Just like that. No grand declarations of love. It was oddly anticlimactic. But ultimately, it was the quiet understanding that what they had was solid enough to hit pause for a few weeks, and that it would be waiting for them. But there was a tiny part of her that worried if it actually would. Like…would Slater change his mind once she was gone? Out of sight, out of mind, and all that? She wanted to believe that he wouldn’t, but…what did she know? She’d spent most of her life being wrong about men, was it any wonder she was having doubts?
Swallowing hard, she glanced down at her boarding pass. Another thirty minutes before they started boarding. Plenty of time to sit here and pretend her chest didn’t feel like someone had scooped something important out of it.
A crackle of static broke through the overhead speakers, interrupting her wayward thoughts.
“Attention in the terminal. Evie Parker, please report to the Horizon Charter desk located in the private aviation terminal.”
She blinked and looked around. A few people nearby glanced around absently as well before returning their attention to their phones.
Her name came again.
“Evie Parker, please report to Horizon Charter in the private aviation terminal.”
She frowned. That couldn’t possibly be for her, although it wasn’t like she had a common name. She also wasn’t the kind of person who got summoned to private aviation terminals.
But curiosity—and a small knot of unease—pushed her to her feet anyway. Maybe there’d been some mistake with her ticket.
Or her luggage.
“I don’t have luggage,” she quietly reminded herself. Milo was shipping everything for her. So that meant…
Walking over to the first gate agent she spotted, she politely asked, “Um, hi. Excuse me. I think my name was just called over the speaker. Something about Horizon Charter?”
“Horizon Charter?” the agent repeated. “That’s an entirely separate terminal.” She typed something on her computer screen before looking up. “Are you Evie Parker?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, hang on one sec…” Then she pointed over Evie’s shoulder. “The shuttle will take you there.”
“Shuttle…?” Turning, she spotted a golf cart and an airport employee waiting for her. “Um…I’m not sure what’s going on. I’m supposed to be on this flight…” She handed her boarding pass over.”
“It looks like your flight has been changed. You’ll need to straighten it out over at Horizon.” Handing the boarding pass back, the agent added, “Have a great day!”
Well.
That wasn’t even the least bit helpful.
Turning away, she walked over to the shuttle and was surprised when the driver knew her by name. “Um…”
“We’ll have you over to Horizon in no time, Ms. Parker. Sit tight.”
Cautiously, she climbed onto the golf cart and held on as they drove away.
The private aviation terminal sat at the far end of the airport, past security and down a quieter hallway where the crowds thinned and the noise faded. By the time she pushed through the glass doors marked Horizon Charter, the world felt oddly hushed. It hit her that this was where they had landed when Slater flew them in from Seattle a month ago. Was it possible that Milo was surprising her with another private flight because he knew she was nervous? Was that why he offered to ship her luggage?
I have the best boss, she thought to herself.
A receptionist looked up from behind the desk and smiled. “You must be Evie.”
Evie hesitated. “I…am?”
The woman gestured toward the open hangar doors behind her. “He’s waiting for you.”
Evie’s stomach flipped. “Who is?” Was Milo flying with her? Why wouldn’t he have just come with her in the first place? And why didn’t he say anything earlier? Was Nora coming too?
But the woman only smiled again.
Evie stepped past the desk and into the hangar. The smell of fuel and the warm afternoon air drifted in from the open runway outside. And there, standing beside a sleek little plane, was Slater.
