by Kira Archer
Chris scowled and grabbed the small intercom handset from the dashboard. “Attention, travelers. On behalf of Lachlan Airlines, I’d like to say you’re all going to hell for choosing our airline today. We know you have a choice when you travel and really wish you’d chosen any, and I mean ANY, other airline. As a special treat, you will be confined to your seats for the duration of the flight. All talking to the captain is strictly prohibited. Thank you and have a miserable day.”
Howls and boos echoed through the small cabin, and Charley laughed then shook her head. “You can’t keep them tied down the whole trip.”
Chris sighed. “I know, but it’s worth a try.”
Brooks jutted his head into the cockpit, and Charley jumped in her seat with a stifled scream.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, smiling down at her. Then he looked over at Chris. “We all took off our seat belts and are moving about the cabin willy-nilly, despite your instructions. Got any peanuts or anything up here?”
He leaned in and started rooting through the pockets and small spaces in the cockpit while Chris tried to shoo him away. Not that it did any good. Chris finally took a magazine from the bin by his side and smacked Brooks over the head with it.
“Get out of here, you giant pain in the ass!”
Brooks fended him off, laughing as he backed away. Then he shoved his head back, this time looking at Charley. “He’s abusive. Write that down,” he said, pointing at her tablet before dodging Chris’s magazine again and fleeing back to his seat.
“Your friends are quite the group,” Charley said with a grin.
“Ha! You have no idea.”
The flight attendant’s light buzzed, and he groaned.
“There’s food in the cabinet,” he called back over his shoulder. “Now be quiet so I can concentrate on not killing us.”
A chorus of “ooo”s erupted from the back. Charley’s stomach dropped at Chris’s comment, though she was fairly sure he was joking. She shifted a bit in her seat.
“I’m just messing with them,” he said. “I’ve got the plane on auto right now.”
She shifted a bit more. “Is that safe?”
“Completely.”
She nodded, though it would take a little more convincing to keep her colon from twisting into knots.
“Relax,” he said, reaching over to pat her hand. It took more willpower than she wanted to admit to keep from grabbing hold of it and squeezing for all she was worth. She really needed to work on the whole fear of flying thing.
“You don’t fly much, do you?” he asked.
“Not if I can help it.”
He shook his head. “I get it, I guess. But I could never give up these views.” He gestured to the panoramic glory spread out before them.
“It’s gorgeous, but I’m not really a fan of modes of transportation where I’m not in control.”
“Ahh, a control freak, eh?”
She scowled at that. “Just because someone likes to be in control of a situation doesn’t make them a freak.”
He held up his hands. “Just an expression.”
She released her breath slowly, concentrating on controlling her breathing until her body relaxed. “I know. Sorry.”
He opened his mouth to respond when the flight attendant light buzzed again.
“When do we get drink service?”
Chris rubbed his hand over his face. “If I throw them all out of the plane without parachutes, will that reflect negatively on that spreadsheet of yours?”
She couldn’t help but smile at that. “Probably.”
“Shame.” He unstrapped and climbed from his seat, but he paused to lean over her before heading back to deal with his friends.
“The plane is on auto. We’re perfectly safe. Try not to have a panic attack until I get back.” He gave her a wink that had her squirming like an 8th grader at her first co-ed dance. She tried to cover by rolling her eyes, but he laughed and headed to the cabin.
“Get a grip,” she muttered to herself.
It was going to be a long, long trip.
Chapter Five
Chris landed the plane with a practiced smoothness that filled him with pride and slowly taxied it to the small hangar where it’d be stored while they were in Costa Rica.
His friends were already gathering their things and exiting the plane, the boys stopping to throw flirtatious looks at Charley while the women gave her friendly smiles and tried to herd their husbands out the door. He had no clue what they all thought they were doing, but he was going to kill them all for it anyway.
Yes, it was true Cass had her hotel opening soon, and it was plausible they’d all been invited for a soft opening as Harrison had done when he’d opened his family’s castle to visitors the year before. Chris wouldn’t know, because if that was the case, Cass hadn’t invited him.
At least he wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with an ex in front of Charley…
He stepped from the plane and stopped short. Speak of the devil.
Charley bumped into him from behind and muttered an apology as she bent to pick up the bags she’d dropped. He shook his head and leaned down to help her, trying to keep from laughing. The woman was a walking menace. Assessing risk for a living was probably the perfect job for her. She’d need to know the exact risk of any given situation so she’d know her probability of making it out alive.
The brief respite of helping her momentarily erased Cass from his mind. But it didn’t last. He stood up to find himself face to face with her.
“Hello, Chris,” she said, a hesitant smile on her lips.
He took in the face that he’d once thought he’d wake up to for the rest of his life and nodded. Polite, though not quite friendly. He wasn’t sure what to expect from her.
“I’m Cass Coy,” she said, turning to Charley with an outstretched hand.
“Charley Claybourne, pleased to meet you,” Charley responded, though her gaze flicked briefly to his as she shook Cass’s hand.
“I didn’t realize you’d be flying everyone in,” Cass said, turning back to him.
