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“Going to Cheyenne,” Evan answered with a lazy grin.
He was sitting in the second row, wearing blue jeans and a tan T-shirt, an ankle propped up on the opposite knee. A half-full bottle of beer sat on the table in front of him.
“Who invited you?”
“Chance,” said Evan.
“Ms. Lassiter?” the captain asked.
She turned back. “Evan is not coming with us.”
“I don’t understand. Mr. Lassiter advised us that we would have—”
“Hey, Angie.” Tiffany came into view behind the captain.
“Tiff?” Angelica reached out to steady herself on the back of a white leather seat. “Is something wrong?”
Tiffany grinned. “Everything’s great.”
“Four passengers tonight,” the captain finished.
Deke appeared behind Tiffany. “Good evening, Captain.” He shook the man’s hand. “I’ve never seen Big Blue,” he told Angelica. “I can’t wait.”
“Stop,” Angelica shouted.
Everyone went silent.
“What’s going on here?”
Evan rolled to his feet, moving close to her, lowering his voice. “We’re going to Cheyenne.”
“No, we’re not. I’m going to Cheyenne.”
“And the rest of us will keep you company.”
“Is this a joke?”
“No, it’s a con. Remember?” He tipped his head toward the back of the plane. “Let’s talk in private.”
Angelica quickly skimmed through her options. She could stamp her foot and kick them off the aircraft. She could leave herself, refusing to go on the trip. Or she could give in and let Evan get his way.
None of the options appealed to her.
“We’re ready to go, Sheridan,” Evan told the captain.
Angelica opened her mouth to protest. Evan wasn’t the CEO any longer. This was her airplane. The captain was her employee.
“Very good, sir,” Captain Sheridan replied.
Tiffany had flown on the jet in the past, and she helped herself to a mini bottle of wine from the cooler.
“You thirsty?” she asked Deke.
Evan snagged his beer and began backing away toward the rear of the plane.
“Come on,” he told Angelica. “I need to talk to you.”
“I’ll take a beer,” said Deke. “Are those cashews?”
“I can’t believe you’re pulling this stunt,” said Angelica. He was ruining her entire plan. The only reason she was flying to Cheyenne was to get away from him.
He took another backward step. “I can’t believe you’re running away.”
She gave up and followed him. “I’m not running away. Because you’re coming with me. And you’re the thing I’m running from. So, why are you here?”
“Piece of advice, Angie. Don’t ever try to make your living as a con artist. The question on everyone’s mind is, are they reconciling or not? How’s it going to look to someone like Conrad if you take off without me?”
“Like I have a job.”
“It looks better if we’re together.”
“I don’t want to be together.”
There was an edge to his tone as he gestured to the seat in the last row. “Tough break. This isn’t all about you.”
“I never said it was.”
The jet engines whined as the pilot poured on power, and she quickly took her seat.
“It’s about Matt and Kayla,” said Evan as he belted into the seat across the narrow aisle.
“I’m aware of that,” she answered tartly.
The jet began to taxi.
“And we’re all doing things we’d rather not.”
Something in his tone send a jolt through her brain. It was suddenly crystal-clear that he didn’t want to be with her either. The situation was as inconvenient and frustrating for him as it was for her. Difference was, he was taking it in stride, while she was complaining like a little girl.
What was wrong with her? Hadn’t she learned anything from her father’s will? It truly wasn’t all about her. She had to pitch in and serve the collective good instead of being so focused on herself.
“I’m sorry,” she said to Evan.
His jaw dropped open just as the jet rushed to full power, pushing them back in their seats as it accelerated along the runway.
“Excuse me?” Evan asked above the noise.
“You’re right, and I’m wrong. Everybody’s inconvenienced by this. You, me, Tiffany, Deke. But it’s about Kayla and Matt, and I need to shut up and get on with it. The house at Big Blue is huge. I’ll try to stay out of your way.”
The jet lifted off the runway, climbing into the setting sun.
