Page 34 of Love at First Flight

When the passengers left to get into her mom’s van, it was just the two of them, besides Boone and Naomi, who were still tethering. But she could tune out their activity, and even the camera crew. It felt like only the two of them.

“Hey, Pilot,” Dex said as he gripped the edge of the gondola from where he stood outside of it.

“Hey, Ranger,” she replied, her lips again being uncontrollable as they pulled into a smile.

He held out a hand. “Can I help you disembark?”

“Actually, do we think we can get Dex inside the basket as well? I think it would make for a nice visual for us to use. Is that okay?” This was yelled by a woman with wild red hair standing beside the cameraman. She then waved to Selah. “Hi. I’m Bria.”

“Hi there.” It served as a reminder this wasn’t a nice moment between her and Dex. He was here for a reason and, apparently, they were also being directed, which was weird. They shared an amused expression at the ridiculousness of it all. After shrugging, Dex climbed into the gondola, this time with Selah assisting him. While it was probably safer to have a wicker wall between them, she liked having him on the same side and—

“Can you remove your sunglasses and hat? There’s too much shadow and we can’t see your pretty face, Selah!” Bria yelled from twenty yards away. “Can you two just chat with each other for a minute while we get this?”

With a sigh, Selah did as she was told, tossing the items onto the gondola floor and doing her best to fluff her hair, hoping she didn’t look too awful.

“Having an eventful day so far?” she asked Dex in the hopes of keeping the mood light and casual.

“It’s definitely improving.”

“It has to be better than the last time you were in my basket.” As soon as it left her mouth, she froze, biting her bottom lip. Reminding him of that awful day must make her as bad as Hailey. “I... what I meant—when the basket tipped over and...” she stumbled, trying to save the situation.

“Selah, it’s fine. And, yes, so far, it’s much better than the last time.” One of his fingers did the softest glide against the outside of her hand, so light it could have come from a breeze. Her gaze dropped to the movement before lifting again to his face. There was no way the camera or the people outside the basket would observe any of this, as their hands were below the top of the gondola. But she knew. Her heart took the biggest, sweetest breath, one that could fill her whole chest cavity, one she usually only took when she was high in the air, where she belonged. This didn’t usually happen when she was still on the ground.

She adjusted her hand closer, leaning into the touch. Selah turned her attention toward the camera as though nothing was happening at all, not in the basket and not in her heart.

“Of course, I suppose it is possible for you to tip the basket again, but this time I get to be on top,” Dex said.

A loud laugh burst from her, probably ruining Bria’s B-roll take.

Whatever. She didn’t care.

Chapter Fourteen

When Dex arrivedwith the news van that morning, after they finished his individual filming at Smith Rock with Harper, he watched her balloon come in. It was corny, but it was as if she were some aviator-wearing angel coming down from heaven. He didn’t notice any of the other passengers until they attempted to disembark, and he’d been so single-minded he’d been in the way.

She had smiled at him sweetly. A single wavy strand had escaped her hat, brushing against her cheek in a breeze, and her skin was pink from the flight. When Bria requested he get in the basket as well, he practically catapulted himself in there, probably appearing too eager, but whatever.

God, she was pretty. His carefulness at holding back and not touching her eroded quickly. Dex reached out a single finger to touch her because something was better than nothing. Her laugh lit up his whole world. Her smile dazzled him. He’d take her tears, but he wanted her joy.

“Okay, I think that’s good enough,” Bria said, interrupting everything. “Would it be okay if we could interview you, but over there, where we can get the balloon in the background?”

Dex and Selah climbed from the basket, Naomi taking over in watching the balloon. Resetting the camera, Bria told them about the process—how she was going to stay off camera and let them answer. He’d already heard this once before when it had been only him rambling about Harper, the park, and how important conservation, education, and wildlife rehabilitation were.

“How long have you been flying balloons for?” Bria asked Selah.

“Oh, uh, well, as an official job, I’ve been doing it for almost two years. But because it’s the family business, I had experience for years before that.”

“The business was started by your father, right? That’s what we read on your website.”

“Yes, High Desert Tours was started by Robert Moreno, my dad.” She pulled away one of the loose curls from her forehead. He could feel the tenseness radiating from her frame.

“And he died? That’s why you’re flying for High Desert Tours now?”

“Mm-hmm. Yup,” was the only response as she fiddled with her hands before crossing her arms.

At this point, Dex didn’t care if this media exposure was good for business or if it could bring the park some rich benefactor. He didn’t know what it was about this woman that turned his normally easygoing soul into a feral Viking warrior, ready to burn down villages if anyone so much as bothered her. Because if they made her cry, he swore to God he would shut the whole thing down. Especially since everything Bria was asking didn’t have anything to do with what he thought the interview was going to be about.

Dex was stuck, not being able to touch her or put an arm around her. It was his pet project that was the reason they asked her these personal, intrusive questions, making him partly to blame. He eyed the cameraman, wondering if he had the advantage to take the camera away and smash it on the ground if necessary. Then he and Selah could jump intoThe Blue Wonder, making a cool escape, and maybe do some more kissing.

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