Page 71 of Falling for Them

I kissed her temple. “Your favorite placeissandwiched in between us.”

The pilot, who had approached while we were chatting, cleared his throat. “We’re ready to depart. I’d like to go over some safety information with you before we board.”

He gave us a safety briefing before leading us to the helicopter and showing us the vital things we needed to know in case of an emergency, like how to open the doors and where the fire extinguisher was.

Once we got settled in the back seats, the pilot and copilot got our bags loaded and prepared for takeoff. My nerves were turning into excitement as we buckled out seatbelts and put on our headsets.

“Lib, if things are too scary for you, you can lay your head in my lap so you don’t have to see anything.” I rubbed her thigh, trying to soothe her. The safety briefing did not help ease her nerves.

Leo turned toward us. “Maybe I should have asked about this. Are you sure you don’t want to drive? We’re going to the Hamptons, so it will only take about forty-five minutes this way if that helps.”

Libby shut her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’ll be fine. It’s usually only takeoff and landing that get me.”

“I’ve flown with these pilots hundreds of times, and I haven’t once had a rough takeoff or landing, even when the weather wasn’t as perfect as it is now.” Leo put his fingers under Libby’s chin and turned her face to him. “We can just take a car.”

“No. I’ll be fine.” She sat up a little straighter. “I won’t know until I try, right?”

“Right.” He kissed her gently as the pilots started the engine. “And like Ethan said, you can always put your head in his lap.”

She snorted and turned forward. “I’m sure the pilots would love that.”

We lifted into the air without issue and were off toward the Hamptons. The view was nothing short of spectacular. As we soared over the city, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the breathtaking panorama below us as the sun started to set.

Libby’s initial nervousness melted away, replaced by childlike wonder as she alternated leaning across me and Leo. On the way back she’d probably fight one of us to sit by the window.

As we got farther away from Manhattan, Leo’s demeanor changed. He always seemed to be in business mode, even at home, but now, he was the most relaxed I’d seen him.

“You good over there, Leo?” I leaned forward a bit to see past Libby.

Leo’s expression was wistful. “I was thinking about how Luca and I used to visit the Hamptons every summer as kids. We were always busy with school and learning the business—even at a young age—but our mom made sure we had a few weeks during the summer to just be kids.”

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. It wasn’t often that Leo opened up about himself. “Yeah? What kind of trouble did little Leo get into?”

He laughed. “We were perfect angels. Those were some of the happiest times of my life, not having to worry about a singlething besides having fun. When Luca and I got older and had our own money, we decided to buy a house we could go to when we needed a break, or one day take our own families.”

“Are you close with your parents now?” Libby asked gently. We hadn’t talked much about them and the little things Leo said on occasion pointed to no.

Leo’s expression tightened the tiniest bit. If I hadn’t been watching him closely, I might have missed it. “It can be strained at times, mainly with my dad.” His tone was indifferent, and he didn’t elaborate further.

Libby and I exchanged a look. There was clearly more to the story, but Leo wasn’t ready to share it yet.

Sensing the shift in mood, Libby jumped in with her own childhood memory. “When I was younger, Ryker and I would camp out in the backyard, and my dad would set up this old sheet on the side of the house and project movies onto it. We’d have s’mores and stay up way too late. Even when Ryker was in high school and too cool to hang out with his little sister very much anymore, he’d do it.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Libby had a rough start to her childhood, and every time she talked about her life post-adoption, I was so grateful she’d been given a second chance to be a happy kid.

“That sounds pretty awesome. What about you, Ethan?”

I snorted. “Disney… every year, sometimes multiple times. Me and my sisters loved it, but our parents are Disney adults to their core. Even now that they don’t have the three of us to take care of, they go at least four times a year.”

We fell into a comfortable silence as we enjoyed the view of the city and suburbs giving way to more scenic landscapes. Even from the helicopter, I could see the traffic on the highways, and I was glad we’d flown instead of spending hours sitting in a car.

A short while later, we touched down at a small airport, where a car waited to take us to Leo’s house. As we settled into the plush leather seats of the car, Leo’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it and chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, curiosity piqued since Leo looking at his phone didn’t usually equal laughs.

“Just Luca.” Leo shook his head, still smiling. “He’s telling me to not have sex on the couches.”

Libby giggled but then stopped abruptly. “He knows about us?”

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