Page 9 of Flyboy

Colton looked to Ivy, who shrugged and followed, but when she got close, she whispered, “I say we come back and see what’s down the other path.”

Her breath, tickling his skin, sent a wave of expectation through him. “You’re on.”

The smile she sent his way, part conspiratorial, part dare, amped up every bit of interest or curiosity he’d felt for this woman. And he had to stop his hand from reaching out to grab hers. Wow, what was it about her straight, careful beauty that made him want to muss her up a bit? Whatever it was, it had grabbed him, and he was already as entangled in her as he had been with any woman.

Chapter 4

Ivy created some distance between her and Colton. Something about him emanated heat—enticing, handsome heat. And even though her shivering arms wanted a bit of that, she could not in a million years consider acting on any of the new attraction she’d noticed between them. She was pretty sure he felt it too. A complaint letter between them was awkward enough without exploring anything else. Especially when her interest was purely physical at this point, obviously, since she couldn’t usually stand the way he handled things in any other part of his life. She amended—the parts that she’d seen, which were entirely work-related. But the way a man flew a jet said a lot about him.

They walked along for a moment, and he surprised her. “Okay. Let’s learn some more about each other. Omar, you and Ivy tell me three things you know I don’t know about you.”

“So, nothing that is in our files?”

“Exactly, or that would come up on a background check. We already know about your brief stint in in-school suspension.”

“I was never . . .” Ivy stopped. Colton was watching Omar.

“Shut up, dude. That should have gone away a long time ago.”

“Do I want to know?” Ivy asked.

“Just a dumb teacher out to get me. I pushed someone who had it coming.”

Colton held up his fist for a bump from Omar. “It was part of the reason we hired you.” He looked sideways at Ivy. “If you don’t know the story, this guy took on the bully in high school no one else dared to face and punched him in the nose twice and then in the gut before a teacher stopped him.”

“I can’t believe we are having this conversation. I’ve punched a few bullies since high school.” Omar snorted.

“One of your best qualities.” Colton held out his fist for a bump again.

“I had no idea.” Ivy looked at Omar with new eyes. “Good for you.”

“What?” Colton’s wide-eyed, mocking expression made Ivy want to roll her eyes. “Does the rule-following Ivy Hatfield support a little in-school suspension?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I see what you’re doing here. And yes. Omar’s suspension sounds worth it.”

“He was a jerk. He’d just slapped Kirsten’s backside.”

“Oh, then, yeah. Good for you.”

Colton studied her, and Ivy didn’t feel like spelling anything out for him; let him puzzle as long as he wanted. Some rules were made to be broken. But not the ones put in place to keep them safe.

“So, what else don’t I know about you, Omar?” Ivy stepped up to his side, leaving Colton behind them.

“My favorite color is pink.”

Colton snorted.

“No, really, it is. The kind of pink in sunsets.”

Ivy nodded.

“And . . .” He stood taller and grinned back over his shoulder at Colton. “I was prom king.”

“You were?” Ivy sized him up. “I can see that.”

“Whoa, what do you mean, you can see that? You can look at a guy and see if he was prom king?” Colton asked.

“Sure. Look at him. He was a cute high school kid. We know he didn’t put up with crap, and . . . yep. I can see it.” She turned to him. “You. You were not prom king. But you might have been the class clown.”

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