He studied her in silence for a long moment. “You surprise me.”
She wanted to move on. “Why did you bring Tiffany and Deke?”
“I thought you’d be more comfortable with chaperones.”
She nodded. “I am. It was nice of them to come.”
“Deke’s never seen Big Blue. He’s curious.”
Angelica found herself smiling, and some of the tension eased from her stomach at the thought of spending some time on the family ranch. “It’s a fantastic place.”
“It is,” Evan agreed, his posture relaxing. “So, something going on in the Cheyenne office?”
“I need to talk to Noah Moore. He disagrees with a direction I want to take for LBS.”
“That’s what happens when smart people work together. You get different ideas.”
“You still think I’m smart?” The question was out before she thought through the wisdom of asking.
“You’re brilliant, Angie. That’s never been the problem.”
“I’d ask what the problem was, but I’m pretty sure I know the answer.”
“You’re fanatical, controlling and way too myopic.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“That one was for free.”
She leaned her head back on the soft headrest, staying silent as the flight leveled out. She drew a deep breath. “I am working on those flaws.”
His voice was low and slightly cautious beside her. “Okay, now you’re just freaking me out.”
“I know I’m not perfect, Evan.”
He didn’t respond for a moment. “At the risk of bursting this Zen-Angie bubble thing you’ve got going, I have something to ask you. And it’s probably going to make you mad.”
Angelica didn’t particularly like the sound of that. But she promised herself to try to take it in stride. “Ask away.”
“I think you should wear your engagement ring for a while.”
She turned to gape at him.
“It’ll convince everyone we’re serious.”
Her mind galloped to catch up to his words. “You still have my engagement ring?”
“Of course I still have your engagement ring.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you keep it?”
“What would I do with it?”
“Return it. Get your money back.”
He shook his head. “It’s custom-made. And it’s been in dozens of photographs. In the middle of the press frenzy, did you really want the Angelica Lassiter engagement ring to show up for sale on-line?”
“I never thought of that,” she admitted.
“Yeah, well, you were a bit distracted.”
“Thank you,” she found herself saying. “Even when you hated me, you were thoughtful.”
“I never hated you, Angie. I admit, I was mad as hell.”
“So was I.”
A beat went by. Then he reached into his pocket and produced a small, black leather box.
Everything inside Angelica stilled. Her chest went tight with intense anxiety. She gazed down at the familiar solitaire. She’d always loved the way the stylized band winked with tiny white and blue diamonds. It was traditional, with a twist. That was how she’d always thought of her relationship with Evan. It had all the elements of a typical romance, but then there was the added spice of their energetic lives. At one time, it was enhanced by their mutual love of Lassiter Media with all its facets and foibles. But that was gone.
“Angie?” he prompted.
She moved her gaze from the ring to him. “It would be difficult,” she told him honestly.
“I know. But the press is outright asking why you’re not wearing it. And I’m more convinced than ever that Conrad is calling our bluff.”
“You think he knows we’re faking?”
“I think he suspects. And it’s occurred to me that he might use it as an excuse to mess up the wedding.”
Angelica knew this wasn’t about her, and she knew she had to be tough. But when she reached for the box, her fingers trembled.
“Go get me a really big glass of wine,” she told Evan, determinedly taking the box from his hand. “And I’ll put it on.”
He seemed to hesitate for a moment. “Sure. Okay. No problem.” He unclipped his belt and rose from his seat.
Angelica stared at the beautiful ring, imagined the cool, smooth platinum settling on her finger, the weight of the big diamond, the wink of the band whenever her hand moved across her peripheral vision.
“You okay?” came Tiffany’s soft voice.
“Not really.” Angelica looked up. “Did you know he was going to do this?”
Tiffany shook her head. “Though it makes sense.”
“Never occurred to me in a million years,” Angelica admitted. “I guess I thought Conrad would keep it to himself. Then I thought we’d tell a few friends, and everybody would give us space while we pretended to think about getting back together. But now... How am I going to do this?”
