“How much did this cost?”
“Nothing.”
“So, you just happen to have access to a helicopter?”
“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to…” he says mischievously.
I give him a pointed stare. I’m not letting this go.
“Fine,” he says, giving up. “I may have given one of our bigger clients, who’s also a friend, a few pallets of wine in exchange for his helicopter.”
A laugh bursts out of me. This is so ridiculous; it can’t be real. There’s no way.
I’m truly shocked. Not in my wildest dreams was I imagining something this extravagant.
“You mean to tell me you’ve had access to a helicopter this whole time and I’m just now finding out about it?”
“I almost asked for it when you needed to get to Seattle, but decided I’d rather be trapped in a car with you for hours instead.”
“We were barely starting to get along. Even though things changed when we got home.”
A knowing look passes between us, both of us recalling our life-altering kiss.
“Marisa. I liked you. Why else would I have agreed to drive you? Why do you think I was always acting like a crazy person around you? I had all these feelings for you, and I had no idea how to handle it.” He says it like it was painfully obvious. Maybe it was to everyone else, but certainly not to me.
“You liked me even before then?”
“I’ve liked you since the beginning. I didn’t want to admit it to myself yet, but I definitely did.”
“And now?” My gaze turns downward; I’m suddenly feeling shy.
He lifts my chin, forcing our eyes to lock. “And now, I really fucking like you.”
The giddiness rising in my chest is effervescent. This must be what floating feels like.
“I think I liked you then too,” I admit, biting back my smile.
The helicopter lands in the center of the field, and Ethan holds me close to protect me from the air whipping around us from the propellers. Thank goodness I thought to throw on my peacoat before we left, or I’d be flashing the pilot. It takes a few minutes, but the helicopter powers off and the propellers come to a stop.
“Come on.” Ethan grabs my hand. “We have somewhere to be.”
CHAPTER 39
Ethan
MR. AND MRS. LEDGER
Lake Coeur d’Alene shimmers below us under the night sky, reflecting in Marisa’s sparkling eyes, and my chest squeezes at the excitement on her face. When ideas for our first date started floating around in my head, I knew this would be over the top. But for once in my life, I felt like being over the top, at least for Marisa.
In truth, most of life is mundane. We wake up and go to work and come home only to do it all over again, in endless cycles. We’ll pepper in dinners out, weekends away, the occasional vacation, and all of those things are fine, because that’s real life. But to truly wow her, to spoil her, to give her experiences beyond the norm, I want to be the one to give that to her. I want to give her the world. This vivacious, funny, caring, whirlwind of a woman crashed into my life in the best way possible, and now I can’t imagine my world without her at the center.
She’s deserving of so much more than the average first date dinner. We’ve already done the dinners and the movies and the car rides. Any man can do those things with her. Tonight is about proving how unlike any man from her past I am. I want to ruin her for anyone who should try to follow. Because as far as I’m concerned, this will be the last first date she ever goes on. Assoon as she agreed to this date, my mind skipped through all the hesitation and the fear regarding her move back to Seattle, and I decided that I’m not giving up without a fight. If that means making some changes of my own to be with her, then I’ll gladly do it. I know we’re not in the same spot. I know my feelings are more intense. This is my attempt to catch her up to speed.
The look on her face when she saw the helicopter eased any doubts I had that I was coming on too strong or pushing her beyond her comfort zone. At first she was nervous, watching our pilot like a hawk, but I would never risk her. He’s a professional and very experienced. I would never put her in danger. But being Marisa, she’s proceeded to remind me of the number of celebrities that have died in private plane and helicopter crashes.
“The Kennedys!” her loud voice bursts through my earpiece.
“What about them?”