“Neither did I,” he muttered, shooting his friends a glare.
Cass laughed, and Chris relaxed a bit. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Well, I don’t know what your plans are while you’re here,” she said, glancing between him and Charley. “But you’re both welcome to stay at my hotel. I have another suite available that I can have made ready in no time.”
Chris blinked at the realization that Cass thought Charley was there with him. “Oh…we’re not here together. I mean, she did come with me but only under duress, not romantic circumstances. Not that she’s here under duress, but…ah hell.”
Cass’s eyes widened, and she bit her lip, obviously trying to keep from laughing. Charley just watched him with a slight hint of confusion. He needed to get a grip. Although considering he just got blindsided by his ex in front of the woman on whom his career hung and their gaggle of boundary-deficient friends, it really wasn’t going all that bad.
Cass’s gaze switched to Charley, and she gave a gentle shake of her head, her lips twitching again. Chris glanced at her as well, wondering what was so amusing. Charley was the picture of elegant poise…until he noticed she’d managed to kick her shoe off and was trying to slide her foot back into it without being noticed. Only her toes kept missing it.
He took pity and nudged it in her direction. Her strained smile turned more genuine as her foot slipped into her sandal. “I’m here to evaluate Mr. Lachlan as part of his risk assessment,” she said in that smooth, quiet tone of hers. “For his insurance application. Sharing a suite would be…”
“Oh,” Cass said, surprise in her voice. “I understand. I’m afraid I only have the one suite left, but I believe it’ll still work for the two of you. There are two separate bedrooms joined by a common sitting area. You’ll have your own space, even your own bathrooms, and all the doors have locks on them,” she said with a wink.
Chris
scowled at her, but Charley only hesitated for a second longer and then smiled softly. “That will be just fine, thank you.”
Chris didn’t let her see his surprise. He thought for sure she’d keep objecting on the grounds that sharing a suite was highly inappropriate for the circumstances. Though really, if they had their own lockable rooms, it wasn’t much different than their rooms being separated by a hallway. Still felt more intimate, though, and if the slight pink stain on Charley’s cheeks was any indication, she thought so, too. Not much help for it, though, as it was the only room left. They could go where he’d originally planned, but he didn’t want to hurt Cass’s feelings when they were getting along so well. And maybe Charley would enjoy it so much he could leave her there while he went to check on his properties. Win-win.
Cass had brought a van to transport the rest of the gang, but Chris had a car waiting for him and Charley. They’d be spared being in an enclosed space with his overly attentive friends for at least a little while longer.
Charley glanced back at the van but didn’t make any objection when he opened the passenger door of the Hummer he had waiting. In fact, she seemed happy to be climbing into the vehicle with him. Not that he had any illusion it was due to him. She was probably just as happy to get away from his friends as he was. He loved them to death, but they were a lot to handle sometimes, especially when they thought they were on the scent of a brand-new match for him. Being the only single dude in a group of couples was a pain in the ass for a variety of reasons.
Being alone in the car with Charley, however…now that was more appealing. Maybe he could sweet talk her into a good score on her review. Or at least find a nice cliff to chuck her tablet off. Assuming neither of those two plans panned out, he’d at least be able to enjoy a quiet ride with a beautiful woman. Beat the hell out of being trapped with Brooks and the “funny” bunch in the van.
“Ready?” he asked after he’d jumped behind the wheel and started the engine.
“Not even remotely but it’s too late to turn back now.”
He froze for a second, not sure how to respond to that. A slow grin touched her lips, and she laughed softly. “Yes, I’m ready. Onward!” She gave him a little salute that was so supremely adorkable he couldn’t help but smile.
Maybe this trip hadn’t been such a bad idea after all.
…
Had she really just said onward? Was it possible to be any more lame?
She resisted the urge to groan and instead fiddled with her phone, bringing up a playlist that always put her in a good mood. If she was lucky, she could listen to her music the whole way to Cass’s hotel and be spared any more embarrassing idiocies spewing from her mouth.
“Are we waiting on something?” she asked, wondering why they were sitting there not going anywhere.
“Yeah, we’ve got to wait for my slow-ass friends and their million bags to get loaded before we can go. We need to follow the van. I have no idea where Cass’s hotel is located.”
A slight frown furrowed his brow, and while her gut was screaming at her to stay out of it, curiosity got the better of her. “Is it weird going to your ex-girlfriend’s hotel? I mean, you guys seem on friendly terms but still…”
He shrugged. “It’s a little awkward maybe. Hopefully it’s not a bad idea. But seriously, how do you graciously decline a public invite like that? It was big of her to ask and saying no might have given her the wrong idea.”
“True. Not much you can do when you get put on the spot like that.”
“Exactly. And to be honest, I’m curious about the place. She’s been talking about doing something like this forever, but never got up the motivation while we were dating. I’m glad she finally did it. I just hope it’s everything she wanted it to be. Sometimes reality doesn’t always match the dream.”
She almost snorted. “Story of my life.”
