey.”

  Olivia had to make an effort to do just that as they lifted into the air. Below she saw the U.S. Capitol, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, and the lights from thousands of tiny cars on the Beltway. It was the most amazing sight she’d ever seen, and she was utterly captivated until a bang from below the plane stopped her heart.

  “Just putting the wheels away,” Cole said, his voice calm and soothing.

  “It’s so…

  “What? Tell me.”

  “Magical.”

  Over her shoulder he looked out the window. “I guess it is, isn’t it?”

  “That something this big can just lift into the air and soar through the sky.”

  “It’s all about aerodynamics—”

  She patted his knee. “Don’t ruin it.”

  He nuzzled his nose through her hair until he found her ear. “Kiss me.”

  Glancing over his shoulder, she saw they had the entire row to themselves. Besides, after their demonstration in the airport, what did she care?

  With her hand on his face she kissed him softly, dodging his efforts to get more. She teased him with little darts of her tongue until he all but begged her to have mercy.

  Cole took the opportunity to anchor her face and kiss her with a kind of desperation he hadn’t shown her before.

  Olivia was on fire. With her ears already popping from the altitude, she held fast to a handful of his shirt hoping to gain some equilibrium.

  “I love kissing you.” He trailed his lips over her face. “It’s quickly becoming my favorite thing to do.”

  “Better than flying?”

  “Mmm, flying’s got nothing on you. What was I thinking taking you so far away? We should’ve gone to Newark. One hour.” He cruised down to her neck. “Up, down, then in, out.”

  Olivia laughed and arched her neck to give him better access. “I’ve heard great things about Newark,” she teased.

  “It’s nothing special.”

  “I bet it has hotels with big soft beds and doors with ‘Do Not Disturb’ signs.”

  He closed his teeth over the spot where her neck met her shoulder.

  She moaned.

  “Uh-huh, and what else have you got to say?”

  Her answering sigh made him laugh. “So I’m not the only one who’s suffering here?” he asked.

  “No. There’s enough to go around.”

  “What do you think of flying so far?”

  “On the lists of firsts, it’s a very close second to sex,” she said, tilting her hip against his erection.

  He sucked in a harsh, deep breath that he banked when a flight attendant walked by. “You’re going to get me fired,” he whispered.

  “Fired up.”

  “Already there.”

  “How many more hours until Denver?”

  He checked his watch. “Hour and forty.”

  “We can handle that, right?”

  “Sure, no problem. We’ve already waited almost two weeks. What’s another couple of hours?”

  “An eternity?”

  “Next time Newark. Definitely Newark.”

  Chapter 19

  Landing was almost as exciting as taking off. The captain had warned them to expect a few bumps as the plane descended through the clouds, so Olivia clutched Cole’s hand and listened to his soft words of comfort. He equated the bumps to potholes on a dirt road, and the visual helped to keep her from panicking. They finally broke through the cloud cover and there was Denver, laid out in the distance below.

  “The airport is quite a ways from the city,” Cole said. “There’s a whole lot of nothing out here, which is why it’s so dark.”

  Olivia watched the darkness below as she felt the plane going down. Whispering a silent prayer that the pilots knew what they were doing, she had to remind herself to keep breathing.

  “Remember what I told you about landing—a bump on impact and then a big roar when they deploy the thrusters to slow the plane.”

  “Right,” she said. “A roar.”

  He looked out the window to see where they were. “There’re the approach lights, so any second now.”

  The runway lights came into view next, and the plane suddenly slowed in the moment before a smooth touchdown. But despite Cole’s warnings, the roar of the thrusters still startled her.

  “Perfect landing,” he said, kissing the hand that gripped his.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Denver where the local time is seven o’clock,” the flight attendant announced.

  “That’s so weird,” Olivia said. “We took off at seven and landed at seven.”

  “Two time zones
.”

  “It’s weird.”

  “For those of you continuing on with us to San Francisco, please stay seated until our Denver passengers have deplaned. San Fran passengers will have about twenty-five minutes if you wish to get off and stretch your legs. We just ask that you stay close to the gate area, as this’ll be a quick turnaround. If Denver is your final destination, we thank you for choosing Capital. Come back and see us again soon. Your Denver-based flight crew wishes you a good evening and safe travels.”

