Page 56 of Turbulent Fires

With these words vehicles begin pulling up. I’m not shocked when I see a massive crowd of people armed with decorations, party supplies, and food climbing from vans as Ace’s home starts transforming. The power of this family is incredible. They can pull off a party with barely a moment’s notice.

Within an hour, the deck and house have been transformed, filled with lights, fires, flutes of champagne, music, and more food than anyone possibly needs. I don’t care. My eyes are glued to the entrance for one special guest.

And then I see her.

She steps from a sleek black SUV wearing a form-fitting blue gown with her hair swept up and curls teasing her slim neck. She looks royal and accessible at the same time... like a dream come true. She scans the crowd until she spots me, then makes my heart skip a beat when a smile flirts across her full lips.

She moves forward and shakes her head. “I received a command that my presence was requested for a small gathering,” she says with a laugh. “If this is your idea of small, we need to talk.”

“This wasn’t my idea at all, but I’m not unhappy about it, seeing you in this dress.” I pull her to me and immediately want to drag her away to somewhere very private.

I don’t think I can hide my family belongings anymore, not in this crowd. It’s time for us to talk. I take her hand and lead her away from the majority of people, taking her inside to the back sunroom, my favorite place in the house.

I lead Audrey to the couch facing out back, and am incredibly grateful for the clear sky filled with bright stars and a full moon, giving us a picturesque view and intimacy. With the sconces on the wall giving a hint of light, it’s peaceful and a perfect place to talk.

“I have to admit, I’m a little worried,” Audrey says. “I don’t know if I’ve seen this solemn look on your face before.”

I give her a smile as I take her hand. “When I met you I didn’t know how my feelings would grow, how much I’d feel the need to be with you. I miss you when we aren’t together, and I’ve never felt that with any other woman.”

She looks nervous. “I understand how you feel. I’ve been feeling the same,” she admits, which warms my heart.

“Because of this, I’ve held things back.” Damn, this is harder than I thought it would be.

She stiffens a bit as she looks at me. “Please don’t tell me you have a basement filled with dead bodies.” She gives a chuckle, but I can see she’s worried about what I have to tell her.

I shake my head. “No, nothing like that.” I pause for a moment. “I’m not just a pilot.”

She now looks confused. “I know you aren’t. There’s so much more to you.”

I shake my head. “No, I mean, I’m a pilot, but I’m actually a majority owner of my airline.”

Her eyes widen as she looks at me in shock. “Okay,” she finally breathes. “I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting that. Better than dead bodies, but why is this something you’ve been so scared to share with me?”

“Well, I guess for the same reason you didn’t want to share your royal heritage. Because of where we come from or what we have, it makes people see us differently. I’m still me, the same man you’ve been with for months. I love adrenaline, love adventure. I just happen to have enough money to buy a medium-sized country.” I laugh, but it’s not exactly humor I’m feeling.

“It’s funny because I want to be angry with you for not telling me, but you handled my royal heritage so well it would make me a total hypocrite.” She pauses for a moment. “Do you think I’d ever be after your money?”

I immediately shake my head. “How can you ask that?”

She gives me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. That was wrong of me to say. We both know neither of us are like that.”

I give her a relieved smile. “I should’ve told you sooner, should’ve told you in London when I knew my feelings for you were well past the casual stage. It’s just something I’ve never shared with people. The majority of the pilots I fly with don’t even know this. I want to be a regular guy.”

She laughs. “Even without the money, you’d never be a regular guy, Wolf,” she assures me.

“Well, I guess I don’t want to be normal. I just don’t want to be identified as a rich snob.” A shudder wracks me.

She laughs. “I have to agree with you there. I went to school with those type of people and though my family has a lot of money, I didn’t fit in. I like nice things, but I hate the pomp and circumstance of the ultra-wealthy. Money might make people’s lives easier, but it doesn’t make them better than anyone else. It actually makes them worse in many ways. I’ll never understand how someone thinks they’re superior simply because of the size of their bank account.”

“Because that’s all they have. They don’t have pride, empathy, or brains, in my opinion. My parents grew up wealthy, as did my brothers and I. Sure, we did some amazing things and took incredible trips. We also camped in the wilderness and made our own fishing poles. My parents felt the need to teach us humility. If we ever started acting as if we were special in a negative way, they’d quickly humble us. I’m grateful for that. Most of the time, I like who I am. Some days I don’t, but when I don’t like something, I fix it.”

“I like who you are too,” she says with a smile. “Do you have any other great revelations to shock me with?”

I laugh as I pull her onto my lap and cuddle her close. “Nothing I can honestly think of. I’m sure something will come up, but it won’t be life-changing.”

“As long as we don’t find any dead bodies buried in your yard, I think we’ll be able to handle it.”

I laugh. “I can honestly say if any dead bodies are found, they weren’t placed there by me.”

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