They finally got underway, and Charley sat quietly beside him, taking in the scenery as they passed. She had put her tablet away, and while she felt almost naked without it, she didn’t want to miss all the gorgeous sights they were passing. Besides, if Chris did anything noteworthy, she’d surely remember it and could mark it down later.
She’d caught him trying to take a peek over her shoulder a few times before she’d put it away, and judging by the confused crinkle around his eyes, she’d been right. He had no clue what all the numbers meant. Hopefully, they added up to him being insured, for both their sakes. Things were going pretty well so far. She hoped.
“Do you come down here often?” she asked, her quiet voice jolting him out of his thoughts.
“A couple times a year. I like to keep an eye on my properties. I usually stay at one of them, so the hotel will be a change.”
A million other questions bounced around in her mind, but she didn’t voice any of them. She didn’t want him to feel like she was interrogating him or anything. Instead, she just looked back out the window, slipping an ear bud into her ear.
“What are you listening to?” he asked, nodding at the phone in her hand.
That telltale warmth heated her cheeks, and she ducked her head, hoping he didn’t notice the blush that always plagued her. “My Old School Party playlist.”
He raised an eyebrow at that. “Old school, huh? And what’s on that?”
“A bunch of eighties’ music, mostly.”
He full-on grinned at that. “Seriously?”
That seemed to be guys’ typical reactions to her obsession with eighties’ music. “My mom’s a fan. She raised me on this stuff.”
He grinned wider.
“What? A lot of it’s pretty good!”
“Oh, this I’ve got to hear.”
She tried to dodge him, but he plucked her phone from her hands before she could protest, hit a few buttons on the phone and the Hummer’s dash, and in moments Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative” was blaring from the speakers.
“Oh yeah, that’s the stuff,” he said, shimmying his shoulders.
She glared at him. “You don’t have to make fun of me.”
“I’m not. I love this stuff.” And then he started belting out the song like it deserved.
She sat riveted to her seat for a second, well and truly stunned. Then she slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. He was actually giving Mr. Brown a run for his money. There was just no way she’d ever fathomed that not only was Chris a closet karaoke star, but one who knew every lyric to “My Prerogative.” She shook her head but couldn’t keep her laugh from breaking out. He grinned back at her but kept on singing, adding a few impressive sitting-dance moves while he was at it.
It only took a bar or two before she joined in singing. It was a shame they were following the van and not the other way around, because the show they were putting on was seriously epic.
They were nearing the end of the song when Charley caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Her voice broke off in a strangled gasp.
“What?” Chris asked, throwing a concerned glance her way.
She leaned in her seat as far away from her window as she could get, vaguely aware that she was totally encroaching on Chris’s personal space and not giving a flying fart in the wind. Anything to get her farther away from the monster stalking across the glass.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” she said, her voice growing higher pitched and more frantic with each word.
“What? What is it?” he asked, his head whipping back and forth, trying to see what was going while still keeping them on the dirt road they were bumping down.
The only response she could summon was a terrified screech. She whipped off her seat belt before he could say another word and flung herself out of her seat and half into his.
“What the—”
She yanked off her shoe and began beating at the spider on the window with the ferocity of a…well, of a woman trying to kill the shit out of a huge-ass spider, screaming her head off the whole time. As she was still sitting half in his lap, his control of
the car was probably precarious at best. Some part of her terrified brain registered that not only was she exhibiting extremely unsafe vehicular behavior, but she was forcing Chris to do so as well. Not much she could do about any of that, however, because there was a veritable nightmare inching closer to her, even with her shoe flying at it. Maybe because her shoe was flying at it. She was probably just pissing it off, which only freaked her out more.
“Pull over!” she squealed.
“There’s no shoulders or anything on this road,” he said, though he was laughing so hard he could barely speak. “Hang on. There’s a spot ahead that might work.”
He gunned it until they reached a section of the road that was wider than the rest, and then stomped on the brakes to stop.
He jumped out, dumping her fully into the driver’s seat, though she kept trying to beat the hell out of the mutant spider on the passenger window. Seriously, she’d known they grew bigger down in the jungle, but that thing was unacceptably large. By the time Chris made it to her side and opened the door, all that was left of it was a couple twitching legs sticking out of a pile of goo.
He glanced at her, then back at it, then burst out laughing again. “Think you got it?”
“Can you still tell it’s a spider?”
“Yeah.”
“Then it’s not dead enough.”
He laughed, but she wasn’t joking. If it was recognizable, it needed more killing. She raised her shoe to whack it again.
“Maybe you better let me have that,” he said, plucking it from her hand before she could go all ninja on it again.
“Sorry,” she said, smoothing back a few tendrils that escaped from her ponytail with a shaking hand. Her heart still thundered in her chest, and while a nervous laughter was bubbling out of her throat, the very real threat of tears burned hot on its heels. To say she had a phobia of the things was an understatement.
She took a deep breath and tried to calm down before Chris realized how badly she was freaking out. “I really don’t like spiders.”
“I noticed.” He still wore an amused grin, but there was real concern lingering in his eyes. She found that both sweet and mortifying.