  Olivia sighed wistfully. How she wished they were going to San Francisco. But since he had gone to so much trouble to arrange this trip, she wasn’t going to let him see an ounce of disappointment.

  When the plane pulled up to the gate, Olivia reached for her purse.

  Cole stopped her with a hand to her arm.

  “What?”

  “We’re not getting off here, honey.”

  Her eyes widened. “We’re not?”

  He shook his head.

  “We’re going to San Francisco?” she whispered.

  “I hope that meets with your approval.”

  Stunned, she stared at him.

  “Denver’s pretty, but it’s not where you told me you wanted to go.”

  “No one’s ever done anything like this for me,” she said, still whispering.

  “I want to do everything for you.”

  As the other passengers gathered up their belongings and left the plane, Cole held her tight against him. “You know what this means, though,” he said after a long period of silence.

  “What?”

  “Several more hours until the hotel.”

  “I promise you’ll be richly rewarded once we get there.”

  Rendered momentarily speechless, he finally recovered his senses. “Since there’s no way I can think about that, let alone talk about it, tell me what you want to do in San Fran.”

  “I want to ride the cable cars, go to Alcatraz, and paint the Golden Gate. I want to see the Coit Tower and the Ghirardelli chocolate factory and eat at Fisherman’s Wharf and in Chinatown. Oh! And the crooked street—I want to see that, too.”

  “You’ve given this significant thought,” he said, delighted by her enthusiasm.

  “I’ve been wanting to go there since I was a little girl. You have no idea what a dream come true this is—all of it, but mostly you.”

  “We’ll do it all,” he said, his voice heavy with emotion as he leaned over to kiss her. “Let’s take a walk.”

  “What if we miss the flight?”

  “We won’t. They’re doing a crew change, so we have plenty of time.” He unbuckled her seatbelt, tugged her up, and led her from the plane into the terminal.

  They shared a pretzel and a beer before their flight was called. As “through” passengers they were allowed to board first.

  Once they were settled in their seats, Cole turned to her. “I meant to ask you, what did Will have to say about the new baby?”

  “Jenny said he was so shocked that she almost had to call the paramedics to administer first aid.”

  Cole laughed. “Poor guy.”

  “Yeah, except the poor guy was there when it happened, so you can’t feel too sorry for him.”

  “That’s true. At least he’s not in my boat. At the rate I’m going, I’ll be coaching Little League at fifty.”

  “Being fifty won’t slow you down.”

  He raised an amused eyebrow. “You don’t think so?”

  “Nah. You’re too full of energy to be slowed down by a number.”

  “I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”

  Her eyes flicked up to find him watching her with interest, waiting for her reaction. “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t want to be around when I’m fifty?”

  “I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”

  “Yeah, I guess that wouldn’t be wise,” he said, failing to keep a hint of bitterness from creeping into his tone.

  “Cole. Don’t do that.”

  “Why not? You are.”

  “You’re not being fair. A little over a month ago, I didn’t even know you. I’m sorry if I’m not ready yet to talk about forever.”

  “Do you think you’ll ever be?”

  “I hope so.” She reached for his hand. “You’re the very best thing that’s ever happened to me, but among my many worries is that we’re at different places in our lives. You’re ready to settle down, and I’ve still got stuff I need to do before I’ll want that.”

  “Why can’t you do both at the same time? Do you think I’d ever stand in the way of you finishing school and having a career?”

  Olivia sighed. This was not the conversation she wanted to be having now, not when they were on their way to San Francisco and four precious days together.

  The plane pushed back from the gate. Takeoff was a little less magical the second time, without Cole’s arm around her. He was too busy brooding to remember this was just her second flight. She kept her hands clenched in her lap as the plane hurtled down the runway. When she began seeing dancing dots, she realized she was holding her breath.

  Cole reached over and put his hand on top of hers.

  “I want to be with you, Cole,” she said softly as the plane lifted into the air. “I want that more than anything else. Can’t that be enough for now?”

  “I guess it’ll have to be.”

