Page 79 of Dr. Brandt

She narrowed her eyes at me. “One death is enough for me. Shit, Cam. I seriously don’t want to do this. I’m already stressed about leaving Jacks on that yacht, knowing I’m lying to him about working. In reality, here I am with his father, whom I haven’t told him about, on some death-wish date. Why can’t we be a normal couple and go get an In-N-Out burger and watch a movie or something?”

I laughed. “God, I love you.” I shook my head, trying to get serious because Jessa could level my ass with a stare alone, and I didn’t want to upset her.

“That’s why we’re going up in a tiny death trap? If I’m honest, what is scaring the shit out of me is seeing that look on your face and knowing that somehow, I’m going to give in.”

“Listen,” I said, remembering there was a good reason I wanted to take her up in the aircraft, “I’m not trying to scare the shit out of you. If you don’t want to go up, we don’t have to. I get that. But I also know that with the difficult decisions coming up, fear is most likely taking over your mind, and I want you to be unafraid, no matter what happens. You can face your fears and have no regrets. You and I can face scary shit together and know that we’re going to be okay.” I looked back at the plane, “besides, I have a feeling you will certainly thank me later for this.”

“You’re not getting laid, and that’s a fact. So,” she opened her door, “if this is a challenge for me, Dr. Brandt, I’ll take it. I’ve thought a lot about Jackson’s surgery today after having time alone for the first time in a while, and yes, it scares me. I can safely say it scares me more than this plane ride.”

“You’ll want to fuck me after this,” I grinned at her. “Who doesn’t find a pilot sexy?”

“Oh, God,” she said dryly and rolled her eyes, prompting me to laugh. She swung her door open with agitation, and I followed. “Isn’t this just lovely?” she said, planting her hands on her hips and staring at me through her dark sunglasses. “Not only am I risking my life by going up in this thing, but I’m going up with a pilot who’s a douche.”

I chuckled. “Trust me, it’s a turn-on,” I said, thinking I’d play with her a little.

“Maybe for some brainless broad who thinks looks and skill make up the qualities of a good man,” she arched an eyebrow and me, holding some sassy pose. “I, on the other hand, am not that woman. It takes a lot more than this shit to impress me.”

I pinched my lips together in humor, “Well, we will just have to see about that, won’t we.”

“Fuck it,” she seethed, and I could hear the trepidation in her voice as she stopped following behind where I walked to the aircraft.

“Stop stopping, gorgeous,” I said, walking toward where I would prep the plane and get her up in the air before she changed her mind and all the plans I’d made for us tonight. “I think you’ll enjoy just being together the next day or two, but I need you to get into this plane.”

“Next two days?” she questioned. “How did you manage that?”

I turned back to her. “Long story short, I have a light workweek. The one surgery I’m most concerned about relates to the woman I love more than anything in this world, and I want to spend some time with her and help her decide with a clearer mindset.”

“So, you just took the week off work?” she questioned.

“No,” I said, “I took the next three days off work. I’ve got a couple of doctors who switch shifts with me all the time. Trust me, I’ve taken on a shitload of extra hours for those chumps. They owe me.”

“Good grief, Cam,” she finally smiled. “What the hell am I going to do with you?”

“Fuck me like I know you will after I take your cute little ass up in this plane,” I taunted her. “Come here, beautiful.” I walked toward her and pulled her into my arms. “If I’m wrong, and you hate me after this is all over, kiss me now, so I at least have that.”

She stepped back, keeping me at arm’s length, “If I enjoy the ride—and that’s a pretty big fucking if—I may or may not kiss you then.” Her face fell again, and she looked at the plane, shaking her head, “I can’t believe I’m even entertaining this shit,” she said to herself. “Just keep us alive. I really do love living life, and I never really saw myself going out in a fucking plane crash.”

“Yeah, we need to get this up in the air,” he said. “The more you keep telling yourself that’s what’s going to happen, the higher the chances are that it will.”

“Let’s just get this over with,” she said.

I couldn’t resist the woman any longer. I took two steps, and Jessa was in my arms before she could react.

This is precisely how I preferred to start this trip. My lady in my arms, her kiss as fierce as mine, on our way to one of the most beautiful places in the state.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Jessa

It wasn’t until about an hour into this beautiful flight that I finally relaxed. Cam joked and played tour guide while flying over the farmland beneath us, and of course, with his usual sense of humor, it cracked me up and loosened me up some.

The plane flew smoothly, and when Cam wasn’t teasing me, I could sense he was lost in the soothing feeling of gliding over everything. It also helped when I heard him do all his pilot talking with air traffic control, proving even more that he knew what he was doing and took it very seriously.

I felt a deep love for him after I allowed him back in again and a sense of safety in knowing everything would be okay. One of the things I loved about Cameron was that regardless of how stressful the situation was, he always found a way not to let it get to him. He was so positive about everything, and when things became overwhelming, he got out of his head about it. The man never dwelled on anything; he thought about it, gave it some airtime, then moved on.

It’s also probably why the guy would never go gray, either. Shit like this was par for the course with Cam, flying to God knows where on a whim to face a fear and have a little fun while doing it. I had to give him credit, though. Getting off your butt and doing something was better than sitting around all day thinking and worrying. And, of course, when you did something, it had to be out of your comfort zone, or what was the point? That’s how Cameron Brandt saw the world, and it’s why I was falling harder and harder for him while doing the one thing that’d made me angry earlier.

He got me out of my comfort zone and out of my head. It was insane how much lighter and brighter the world seemed when you took your challenges head-on.

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