"Sounds like you're going to need a frequent flyer card."
"True. Maybe I'll even become a member of the mile-high club."
"That might be tricky when I'm the guy flying the plane." He laughed.
She grinned. "Isn't that what auto-pilot is for?"
"Good thinking. How about we practice once before we try it at thirty thousand feet?"
He pulled her down into one of the large leather seats, her legs straddling his thighs. She slipped her shirt and bra over her head and let them fall onto the floor in a heap. The cold air from the open door caressed her skin, raising little goose bumps.
"Shouldn't we close the door?"
He shrugged. "Probably, but that would mean moving and I'm not too interested in doing that right now. Beside, we're in the private hanger area; no one ever bothers me when I'm finishing up after a flight. No one will bother us now."
"You like the thrill of possibly getting caught, don't you?" she teased.
"It doesn't not thrill me."
She hit him playfully and folded her arms across her bare breasts as she stood. "Go close the door and I'll wait right here. I'm not into getting caught. I have a reputation as being a stone cold bitch to hold on to, remember?"
"Got it."
Gavin quickly closed the cabin door and then briefly disappeared into the cockpit before returning to his seat. She climbed into his lap again. "Where did you go?"
"To get this." Gavin placed a small square box in her hand. "I have a little something for you I picked up in Paris before we left. Open it."
Suspicion flared to life in Tali's brain. What was he doing? It was too early for giving a gift that came in a tiny square box. A little velvet box to be exact.
"Gavin, I can't. I—I'm not ready. Hell, I only figured out I love you a few minutes ago. I can't accept this." She tried to shove the box back into his hand.
"It's not what you think and you can accept it. I promise, I'm not proposing while you're topless, although there is a certain appeal to that scenario."
Tali held her breath as she opened the little box. Inside was the pendent she'd seen displayed in the window of one of the boutiques along the Champs-Élysées the day she'd made Gavin go shopping with her. It was the most amazing pendant she'd ever seen. How had he known how much she'd loved it?
"The moment I saw you looking at it with that twinkle in your eyes, was the moment I suspected there was more to you than you let on. I knew in that instant I had to find out who you really were and I'm so glad I did.
"You, Tali, are as unique as this pendant. You said it was a perfect piece because each person who gazed on it would see something different. I saw a bunch of swirls, but you saw possibility. Never stop seeing possibility in everything."
Tali nodded. Her throat constricted with tears and love and an unbelievable respect for this man who knew her better than she even knew herself. She leaned forward so Gavin could fasten the necklace around her neck. As the cold metal pendant hit her chest directly above her heart, it instantly warmed to her skin. She glanced down at the colorful design then back into Gavin's eyes. In them, she saw all the possibility she'd ever need in life. In them she saw her future.
The End
About the Author
Heather Thurmeier was born and raised in the Canadian prairies, but now she lives in upstate New York with her own personal romance hero (aka her husband) and their two little princesses. When she's not busy taking care of the kids and an adventurous puppy named Indy, Heather's hard at work on her next romance novel. She loves to hear from readers. Heart, humor, and a happily ever after…
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Also by Heather Thurmeier
Available at Silver Publishing:
MEADOW RIDGE ROMANCES
Love and Lattes
Love on Landing
Love on Landing Page 12