With his hand resting on the small of her back, he gently urged her up the stairs. “Then let’s do this.”
She climbed up and then stepped onto the plane. It was definitely smaller than the last one, but she felt confident sitting up front with him. Behind her, Slater closed the cabin door before securing her bags and sliding into the pilot’s seat, his focus solely on the task at hand. All she could do was sit back and watch him run the controls with calm confidence. He flipped a few switches, eyes moving across the gauges as he worked through the checklist.
There was nothing even remotely sexy about it, and yet she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
Next, he slipped on his headset before reaching behind him and grabbing one for her. “Put these on,” he said, passing her the headset. “Otherwise, we’ll be shouting at each other the whole way to Seattle.”
Evie slid it on and tried to get comfortable, but Slater leaned closer to adjust the headset on her.
“There,” he said softly into the mic. “Now you can hear me.” With a wink, he went back to doing whatever it was he was doing with the controls. “You buckled in?”
She scrambled to get her seatbelt secured and suddenly didn’t know what to do with herself. Should she have grabbed a drink? A snack? Her book? Rather than say anything, she figured it was fine to simply sit back and wait for them to get in the air.
As if on cue, they were rolling out of the hangar. It was wild to see it from this viewpoint. Last time, she had been sitting in the back with Milo and Nora before they decided to try to join the mile-high club. But now, all of her attention was on everything happening in front of her.
It felt like an adventure.
Slater pressed a button on the yoke. “Albany ground, Horizon charter seven-two requesting taxi.”
The plane rolled slowly across the tarmac before turning onto the long stretch of runway. Slater paused for a moment, eyes scanning the instruments.
“Alright,” he said through the headset. “Here we go.”
As the plane gathered speed, Slater reached over and squeezed her hand briefly before returning his focus to the runway. Somehow that simple touch said more than anything else he could have promised.
As the plane climbed and the land slowly gave way to sky, Evie smiled, certain there was no better way for their adventure to begin.
Epilogue
FOUR MONTHS LATER…
The lake was calm, the sun was shining, and the resort buzzed with laughter and familiar voices.
Evie leaned against Slater, watching their friends gathered on the lawn—Connor with his infant son in his arms talking to Jayce, Lexi sitting serenely in an Adirondack chair next to Kelsey and talking to her older children, Milo and Nora arguing playfully as they helped Walker and Harlow set the extra-long picnic table that was a new addition to the owners’ area, Axel and Maisie dancing barefoot in the grass, Axel’s hand placed lovingly on her pregnant belly.
This place had started it all for them.
And somehow, after everything, it still felt like the beginning.
A new beginning.
Years ago, a group of boys met at Lakeview Harbor Resort and became lifelong friends. Back then, their biggest worries had been scraped knees, late-night dares, and how long they could stay out on the lake before someone called them in.
None of them could have imagined the lives they would build or the women who would change everything.
A smile pulled at Slater’s lips as he looked toward the lawn where their friends were gathered, laughter wrapping around them even as the sounds of Mother Nature tried to blend in with them.
Lakeview Harbor had always been where their story began.
Somehow, it had become where all their best ones continued.
“Hey! You guys made it!” Walker called out when he spotted them. “We were afraid those storms that came through this morning were going to cause delays.”
Slater and Evie walked over to join everyone—shaking hands and hugging all of them—before accepting drinks from Harlow.
“We lucked out and somehow rode a pocket of airstream that was between the storms. It wasn’t exactly smooth, but it got us here.”
“Well, we’re glad you could make it,” Axel said. “This is a big weekend. The amphitheater is finally opening.”