  Olivia rested her head against the seat. “I’m not the only one who’s holding back.”

  He turned to look at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Well, let’s start with more than twelve hours of silence during which you had some ‘shit’ to deal with that I’m better off not knowing about.”

  “That’s not the same thing.”

  “Isn’t it?” she asked when she wanted to scream, Why are we fighting?

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “No, I don’t, because you won’t tell me.”

  She found out then that desire wasn’t the only thing that made his eyes get darker.

  “Do you really want to hear about an ex-girlfriend who refuses to accept that I’m involved with someone else now?”

  Olivia looked down at her hands, folded in her lap. “Not really.”

  “I didn’t think so, which is why I didn’t tell you.”

  “Why are we doing this?” she asked softly. “I’ve been living for this time with you, and I didn’t imagine we’d spend it fighting.”

  “I don’t want to fight with you either, Liv. That’s the last thing in the world I want.”

  “Can we call a truce so we can enjoy our trip?” She forced a smile. “No serious talk for four days?”

  He studied her. “Three and a half.”

  “So we’ll only ruin the last day?”

  The left side of his face lifted into the sexy half smile that made her mouth go dry. “That’s the plan.”

  She extended her hand to him. “Deal?”

  He curled his pinky around hers, brought her hand to his lips, and said, “Deal.”

  “Cole?” A squealing female interrupted the moment.

  Olivia watched his face change from relaxed to startled to embarrassed in a fraction of an instant as he looked up at the flight attendant standing in the aisle.

  “I thought that was you.” The pretty blonde’s hungry blue eyes moved from Cole to Olivia and then back to him again.

  “Tara,” he said in a strangled tone that sounded nothing like his usual voice. “How are you?”

  “Great.” Her tone was full of playful invitation. “I’ve missed you! Where ya been?”

  Olivia watched the exchange with growing dismay and discomfort.

  “I’ve been around. Um, this is Olivia. Olivia, Tara.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Olivia said.

  “Uh-huh.” Tara returned her attention to Cole. “You said you’d call, and then I never heard from you.” Pouting, she rested her hand on his shoulder. “And I used to defend yo
u when people called you Love ’Em and Leave ’Em Langston.”

  “I’ve just been really busy,” Cole said tightly.

  Olivia wanted to disappear into the seat.

  “Busy,” Tara said with a giggle. “I’ll bet you keep plenty busy. We should get together the next time you’re in Denver.”

  Olivia couldn’t believe the other woman’s audacity.

  “I’m with Olivia now.”

  “So?”

  “So I’m not seeing anyone else.”

  “Well, you know where I am when you get tired of her.”

  His expression hardened. “Please take your hand off me and get back to work. I’d hate to have to complain to your supervisors about your inappropriate behavior.”

  “Clearly, a little bit of fame has gone right to your head,” Tara said tersely, but she removed her hand from his shoulder. “Best of luck to you, Olivia. You’re going to need it.”

  As Tara stalked off, Olivia’s heart raced and her stomach surged.

  “I’m sorry about that.” Cole’s jaw was tight with tension. “We hung out once, and apparently she had some idea that it was more.”

  “What does ‘hung out’ mean?”

  Exquisite discomfort radiated from him as he shrugged. “You know.”

  “You slept with her.”

  “One time.”

  “And then you didn’t call her?”

  “I thought we both knew the score going into it. I told her I wasn’t looking to get involved.”

  “You should’ve at least called her.”

  “You pinky swore that you wouldn’t hate me for my past,” he reminded her.

  “That was before I was confronted with it in person.”

  “So what? Now you’re disgusted by me?”

  “No, I just feel sorry for her.”

  “She just totally disrespected you, and you feel sorry for her?”

  “I would’ve been really sad if you hadn’t called me after we spent the weekend together.”

  “That’s different, Liv,” he said with a sigh. “Everything about us is different.”

  “Why?”

  “All I know is that I need you in a way I’ve never needed anyone else. I can’t explain why it’s different with you. It just is.”

  Processing what he’d said, Olivia rested her head on his shoulder.

  “Do you believe me?”

  “I really want to.”

  He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I love you,” he whispered. “You and only you.”