Page 6 of Flyboy

She swallowed through a suddenly very dry mouth. She had nothing, no words, no thoughts beyond the fact that she’d sent a detailed letter to the whole board, including this man standing in front of her, explaining why he was a danger to any mission. And another glaring realization that Colton’s hair was newly cut, and the military shave made his eyes look . . . different, and his jawline, sharper, thicker—or something—more handsome. The realization tickled something inside, something . . . pleasant. She blinked it away before it bloomed into . . . anything.

“Ok, great.” Why was he still standing in her doorway? “We meet the pilots tomorrow?”

“Not for a couple of days, actually.”

She tilted her head. “I thought your email said to arrive today, that we were under the wire?”

“Oh, well, no, not under the wire, but I thought it might be good for our team to get together ahead of time, get settled in, get to know the people, and . . . bond.” He winked. Then he laughed. “It might be nice if we liked each other before we start this assignment.”

Again, she found herself speechless for a moment, and then she shook her head. “Liked each other?”

“Yeah, I need a couple days to prove I’m not . . . what were the words? A danger to the team? And an embarrassment to the word pilot?”

She felt her face heat, but she refused to stand down. “I stand by my words, but I hope there isn’t anything uncomfortable between us.”

“Not at all. I just have my work cut out for me.”

“Your work?”

“Yes, we can’t work well together when you have such disheartening opinions about me. And I have a couple days to prove to you that I just might be a good pilot after all.”

“I never said you weren’t a good pilot.” She looked away, flustered. “I . . . look. I don’t want weird feelings, either. Let’s just forget I said anything for the time being.” She shrugged.

He shook his head. “Nope. We are going to address every one of those complaints.”

She stepped closer, ready to talk him out of this ridiculous plan. “No, really. That is not necessary.”

“Oh, but it is.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Except I can’t have you over there thinking negative thoughts about me.”

“What if I just tell you I’m not . . . thinking negative thoughts.” Of all the ridiculous conversations.

“I’ll know you’re just trying to get out of it.” He dipped his head and then smiled, a slow curl of his lips, the kind she shouldn’t look at for too long. “Come on. Give me a chance.” His eyes widened, and he turned a pleading, adorable expression in her direction.

She couldn’t stop the smile that lifted one corner of her mouth in return. But she covered it and said, “Of course. We have to work together. Let’s make it as pleasant as possible.”

The light in his eyes dimmed, but he nodded at her. “Good enough. Put on some comfortable hiking shoes.”

“Pardon me?”

“Apparently, there’s a waterfall we must see before another hour goes by.”

Chapter 3

Colton did not congratulate himself that he’d found a way to spend the rest of the afternoon with Ivy, even if Omar would be joining them. He knew she was humoring him for professional reasons only. But whatever the reason, he was going to make the most of the time he had to prove his point. And what was his point? He shrugged into a lightweight sweatshirt. Who knew what his point was? Something didn’t sit well, just under his skin, like a new itch, whenever he thought about Ivy not approving of him or his methods. There was absolutely more than one way to do things. And she was just about to get a crash course on Colton’s way if he had anything to say about it. Once he’d done his best, if she still had the same opinions, then so be it. But . . . he wanted her to like him so much that he might one day see her smile at him, in just the right way.

He stepped out the front door, stretching his arms above his head. But today—these next two days—were all about fun. And if Colton could do anything, he could do fun.

Omar’s frown, when he stepped out the door, made Colton laugh. “What is it?”

“It’s not humid here.”

“I’d think that was a good thing.”

He grunted. Then he squinted up into the sun. “This is perfect weather. I feel like we’re in San Diego.”

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