by Selena Kitt
“It’s gotta be big. He has a pilot’s license.”
“So? That doesn’t mean much,” Sasha said. “My dad took flying lessons when I was a kid. Anyone can get a pilot’s license.”
“He was wearing Dolce & Gabbana.”
“Okay, so he’s a landscaper with good taste. Have you talked to Marguerite yet?”
“Not yet. She doesn’t answer her phone on Sundays. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”
“Where’s he taking you?”
“I don’t know. He’s not with me. I was picked up by his driver. His personal driver. Evidently, he owns the car.”
“Interesting. He owns a limo and has a full time driver? Who the hell is this guy?”
“That’s what I want to know. Do me a favor, will you?” I asked as my gaze meandered through the car’s interior. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, or whether I’d find anything, but I couldn’t help looking anyway. Scooting, I inched toward the console in the rear corner. Maybe I’d find something, some papers he’d left behind.
“Sure.”
“Look up Tevin Page on the internet. See what you can find on him.”
“Sure. I’ll call you when I get something.”
“Thanks.”
“Call me when you find out where you’re going,” Sasha added.
“Will do.”
“And be careful. Something about this seems fishy. If he’s rich, and he knows you’re going to find out when you talk to Marguerite, why not tell the truth from the start?”
“I wish I knew the answer to that question. Thanks for the help. Bye.” I clicked off and flipped open the console. Empty. I glanced out the window. We were driving into what appeared to be a small airport. The car made a couple of turns and stopped next to a small plane parked outside of a cinderblock building.
“Enjoy your day, Miss Laroche.” The driver said when he opened my door.
I gave him a worried look and muttered, “Thanks.” A part of me wanted to climb back in that car and demand to be taken home. I was just about to do exactly that when I saw Tevin.
Wow.
Wowwowwow, did he look great in the bright light of day. Even better than he did in a dark bar. And he’d looked really great then.
“Hi,” he said, eyes sparkly as he hurried up to me. “Sorry I couldn’t pick you up myself, but I wanted to get the pre-trip inspection done before you arrived so we could get rolling.”
“Is this your plane?”
“No, it belongs to a friend. I fly it for him sometimes.”
“I see. You know, this is quite an ordeal. You didn’t have to go this far for a first date. The limo. The plane.”
“Okay, the limo, I admit, might have been a bit much. But I couldn’t resist. Really, it’s no big deal. The car belongs to a family member—my…cousin. And the plane, well, a friend of mine asked me to fly it down here for some maintenance a couple of days ago. Now that the work’s done, I need to return it. The price you pay for delaying our date—you get to come with me. Of course, if you’d rather stay closer to home, I can change our plans and fly it back later.”
“No, that’s okay. I guess. Just tell me I don’t need a passport. I don’t have one.”
“No, we’re not going that far. It’s a short flight west to Ludington. I thought we could grab some lunch while we’re there.”
“Ludington?”
“Is that too far?”
“I…I don’t know. I’ve never been there.”
“It’s a pretty little town. One of my favorites.” He extended a hand. “Come on, let’s go.”
I climbed aboard, hands trembling slightly, heart racing a little. I sat in the seat next to the pilot’s and fumbled with the seat belt. Tevin smiled, helping me get it buckled correctly before strapping himself in.
Getting more nervous and confused by the second, I glanced over my shoulder. The plane was small. I could see all the way to the rear. “There’s just the two of us? Only two? Don’t you need a co-pilot?”
He gave me an amused look. “I guess you’ll have to be my co-pilot.”
“Oh no, I couldn’t. I’ve never even been on a plane. I certainly can’t fly one.”
“It’s easier than you think.” He started flipping switches. “We’ll be taking off in just a few minutes. I need to communicate with the tower, let them know we’re ready.” He started jabbering in pilot-ese into his headset. I sat mute, arms hugging my body, trying not to let my teeth chatter too hard. It wasn’t easy. Especially when the engines started up and we began rolling toward the runway.
We stopped at the edge of a long strip of concrete. He turned to me. “Just waiting for clearance to take off. You look a little pale. Are you okay?”
“I’ve never flown.”
“I’ll take it easy on you, then.” He gave my knee a pat. “Just look out the front and enjoy.”
I nodded, swallowed hard, and tried to look brave.
“Okay,” he said, hand on the strange looking steering thing. “We’re ready to go.” The engines cranked up and we started rolling, rolling, rolling. Faster and faster. I squeezed my eyes shut and hugged myself, praying I would make it back to the ground in one piece. Soon.
I felt when we lifted off the earth. My stomach had that funny swooping sensation, like when my father used to hit the hill in the road too fast and our car went airborne for a moment. But this sensation was a lot more intense. And it didn’t end immediately. As the little plane climbed into the sky, my head spun a little, making me nauseous. My mouth dried.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Fine,” I said.
“It’s better if you open your eyes.”
“I’m not sure I believe that.”
“Take a look. What could you possibly lose if you try?”
“My breakfast?”
He chuckled. I liked that chuckle. It had a nice deep resonance to it. “Be brave. You don’t know what wonders you might miss if you don’t.”
