Page 5 of One Weekend in Rio de Janeiro

???

His duffel bag safely stowed above him, Donovan settled back in his third-row seat, wondering why he’d run away from the pretty brunette so fast.

Because, D, women are nothing but a distraction. And you can’t afford that right now.

Even so, he watched closely as the other passengers boarded, wondering if she might be on his flight and headed to Rio, too. He didn’t want to think too hard about why he wasn’t already absorbed in his laptop but, instead, was hoping for another glimpse of a certain someone with ruby-chestnut hair and eyes the same shade as the first day of autumn. But even if she did appear, the chances of her sitting by him would be next to zero. The parade of people stepping onto the aircraft seemed endless and it would be another jam-packed flight.

Donovan told himself he was just people-watching, not overly concerned about anyone in particular. However, the moment his harvest queen rounded the corner, his gaze locked in on her like a missile on a bogey. She glanced over, and when their eyes met, Donovan felt a jolt of heat. He couldn’t do anything but stare. After a moment too long, she averted her gaze and sat down in a vacant seat across the aisle from him.

Idiot, he scolded himself. He should’ve at least smiled or—

Or what, jackass? Wave to her and say hello?

No, that would’ve been weird and she probably would’ve pegged him as desperate. With a sigh, Donovan sank down further into his seat. He knew his ability to flirt was in a sad state of affairs. It had been so long since he’d actually approached a woman and lack of practice made him feel like a bumbling fool.

He needed to get laid, but it was pretty evident he should start dating online first. Ease into it and message a couple of potential candidates. Something less awkward and stressful than approaching an attractive woman in the wild.

It wasn’t long before the flight took off and Donovan tried to lose himself in his work. But, for the first time, he couldn’t. His gaze kept straying over to sneak side glances of the attractive woman. She had her book open again, but wasn’t really turning the pages, which made him think she was distracted, too. By him? When she laid her left palm on the page, he noticed her ring finger was bare. Even though it shouldn’t matter, he smiled at the fact that she wasn’t married.

Shit. Maybe he should talk to her.

No. As soon as the plane landed, they’d both go their separate ways. In the meantime, just enjoy the view, he told himself. He didn’t have the time or desire to get tangled up in a relationship and, hell, she might even live in Brazil. Although that could work, he reasoned. Long distance meant only seeing each other occasionally and he could probably work that into his lifestyle. Dating someone local might lead to a clinger like Olivia, and that’s what scared him.

As he was debating what to do, he turned his attention back to his computer screen and attempted to close a window. But nothing happened. With a frown, he hit some commands on his keyboard, but he no longer had control.

And it took a moment for him to realize someone else did.

What the hell? Someone was hacking into his files. Somehow, they’d managed to break through his firewall and his stomach filled with dread as a remote intruder attempted to access his drone specs.

“No,” he growled in a low voice, fingers flying over the keyboard. There’s no way he would allow some fucker to steal his work. Using every trick he knew, Donovan plucked the flash drive out and fought off the asshole now searching through his most important documents.

But whoever was on the opposite side proved to be a talented foe. In minutes, they’d managed to hack into the drone spec file and began downloading it. Feeling sick, Donovan refused to let a year’s worth of work get stolen right before his eyes. Initially stunned, fury took over and shot through him.

Donovan tried shutting everything down, unable to fathom how anyone could break through his firewall and top-notch security software. Determined to regain control, he continued to duel it out with his mysterious adversary until BAM! The screen went blank. Had they gotten all of it or only part of it? He had no idea.

“Fuck!”

Several passengers gasped and multiple heads snapped in his direction at his outburst, including his fall festival princess across the aisle. She stared at him with wide hazel eyes. Suppressing an annoyed groan, Donovan mumbled a quick apology under his breath.

This was awful. The absolute worst possible thing that could happen.

The moment the thought entered his mind, a rumble shook the cabin and the plane lurched. A strange grinding sound filled the air and his fingers wrapped around the arm rest. That sure as hell didn’t sound good. He also didn’t miss the concerned look a couple of the flight attendants shared before reassuring passengers that everything was fine.

But, everything wasn’t fine. Not even close.

Chapter Four

The “fasten seatbelt” sign immediately flicked on and Kate glanced out the window. They bounced around for a minute then the cabin suddenly lurched and her stomach dropped sickeningly.

With a cry, she gripped onto the seat, heart in her throat. They were losing altitude fast.

Oh, God. They were going to crash into the jungle below! Panic filled her. She didn’t want to die. There were so many things she still wanted to do. None of that mattered though as they careened through the dark air, completely out of control, and headed straight for the jungle canopy.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Kate dropped forward, braced herself and started praying. The plane wasn’t a jumbo jet and she didn’t know if it was better or worse that they were traveling on a smaller aircraft. A crash was a crash, right? And the plane was at maximum capacity, full of passengers on their way to Carnival. In the final seconds before they crashed, she thought about the attractive guy across the aisle and how she regretted not even saying hello.

The sound of shredding metal filled the air and something hit her head hard. Then everything went black.

Kate had no idea how long she’d been out, but when her eyes opened again, she was still buckled in her seat. With a groan, she lightly touched her temple and felt a warm, wet stickiness. Blood. Fighting off a wave of dizziness, she fumbled to unbuckle her lap belt then sent up a silent thank you.

---