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“I doubt that,” Jada said, “especially when he refuses to admit there’s anything wrong with how he’s treating me.”
“Oh, and about how he’s treating you. I guess I’ve got one more thing to say about that, too. A question.”
Jada rolled her eyes. “I knew you couldn’t stop at one.”
“Here it is,” Marina said. “What do you call a man who doesn’t sleep with a woman, even though he really wants her and even though she’ll let him, but he doesn’t do it because he won’t take advantage of a woman who’s in a vulnerable position? What do you call a guy like that?”
“I don’t know. High-handed? He didn’t take the girl’s opinion into account.”
Marina had thrown her hands in the air and left the room muttering about Jada being hopeless.
And now here Jada was, flying away from Ian. The helicopter passed over forests, highways and small towns. She cradled the kitty carrier and tried not to think of what might of been, but could never be.
Ian had looked bewildered standing in the drive as the helicopter lifted off. Jada knew he didn’t understand why she couldn’t see him anymore. She wished she had been able to make him see her side. But he was a powerful man, used to having everything his own way. He couldn’t help being himself any more than Jada could help being herself.
She recalled Marina’s question. It repeated in her mind. What do you call a man who ... what do you call a man who ...
What did you call a guy like that? Not high-handed. That had been unfair. He’d been protective, which was good, but he was overly-protective, wasn’t he? Granted, he’d been thinking of her before himself, she couldn’t deny that.
He didn’t want to take advantage, even though he could have.
What do you call a guy ... then the real answer struck her, a bolt of fire sucking the oxygen out of her lungs. She stiffened and grabbed Marina’s arm.
“The answer to your question,” Jada called over the roar of the copter. “It’s not high-handed.”
“What?”
“Your question this morning.”
“ Oh, right. That question. Have you figured it out?” Marina asked.
“Yes. It’s gentleman. That’s what you call a man like that, isn’t it? He’s a gentleman.”
Marina grinned. “Good for you. I’m so glad you’re not hopeless after all.”
In an instant, Jada knew being in that helicopter was all wrong. What the hell was she doing, flying away from a man like Ian? Sure, he had his faults, but she had hers, too.
She tapped Raul’s shoulder. “Turn around. Take me back to the lake house!”
Raul glanced. “Ma’am?”
“Turn around! I’ve got to go back.”
Marina chimed in with, “Yeah, Raul. Go back!”
Sullivan looked confused, but amused. He added his baritone to the chorus, “Go ahead and take us back, Raul.”
Jada put her whole heart into her words. “Please, Raul. I have to get back there right now. I don’t think I’ll—”
He held up a finger for her to wait. He must have switched comm channels because she could see his lips move but couldn’t hear him.
In a few moments, Raul’s voice came through the headset. “Everyone, please be advised that I’m going to be making a steep banking turn, so don’t be alarmed. Everything’s fine. We’re returning to the lake house.”
Marina cheered and Jada thanked Raul profusely.
While Marina explained the reason for the return to Sullivan, Jada stared out the windows and willed the landscape to pass faster. She’d heard Ian was driving back to the city that day. What if he’d already left?
She tried to think of what she should say to him, but couldn’t concentrate. She needed to get to him. That was all. That was the important thing.
Minutes passed like hours. Then they were flying low over a forest canopy. A high fence loomed ahead with a gated entrance. She’d seen it before, she was almost positive. As they buzzed onward, she recalled more and more of the landscape.
When a sparkling lake peeped out between a ring of trees and a rambling roofline loomed in the distance, Jada knew exactly where they were. Home.
She shook her head. That was a silly thing to think. Home. The lake house. That’s where she was. It only felt like home if Ian were there.
The copter flew in fast and low and in a matter of moments hovered over the now-familiar landing zone. Jada saw a tall man standing in the waiting circle. Was it Ian?
Yes, it was him. Her heart leapt into her throat. Was he smiling?
Raul touched down with his usual ease and slowed the rotors. Jada turned to Marina and gestured to Ms. Kitty in the carrier.
“Do you mind?” she asked.
“Nah. She’s grown on me the past few days. Hand her over,” Marina answered.
Jada gave her the crate then added a quick kiss on her sister’s cheek for good measure. “Tell Mom and Dad not to worry.”
“I will. Go on. He’s waiting for you.”
Jada thanked her again and nodded at Sullivan, who said, “Go get him, Jada.”
She thanked Raul then pulled off her headphones and threw open the door. She dashed outside, head down, the wind whipping at her, and ran to the handsome man in the waiting zone.
She stopped in front of him, returning his wide smile.
As the helicopter’s rotors wound back up, and the vehicle took off, Jada leapt into Ian’s arms and kissed him with everything she had, telling him with her body exactly how much she’d missed him, how much she wanted him back.
He passionately returned her kiss, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her off the ground, twirling her around and around. She clung to him, hands clasped behind his corded neck. He was wonderful. Simply wonderful. How could she have ever thought she could live without this man? Without his touch?
By the time they broke apart, the helicopter was long gone, not even a hint of a chop-chop marring nature’s concert of lake, grass, trees and wildlife.
Ian slowly shook his head. “I can’t believe you aren’t mad at me.”
“Why would I be mad at you?”
“Because I ordered Raul to bring you back.”
“I’m the one who told him to come back.”
Ian gave her a funny look. “You told Raul to bring you back ... to me?”
“You told him to bring me back to you?”
They laughed as they realized what had happened.
“I can’t believe we both told Raul to turn around at the same time,” Jada said. “He must think we’re nuts.”
“Maybe we are.”
“I am,” Jada admitted. “I’m sorry, Ian. I made a stupid mistake, leaving you like that. I should have given this more of a chance. I panicked because I’ve never believed this kind of fairy tale was possible.”
“And I should have listened to you sooner,” Ian said. “After you left, I was standing in the driveway trying to figure out what had gone wrong and I realized that it wasn’t just me and it wasn’t just you. It was both of us. And it had nothing to do with us being from different worlds. We’d missed the point.”
“What is the point, Ian?”
“It’s like my grandfather building his dream out here by the lake,” he answered. “You can’t rely on something to happen on its own. You have to work for it. We can have the fantasy, Jada. All of it. Every day. We just have to want it, need it like we need air to breathe. And we have to believe in it.”
He looked deeply into her eyes. “I believe in us, Jada. Do you believe, too?”
Jada had always considered herself a realist, not a dreamer. But she’d realized in the helicopter that she’d actually been protecting herself from the disappointment of failure. She’d been afraid to want something she might never get.
Her spirits soared and she trusted her heart. Faith seemed easy now ... with him. “I do believe, Ian. In you and in us.”
Joy and satisfaction washed over his handsome features. He dropped down on on
e knee before her. “I know this seems too soon, but I’m only asking for time to see where this takes us, to find out if we can build the foundation for our fantasy.”
Jada nodded, her heart pounding.
He cleared his throat, took her hands in his. “Jada Howarth Buckley, will you stay fake married to me while we figure out our future?”
She didn’t need to think about it. “Yes! Of course I’ll stay fake married to you.”
He laughed, jumped up and marched off toward the house, towing her along behind him.
“Where are we going?”
“Where do you think we’re going?”
“Uh, the house?”
“Be more specific,” Ian demanded.
Jada’s insides tingled. “Your bedroom.”
“That’s right, my sweet little bride. It’s time to consummate our fake wedding. Finally!”
She gladly rushed along the path. “I thought it would never happen. Are you as bossy in the bedroom as you are out of it?”
“Worse.”
“Oh my.”