“If I weren’t brave, I would have gotten right back in the limo and demanded to be taken home.”
“All right, then. I’ll leave you be.” He stopped nagging me. So, of course, I took a little, tiny peek out of one eye. All I saw was blue. And white clouds. My heart jumped, and I fought for air.
“Are you okay?”
“Mini panic attack,” I whispered as I wheezed.
“Breathe slowly. Innnnn. Outtttt. That’s it.”
I slowed my breathing. It took forever before I wasn’t seeing stars twinkling behind my closed eyelids anymore. “I don’t think I’ll try that again.”
“I suppose that’s a good idea.”
“What made you decide flying would be fun?” I asked once I felt I could talk without throwing up.
“I’ve been flying since I was a small child. My parents did a lot of traveling. So, it was natural that I wanted to learn to fly myself.”
“Natural. Right.”
“I took my first lesson when I was eight.”
“Eight? You mean a kid can fly a plane before he can drive?” I asked as I tugged my seatbelt tighter.
“He can if his parents sign a release.”
“Terrifying thought.”
He laughed again. Why, oh why did I enjoy his laughter so much?
“How much longer are you going to torture me like this?”
“Total flight time is just under an hour.”
“An hour?” I groaned. My stomach did a flip-flop.
“We’re not flying particularly fast. I could speed it up a bit.”
I felt my insides twisting. “No, that’s okay.”
I heard something, plastic crinkling. I slitted open one eye to find my pilot, my only pilot had just one hand on the steering thing. He was using the other one to open a package.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Opening this for you.”
“Two hands on the steering wheel, mister.”
Laughing, he handed me the not-quite-open package. “
If you can see enough to catch me flying one-handed, you can open this yourself.”
I checked the package’s label. Motion sickness tablets. “Bless you.”
“Now, maybe you’ll be able to enjoy the flight a little.”
I popped one of the tablets into my mouth and swallowed it. “That, I doubt. Nothing against your piloting skills.”
* * * *
Less than an hour later, my feet were firmly planted on terra firma. And I had no intention of them leaving it again. After landing the plane, Tevin talked to a guy who appeared to be a technician then led me to a zoomy black car parked next to the metal building that housed the plane.
Once again, I belted myself in, tightly. Within moments, I learned that Tevin drove a car much like he drove a plane. Fast, fearlessly, and skillfully. At least the vehicle didn’t leave the ground. And it was made for the kind of workout Tevin was giving it. It hugged the curved roads, engine rumbling like a caged animal. More and more I wondered, as I took in the sight of the car--which he claimed also belonged to the same friend who owned the plane--and the man driving it, who I was really on a date with. I’d met a few landscapers in my day. Even the ones who ran landscaping companies didn’t live this large, even if they had friends or cousins with money. No, this guy was definitely hiding something. How I wished I could get Marguerite on the phone. As I rode shotgun beside him, I checked my phone, hoping Sasha had dug up something about Tevin on the internet. She had texted me.
Her message contained one word--nothing.
She’d found absolutely nothing on Tevin Page? Not even a Facebook page?
I texted her back, telling her we were in Ludington, I was safe, and I would talk to her later.
Within minutes we were driving up a wooded, curving drive. It wasn’t a road. It was more of a private driveway. And it ended in the middle of a heavily wooded lot, in front of a gorgeous log and stone house.
Tevin cut off the car’s engine. “I hope you don’t mind, I prefer privacy. I thought we’d hang out here, have something to eat. If you’d rather go to a restaurant, we can do that.”
I could tell by the tone of his voice he had no intention of changing his plans. But I was okay with this. At least being out here in the middle of nowhere, my boss wasn’t going to find out I’d gone on a date with a client. “This is fine.”
“Good.” He lifted an index finger to indicate I should wait, pushed out of the car, then hurried around to my side and opened my door.
What a gentleman.
He set a hand on the base of my spine. “This way.” Leading me with gentle pressure, he escorted me up the arching steps slanting toward the house’s front entrance.
My skin tingled where he touched me. I tried, more than once, to ignore the sensation. But with every second that passed, my skin felt warmer, my nerves more sensitive.
As we stepped into the house, I hoped we would not be alone.
Inside the building, I found myself in a wide open living area with soaring ceilings. To my right a staircase led to the second level above. At the top of the staircase was a mezzanine, a hallway that hung over the far end of the living space. Directly in front of us was a wall of windows. And beyond, blue. Blue lake. Blue sky. And green. Trees and more trees.
“Wow, this place is gorgeous.”
“It belongs to my friend.” With that hand still resting on my back, he steered me toward the French doors. “I thought we would eat outside.”
“With that view, it would be a crime to sit inside.”
Out we went. Onto a back deck that offered million dollar views of a lake and rolling hills covered with towering trees. I noticed, as we approached, the table at one end had been set for two. There were covered plates waiting for us, as well as a bottle of wine and glasses. “This friend of yours, where is he?”
“Out of the country on business.” He held my chair, pushed it in as I sat then circled around to take his seat. A gentle gust of fragrant fresh air caressed my face as I watched him.
“It’s nice of him to let you use his plane. And car. And house.” I inhaled slowly, deeply. “It is gorgeous here. Even the air smells better.”
“It does.” He grabbed the wine and twisted it so the label was turned toward me. “Have you had a Penfolds wine?”
“No.”
“Penfolds is one of my favorite winemakers.”
“I’m sure it’ll be delicious. But should you be drinking if you’re going to be flying us back later?”
“I’ve taken care of that. No worries.” The cork pulled from the bottle with a crisp pop. “We’ll be driving back later. And I’ll only have one glass.”
“Okay.”
He motioned toward my glass, and I handed it to him. “You’ve really gone above and beyond for this date.”
“I wanted today to be special,” he said as he handed my glass back.
“It has been.”
“Good.” His eyes sparkled as his gaze met mine, and my heart jerked in my chest. He looked genuinely pleased. And insanely handsome. And I had to find out who he was, because more and more, I was beginning to believe this man was no landscaper. He lifted his glass. “Shall we have a toast?”
“Sure. We ‘shall’.” I lifted mine.
“How about to new beginnings?” he offered.
“I’ll drink to that.” I tapped his glass with mine then sipped. The wine was delicious. Not too dry. Not too sweet. Just right. Crisp but smooth.
He reached across the table and lifted the cover from my plate, revealing small portions of delicious-smelling food, presented gourmet-style. “Please, before it gets cold.”
I waited for him to uncover his own plate before I lifted a fork. I went for a green bean first.
Delicious. So was the meat--some kind beef.
“Tell me,” I said between bites, “how often do you come out here? Isn’t landscaping very hard work?”
“It is. But I try to balance work and play. I believe it’s important not just to live for work.”
“I see. You must have a very large business.”
“It’s large enough.”
For him to fly around the state and play whenever he wished? For him to end up on Marguerite’s radar? Large enough had to be pretty darn large.
He studied me for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly. “You’re skeptical? What do you suspect me of lying about?”
“Well…now that you mention it.” I took another nibble of meat. Wow, was that good. “I’ve never met a landscaper who lived like this.”
“Ah. Okay, would it make you feel any better if I admitted I not only dabble in real estate—which I already told you--but I’d also inherited a small sum from a relative?”
“Yes.” So he did have money of his own. It wasn’t just his cousin and friend.
“Okay. Then I will admit that much.”
“May I ask another question?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“Since my employer knows you well enough to want you to sign with Premier, why didn’t you tell me about the inheritance from the start?”
“Because I really do own a landscaping company, and I’ve worked hard to make it grow. Call me shallow, but I’d rather be recognized for what I’ve accomplished—“
“Than what you’ve inherited?” I finished for him, understanding where he was coming from.
“Yes, exactly. I can take you to our headquarters sometime, and show you around if you like…on our second date?” His grin was one hundred percent wicked. In a good way.
I couldn’t help it, my face flushed. First, because of the way he was looking at me, but also because he’d admitted to caring about what I thought. And telling me he wanted another date.
Me. Was it possible that he was genuinely interested in me? Was I wrong, assuming he’d insisted on the silly proposal because he was playing some kind of game with me?
I set my hand on my cheek, hoping to hide the fact that I was blushing. “Are you asking me out on another date already?”
“I am.”
“But you barely know anything about me yet. And you haven’t kept your end of the bargain. You do remember our agreement?”
“Well,” his grin was sheepish now. Charming. A little boyish. “I was sort of hoping you’d forget about that part after today.”
I shook my head giving him an oh-no-I-didn’t look.
“Okay. I guess I underestimated you.”
“Many men have made that mistake.”
“Interesting.” He tipped his head. “How many?”
My warm cheeks became even hotter. “Enough,” I lied. In truth, I’d had very little experience with men.
“You’re so guarded. Secretive. Do you ever give a complete answer to a question?”
“Only when it’s absolutely necessary,” I admitted. “Now, back to the subject at hand. I went on this date, so you owe me one Premier event.” I illustrated by raising my right index finger. “It’s one for one.”
“Fine. When is the next ‘event’ again?”
“This coming Friday.”
“What time?”
“Six. It’s a mixer-slash-speed dating session.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Good.”
I had him! Thank God! I wouldn’t be fired. Assuming I would get at least a three month contract out of this deal, Tevin’s contract alone would be worth tens of thousands of dollars to Premier. All I had to was seal the deal. I wasn’t going to do anything until I had that contract in my hands.
No matter, what it took.
Chapter 4
“I brought these. You’ll need to fill them all out before Friday.” Trying desperately to hide my excitement, I pulled a folded manila envelope out of my bag and handed it to the man seated opposite me.
Tevin Page, Premier’s soon-to-be-signed client, arched a brow.
“It’s an application,” I explained.
Still giving me a funny look, he flipped up the flap and pulled out the small stack of documents. Skimming it, he grumbled, “This is some application. I think I filled out less paperwork to buy my house.”
In work mode now, I boasted, “We screen our members very carefully, both male and female.”
“I see that.”